Even, hidden whole-home warmth
Ducted heat pumps in Wellington
One quiet system, warmth in every room, and nothing on the walls. Ducted heating suits single-level Wellington homes and new builds with the roof space to hide it.
A ducted heat pump warms your whole home from one hidden system. The outdoor unit feeds a fan coil tucked in your ceiling, and short ducts carry warm air to each room through neat ceiling grilles. You get even, quiet warmth with nothing on the walls. It costs more upfront and needs roof space to fit.
This is one of our core heat pump options for Wellington homes, and it's the one people pick when they want the whole house warm, not just one or two rooms. Here's how ducted works, where it's great, and the honest cases where a multi-split is the smarter spend. Ducted is just one of the heat pump types we fit, so it helps to see how it stacks up against the others.
What is a ducted heat pump?
A ducted system has one outdoor compressor unit, just like a normal heat pump. The difference is indoors. Instead of a box on the wall, the fan coil sits out of sight in your ceiling cavity or roof space.
From there, insulated ducts run to each room and finish at flush ceiling grilles. Warm air arrives evenly across the home, and one controller (or an app) runs the lot. There's nothing on your walls and no unit to look at in each room.
Why Wellington homes choose ducted heating
- Even whole-home warmth. Every room gets up to temperature, not just the lounge. In Wellington's cold, damp homes that even heat helps keep moisture and condensation down through the whole house, not only where a single unit blows.
- Zoning. Most systems let you split the house into zones, so you can heat the living areas by day and the bedrooms at night, and leave the zones you're not using switched off to save power.
- Quiet. With the fan coil up in the roof and air arriving softly through grilles, ducted runs noticeably quieter inside than a wall unit that's working hard.
- Hidden and tidy. Nothing on the walls and just one outdoor unit. For new builds and renovations where the look matters, that clean finish is a big part of the appeal.
- Built in from the start. If you're building or doing a major reno, ducting is far easier to put in before the ceilings are lined, which is why so many new Wellington homes are designed around it.
When ducted suits, and when it does not
Ducted is at its best in single-level homes and new builds with enough roof or ceiling space to run the unit and ducting. Plenty of homes through the flat, single-level streets of Lower Hutt and the wider valley are a natural fit for it.
It's not for every home, though. Some older Wellington cottages and hillside homes have low-pitch or skillion roofs with little usable space above the ceiling, so there's simply nowhere to hide the system. Multi-storey homes can need more than one indoor unit, which adds cost. In those cases a set of high-wall splits is usually the better-value answer.
Ducted vs high-wall splits
The real call is whole-home comfort against upfront cost. This table puts the two side by side so you can see the trade-off plainly.
| Factor | Ducted | High-wall splits |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Whole home, even across rooms | Room by room, where each head is fitted |
| Visibility | Hidden, flush ceiling grilles only | A visible unit on the wall in each room |
| Zoning | Yes, heat areas independently | Each unit is its own zone |
| Noise | Very quiet indoors | Quiet, but the unit is in the room |
| Upfront cost | Higher, from around $12,000 | Lower, pay only for rooms you heat |
| Roof space | Needs adequate ceiling or roof space | Not needed |
| Best for | New builds, single-level homes, whole-home comfort | Existing homes, heating select rooms, tighter budgets |
What a ducted system costs
Ducted is the bigger upfront spend. A whole-home system in Wellington usually starts around $12,000 supplied and fitted, and climbs with house size, the number of zones and how hard the ceiling install is. We lay out the full picture next to splits and multi-splits on our heat pump installation cost page so you can compare like for like.
If you want an efficient, low-maintenance ducted system, the brands with strong ducted ranges are worth a look. Daikin ducted heat pumps and Mitsubishi Electric ducted systems both have proven whole-home line-ups we fit regularly. For independent efficiency background, the government's EnergyWise guidance on heat pumps is a good neutral read.
How we approach a ducted install
We check the roof space first, size the system to the home, and plan the duct runs and grille positions before we quote. Good design is what makes ducted feel effortless once it's in, and it's the same care we bring to every heat pump installation in Wellington. Because we only service and back the systems we fit, we've got every reason to install yours to last. You can read how that works on our heat pump servicing and repairs page.
Ducted heat pump questions, answered
How much does a ducted heat pump cost in Wellington?
A whole-home ducted system in Wellington usually starts around $12,000 supplied and fitted, and goes up from there with house size, the number of zones and how hard the ceiling install is. It costs more upfront than high-wall splits because it warms the whole home through hidden ducting.
Do I need roof space for a ducted heat pump?
Yes. The fan coil and the ducting sit in your ceiling or roof space, so you need enough clearance above the ceiling to fit them. Plenty of single-level Wellington homes and new builds have the room, but some older cottages with low or no roof space are better off with a multi-split.
Is a ducted heat pump better than several high-wall splits?
It depends on the home. Ducted gives you even, hidden, whole-home warmth and runs quiet, which suits single-level homes and new builds with roof space. Several high-wall splits cost less upfront and let you heat only the rooms you use, so for plenty of existing homes a multi-split is the better-value choice.
Thinking about whole-home ducted heating?
We'll check your roof space, size it properly, and tell you honestly whether ducted or a multi-split is the better fit.