A floor console isn't a portable
The name trips people up. A portable air conditioner is a self-contained box on wheels that pushes its heat out a window through a hose, which is why CHOICE calls single-hose units quite inefficient. A floor console is fixed in place and connected to an outdoor unit, so it works like any other split.
If a portable is what you're weighing up, read portable or split first.
Where a floor unit makes sense
Mitsubishi Electric says floor consoles suit rooms with limited wall or overhead space, and notes they work well in heating mode. In real homes that means attic rooms with sloping ceilings, walls taken up by windows or built-in cupboards, and living rooms where heating is the main job.
Warm air rises. A wall split mounted high has to push heat down to where you sit, while a console starts it at floor level. The energy label's map puts Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart in the cold zone, and in those winters that's worth thinking about.
The ACT Government's guide lists floor-mounted indoor units as an option for single splits and multi-head systems, so a console can share an outdoor unit with wall units in other rooms.
Floor console or wall-hung split?
| Floor console | Wall-hung split | |
|---|---|---|
| Mounting height | At or near the floor | High on the wall |
| Heating | Warm air comes out low | Warm air has to work its way down |
| Room layout | Takes floor space, and needs clear air in front | Leaves the floor clear |
| Little hands and paws | The grille is within reach | Out of the way |
| Filter cleaning | From the floor, no ladder | Usually a step or a ladder |
Who makes them, and the warranty
Several brands list floor units for homes. Mitsubishi Electric lists floor consoles, Gree lists floor standing and mini floor mount units, Rinnai includes floor console models in its split range, and Haier lists floor consoles too. We're not a dealer for any of them, and ranges change, so ask your installer what's current.
Warranty terms can differ by unit type, so read the one that covers the console. Gree's warranty card, for example, gives its console units 6 years parts and labour. Temperzone's warranty for Hitachi floor-mounted splits gives 5 years parts and labour and asks owners to have the unit maintained every year.
What to ask before you buy
- Where exactly will it sit, and can the pipes go straight out through the wall behind it?
- What will be in front of it once the furniture's back in place?
- What heating capacity does the label show at 2 degrees?
- Where will the outdoor unit go, and how long is the pipe run?
- How will the water it collects drain away from down at floor level?
What you can do yourself
You can
- Keep couches, curtains and toys away from the front.
- Clean the filters as the manual says. On a console you can do it standing on the floor.
- Check the remote, the mode and the batteries before calling anyone out.
- Keep the outdoor unit clear of leaves.
Leave to a licensed installer
- Fixing the unit and running pipes through the wall.
- The refrigerant connection, which needs an ARC licence.
- The power supply and any new circuit.
- Setting the drain so water runs away properly.
What we'd do
If it were our home
For a cold-climate living room, or a room with a sloping ceiling, we'd look at a floor console before a wall unit. Ask a split installer who's fitted consoles before to plan it with the furniture in mind. A console tucked behind a couch mostly heats the couch.
