Air conditioning, without the jargon.
Buying guides, maintenance know-how and heaps of straight answers, written for Sydney homes and businesses. Start with what size you need or what it costs to run.
17 guides, newest first
Buying guideDucted air conditioning brands compared: the 11 we install
Eleven ducted brands, side by side from their own documents: the sizes they make, slim and high static units, the warranty (five years from most, seven from Carrier, Rinnai and Toshiba) and the running cost at 12.5 kW, $820 to $1,090 a year. One brand alone can span $273.
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MaintenanceHow to clean the filter on a ducted air conditioner
On most ducted systems the filter sits behind the return air grille in the ceiling, and several brands leave it to your installer. Here's where to find it, how to wash it without warping it, and what seven brands' own documents say about how often: anywhere from every two weeks to every 12.
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Energy & costsDucted or a split in every room: what each costs to run
We priced a four bedroom Sydney house both ways from the official energy figures: a split system in each of its five rooms, or one ducted system of about the same size. With every room on, the splits cost $104 a year less at the efficient end. Here is the house room by room, and why your bill may differ.
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Energy & costsThe NSW air conditioner rebate, explained
NSW's air conditioner incentive is not a rebate you claim. It is a discount an installer applies to your quote before the work starts, worth up to $560 on a 6 kW split, and you cannot get it afterwards. We do not offer it, so here is how it works, who does offer it, and why the model you pick moves $109 a year, every year.
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Buying guideReplacing ducted air conditioning: what carries over
Usually the ducts and the grilles stay; the indoor and outdoor units, the controller and its cabling come new. Of the 112 registered ducted models in our catalogue, every one is on R32 or R410A, so an R22 system gets new pipes too. Here is what the code asks of a duct worth keeping, what the manuals say about pipes and returns, and how the new unit is matched to the old ducts.
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Buying guideDaikin vs Mitsubishi Electric vs Fujitsu: fourteen 7 kW units side by side
Fourteen 7.1 kW units from the three brands, costed from their GEMS figures at the Sydney median rate: $464 to $594 a year. The three brands are $60 apart at their lowest; Daikin alone spans $130. Same five-year warranty, same conditions. What the documents say, model by model.
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MaintenanceAir conditioner error codes by brand: what the manuals say
Five manufacturers, five ways to show a fault: a blinking lamp, a code on the remote, a count of flashes. How to read each one, what the common codes mean, and the displays that are not faults, all from the manufacturers' own documents.
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MaintenanceMould in your air conditioner: the signs, and what a clean does
A musty smell in the first minute is the usual clue. Here is why the inside of a split grows mould, the two-week filter and the drying run the manuals ask for, what our deep clean covers (and the three things it does not), and the once-a-year rule.
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Buying guideSingle phase or three phase: what a Sydney home needs
Single phase reaches 16 to 18 kW in every ducted range we install, and 20 kW and up is three phase in every one we hold a document for. Of our 135 ducted models, 106 are under 17 kW. Here is where each range switches over, what the current tables say, and what an upgrade involves.
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Energy & costsWhat reverse-cycle heating costs in a Sydney winter
In the official Sydney-zone figures, every one of the 275 rated models we install uses more energy heating than cooling. A bedroom split runs $86 to $125 a winter at the Sydney median rate, a 7 kW living-room split $283 to $363, a 14 kW ducted system $570 to $874.
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Energy & costsSame size, different bill: what the energy star rating is worth in dollars
At 7 kW, the 2-star and the 4-star wall splits we install are $111 a year apart to run at the Sydney median rate; at 2.5 kW the whole field spans $73. Here is what a star is worth, size by size, from the official figures.
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MaintenanceAir conditioner not cooling: what we check, in the order we check it
Of the 276 rated models we list, 262 deliver their nameplate capacity in the official GEMS test, so a unit blowing warm air is almost never a weak label. Here is the order a technician works through, and the four checks to do before you call.
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MaintenanceAir conditioner leaking or dripping water inside: what to check first
Water dripping from the indoor unit is the water your air con pulls out of the air. It has stopped draining away. Switch it off, then check the filters and the drain hose outside. Here's what the manuals say to check first, and when to call us.
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Energy & costsDucted air conditioning cost factors: zones, phases and roof space
Capacity, zones, single or three phase, roof space and duct runs set the price of a ducted system, and at 14 kW the models we install are $328 a year apart to run. Here is what moves each one.
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Buying guideWhat size air conditioner do I need? Room size to kW
Air conditioner size is measured in kilowatts, not the physical box on the wall, and getting it right is the difference between a system that quietly keeps up and one that costs more and never feels comfortable. Here is how to go from your room to a sensible kW range, what shifts that number, and how we size it against real systems.
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Energy & costsWhat air conditioning actually costs to run in Sydney
Most articles that tell you what air conditioning costs to run just make a number up. We use the official government energy figures for real models, times the current median Sydney electricity rate, and we show our working. Here is what it actually costs, and where your own bill might land differently.
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Energy & costsHow to get an accurate air conditioning installation price in Sydney
Installation is where most of the cost sits, and it depends on your home. Here is how to get a fixed price for your place, from photos or a site visit, and what moves that number.
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