You may have decided it’s finally time to get that air conditioner you’ve been dreaming about. Especially during those 40 degree summer days (or zero degree nights!) While it may seem like a simple installation, there are a few factors to consider before installing an air conditioner. To make it easy, we’ve put together some key points for you to think about.
What rooms you’ll want to cool
It’s good to know what rooms you’ll want to cool and have a general idea of where you would like your air conditioner to be installed. If it’s two rooms you’d like to have air conditioned, you may consider two split systems or a multi-head split system. If it’s the whole house, a ducted system will be best if your home’s design allows for it.
Think about the rooms you use the most, and particularly the sleeping arrangements of your home. Do these rooms get a lot of sunlight during the day, or are they usually blocked by other houses or buildings? Also consider the floors in your home. If you have two stories or more, remember hot air rises.
Size of the room
Take into consideration the size of the room. The size of the room will determine the size of the air conditioner needed. The air conditioner can be roughly anywhere from 800mm - 1100mm in length internally depending on the kilowatts (kW) you need.
In some cases, it’s not a bad idea to add a kW to the size of your room. For example, a room that gets a lot of sun or has big glass windows would mean you may need to upsize the air conditioner slightly.
In saying this, you don’t want to overdo it with a system bigger than you need. All you’ll be doing is spending money getting a larger indoor air conditioner, which will also be louder as the fan is bigger.
Internal placement and position
When considering the internal placement and position of your air conditioner remember:
Not to mount the air conditioner above your television. If the drain blocks up, it can leak water. Water and electronics are not a good mix.
Don’t place the unit above your bed. For the same reason as above, if it drips, it will drip on you. You might also find if it’s above your bed and the louvers are pointing down, you will have a draft blowing on you during the night.
Try not to make a feature of your air conditioning unit if you don’t have to. For example, placing it above a feature picture or a mirror.
It’s important to be open minded when your installer comes to have a discussion with you as they tend to know best and have a lot of experience in this area.
The area outside
If you’re getting multiple air conditioning units (keep in mind, 1 unit has an indoor and outdoor unit) consider if you have enough space outside. You may only have the space on your balcony or the side of your house to utilise for the outdoor unit. If this is the case, you may need to get a multi-head system.
Power
Do you need an electrician to come and check that your switchboard has been upgraded from fuses to circuit breakers, or check the size of the cable and electrical board to ensure you have sufficient supply to your household for the air conditioning unit?
Alpine Air & Electrical cover both electrical and air conditioning, meaning we can check both on a quotation.
Drainage
It may come as a surprise that an air conditioner has drains on both the indoor and outdoor systems.
The indoor drain will only work when the air conditioning unit is on cooling.
The outdoor drain works when the air conditioning unit is on heating.
The air conditioning unit can produce up to 3-4 litres of water per hour, especially for the indoor unit. This water needs to be drained into a drainage pipe or your garden bed.
If you are choosing an internal wall for installation of your air conditioning unit, you might have to get a condensation pump which will be an additional cost.
Colour
Gone are the days of only having a white unit to choose from. You can now choose a colour for your air conditioning unit meaning you no longer have to compromise style for function.
Mitsubishi Electric have an M Series MSZ-LN wall mounted system offering four colours to choose from:
Onyx black
Pearl white
Natural white
Ruby red
This new system also has built in wi-fi so you can control your air conditioner from anywhere using your smartphone. You have the ability to turn the unit off and on, change modes, temperature and fan speed. Plus, open and close zoned areas in your house.
Alpine Air & Electrical are an authorised business partner with Mitsubishi Electric Australia.
Hiring a professional
If you’re wondering if you can carry out the installation yourself, you will need to hire the services of a qualified air conditioning technician. If you’re unsure about any of the above points, your air conditioning technician will be able to talk through them with you and help you decide on the best placement and installation options available to you.
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