Castle Hill's homes
Large detached houses
73.7% of occupied homes were separate houses in 2021, and most of the main residential areas are almost entirely detached houses.
From orchards to suburbs
The Dictionary of Sydney says Castle Hill's orchards and market gardens gave way to houses, shopping centres and light industry as Sydney grew.
A pocket of medium density
Hume Avenue was rezoned for medium density in 2005, for low-rise units and townhouses. Flats were 15.3% of homes in 2021, and semis or townhouses 10.9%.
Two councils
Most of Castle Hill is in The Hills Shire, which the ABCB's map puts in climate zone 6. A north-eastern part is in Hornsby Shire, shaded zone 5.
Mostly owner-occupied
35.0% of homes were owned outright and 37.4% with a mortgage; 22.9% were rented.
What a good ducted quote for a large Castle Hill home shows
- A room-by-room heat load. ActronAir says its own floor-area rule of thumb misses many important factors.
- The zones, which rooms are in each, and where the temperature sensors go
- Cooling capacity at 35 degrees and heating capacity at 2 degrees
- Duct insulation of at least R1.5, which the ACT Government says suppliers may not include by default
- Whether the house needs a switchboard upgrade or 3-phase power
- New ductwork if gas ducted heating is being replaced, since gas ducts are too narrow to reuse
- Crawl boards and lighting in the roof space for the crew
- The brand's service condition: ActronAir, for example, asks for maintenance every 12 months
Zoning a house this size
Zoning splits the house into areas heated or cooled separately, using dampers in the ductwork. Daikin's example puts bedrooms in one zone and living areas in another. ActronAir adds two limits worth knowing: zones can only differ by 4 degrees, and the whole system is either heating or cooling. See zoning and controllers.
Townhouses and units
In a townhouse or unit, the job usually shrinks to one or two splits or a multi-split, and if the property is strata titled, the owners corporation approves it first.
What we'd do
If it were our Castle Hill house
We'd map how we use the house on a January afternoon and a July evening, then ask for zones that match it. We'd want every item on that checklist in writing, and we'd take the quote away rather than sign on the night. A ducted specialist who designs systems for big Hills District homes is who we'd want, and licence-checked installers like that can see your job. Only the one who takes it gets your details. If 48 hours go by without anyone near Castle Hill taking it, installers elsewhere in NSW may see it.
