Welcome to Mercury Aircon 

Air Conditioning Basics

When air-conditioning was first introduced it had one goal in mind - Cooling.  It was then realized that heating from split system air conditioners was relatively economical when compared with other forms of heating and the Reverse Cycle Air Conditioner was released.  Today virtually all split system air conditioners comes standard as reverse cycle - that being said, always check before you buy.

 Conventional Fixed Speed

Until quite recently all that was available when it came to split system air conditioning were conventional fixed speed compressors.  Even though these were a great leap forward from the “all in one” "Box" or "Window" air-conditioners as far as noise, vibration and economy went, the delivery technology was essentially the same.  Conventional fixed speed split system air-conditioners are currently cheaper than inverter air-conditioners to buy over-the-counter, although installation will be about the same, and inverter running costs will save you money over time.

Inverter Technology

Inverter technology for air-conditioning was first invented by Toshiba in 1981 and there have been many technological advances since then. 

So what's the difference?  The compressor on a non-inverter air-conditioner is either on or off, this means that there is normally an overlap on your temperature setting where the unit will continue to run to "overcool" the room before shutting down, and then when the temperature rises above your preset range, the compressor kicks back in again.  There is a large spike in the power used when the compressor starts, and there is additional power used because of the unit is trying to overcool the room. 

An air-conditioner with DC inverter technology digitally controls the capacity supplied by the air-conditioner, by modifying the electricity supply, current frequency or intensity, to ensure a smooth rotation speed or capacity of the compressor.  This allows precise matching of the calling or heating capacities to the actual operating conditions.  An inverter air-conditioner will generally work at full capacity until the desired room temperature is reached, and then adjusts the capacity to maintain the temperature.

One other advantage of an inverter system is noise. The fan on the indoor unit will speed up, or slow down dependant on how much airflow is required, whereas most conventional units tend to run consistently hard.

Ducted Air Conditioning 

There is no doubt that ducted air conditioning delivers the most comfortable result on those hot summer days. There is no concentrated blast of air as there is with other ventilation options, just a steady cycle of filtered air. Because the air is being expelled through a number of strategically placed outlets and then being drawn back to the return air vent, the temperature balance in the house is normally consistent, without hot-spots, as can be experienced where more isolated units are used.

Zone Controls         

All Ducted Air-Conditioning Systems are not created equal.

Firstly as with the example of split systems, ducted systems are available in conventional fixed speed, and inverter configurations.  This can make a difference at the point of purchase, as the conventional fixed speed units are a lower cost to buy, whereas the inverters will bring in savings over time.

The second major difference in the effectiveness of your ducted system is in the use of Zone Controls.  Zone controls enabled you to set different temperatures in different rooms.  You can have a ducted system without the zone controls as the system does have its own temperature sensor which is normally mounted on the wall central to the outlets and return air vent.  To balance the system, the outlet vents in each room are adjusted to allow more or less air flow. 

A system with the zone controls can be set up a number of ways, and for different reasons.  A common set up is to have two zones, one for the living areas, and the other for the bedrooms.  This enables a smaller ducted unit to be installed, with the air being directed to the living areas during the day, and to the bedroom zone during the night. 

The best way to set up the zone controls is to have one in each room.  The zone controls can be turned off when no one is using the room, therefore making more air available to the rest of the system.  When the room is being used, a motorised damper operates receiving signals from the room temperature sensor, opening and closing the damper to maintain the room temperature.  All rooms can operate independently.  There is also a master sensor connected to the unit, and this sensor dictates the minimum and maximum temperature that the system will run to.