Ceiling Mounted and Ducted Air Conditioning Systems

What Is Ceiling Mounted Air Conditioning?

Ceiling mounted air conditioning is a type of system where the indoor air conditioning unit is positioned at or close to ceiling level.

One of the most familiar examples is the ceiling cassette. These units are commonly installed within suspended ceilings, with the visible grille sitting almost flush with the ceiling surface.

Rather than blowing conditioned air from a wall, a ceiling mounted unit distributes air across the room from above.

This can be particularly useful in offices, shops, restaurants, commercial premises and larger rooms where wall-mounted equipment may interfere with furniture, displays or interior design.

How Ceiling Mounted Air Conditioning Works

A ceiling mounted air conditioning unit contains components that allow it to remove heat from indoor air and replace it with cooler, conditioned air.

Warm room air is drawn into the indoor unit. The system passes that air across a heat exchanger, where heat is transferred into the refrigerant circuit.

The cooled air is then distributed back into the room.

During heating operation, many modern air conditioning systems can reverse this process using heat pump technology.

Instead of removing heat from the building, the system extracts available heat from outside air and transfers it indoors.

This means a suitable air conditioning system can potentially provide both summer cooling and winter heating.

What Is Ducted Air Conditioning?

A ducted air conditioning system works differently.

Instead of having a visible indoor unit in every room, the main air conditioning equipment can be concealed above a ceiling, within a loft space or another suitable void.

Conditioned air is then transported through a network of ducts.

Small grilles or diffusers installed within ceilings or walls allow the conditioned air to enter the rooms.

One of the major advantages is that much of the system can remain hidden.

For properties where appearance is important, ducted air conditioning can therefore provide a particularly discreet solution.

How Ducted Air Conditioning Works

Ducted systems use the same basic refrigeration principles but distribute conditioned air differently.

The indoor unit is connected to ductwork.

Air is drawn back through return grilles, conditioned by the indoor unit and then distributed through supply ducts to different rooms.

Depending on the design, separate zones can be created.

For example, a house could have one zone for bedrooms and another for living areas. A commercial property could have separate zones for offices, meeting rooms and communal spaces.

The system can therefore be designed around the building rather than simply around individual rooms.

If you are considering installing air conditioning in an office or commercial premises, give Moulton AC a call for a consultation