Ceiling Cassette Heat Pumps for Christchurch Homes

A ceiling cassette heat pump sits recessed in your ceiling with only a slim grille showing. It blows warm or cool air out four sides, so an open-plan room heats evenly. It suits Christchurch homes with an accessible ceiling cavity and enough clearance above.

Why open-plan Christchurch homes suit a cassette

A lot of the newer builds out on the plains are one big living, kitchen and dining zone. A wall unit in the corner throws air in one direction, so one end gets warm while the far side stays cold. A cassette sits in the middle of the ceiling and pushes air out four ways, which evens that out.

It handles both ends of our weather. Cold, still winter mornings when you want the whole room warm, and those hot nor'west afternoons when you want to pull the heat back out. If you're weighing up all the options first, our rundown of the types of heat pump is a good place to start.

What you need in the ceiling for one to fit

This is the catch with cassettes. The main body of the unit sits up inside the ceiling cavity, so you need real depth up there, usually around 300mm or more depending on the model. Post-quake rebuilds and modern homes around Wigram, Aidanfield and Prebbleton often have that room in a flat ceiling. Older places with tight or sloping roofs usually don't.

We check the cavity before we quote anything. If the space isn't there, we'll tell you straight and point you at something that will work rather than force it.

• Enough cavity depth above the ceiling for the unit body
• A flat, accessible section of ceiling to recess into
• Room outside for the outdoor unit and pipe run
• Clearance so the four-way airflow isn't blocked by beams or lights

When another type makes more sense

A cassette isn't the answer for every room. If your ceiling can't take one, a floor console heat pump sits low on the wall and works well in rooms with high or raked ceilings. Want to heat several rooms off one outdoor unit? Look at multi split heat pumps. And if you're building or renovating and want it all hidden, ducted heat pump systems run through the roof space with only vents showing.

The same gear that heats will cool in summer, so it doubles as air conditioning when the nor'wester rolls through.

Getting a cassette fitted and what it costs

Fitting a cassette is more involved than a wall unit because we're working in the ceiling, so the labour side is a bit higher. We walk through the whole job on our heat pump installation page, and you can see what drives the price on our guide to installation cost.

Every home is different, so the only honest number is one we give after we've looked at your ceiling and room. If a cassette suits your place, tell us where you are and we'll sort a quote.