What You Need To Know About The Airtouch 5

Most ducted air conditioning systems come with a standard wall controller. It does the basics. On, off, set the temperature, done.

The AirTouch 5 does a lot more than that.

What Is the AirTouch 5?

The AirTouch 5 is a smart air conditioning controller. It replaces the standard wall controller that comes with your ducted system and gives you proper control over every zone in your home.

A standard ducted system runs one temperature across the whole house. The AirTouch 5 lets each room manage its own temperature individually, then sends cooling or heating only where it's actually needed.

One air conditioner. Multiple zones. Each one working properly.

How Does It Actually Work?

The AirTouch 5 uses small wireless temperature sensors. You mount them on internal walls in each zone, usually near light switches at around 1.5 metres high.

Each sensor reads the real temperature in that room. When the bedroom reaches the temperature you've set, the AirTouch 5 backs off the airflow to that zone and pushes more air to the living area that still needs it.

A standard system reads from one spot, usually near the return air intake, and treats the whole house as one space. If that one spot hits temperature, the system thinks the job is done.

The AirTouch 5 actually knows what's happening in each room.

What Can You Do With It?

The touch screen console sits on your wall. It's a clean, modern panel with multiple themes available so you can match it to your home's style.

The smartphone app connects over your home Wi-Fi. Once it's set up, you can control your system from anywhere. Leaving work early on a hot Canberra afternoon? Turn it on before you pull out of the car park.

Here are some other features worth knowing about:

Geofencing. The AirTouch 5 can use your phone's location to detect when you've left home and turn the system off automatically. It turns back on when you're heading home. You don't have to remember.

Pet mode. If the outdoor temperature is going to exceed a level you set, the system can turn on automatically to keep your pets comfortable while you're out.

Weather adaptation. The system connects to local weather data and adjusts your settings based on forecast conditions. On a mild day, it knows it doesn't need to work as hard.

Sleep and away modes. Simple programmes that save energy overnight or while the house is empty.

Energy monitoring. You can see when you're running the system more than needed and which rooms get used the most.

There's also voice control through Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, and integration with Apple Home if that's your setup.

Why We Recommend It on Almost Every Ducted Install

This isn't a sales pitch. We're straight with people about what's worth the money and what isn't.

The AirTouch 5 is worth it.

We install it at close to cost because we genuinely believe it makes the system work better. A properly zoned home is a comfortable home. Rooms that weren't getting enough air start getting enough. Rooms that were overcooling settle down. The whole system does what it was designed to do.

It also means your system runs more efficiently. Instead of pushing air across the whole house to cool one room, it focuses airflow where it's actually needed. That reduces running costs over time.

For Canberra homes, where summers get genuinely hot and winters bite hard, having a system that responds to each room rather than averaging across the whole house makes a real difference.

Does It Work With Your Air Con Brand?

The AirTouch 5 is compatible with most major ducted systems including Daikin, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, and Midea.

One thing worth knowing if you have a Daikin unit: Daikin systems default to reading temperature from the return air intake rather than from the room sensors. Your installer needs to reprogram this so the AirTouch 5 sensors do the reading. It's a straightforward setup step, but it needs to be done correctly for the system to perform as it should.

This is the kind of thing that matters. If you're adding an AirTouch 5, make sure your installer knows how to set it up properly for your specific unit.

What Does Installation Look Like?

The AirTouch 5 replaces your existing wall controller at the time of install. The wireless sensors run on batteries and sit on internal walls throughout your home. The controller will let you know when a battery is running low.

If you already have a ducted system, it can often be retrofitted without a full reinstall. If you're getting a new ducted system installed, adding the AirTouch 5 at the same time is the most sensible approach. We usually recommend adding it to a new ducted install.

Is It Right for Your Home?

If you have a ducted system, or you're getting one put in, the AirTouch 5 is worth serious consideration. It's not a gadget for the sake of it. It's a tool that makes your air conditioning work properly for the way you actually live in your home. Different rooms, different people, different temperatures. Not one setting for the whole house.

For most homes, the comfort improvement is noticeable straight away.

If you want to know whether it suits your setup, give Zac or Jacksen a call. We'll give you a straight answer.