Ceiling cassette, floor standing and bulkhead air conditioners

What is a ceiling cassette air conditioner?

A ceiling cassette sits inside the ceiling with only a square grille showing. Air returns through the centre of the panel and blows out through louvres on the sides, so it throws air in several directions at once. It suits open-plan rooms, kitchens and rooms where the walls are glass.

Cassettes started in shops and offices, and the big ones still live there. Daikin's Round Flow Cassette, for example, is sold as a light commercial unit from 5 kW up to 14 kW. Residential cassettes are smaller. Mitsubishi Electric's SLZ-M series runs 2.5 kW to 6.0 kW, is 245 mm high, fits a 600 by 600 mm ceiling grid, and has a built-in drain pump.

The catch is the ceiling. You need enough void above the plaster for the unit body, a joist layout that lets it sit between the timbers, and a route for pipes, drain and power. Upstairs ceilings in two storey homes often don't have it. The installer should look in the roof before quoting, not after. When you get up to three local quotes through us, say you want a cassette so the installers come ready to check.

What is a floor standing air conditioner?

A floor console is a low, wide indoor unit that sits on or near the floor, a bit like a slim heater. It suits rooms with no clear high wall, attic rooms with low sloped ceilings, and old fireplaces. Mitsubishi Electric pitches its MFZ consoles as a renovation option that fits into old fireplace and heater cavities, and Daikin says its Nexura console can be semi-recessed into a wall or an unused fireplace.

Floor consoles are the best heaters of the lot. Warm air rises, so heat delivered at floor level warms a room more evenly than heat blown down from a high wall. That is why they're popular in Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra and the Blue Mountains. Cooling works too, though a high-wall head spreads cold air a little better.

They are ordinary single-room splits in every other way. Mitsubishi Electric's MFZ range covers 2.5 kW to 6.1 kW, which is bedroom to living room territory.

What is a bulkhead air conditioner?

A bulkhead unit is a small ducted indoor unit built into a ceiling drop, a cupboard or a bulkhead, with only the supply and return grilles visible. Daikin describes its bulkhead range as fitting flush into the ceiling with only the grilles showing, in sizes from 2.5 kW to 7.1 kW, and compact enough for wardrobe installations.

It's the most invisible single-room option. It suits new builds and renovations where the builder can frame the bulkhead, and apartments where a wall head would look out of place. A bulkhead can also feed two adjoining rooms through short ducts, which puts it close to a mini ducted system.

How much do cassette, floor and bulkhead units cost?

Expect to pay more than for a wall split of the same size. The indoor unit costs more, and the install takes more work: cutting a ceiling opening, a drain pump or longer drain, framing for a bulkhead, or extra care with pipework on a floor console.

Get a wall split quoted for the same room as a benchmark. If the gap is small and the look matters to you, buy the cassette or console. If the gap is large and the wall is fine, the wall split is the better value. Get up to three local quotes and ask for both prices.

Cassette vs floor console vs wall split

What to check before you buy one

• For a cassette: has the installer been in the roof? Ask for the ceiling void depth needed and where the joists fall.
• For a cassette: where does the condensate go? A built-in pump helps, but the drain still has to reach a proper outlet.
• For a floor console: will furniture block it? A console behind a couch heats the couch.
• For a bulkhead: who builds and finishes the bulkhead, the air con installer or your builder? Get it in writing.
• Service access. Cassette panels drop down and consoles are easy to reach. A bulkhead unit needs an access panel.
• Energy label. Household single-phase non-ducted units carry the Zoned Energy Rating Label. Compare stars for your climate zone.
• Licence. The refrigerant work needs an ARCtick licence. A restricted split licence covers single-head installs including cassettes. What ARCtick means.

Brand options are narrower than for wall splits. Daikin and Mitsubishi Electric both sell residential cassettes, consoles and bulkheads here. Size the room with the size calculator first, then get up to three local quotes for the matching indoor type.