Beating the heat for the average Queenslander used to mean visiting the shops or a friend with a swimming pool, but for a growing number of people, it is now as simple as pushing a button.

      Air-conditioning - once found only in hospitals, shopping centres, large businesses and other institutional environments - has become commonplace in Queensland homes.

      Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that the use of air-conditioning in Queensland households increased from 18 to 58% between 1994 and 2005, with more obviously having been installed in the past three years.

      Graham Hyndman, of Coastal Air-Conditioning, said the increase in usage was attributable to a number of factors, not the least being the 40,000 people who shift to Queensland every year from the southern states, who are unaccustomed to the humidity of the sub-tropics.

      But when it comes to air-conditioning your home, where do you start?

      Mr Hyndman said there were two main types of popular air-conditioning systems used in Queensland - split system and ducted - and which one to choose was usually a question of budget.

      He said that while a split system air-conditioner used to cool one room might cost $1300, homeowners could expect to pay $8-$11,000 for a fully-ducted system.

      He said split system air-conditioners were popular because they enabled people to air-condition their homes, room by room, as they could afford it.

      “The advantage of a split system over a ducted system is the initial cost. You can do it in stages and end up with integrated units which can do a whole house, - anything and everything for people,” he said.

      Mr Hyndman said split systems were sometimes the only air-conditioning option in some homes, such as those without ceiling cavities, which were unsuitable for ducted systems.

      However, ducted air-conditioning often added value to a home and was considered a selling point, he said. He said many people preferred ducted air-conditioning over split systems because it required only one (outdoor) air-conditioning unit, as opposed to several, sometimes noisy or unsightly units, outside the home.

      “They're quieter, smoother, and usually operated by a digital control panel,” he said.

      Mr Hyndman said multiple split systems could be installed without multiple outdoor units by using a multi-head system unit to service several rooms but this was not always possible.

      Mr Hyndman said that while a ducted air-conditioning system could cool an entire house, it need not cost much more to run, than a split system, as the ducting could be sectioned off into zones, enabling the homeowner to cool only the rooms in use.

      “So you're saving on your energy costs in the long run,” he said.

      Mr Hyndman said modern air-conditioners cost about 20 or to 30 cents an hour to run.

      However, homeowners who were conscious about their electricity consumption would also be well-served to pay an extra $50-$200 for an air-conditioning system with an inverter.

      An inverter gently speeds the system up and down, according to need, which was gentler on power usage than the traditional stop-start thermostat systems.

      “It can save about 30% on your power usage,” he said.