Most air conditioning puts a white box on your wall. Ducted systems do not. The equipment sits out of sight above the ceiling and the only thing visible in the room is a slim linear grille, flush with the plaster.
It is the option people ask for once they have seen one, and the option most installers do not offer, because it needs planning around the building rather than bolting on afterwards.
What ducted actually means
Instead of an indoor unit mounted on the wall, a slim fan coil sits in a ceiling void. Short runs of insulated ducting carry the air from it to one or more grilles set into the ceiling. The outdoor unit sits outside as normal.
From inside the room you see a grille a few centimetres wide and nothing else. No box, no trunking down the corner, no visible pipework.
What it needs
A void to hide the equipment in. That usually means around 250 to 300mm of depth somewhere sensible, which in practice is a dropped section of ceiling, the space above a hallway or a bulkhead over a wardrobe or a doorway.
It does not have to be the whole ceiling. A dropped strip in the right place is often all it takes, and once decorated nobody can tell it is there.
This is why ducted is far easier to do during building work than afterwards. If a room is being built, converted or re-ceilinged, the void can be designed in for very little extra cost.
Ducted or wall-mounted, honestly
Ducted is not automatically better. It costs more, it takes longer to install, and it needs the right ceiling.
It is worth it when the room matters visually, when a wall unit has nowhere sensible to go, or when the building work is happening anyway. A wall-mounted unit in a spare bedroom is a perfectly good answer and we will say so.
What we will not do is quote you a wall unit because it is easier, and leave you to discover afterwards that ducted was possible.
Making good afterwards
This is where ducted installations usually go wrong. Plenty of installers will fit the equipment and leave the ceiling for someone else to repair, which means a second trade, a second visit and a visible patch.
We do the building work ourselves. Our sister company Brick By Brick builds extensions and loft conversions, so forming the bulkhead, boarding, plastering and finishing around the grille is our own team rather than a subcontractor. That is why a finished ducted job looks built in rather than added on.
What it costs
Above our standard single-room range, because there is more equipment and more building work involved. How much more depends entirely on the ceiling, so we price it at survey rather than publishing a figure we would have to row back from.
For comparison, a standard wall-mounted single room is £1,500 to £1,800 including VAT.
Common questions
Can one ducted system serve several rooms?
Yes, with grilles in each room, though they will share a temperature setting unless the system is zoned. For rooms used very differently, separate systems are often the better answer.
Is it noisier than a wall unit?
Usually quieter in the room, because the fan is in the ceiling void rather than at head height. The air arrives through the grille rather than being blown at you.
How do I service it if it is hidden?
Access is designed in from the start, normally through a discreet hatch or by way of the grille itself. Filters still need cleaning, and we show you how.
Can it be retrofitted to a finished room?
Sometimes. It depends on what is above the ceiling and whether a bulkhead can go somewhere that will not look odd. The survey answers it honestly, including when the answer is no.
Book a free survey
We will tell you whether ducted is realistic in your room before you spend anything. Call 020 3488 4657, message us on WhatsApp, or use the contact page.
See a ducted system we installed in Woodford, or read about air conditioning for loft conversions.