We install air conditioning across the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane every week, and the most common thing we do on a quote visit is explain why a cheaper number someone else gave will not stay that number.
The unit itself is often the smaller part of the job. The rest is pipe runs, electrical work, access and compliance, and those are exactly the items that get quietly left off a thin quote.
What you are actually paying for
The unit
Capacity and brand set the baseline. A small bedroom split and a large living area unit are different products, and inverter efficiency affects what you pay to run it for the next decade rather than what you pay today.
The install
Pipe run length, whether the condenser sits directly behind the head unit or around the corner of the house, how high the wall is, and whether we are drilling through timber frame or double brick all change the labour.
The electrical work
Most split systems need a dedicated circuit and an isolator. If your switchboard has no spare capacity, that circuit cannot simply be added, and the board needs attention first. This is the single most common omission in cheap quotes. Because we hold both the electrical and ARC licences, we handle it in the same visit rather than sending you off to find an electrician.
Access and height
Second storey installs, tight roof spaces and awkward condenser positions add time. So does anything needing scaffolding or a lift.
Split system or ducted?
Splits are cheaper per room, quick to retrofit, and let you cool only the rooms you use. Ducted costs more up front, looks far cleaner, and with proper zoning it is very efficient for a whole house. If you are building or renovating, ducted is dramatically easier and cheaper to install at frame stage than it will ever be afterwards.
If you are planning a renovation and think you might want ducted one day, run the ductwork while the ceiling is open. Retrofitting later can cost more than the system.
Sizing: the expensive mistake
An oversized unit is not a safe bet. It cools the air quickly, switches off before it has removed any humidity, and leaves the room feeling cold and clammy while short cycling wears the compressor. An undersized unit runs flat out through February and never quite gets there.
As a rough starting point, a typical Queensland room needs somewhere around 125 to 160 watts of cooling per square metre, but west facing glass, high ceilings, poor insulation and open plan layouts move that a long way. We measure rather than guess, which is part of every air conditioning quote we give.
Where people overspend
- Buying on capacity rather than on a calculation, and paying for a unit two sizes larger than the room needs
- Choosing a premium brand for a spare bedroom that gets used twice a year
- Paying separately for an electrician because the installer was not licensed to do the circuit
- Skipping servicing, then replacing a unit at eight years that would have run fifteen
How to compare quotes properly
- Is the dedicated circuit and isolator included, or excluded?
- Does the price include making good and tidying pipe runs, or is the conduit surface mounted?
- Is the installer ARC licensed? Ask for the number
- What capacity has been quoted, and on what basis was it chosen?
- What is covered by warranty, the unit only or the installation as well?
We are happy to be compared on those five points. If someone else is cheaper and everything above is included, take it.
Running costs
Installation is a one off. Running cost is annual. An efficient inverter unit that is correctly sized, combined with ceiling fans to move the air and solar to cover the daytime load, changes your summer bills far more than a few hundred dollars saved on the install ever will.
Want a fixed price on your air conditioning?
We will measure the room, talk through placement, and quote the unit and the electrical work together so there is nothing to add later.
Written by Scott Gross, licensed electrician and founder of PMU Electrical, servicing the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane. Licence 146529.