Floor Console Heat Pumps for Invercargill Homes
A floor console sits low on the wall and pushes warmth out at ankle height, so a cold room warms from the ground up. That suits a lot of the older houses around town.
A floor console heat pump mounts low on the wall, near the skirting, and blows warm air out at floor level. It works like a high-wall unit but suits rooms with low windows or little wall space up high, and it warms a cold room from the feet up.
Why floor consoles suit older Invercargill villas
A lot of the character homes across Georgetown, Gladstone and Hawthorndale have tall sash windows that sit low, plus picture rails and narrow wall runs. That leaves nowhere sensible to hang a high-wall unit without it looking wrong or blowing straight into a window.
A floor console fixes that. It tucks in under a window or against the skirting, out of the way, and it doesn't fight the room's proportions the way a big head up high can. If you're weighing up the different types of heat pump for a villa, this is often the one that just fits.
Floor console vs high wall: what actually changes
The guts are the same. Same outdoor unit, same refrigerant, same heating you get from a high wall. What changes is where the warm air comes out and where the box lives.
A high wall throws heat across the top of the room and lets it settle down. A floor console does the opposite, pushing warmth out low so the floor and your feet warm first. On a hard-frost Southland morning, when the house has gone stone cold overnight, that low-down warmth gets noticed faster.
- Sits low on the wall, near the skirting, instead of up high
- Warm air comes out at floor level, not across the ceiling
- Fits rooms with low windows or limited high wall space
- Easier to reach for cleaning the filters yourself
- Slightly bigger footprint at floor level, so it needs clear space in front
Getting the size and placement right
A floor console needs a clear run in front of it, so we look at where the couch, curtains and furniture go before we pick a spot. Block the airflow and you lose the point of it.
For a single living room, one console usually does the job. If you want to heat a few rooms off one outdoor unit, multi split heat pumps let you mix a console in the lounge with heads elsewhere. Open-plan spaces with a high ceiling sometimes do better with ceiling cassette heat pumps instead. We'll tell you plainly which suits your room.
Models and what they cost
We fit Mitsubishi Electric heat pumps in floor console form, and they hold their output well when it's near freezing outside, which matters here more than most places.
Price depends on the unit and how far we have to run the pipework and drain, so the tidiest guide is a look at the room. You can read how a heat pump installation cost breaks down, or just get us out for a fixed quote. When you're ready, our heat pump installation in Invercargill covers the fit, the wiring and getting the old cold room usable again.
Not sure a floor console is the right call?
Send us the room and your suburb. We'll tell you straight whether a console, a high wall or something else suits it best.
Floor console heat pump questions
What is a floor console heat pump?
It's a heat pump indoor unit that mounts low on the wall, near the floor, rather than up high. It blows warm air out at floor level and works the same way a high-wall unit does, just from a different height. People pick them for rooms with low windows or no room for a high head.
Are floor console heat pumps better for cold climates?
They can suit cold mornings well because the warm air comes out at floor level, so a room that's gone cold overnight warms from the feet up and feels comfortable sooner. The heating output itself is much the same as a good high wall. The bigger win is the placement, not extra power.
Where should a floor console heat pump be installed?
Under a window or against a low, clear stretch of wall works best, with nothing blocking the airflow in front of it. Keep curtains and furniture clear so the warm air can spread across the room. In villa lounges we usually aim for the coldest end so the heat pushes back toward you.
Get a floor console quote for your place
We cover Georgetown, Avenal, Gladstone, Hawthorndale, Kew and the rest of central Invercargill. Call 03 244 7345 or send the form and we'll sort a time to look at the room.