Ducted prices start at a known floor and climb with the house. Here is where that floor sits, and what pushes a quote above it.
Figures checked
The price floors
In CHOICE's 2023 guide, ducted reverse cycle, installed, starts from about $5,000src for a small home such
as an apartment. A typical freestanding house can easily reach $10,000 or moresrc, and a large or
multi-storey home $15,000 or moresrc. None of those is a ceiling: the house itself sets the rest.
One indoor unit, several outlets. Zones let the system serve part of the house at a time.
What does ducted air conditioning cost for your home?
The fade marks the missing ceiling: these are starting prices, from 2023. Source: CHOICE installation cost guide (April 2023).Show the numbers
Where ducted air conditioning prices start, installed
Apartment or small home
from about $5,000
Typical freestanding house
$10,000 or more
Large or multi-storey home
$15,000 or more
Every figure there is a starting point. An installer can only put a real number on the job after seeing the roof
space, the layout and how many zones you want.
What do ducted jobs cost in 2026 data?
ServiceSeeking's 2026 guide puts the average ducted installation quote on its platform at
about $3,319 a jobsrc. That sits well under CHOICE's floor for a whole system, and the guide gives no
breakdown by home size, so read it as a mix of jobs rather than the price of ducting a house. What it does spell out
is what moves a ducted quote: home size, the number of zones, the brand, and any electrical or structural work.
How much capacity does a whole house need?
Take a single-storey house where the system will serve 150 m² of bedrooms and living space. Canstar Blue's rule of
thumb, 0.12 to 0.15 kW per m²src, gives 18.0 to 22.5 kW.
Use that as a sense check only. A per-square-metre rule is written for rooms, and a ducted system rarely cools every
zone at full tilt at once. Ask each installer how they sized the system. A quote that simply multiplies floor area is a
reason to ask more questions.
Size also decides who may do the work. The restricted split system licence covers
single-head split systems under 18 kWsrc. The house above sits right at that line, so check the technician holds a full
licence, which covers any system, any capacitysrc.
Why do quotes for the same house differ so much?
Because each installer is quoting a slightly different system. Before comparing totals, line up the answers to these:
What capacity, and how did you size it?
How many zones, and which rooms are in each?
Which brand and model, and what controller comes with it?
Does the price include removing the old system and making good the ceiling?
What does the rule of thumb miss here: ceiling height, orientation and glazingsrc?
Is ducted better value than a few split systems?
On price alone, compare like with like. Two split systems at CHOICE's supply-and-install range would cost roughly
$2,400 to $12,600. A ducted system in a typical house can easily cost $10,000 or moresrc.
If you only need to cool two rooms, splits usually make more sense. If you want every bedroom conditioned and no units
on the walls, the extra cost of ducted buys exactly that. There is no answer that suits every house.
Is there a discount for ducted reverse cycle?
In Victoria, yes, when it replaces ducted gas heating: Victorian Energy Upgrades takes up to $5,530src
off the quote and estimates bill savings of up to $1,140 a yearsrc. The
Victorian guide covers who qualifies.
The NSW incentive is published for 6 kW systems, so ask an installer whether a ducted job qualifies before you count
on it. In Queensland the state appliance rebate is closedsrc.
The price floors come from CHOICE's guide, last updated in April 2023 and still the most detailed breakdown by home size
we could verify. The 2026 average comes from ServiceSeeking job data. Use them to judge whether a quote is in the
right territory, not as a budget.