Heat Pump Types for Invercargill Homes

The main heat pump types are high-wall, floor console, ceiling cassette, ducted and multi split. High-wall units suit most Invercargill rooms and cost the least. Floor consoles and ducted systems work better for draughty villas or whole-home heating. The right one depends on your layout.

High-wall heat pumps: the everyday workhorse

A high-wall unit sits up on the wall and blows warm air down into the room. It's the most common style we fit across Invercargill and Southland, and for good reason. It's the cheapest to buy, quick to install, and heats an open living area fast on a frosty morning.

The catch is placement. Because it mounts high, it works best throwing heat across one open space. It won't push warmth around corners or down a long hallway on its own. For a single lounge or a modern open-plan area, though, a well-sized high-wall does the job well.

Floor consoles and ceiling cassettes for tricky rooms

Not every room suits a high-wall. In an older single-glazed villa with high ceilings, warm air pools up top and the floor stays cold. That's where floor console heat pumps earn their keep. They sit low on the wall like a radiator and push heat out at floor level, which feels far warmer where you actually sit.

If you've got a sealed new build or a room where you don't want a unit on the wall at all, ceiling cassette heat pumps tuck flush into the ceiling and blow air out several ways. They're tidy and even, but they need roof space above and cost more to fit.

Heating more than one room: ducted and multi split

When you want the whole house warm, one unit in the lounge won't cut it. Ducted heat pumps hide in the roof and feed warm air to several rooms through vents, so the heating is quiet and out of sight. It's the priciest option and works best planned into a build or a decent renovation.

A cheaper way to heat a few rooms is multi split heat pumps, where one outdoor unit runs two or more indoor heads. You can mix styles too, say a high-wall in the lounge and a floor console in a cold bedroom. Which way you go comes down to your layout and budget, and a chat about the real heat pump installation cost for your place.

Matching the style to your Southland home

Homes around Gladstone, Rosedale, Clifton, Newfield and Windsor are a real mix, and the right style follows the house. A tightly sealed new build holds heat, so a single high-wall often keeps it warm and dry all winter. An old villa leaks heat through single glazing and gaps, so you're usually better with a floor console down low or a larger unit to keep up.

The other thing that changes the answer is where the outdoor unit can go and how the pipework runs. We sort that out on site as part of your heat pump installation in Invercargill, so the unit we quote is one that'll actually work in your rooms.

• High-wall: open living areas and modern homes, lowest cost
• Floor console: draughty villas and cold bedrooms, warmth at floor level
• Ceiling cassette: tidy heating in new builds with roof space
• Ducted: whole-home heating, best planned into a build
• Multi split: two or more rooms off one outdoor unit

Have a look at our heat pump servicing for more.