Installing an air conditioner and ventilation: how to order well
Installation, servicing or a ventilation design
This category hides different tasks. The most common is installing a split AC. Separately there are removing and relocating an air conditioner, cleaning and gas refilling, repair, and also extraction ventilation, supply systems and heat recovery for homes and offices.
In your request, say at once what you need. An AC installer and an engineer designing ventilation for a café or a workshop are different specialists with different calculations.
What affects the cost of installation
- Pipe run length between the indoor and outdoor units: the standard length is usually in the basic price, extra metres are charged separately.
- Wall material — concrete is harder to drill and chase than brick or AAC block.
- Height: on upper floors the outdoor unit may need a rope access technician.
- Drainage: where the condensate goes, and whether a pump is needed.
- Extras: trunking for the run, brackets, a power line with a breaker.
What to put in your request
- What to do — install, remove, clean, service, design ventilation.
- Equipment — your own air conditioner (capacity, for example 12,000 BTU) or one that also has to be bought.
- Quantity of units or rooms.
- Room area — to choose the capacity.
- Installation conditions — floor, wall material, approximate pipe run length.
- Address, timing, budget, if you want to name it.
Example: “Tauranga, 9th floor, brick building. I need 2 split ACs of 12,000 BTU installed, equipment is mine. Pipe run up to 5 m, outdoor unit on the balcony. Installation this week, budget up to $120 for installation.”
How it works on BlaBlaPrice
You write a request on the home page, and installers and installation companies reply with offers in chat. They show the price, or what it depends on, the visit date and the scope of work. Each sees where their offer stands and can lower the price or add something to the package to win your request.
Next to the offer there are reviews of the contractor, and your contacts stay hidden until you choose an installer. Read about the process on the “How it works” page.
How to compare and what to avoid
The biggest trap is a “from” price that does not include evacuating the pipework, brackets or the power line. Ask for what is included in writing, and ask about the warranty on installation: it is separate from the warranty on the air conditioner. Ask whether the installer evacuates the pipework before commissioning: this is standard practice.
Do not choose the capacity by eye: a unit that is too weak works at its limit, and one that is too powerful switches on and off too often. If you are buying equipment, talk to the installer before you buy: the model affects how difficult the installation is.
Related topics: electrical installation, if a line has to be laid, and window, door and balcony installation, when you are changing windows at the same time.
