What affects an air conditioning quote?

Pipe run is the quiet cost driver. Refrigerant pipe, insulation and trunking cost per metre, and long runs also take longer to install and test. A condenser directly outside the room being cooled keeps the run under five metres; a condenser at the far end of a flat roof two floors down can triple it.

Condenser access decides labour. Ground level on a patio: simple. First-floor wall brackets: a tower or scaffold. A mansion-block roof: porters, permissions and sometimes a crane band. The same unit in the same room can vary £600 on this alone, which is why phone estimates without a survey are guesses.

Condensate seems trivial and is not. Cooling produces litres of water a day that must drain somewhere. Where gravity works, a small pipe to outside does the job. Where it cannot fall, a condensate pump adds cost up front and a service item forever. Good surveys plan the drain route before the unit position is confirmed.

Electrics vary house to house: some installs run safely from an existing circuit, others need a dedicated supply from the consumer unit with certification. And specification honestly matters: the quietest bedroom units and cold-climate heating models cost more than the builder-grade equivalent, and are worth it in the rooms that justify them.

More in costs & running costs, or browse all 40 questions on the FAQ index.