More Than One Ducted System

Quote a big home as up to 4 ducted systems on one floor plan.

• Each system has its own indoor unit, outdoor unit, zones and price
• Add one by dropping a second indoor unit, or from the Systems & zones tab
• Auto Layout lays out every system in one run
• Recommendations prices every system for one tier and shows the total
• The quote gets one area per system, named after the system

This guide builds on Floor Plan Scanning and Auto Duct Layout. Systems are for ducted floor plans in the Cooledge Portal.

When to Use More Than One System

Use more than one system for a big home that needs more than one unit, a home with a separate wing, a two-storey home with one unit per level or a home with a basement.

A plan takes up to 4 systems. Each system takes one indoor unit, one outdoor unit and up to 8 zones.

Add a System

Drop a Second Indoor Unit

1. Lay out the first system on the Parts tab as usual.
2. Drag a second indoor unit onto the plan. You'll see This plan has one indoor unit. To add a second, add a system.
3. Click Add system.

System A keeps every room, every part and your zones. System B gets the new unit where you dropped it. You'll see System B added. Draw ducts from its unit to the rooms it serves.

Then drop an outdoor unit. It goes to the system without one. Draw the refrigerant pipe between System B's units.

From the Systems & zones Tab

1. Click Add system on the Systems & zones tab. On a plan with no systems you get System A with every room and an empty System B.
2. Click each room System B serves, then click Done.

To move rooms later, click a system's colour swatch, click the rooms, then click Done.

Name Your Systems

Type a name such as Bedroom wing in the system's box in the Systems list. The quote uses these names for its areas, so name systems before you create the quote. A name is 1 to 40 characters. Two systems can't share one.

Lay Out Each System

Auto Layout on the Parts tab lays out every system in one run. If it can't lay out a system, that system keeps its parts and a message says why.

To draw by hand, start each duct at the system's unit or a part joined to it. A room with no ducts yet joins that system when its first duct arrives, with a message such as Rumpus is now in System B.

Ducts can't join across systems. Cooledge says why, for example Family is in System A and this duct is in System B. Move Family to System B on the Systems & zones tab to join them.

Every part except a note has a System field on its card. Changing it moves the part and everything joined to it.

Zone Each System

The Zones tab is now Systems & zones. On a plan with systems, each system gets its own Zone Count (2 to 8), zone names with a Const toggle and room buttons for its own zones. Clear Bedroom wing's zones clears the zones of that system's rooms only.

Rooms in no system are listed under No system. A new system starts unzoned. One system can stay unzoned while you zone another, but a system with only some rooms zoned holds up Save & Continue.

The Parts Tab

Each system's parts sit on a soft halo in its colour: indigo, cyan, lime, then fuchsia. A legend under Auto Layout names each system, plus No system when a part has none. Halos show only on the Parts tab. They're not printed on the quote.

Before You Quote

When you press Generate Recommendations, Remix or create the quote, Cooledge checks the plan first. Anything that would stop it pricing each system correctly shows in a red Before you quote banner. Nothing is generated until it's clear.

• Click a line to go back to the Design step, to that room or part on its level. Generate again when you're done.
• Fix buttons sit on most lines: Run Auto Layout, Split into systems, Add system or Go to Systems & zones.
• Each line goes as you fix it.

On the Design step the toolbar shows the count early, such as 3 before you quote. Click it to see the list.

Recommendations and the Quote

Choose a Starting Point shows one card for the whole plan. One Tier picker sets Good, Better or Best for every system. Each system gets a block with its own unit, zones and price. The total reads inc. GST · all systems.

A unit more than 0.5 kW smaller than its system's load gets a warning, for example This unit is 25.0 kW for a 32.0 kW load. Consider splitting the system. It never changes a price.

In the Quote Builder, click Create Quote with 2 Systems. The quote gets one area per system, named after it.

• Each system's take-off orders only its own parts. See How Ducted Take-offs Are Calculated.
• The quote PDF's floor plan legend lists each system's zones under its name, when you assigned the zones yourself.
• The mobile app shows each system as an area tab in the quote editor. Floor plans are designed in the Portal only.

Plans You Already Have

Opening a plan never changes its layout or its price.

More than one indoor unit. A plan with no systems and 2 indoor units on one level, or 3 or more in all, shows an amber notice.

Not now hides it until you next open the plan. Split into systems makes one system per indoor unit. Parts and rooms go with the unit their ducts connect to and zones are split by system. Anything Split can't place shows in Before you quote.

Older "one per level" plans become one system per level at the next Generate Recommendations, Remix or Auto Layout. You'll see This plan now has one system per level. Prices stay the same.

Two-storey homes. The old layout mode choice is gone. A two-storey home starts as one system with droppers. Click Start with one per level on Systems & zones to give each level its own system. Over 25 kW you'll see a hint such as This plan needs 32.0 kW. You may want one system per level. with the same button.

Stop using systems at the top of the Systems list turns the plan back into one system. Rooms keep their zones. Rebuild the quote to remove its system areas. Remove on one of 2 systems does the same. On one of 3 or 4 it removes that system straight away and its rooms move to the first system.

Basements

A ducted plan can have 2 storeys above ground plus 1 basement. On a plan with no systems yet, Auto Layout makes the basement its own system, so you get Basement and System A. Before you quote flags basement rooms that share a system with rooms above ground.

Sizing on Plans With More Than One Level

Each room is now sized at its own level's ceiling height, the same figure the Heatload step already shows. If your levels have different ceiling heights, the recommended unit can move a size the next time you generate options. Its price moves with it. This mostly affects one system spanning two storeys with droppers.

Opening a plan or a saved quote never changes its price. Only a new Generate Recommendations or Remix does.

Undo

One Ctrl+Z undoes Add system from a message or on a plan with no systems, Split into systems, Start with one per level, Stop using systems and a duct join that moves a room. Renaming, clicking rooms into a system, zone buttons, a third or fourth system added on Systems & zones and removing one of 3 or 4 systems are not undoable.