Ducted Air Conditioning UK: Benefits, Airzone Zoning and Panasonic’s Own System
Ducted Air Conditioning & Airzone Zoning The Benefits, the Trade-Offs and Panasonic's Own Take on Zoned Ducted Air
Most people picture air conditioning as a white unit high on the wall. Ducted air conditioning hides all of that away. The indoor unit sits in the ceiling void or loft, and the only thing you see in each room is a slim grille. Add zoning and every room can have its own temperature from that one hidden unit.
Ducted air conditioning places one concealed indoor unit in a ceiling void, loft or bulkhead and sends heated or cooled air through ducts to grilles in several rooms. Zoning systems such as Airzone add motorised dampers and a thermostat in each room, so every zone can be set to its own temperature or switched off. Panasonic works with Airzone on its ducted units, and it also makes its own PACi NX Multi Zone Duct, which zones up to five areas using a dedicated fan for each outlet. Our Panasonic ducted air conditioning page compares both options.
What Is Ducted Air Conditioning?
A ducted system, sometimes called concealed or hide away air conditioning, works on the same principle as a wall-mounted split. There's an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, joined by refrigerant pipework. The difference is where the indoor unit goes and how the air reaches you.
Instead of hanging on a wall, the indoor unit is fitted out of sight, usually above a ceiling, in a loft space or inside a boxed-in bulkhead. It draws air back through a return grille, heats or cools it, then pushes it along insulated ducts to supply grilles in the rooms it serves. One unit can look after a single large space or several rooms at once.
Because it's a heat pump, a ducted system heats as well as cools. Panasonic's PACi NX Multi Zone Duct, for example, is listed as heating with outdoor temperatures down to -15°C.
Where Ducted Air Conditioning Suits UK Homes
Ducted air conditioning isn't for every house. It needs somewhere to hide the unit and space to run ducts, so it fits best when that space already exists or the ceilings are being opened up anyway.
- New builds and self-builds. The ideal time. The unit, ducts and grilles can be designed in from the start and hidden above the ceilings before they're boarded.
- Extensions and open-plan kitchens. A new flat or vaulted roof often leaves room for a void, and a large open-plan space can be served by grilles placed exactly where they're needed.
- Loft conversions. The eaves space behind the knee walls is a natural spot for a slim ducted unit, feeding the bedroom and en suite with nothing on the walls.
- Major refurbishments. If ceilings are coming down, or you're adding a dropped ceiling or bulkhead, it's the moment to put the ductwork in.
- Bungalows and top-floor rooms. A loft directly above the rooms makes duct runs short and simple, with grilles dropping straight down through the ceiling.
In a finished house with solid ceilings and no loft above, retrofitting ducts usually means a lot of disruption. In that case wall-mounted units, often on a multi split, are normally the more sensible route.
The Benefits of Going Ducted
The obvious one is looks. There's no unit on the wall and no pipework running across the room. All you see is a linear or square grille in the ceiling or high on a wall, which can be finished to suit the room. For interiors where a wall unit would spoil the design, that's usually what decides it.
Air distribution is the second. A wall unit blows from one point in the room. A ducted system can place supply grilles across a long open-plan space and pick the return from another spot, so the air is spread more evenly.
Noise in the room is lower too, because the fan and the moving parts sit in the void rather than in the room. Panasonic's slim UD3 ducted unit, for example, is listed at 26 dB(A) on its quietest cooling setting for the 5kW model, and is only 200 mm high, which is what lets it fit into tight ceiling voids.
Finally, one ducted indoor unit can serve several rooms. That means one unit to maintain inside and one outdoor unit outside, rather than a wall unit in every room.
The Honest Downsides
Ducted air conditioning is a great fit in the right house, but it's not the answer to everything. These are the things we talk through at survey.
Ducted Strengths
- Nothing on the walls, just discreet grilles
- Even air distribution across large or open-plan spaces
- Quieter in the room, as the unit sits in the void
- One indoor unit can serve several rooms
- Room-by-room control when paired with zoning
Ducted Trade-Offs
- Needs a ceiling void, loft or bulkhead with enough depth
- Far more disruptive to retrofit into a finished home
- An access hatch is needed for filter cleaning and servicing
- Without zoning, every room gets the same temperature
- All rooms on one unit share the same mode, heating or cooling
Ductwork also has to be designed properly. Duct sizes, lengths and grille positions all affect how much air reaches each room and how quiet it is. A ducted system that's been guessed rather than designed will be noisy or uneven, which is why the survey and design stage matters more here than with a wall unit.
Ducted vs Wall-Mounted at a Glance
| Ducted | Wall-Mounted Split | |
|---|---|---|
| What you see in the room | Ceiling or wall grilles only | The indoor unit on the wall |
| Rooms per indoor unit | One or several | One |
| Space needed | Ceiling void, loft or bulkhead | A clear section of wall |
| Best time to install | New build, extension or refurbishment | Any time, including finished homes |
| Room-by-room temperature | With a zoning system | Yes, each unit has its own controller |
| Disruption to fit | Higher, with ceiling work and ductwork | Lower, usually a single wall core |
| Servicing access | Through a hatch to the unit | Directly at the unit |
| Design work | Ducts and grilles must be planned | Mainly unit position and pipe route |
What Is Airzone?
On its own, a ducted unit treats every room it serves as one space. It reads one temperature and sends air to every grille. That's fine for a single open-plan area, but in a house it means the bedrooms get the same treatment as the lounge, whether anyone is in them or not.
Airzone is a company that specialises in zoning control for ducted air conditioning, and its systems solve exactly this. The main parts are:
- Motorised dampers. Fitted in a plenum on the unit's outlet, or as motorised grilles in the rooms, they open and close to let air into each zone only when it's needed. Airzone's Easyzone plenum is made in 2 to 6 zone versions, including a slim version for shallower voids.
- A thermostat in every zone. Each room or zone has its own Airzone thermostat. The Blueface is the main wired touchscreen thermostat, and the Think and Lite are simpler zone thermostats.
- A manufacturer-specific interface. Airzone makes communication gateways for each major brand, which talk to the indoor unit using that manufacturer's own protocol. The system can then adjust the unit's output to match the zones that are calling, and read its error codes.
- App and smart home control. With Airzone's Webserver hub, the whole system can be run from the Airzone Cloud app on Android or iOS, with schedules, energy-use graphs and multiple user profiles. It also works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
The result is that a single ducted unit behaves much more like a set of individual systems. The bedrooms can sit cooler at night while the downstairs zones are closed off, and empty rooms aren't being heated or cooled for nothing.
Airzone lists compatibility with a long line of manufacturers, including Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Fujitsu, LG, Samsung and Toshiba. It isn't tied to one brand, which is a big part of why installers use it.
Panasonic's Version
If you're having a Panasonic ducted system, there are two routes to zoning, and it's worth being clear about which is which.
Airzone with Panasonic. Panasonic promotes Airzone as the control solution for its ducted "Hide Away" units, and Panasonic's own European site says Airzone has developed interfaces to connect to them. Airzone also publishes Panasonic interfaces for both the commercial PACi range and Panasonic's domestic units. In practice, a Panasonic ducted system with Airzone zoning is a Panasonic unit with Airzone's dampers, thermostats and gateway on top.
The PACi NX Multi Zone Duct. This is Panasonic's own answer, and it works differently. Rather than one fan and a set of dampers, the indoor unit has a dedicated fan and motor for each outlet, so each zone's airflow is controlled directly. Panasonic says it gives independent temperature control for up to five zones, with four or five zones depending on the model, and needs no bypass duct and no external zoning accessories. It can be fitted horizontally or vertically, has Wi-Fi built in and works with Panasonic's Aquarea Home app. Panasonic positions it for homes as well as commercial spaces, with capacities from 7.1 kW to 14.0 kW, so it's aimed at larger properties.
Panasonic also makes the smaller UD3 slim ducted units for single rooms and smaller spaces, and its larger PACi ducted units can be controlled through the Panasonic Comfort Cloud app using a commercial Wi-Fi adaptor. If you're comparing indoor units more widely, our Panasonic Etherea review covers Panasonic's popular wall-mounted range.
Airzone or the Multi Zone Duct?
Airzone May Suit You If
- You want a thermostat on the wall in every zone
- You'd like Alexa or Google voice control
- The ducted unit is a smaller model or a brand other than Panasonic
- You need more zones than one unit's outlets allow
The Multi Zone Duct May Suit You If
- You want zoning built into the unit, with fewer parts in the void
- Four or five zones covers the space
- The property is large enough for a 7.1 kW unit or above
- You're happy to control it from Panasonic's own app
Both approaches are proven ways to zone a ducted system. Which is better depends on the size of the space, how many zones you need and how you want to control it, and that's something we work out at survey.
Ducted Air in Commercial Spaces
Ducted units are just as common in offices, shops and restaurants, where a clean ceiling matters and one unit can serve a large floor area. Zoning lets meeting rooms, open office and reception areas run at different set points. See our commercial air conditioning page for more on business installations.
Common Questions
Can ducted air conditioning be fitted in an existing house?
Yes, if there's somewhere to put the unit and run the ducts, such as a loft above the rooms or space for a bulkhead. Where neither exists, the ceiling work involved usually makes wall-mounted units the better choice. A survey will tell you quickly which applies.
Does ducted air conditioning heat as well as cool?
Yes. Like a wall-mounted split, a ducted system is a heat pump and works in both heating and cooling modes. With zoning, every zone shares the same mode at any one time.
Is Airzone made by Panasonic?
No. Airzone is an independent company that makes zoning controls for many air conditioning brands. It has developed interfaces that connect to Panasonic ducted units, and Panasonic promotes it as the zoning solution for those units. Panasonic's own built-in zoning option is the PACi NX Multi Zone Duct.
Can I control a zoned ducted system from my phone?
Yes. Airzone systems use the Airzone Cloud app through its Webserver hub, with schedules and voice control through Alexa or Google Assistant. Panasonic's Multi Zone Duct has built-in Wi-Fi and uses the Aquarea Home app.
How much ceiling space does a ducted unit need?
It depends on the unit. Panasonic's slim UD3 ducted units are 200 mm high, and Airzone's slim plenum is 210 mm high, but the ducts, insulation and access also need room. We measure the void at survey before recommending a unit.
Does a ducted system need servicing?
Yes. The filters need cleaning and the system should be checked regularly, just like any other air conditioning. That's why we always plan an access hatch to the unit. Our air conditioning installation page explains how we plan and fit each system.
Get a Free Survey
Ducted air conditioning only works as well as it's designed. Our F-Gas certified engineers will look at your ceiling voids, loft and room layout, then tell you honestly whether ducted, zoned ducted or wall-mounted units will suit your home best. We're a Panasonic Pro Partner and Mitsubishi Electric installer, covering Dartford, Kent, Essex, Surrey and South East London. Call us on 01322 474 990.
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