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- -- Can you send me the installation CD-ROM?
Sorry but our installation CD-ROM is only supplied to those who have purchased a DIY kit or paid a deposit on one.
78,05% of 41 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - -- How difficult is it to do it yourself?
Hard question to answer, but for most handy people quite easy. Using duct tape, cutting holes in the floor / ceiling is quite simple for most. We say allow two full days for two people, but most get it done in a day and a half.
100,00% of 43 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - -- How much can I hope to save if I DIY?
This is a difficult question to answer exactly. You should save at least five hundred dollars with most DIY installations saving around the one thousand dollar mark. This varies due to location and installation difficulty.
93,55% of 62 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Can I buy a DIY kit today?
Our online shop has a range of DIY kits available to purchase right now! These DIY kits require you to make them fit your particular home.
(Buy DIY Kits Online)
83,33% of 18 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Can the ducts be cut to length?
Yes it is simple to cut the flexible ducting to the length you require. All you need is some side cutters and a knife.
100,00% of 24 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Can you custom design a DIY kit for my home?
No. We used to provide this service and found over time that most people ended up purchasing one of our online kits. If you would like a DIY kit the only option nowadays is to buy one online. Our online DIY kits are based on a basic system and you should make sure that it will suit your particular homes needs.
96,00% of 25 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Do I still need to use a plumber or electrician?
Yes. A plumber with an appropriate license can make all water and gas connections. A plumber with a duct fixing license can also run all the ducts based on our duct design. An electrican is sometimes required to install a power point, if you already have one then you may not require an electrican. Naturally it depends on what they need to do however an average cost is around $400.
100,00% of 49 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Should I upgrade my flexible duct?
All new homes built since 2004 are required to have R1.0 insulated duct. Having R1.0 ducting ensures your hot/cold air stays inside the duct and doesn't escape out making the whole system run more efficiently.
92,86% of 28 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --What tools / equipment do I need to DIY?
For most installations the following tools / equipment are all that is required:
- A spirit level
- Hand Saw or JigSaw
- Tape Measure
- Hammer
- Shovel
- Set of screwdrivers
- Cordless Drill
- Nails / Clouts
- Marking Pencil
- Stanley Knife
- Wire Cutters
- Diamond Saw (if cutting tiles)
- Grinder
- MDF or Chipboard
95,00% of 20 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful
- -- Can my thermostat be a remote control?
No, at the moment Vulcan are the only manufacturer supplying the option of a remote control and we are not a Vulcan dealer.
Keep in mind that the system judges the house temperature via the thermostat. For this reason we don't recommend a remote control as it can be left in places where an accurate temperature reading is not provided. We believe it best to leave the thermostat mounted on the wall in the area you spend most of your time.
90,00% of 10 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Can I have cooling through the same system?
Not with our standard DIY kits, they do heating only. However there is add-on air conditioning that can be considered. This type of system falls out of the realm of a DIY kit, add-on air conditioning systems should always be designed and installed by professionals .
89,47% of 19 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Can I turn outlets off if I am not using them?
Yes, however there are a minimum number of outlets that must be left fully open for the system to work properly. Depending on the size of heater between four and seven outlets must remain open.
96,43% of 28 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Does having the ductwork in the ceiling work properly?
Many homes today are built on a concrete slab, so ceiling systems have become very popular lately. Yes ceiling systems work just as well as an underfloor system as long as it is sized and designed properly. More air then normal is required to help the heat get down to floor level. This is accomplished by using efficent ceiling diffusers and having the return air grille down at floor level.
88,00% of 25 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --How many outlets will a particular room need?
We have a ducted heating calculator to help you work out how many outlets a room needs. Simply enter the room width, length and ceiling heights and the calculator does the rest. Click here to use the ducted heating calculator.
77,78% of 9 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --How often should my heater be serviced?
- --Should I have my ducts cleaned?
Yes, If you have never had a filter in your system and it has been running for years, then yes duct cleaning by a professional, licensed duct cleaner would be a good idea. Once your ducts are cleaned, install a return air filter and you'll never need them cleaned again. If your system has had a filter installed the whole time then you shouldn't need your ducts cleaned. We highly recommend Enviro Duct Cleaning - (03) 9889 8811- speak with Drew.
If you install a new DIY ducted heating kit and keep the filter clean you should NEVER have to clean your ducts!
82,35% of 17 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Should my system have a return air filter?
Yes! A return air filter is highly recommended for any system that is constantly moving air. Once a filter is installed they must be cleaned regularly! If you are not going to clean it, your better off not to have one. All of our DIY ducted heating kits come with a filter in the return air grille.
91,67% of 12 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --What is the minimum number of outlets I can have?
The smallest ducted heating requires at least four outlets to remain fully open. If you only wish to heat one or two rooms you should look at electric panel heaters or the like.
85,71% of 14 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Which energy rating heater should I choose?
All gas ducted heating units today have a star rating which indicates their operating efficency. The more stars, the cheaper the unit is to run - however the initial cost is more. Consider questions like, how long will I be in the house, how large is the house, how often do you intend to run the system and what temperature you would like your home. At the moment three stars is the lowest rating and 5.5 stars the highest. (View the annual running costs chart)
90,91% of 11 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Why are the vents placed under windows?
Firstly the warm air forms an air curtain which stops the cold from entering the room. Secondly all the air produced from a ducted heating system is drawn back to the return air grille. Windows are almost always installed on the homes perimeter, thus the warm air will pass through the entire room and back towards the return air. This ensures the room is entirely heated!
100,00% of 14 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Why does the ducting drop in size?
The ducting starts off large then gets smaller to keep the static pressure of the air up. If this is not done no air will get to the furthest outlets on the system. Reducing the duct size increases the air pressure, thus allowing air to travel to the extremities of the home.
86,96% of 23 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Will I be able to add air-conditioning onto my DIY kit later?
No. Our off the shelf DIY ducted heating kits are designed to heat only. Even if the unit you purchase can provide add-on air conditioning the ducting must be designed to suit. Our ducted heating kits only provide ducted heating. Add-on air conditioning is a very specialized design and we highly recommend it be installed by a professional heating and cooling contractor.
73,33% of 15 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful
- --Are the Bonaire units reverse cycle?
Yes the Bonaire units in our DIY Air Conditioning kits are reverse cycle, meaning they can heat and cool.
90,91% of 11 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Are the refrigeration pipes included in the DIY Kit?
No refrigeration piping is supplied with our DIY kits. You'll need to employ the services of a refrigeration mechanic who will run the pipes ensuring they are run correctly.
83,33% of 6 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Can I close off outlets on the DIY ducted air conditioning kit?
On the 4 and 5 point systems you cannot shut off any outlets. However on the bigger systems you may be able to shut off 1 or 2 outlets, depending on ambient temperature.
83,33% of 6 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Can I get a unit that does cooling only?
Yes ducted split systems can be cool only. Keep in mind that a system that is reverse cycle - heats and cools - is usually only one or two hundred dollars more, so most opt for that option. Our range of Bonaire units are all reverse cycle.
87,50% of 8 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --How big does my unit have to be?
No two homes are alike, so it is best to have your particular home measured and entered into our 'Dynamic Sizing Guide' to determine what size air conditioner you require. As a rough rule of thumb 1Kw will do 1 house square (3m x 3m)
100,00% of 16 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --How much does it cost to run?
This is a question that is almost impossible to answer. Two homes with an identical system can vary in running costs just based on the temperature each user has the system set at. Insulation, windows, and house positioning all have a direct effect on the running costs. For a very rough approximation we say $1.00 per hour.
100,00% of 11 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --What is inverter technology?
Inverter technology is integrated in the outdoor
unit, it can be compared to the technology in a
car: " The harder you push your accelerator, the faster you go." An
inverter unit will gradually increase its capacity based on the
capacity needed in the room to cool down or heat up the room. The
non-inverter can be compared with switching on or off a lamp. Switching
on this type of unit will start to run on full load. Inverter technology has nothing to do with zoning off rooms, this is called digital technology.
100,00% of 9 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Will leaving doors open cool the rest of my home?
A ducted air conditioning system should have an outlet in each room to be cooled, so leaving doors open to cool other areas is not required.
If you have a wall hung split system these are generally designed and sized to cool one room, however if yours is 'oversized' you can leave doors open to try and cool other areas although its not really recommended.
100,00% of 4 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful
- -- Does evaporative cooling work on muggy days?
How well evaporative cooling works is dependent on the air temperature and humidity levels. The drier the air the better they work! However on humid/muggy days you can turn off the water pump on the cooler and just run the fan, it is like having ceiling fans in every room. Having the coolers pump going will only increase the humidity level in your house more. Keep in mind that in Victoria we usually get less than five really humid days during a summer.
100,00% of 30 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - -- How cold will my house be on a hot day?
This depends on the humidity level and your particular house. Generally speaking though an evaporative cooling system will lower the temperature inside your home by 8-15 degrees. For example my old home had evaporative cooling, it was weather-board and had lots of trees around it. If the temperature that day was 38 degrees with not much humidity, my home would be around 26 degrees - just lovely!
88,89% of 18 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - -- Is evaporative cooling reverse cycle - will it do heating as well?
No evaporative cooling can cool only - it cannot be combined with heating. You can get ducted heating with add-on air conditioning, or a reverse cycle ducted air conditioner. Only these systems will do both heating and cooling.
100,00% of 3 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Are evaporative coolers noisy?
No, an evaporative cooling unit is very quiet. The technology in the fan and motors has increased dramatically over the past five years and noise is no longer a concern. There is a resonating hum that the unit produces and for this reason we suggest the unit be installed above a bathroom or laundry to minimize hearing that hum. The entire brivis range of evaporative coolers are very very quite.
90,00% of 10 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Can I also have ducted heating through my evapoartive cooling kit?
No, unfortunately the airflow for an evaporative cooling system is too large to fit through the smaller heating outlets. Ducted heating will need is own separate duct work in the ceiling or under the floor
93,33% of 15 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Can you shut off rooms not being used?
You could but there is really no need. Simply open the windows in the rooms you want cooled and the air from the rooms that don't have open windows will vent through the open windowed areas. There is no need to zone an evapoartive cooling system.
92,31% of 13 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --How often should an evapoartive cooler be serviced?
Always follow the manufacturers guidelines in this regard. We suggest that a typical evaporative cooler be cleaned of dust, cobwebs and the like once a year. Older type evapoartive coolers will require you to fit and remove winter covers, wash the pads yearly and drain the unit at the end of summer. If your evaporative cooling unit features 'no seasonal maintenance' then you will not need to fit winter covers, wash the pads and drain the unit.
100,00% of 9 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --I have heard Breezeair are the best / quietest coolers?
Breezeair manufactured by Seeley have been marketed very well. Breezeair has decided that these particular units can only be supplied to and installed by their premium dealers. There are only a handful of these in Melbourne which allows the dealers prices to be quite expensive. You will need to do some research and see if this is really the best system, or perhaps just the most expensive. I have heard a Breezeair and Brivis running side by side and the noise difference was not discernable. Both are extremely cheap to run as well - average of 5 to 10 cents an hour.
86,21% of 29 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --What about water restrictions?
There is no need to worry about water restrictions. The average evapoartive cooler holds between 6 and 10 litres of water. A full week of use will often equate to the same amount of water used in the average bathroom for one day! An evaporative cooling systems water usage is only a small proportion of a typical households water usage.
86,36% of 22 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --What power requirements does an evaporative cooler need?
All brivis evaporative coolers require a 10amp 240v power point - which is your normal household power point.
100,00% of 4 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Will I need to leave my windows open?
Yes, you must have an exit point for all the air that is being delivered into your house. The average evapoartive cooler will deliver around 3000 litres of air per second into your home. With your house filling up with so much air it must be let out to allow for more air to enter.
87,50% of 8 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Will my furniture feel damp?
There are two main reasons your furniture may feel damp. Firstly you need to ensure you have enough doors/windows open for the air to expel readily. Secondly evaporative cooling vents should not be pointed down towards beds, couches etc. The air should blow across the ceiling that way prevent heat from entering the room.
100,00% of 10 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful - --Will the filter pads ever need changing?
Yes eventually they will. With normal usage they will need to be changed after about seven years.
100,00% of 12 voters found this FAQ useful, I found this FAQ  useful  not useful
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