Big houses, hot afternoons
Penrith averages 67 days a year above 30 degrees, more than four times the CBD's 15. Penrith City Council ran temperature loggers at 120 spots across the city, and on 4 January 2020 they read about 52 degrees at Berkshire Park and 51.5 at Agnes Banks. ActronAir says a system loses cooling capacity above 35 degrees, using the example of a 14 kW unit dropping to 10 or 12 kW.
So a ducted system in Glenmore Park needs its capacity on the hottest afternoon in writing, not just its rated size. A system that's merely adequate on a 30 degree day can struggle in the heat that matters. More on this in ducted air conditioning in Sydney.
Glenmore Park in the facts
From farmland to family suburb
Glenmore Park stayed largely rural until the 1970s, when its first residential subdivisions began. Regentville and Mulgoa sit to its west and south.
Detached, and big
In 2021, 90.6% of homes were separate houses, 7.4% semis or townhouses and 2.0% flats. The average home had 3.9 bedrooms.
Mostly paying off the mortgage
53.4% of Glenmore Park homes were owned with a mortgage in 2021, 22.8% owned outright and 22.7% rented.
Trees in the streets
The suburb has plenty of mature native trees, which matters for where the outdoor unit sits. Daikin says leaves and debris around it make it run less efficiently.
Cold nights too
Penrith's July mean minimum is 5.4 degrees, against 8.9 at Observatory Hill, so winter heating is a real part of the job.
Zoning a four-bedroom house
Zoning is what stops a big ducted system cooling empty rooms. ActronAir says zone dampers inside the ductwork open or close to control air to each zone. In a typical family layout, that means living areas on one zone for the afternoon and bedrooms on another for the night, with a separate zone for a west-facing room if you have one.
Ask how the zones are split before you compare brands. Two quotes for the same kilowatts can feel very different to live with if one has two zones and the other has four. Our page on zoning and controllers explains the options.
Ask a Glenmore Park ducted installer
- What capacity will this give at 35 degrees outside, and on a hotter day than that?
- What's the heating output on a cold Penrith morning?
- How many zones, and which rooms go in each?
- Where does the outdoor unit go, and is it clear of trees and the neighbour's windows?
- Will the ducts be insulated to at least R1.5?
What we'd do
Our pick for Glenmore Park
For most Glenmore Park houses, we'd choose zoned ducted reverse cycle, with the capacity on a 40-plus day spelled out on the quote and at least two zones. We'd put the outdoor unit where it can breathe, away from leaf drop. And we'd want someone who designs ducted systems for western Sydney week in, week out. Licence-checked installers who do that work near Glenmore Park can see your job, and the one who takes it gets your details. If it sits untaken for 48 hours, installers further afield in NSW may get to see it as well.
