Skip to content
Pakenham, VIC, servicing within 75 kmOpen Mon–Fri · 8:00 am – 4:00 pmABN 35 607 575 280 · Plumbing Lic. 46828
24/7 emergency gas & hot-water(03) 5947 8000
Call now(03) 5947 8000Get free quote →
Aircon Installation · Pakenham & within 75 km

Evaporative cooling

Evaporative cooling pulls outside air through wet pads and blows it through the house. It uses water and a fan rather than refrigerant, which makes it very cheap to run and very good at moving a lot of air, and completely dependent on the day being dry.

Get my free quote →Or call (03) 5947 8000
  • On the roofMounted
  • Water supply + powerNeeds
  • Whole homeCovers
  • 1 dayTime on site
What you get

What’s in the price.

Roof-mounted, runs on water and a fan rather than refrigerant. Cheap to run and moves a lot of air, which suits the drier inland suburbs. Needs windows cracked to work, and it struggles on humid days.

Cheap to run. Evaporative uses a fan and a water pump rather than a compressor, so the running cost is a fraction of a refrigerated system's. On the right day it's the cheapest cooling there is.

Choose your system

The aircon installation options, side by side.

You're reading about evaporative cooling. Here it is next to everything else we fit, in case it isn't the one.

A reverse-cycle wall split heating and cooling a living room
from $2,199 installed

Reverse cycle air conditioning

Mitsubishi Electric · Kaden

One machine that both heats and cools — a heat pump on the wall or in the roof. It's the cheapest way to heat a Melbourne home, it's now VEU-rebate eligible, and it comes in three shapes: a split for a room, multi-head for a few, ducted for the whole house.

  • One machine, both seasons — Heats in winter, cools in summer
  • About a third of gas to run — A heat pump moves heat, it doesn't burn anything
  • The VEU rebate applies — Taken off at the quote, not chased after
  • A room, or the whole home — Split · multi-head · ducted, sized to the house
See the full detail
Kaden wall split system installed high on a bedroom wall
from $2,199 installed

Split system air conditioning

Mitsubishi Electric · Kaden

One outdoor unit, one indoor head. The right answer for a bedroom, a living room or a granny flat: the simplest system there is, the least to run, and the quickest to get in. Most go in back-to-back in a single morning.

  • Sized to the room — 2.5, 5.0 or 7.1 kW — not whatever's on the truck
  • Two brands, both good — Mitsubishi Electric MSZ-AP or Kaden KSI
  • One morning — Back-to-back install in three to four hours
  • Fresh copper — New line-set every time, never the old pipe
See the full detail
Kaden multi-head outdoor condenser on a levelled roof stand
from $6,500 installed

Multi-head air conditioning

Mitsubishi Electric · Kaden

One outdoor unit running two to five indoor heads. Worth it when you want three bedrooms done but only have room, or body-corporate permission, for a single condenser outside.

  • One outdoor unit — Two to five heads off a single box
  • Mix the head types — Wall, floor console or bulkhead on the one system
  • One set of penetrations — Not four holes in four walls
  • Each room, its own control — Own remote, own set temperature
See the full detail
Insulated flex ductwork run through a roof space
from $12,500 installed

Ducted reverse-cycle air conditioning

Mitsubishi Electric · Kaden · Zonemate

Whole-home heating and cooling from a single system in the roof. Vents in every room, zoned so you are not paying to condition the bedrooms at 7pm. New builds and retrofits both.

  • The duct design first — We size the trunk and the branches, not just the unit
  • Mitsubishi indoor and out — PEAD-M / PEA-M with a PUZ outdoor
  • Zoning as standard — Zonemate 4, 6 or 8 zone, fitted by default
  • New duct throughout — Insulated flex, sized per branch
See the full detail
Evaporative cooler mounted on a tiled roof
from $3,900 installed

Evaporative cooling

Brivis · Kaden

Roof-mounted, runs on water and a fan rather than refrigerant. Cheap to run and moves a lot of air, which suits the drier inland suburbs. Needs windows cracked to work, and it struggles on humid days.

  • Cheap to run — A fraction of refrigerated cooling
  • Right for dry heat — Best in the drier north and east
  • Cooling only — Pair it with gas ducted for winter
  • Brivis and Kaden — Roof-mounted units we fit most
You’re reading this one
How it looks

A box on the roof and vents in the ceiling.

An evaporative cooler is the unit you can see from the street — a squat box on the roof, usually toward the back. Inside there is a vent per room and a small controller on the wall. There is no outdoor unit down the side of the house, which is why it suits homes with no room for one.

  • Roof-mountedNothing at ground level, nothing on the walls
  • Ceiling ventsOne per room, same as ducted
  • Needs windowsCracked open — it pushes air through the house
  • Water + powerA supply line to the roof and a dedicated circuit
Evaporative cooler unit and its wall controller
Narrow it down

Which one is right for my home?

How many rooms, what's above the ceiling, and what's there now. Runs in your browser — nothing recorded, nothing sent.

How many rooms do you want done?
Is there roof space above the ceiling?
What's there now?

Answer the three and the answer appears here.

Evaporative cooler opened up on a roof, pads and tray visible
Keeping it working

Pads, pump, float — and the first hot day.

Evaporative coolers sit on a roof through a Melbourne winter doing nothing, and the pump is the part that decides whether they wake up. The first thirty-degree day is the worst possible time to find out it seized in July, which is why the pre-summer service exists.

  • $220 + GSTbooked September to November
  • 3 – 5 yearshow long a set of pads usually lasts
  • Under loadthe pump tested running, not just switched on
How the job runs

What happens on a evaporative cooling install.

  1. 1

    Roof and ceiling check

    Pitch, structure, where the unit can be supported and where the drops can land. Also whether there's an existing evap penetration we can reuse, which saves a lot on a changeover.

  2. 2

    Sizing on air changes, not kilowatts

    Evap is sized by how many times an hour it can replace the air in the house. That's a different calculation from refrigerated and it's why an undersized evap feels like a fan rather than a cooler.

  3. 3

    Fixed price, including the water connection

    Water supply to the roof and the drain-down line are part of the job and part of the number, not an extra discovered on the day.

  4. 4

    Install day

    Unit set and flashed into the roof, ductwork and drops run, ceiling outlets cut and fitted, water and power connected. Most changeovers are a single day.

  5. 5

    Commission and set the controller

    Water level and bleed rate set, pump and fan checked through the speed range, controller programmed. We run it with you and show you what open windows do to it, because that's the part people get wrong.

  6. 6

    Winter shutdown talk

    Evap units want draining and covering for winter, and starting up before summer rather than during it. We tell you what to do and when, and we'll do it as a pre-summer service if you'd rather not go up there.

Evap pricing depends heavily on the roof, the number of outlets and whether we're reusing an existing penetration, so it's quoted after a site visit rather than off a price list. Changeovers into an existing evap footprint are usually the cheapest cooling in this catalogue.

The brands

Who makes the evaporative cooling we fit.

Every model, spec and installed price sits on the brand page. One press each — or open the full list and filter it yourself.

KadenSplits, ducted, gas ducted and evap under one brand, so a whole house runs on one parts list. Same 6-year warranty as everything else we fit.Brivis (evap)The default evap brand in the corridor, Contour + Advance roof units for dry-summer suburbs like Cranbourne, Clyde and Officer.
See the full range →Every model we install — filter by brand, system type or rebate.
Free quote

Quote for evaporative cooling.

60 seconds, no obligation, replied within 12 business hours. Rebates applied and GST included, so the number you get is the number you pay.

  • ✓ Same person quotes as installs
  • ✓ Fixed price, confirmed in writing
  • ✓ Emergency? Call (03) 5947 8000 instead
Reverse cycle air conditioningSplit system air conditioningMulti-head air conditioningDucted reverse-cycle air conditioningAll aircon installation
Step 1 of 4 · 25% complete
What do you need installed?

Takes under 60 seconds. No obligation.

Common questions

Quick honest answers.

Anything else, call (03) 5947 8000.

Does evaporative cooling work in Melbourne?

On a dry 38-degree day, very well. On a humid 30-degree day, poorly. If your household can't live with that trade-off, refrigerated is the honest answer and we'll say so.

How much cheaper is it to run?

Roughly a quarter of refrigerated cooling for the same house. It's a fan and a water pump rather than a compressor.

Do I need to leave windows open?

Yes. It works by pushing air through the house and out, so it needs somewhere for the air to go. That's a feature for some households and a deal-breaker for others.

What locals say

Reviews from households across the south-east.

4.9 / 5 on Google
★★★★★

Quoted Mon, installed Fri

“Took the old gas Rinnai out, dropped in a Reclaim heat pump, sorted the VEU rebate so it came straight off the price. Bloke on the phone is the bloke on the tools, refreshing.”

JM
Jess M.Pakenham · heat pump install
★★★★★

Rebate handled, didn't lift a finger

“The VEU paperwork looked scary online. They filled it all in, I signed once at the quote and once on the day. Rebate was already in the price. Painless.”

LM
Lauren M.Pakenham · heat pump swap
★★★★★

No surprises on the invoice

“Quote number matched the invoice exactly. No 'we hit unexpected wiring' story at the end. Nice change.”

PS
Priya S.Cranbourne · split install
★★★★★

Split install in half a day

“Bedroom Mitsubishi went in before lunch. Neat pipework, brackets straight, temp checked before they left. Would use again for the lounge.”

AP
Alex P.Cranbourne East · split
★★★★★

Quoted Mon, installed Fri

“Took the old gas Rinnai out, dropped in a Reclaim heat pump, sorted the VEU rebate so it came straight off the price. Bloke on the phone is the bloke on the tools, refreshing.”

JM
Jess M.Pakenham · heat pump install
★★★★★

Rebate handled, didn't lift a finger

“The VEU paperwork looked scary online. They filled it all in, I signed once at the quote and once on the day. Rebate was already in the price. Painless.”

LM
Lauren M.Pakenham · heat pump swap
★★★★★

No surprises on the invoice

“Quote number matched the invoice exactly. No 'we hit unexpected wiring' story at the end. Nice change.”

PS
Priya S.Cranbourne · split install
★★★★★

Split install in half a day

“Bedroom Mitsubishi went in before lunch. Neat pipework, brackets straight, temp checked before they left. Would use again for the lounge.”

AP
Alex P.Cranbourne East · split
★★★★★

Family business, feels it

“Answered the phone myself, quoted the job, showed up to install the job. That trail of trust doesn't exist with most of the bigger mobs anymore.”

TH
Tom H.Narre Warren · heat pump
★★★★★

Emergency sorted Sunday

“Hot water died on a Sunday with three kids in the house. Answered the phone, had a temp loaner running by lunch, new iStore in on Tuesday. That's service.”

SK
Sam K.Berwick · emergency hot water
★★★★★

Follow-up call was a surprise

“A week after install they rang to check the heat pump was running quiet and the app was set up. First tradie who's ever followed up after payment cleared.”

ND
Nick D.Beaconsfield · heat pump
★★★★★

Family business, feels it

“Answered the phone myself, quoted the job, showed up to install the job. That trail of trust doesn't exist with most of the bigger mobs anymore.”

TH
Tom H.Narre Warren · heat pump
★★★★★

Emergency sorted Sunday

“Hot water died on a Sunday with three kids in the house. Answered the phone, had a temp loaner running by lunch, new iStore in on Tuesday. That's service.”

SK
Sam K.Berwick · emergency hot water
★★★★★

Follow-up call was a surprise

“A week after install they rang to check the heat pump was running quiet and the app was set up. First tradie who's ever followed up after payment cleared.”

ND
Nick D.Beaconsfield · heat pump
★★★★★

Actually got up in the roof

“Had three quotes for a ducted system. These guys were the only ones who actually crawled into the roof. Middle of the pack on price but installed cleaner than the others would have.”

DR
Dean R.Officer · ducted retrofit
★★★★★

Cleaned up like nothing happened

“Full ducted retrofit over two days. When they left the roof cavity was tidier than they found it and the driveway had been swept. Small thing but it matters.”

BR
Bianca R.Berwick · ducted install
★★★★★

Explained everything

“Walked me through the Milieu tablet, showed the wife how to use it, showed us the compliance cert. Ten minutes of teaching that other installers just skip.”

MT
Marcus T.Officer · ducted aircon
★★★★★

Actually got up in the roof

“Had three quotes for a ducted system. These guys were the only ones who actually crawled into the roof. Middle of the pack on price but installed cleaner than the others would have.”

DR
Dean R.Officer · ducted retrofit
★★★★★

Cleaned up like nothing happened

“Full ducted retrofit over two days. When they left the roof cavity was tidier than they found it and the driveway had been swept. Small thing but it matters.”

BR
Bianca R.Berwick · ducted install
★★★★★

Explained everything

“Walked me through the Milieu tablet, showed the wife how to use it, showed us the compliance cert. Ten minutes of teaching that other installers just skip.”

MT
Marcus T.Officer · ducted aircon
Call the team(03) 5947 8000Free quote →