Cooling, cooker extraction and airflow — the systems that manage heat, humidity and airflow in a Sarawak home.
Each decision below is shown three ways — what it changes in use, which way it moves the cost, and how it looks. Price direction only. The responsible supplier confirms the quotation after measurement and specification.
Specifiable · quotation requiredCoordinated by ELS · quoted after validation.
ELS coordinates
Fans only / no ACIncluded
Wall split unitEssentialLow$
Ceiling cassetteSignatureModerate$$
Concealed ducted / zonedBespokeHigher$$$
Each option
cassetteUse Recessed into the ceiling and blowing from four sides for even cooling, it frees the walls — but needs ceiling depth and an access panel.Look A flush square grille in the ceiling — no wall unit, the calmest walls.
ductedUse Hidden air-handling ducted to slim linear grilles gives whole-home zoning and the quietest, most even comfort — the most planning and ceiling void.Look Only a slim linear slot shows — the unit disappears entirely.
splitUse The standard room-by-room cooler — one indoor unit per room, easy to service; the condensate drain and copper must be planned before the ceiling closes.Look A wall-mounted indoor unit sits high on one wall; piping is concealed when planned early.
Ceiling and wall fans move air but do not cool or dehumidify — in Sarawak's heat and humidity rooms stay warm and still air invites mould.
Cost impact
Included
How it looks
No indoor unit or piping on the wall — the cleanest ceiling and wall lines.
Wall split unit
In use
The standard room-by-room cooler — one indoor unit per room, easy to service; the condensate drain and copper must be planned before the ceiling closes.
Cost impact
Low
How it looks
A wall-mounted indoor unit sits high on one wall; piping is concealed when planned early.
Watch out
The wall unit is visible and dictates where furniture can sit; it dates the room faster than the joinery.
Ceiling cassette
In use
Recessed into the ceiling and blowing from four sides for even cooling, it frees the walls — but needs ceiling depth and an access panel.
Cost impact
Moderate
How it looks
A flush square grille in the ceiling — no wall unit, the calmest walls.
Watch out
Needs real ceiling void; it commits the ceiling design and is disruptive to retrofit.
Concealed ducted / zoned
In use
Hidden air-handling ducted to slim linear grilles gives whole-home zoning and the quietest, most even comfort — the most planning and ceiling void.
Cost impact
Higher
How it looks
Only a slim linear slot shows — the unit disappears entirely.
Watch out
The most demanding of the three: duct routing, void depth and return-air paths all have to work, and service access must be planned.
Specifiable · quotation required · VentilationCoordinated by ELS · quoted after validation.
ELS coordinates
Natural / passive ventsEssentialIncluded
Mechanical exhaust fanLow$
Ceiling fanLow$
Fresh-air / heat-recovery systemBespokeHigher$$$
Louvred / adjustable ventsSignatureModerate$$
See what each option changes
Natural / passive vents
In use
Designed-in openings — high-level wall vents, air-brick grilles, ridge or eave vents — that let hot, damp air rise and escape with no power at all. In Sarawak's constant humidity they stop a room turning stale or mouldy, and they keep working through a blackout.
Cost impact
Included
How it looks
Almost invisible — slim grilles or louvred slots tucked high on a wall or into the eaves, reading as quiet architectural detail.
Mechanical exhaust fan
In use
A powered fan that pulls cooking grease, steam and heat straight outside — essential over a wet-kitchen hob and in a windowless bathroom, where Sarawak humidity would otherwise breed mould and lift paint. Wipe the grille clean every so often.
Cost impact
Low
How it looks
A compact grille on the wall or ceiling — functional and discreet; slimline or backlit models read tidier over a feature counter.
Ceiling fan
In use
Moves air across a whole room so skin cools even when the air is hot and sticky — the everyday answer to Sarawak heat, and far cheaper to run than air-conditioning. A direct-drive quiet motor sips power; blades need an occasional dusting.
Cost impact
Low
How it looks
A ceiling centrepiece as much as a function — timber-blade, matte-black or brushed-metal models set the tone; keep the drop-rod right so blades clear sightlines.
Fresh-air / heat-recovery system
In use
A ducted system that continuously swaps stale indoor air for filtered fresh air, stripping humidity and dust on the way in; a heat-recovery core keeps the incoming air near your cooled indoor temperature, so it adds little to the air-conditioning load. It holds mould, pollen and haze at bay in a sealed home — filters need periodic changing.
Cost impact
Higher
How it looks
Almost nothing shows — only slim supply and extract grilles in the ceiling; the plant sits hidden above a bulkhead or in a service void.
Louvred / adjustable vents
In use
Angled blades you can open, close or tilt — draw in a cross-breeze on a dry day, then shut them against driving rain or a flood-season downpour. Aluminium blades shrug off the damp and will not rot or draw termites the way timber can.
Cost impact
Moderate
How it looks
A crisp run of horizontal blades that doubles as facade or screen — reads as a deliberate architectural line and casts a soft banded shadow indoors.
A real figure belongs only to what ALUMAX supplies; appointed-trade works — electrical, air-conditioning, ceiling, flooring, painting, data and security — are quoted by the trade, and loose items follow the purchasing arrangement in your appointment. ELS specifies and coordinates throughout. Cost is a relative direction only, never a price; maintenance is described in each option's “In use”.
Zoom out
Not sure which product — or want the whole scope priced?
cassetteUse Recessed into the ceiling and blowing from four sides for even cooling, it frees the walls — but needs ceiling depth and an access panel.Look A flush square grille in the ceiling — no wall unit, the calmest walls.
ductedUse Hidden air-handling ducted to slim linear grilles gives whole-home zoning and the quietest, most even comfort — the most planning and ceiling void.Look Only a slim linear slot shows — the unit disappears entirely.
splitUse The standard room-by-room cooler — one indoor unit per room, easy to service; the condensate drain and copper must be planned before the ceiling closes.Look A wall-mounted indoor unit sits high on one wall; piping is concealed when planned early.