Is a cheap air conditioning install worth it?
Usually not, and the failure is predictable: unbranded units with no UK parts support, skipped vacuum testing that kills compressors within a few years, and uncertified refrigerant work that voids the warranty and is illegal. A £1,000 install that fails in year three costs more than a £2,000 install that runs for fifteen.
The corners available to cut are all invisible on handover day. The system cools when the installer leaves either way. What differs is whether the pipework was properly evacuated (moisture left inside becomes compressor-killing acid), whether the flare joints were torqued or guessed (slow leaks emerge over months), and whether the electrical connection would pass inspection.
Unit choice is the other half. The mainstream Japanese and Korean brands hold spare parts in the UK for a decade or more and back 5 to 7 year warranties, conditional on certified installation and annual servicing. The unbranded units that make cheap quotes possible have neither; when a £40 sensor fails in year four, the answer is a new system.
There is also a legal floor under the market: refrigerant handling requires F-Gas certification by law. An installer who will work without it is telling you something about every other standard they hold. Ask to see the certificate; certified engineers are never offended by the question.
Our honest framing: the gap between a bad install and a good one is £500 to £800 on a job you are doing once a decade. Spread over the system's life it is pennies a week for the difference between an asset and a liability.
More in costs & running costs, or browse all 40 questions on the FAQ index.
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