AIR CONDITIONING

SERVICES

Southern Heating provide complete

air conditioning services at

unbeatable prices with the highest

quality of service available.

Specialising in home and commercial

installations, repairs and maintenance

of fixed air conditioning systems

Southern Heating

allow you to stay cool, and our prices

won’t make you hot under the collar.

For an idea of the likely cost of an air

conditioning installation, our commercial

sales team can provide very accurate

estimates over the phone.

All estimates are completely free.

 

MANUFACTURE

TRAINED,

F-GAS QUALIFIED

ENGINEERS

WE CAN HELP WITH:

Domestic Air Conditioning

Office Air Conditioning

Shop Air Conditioning

Wall Mounted Air Conditioners

Floor-Mounted

Air Conditioners

School Air Conditioners

Restaurant Air Conditioners

Healthcare Air Conditioners

Single Split from under £1200 fully installed - Don't Wait get booked with our experts Today

〰️

Single Split from under £1200 fully installed - Don't Wait get booked with our experts Today 〰️


 

Home Air

Conditioning:

The Pros, Cons,

Costs and More


Home air conditioning is fast

becoming a must-have. We

explain the options and the

pros, cons and costs to

help you establish whether

it's right for your home

When it comes to home air conditioning,

there's plenty of choice.

Home air conditioning is increasingly on

our radars after temperatures hit an

unprecedented 40.2C in July last year

and with more of us working from home,

domestic cooling systems are becoming

more popular.

Installing an air conditioning system

into your home can be a smart move

to keep you cool during any

future heatwaves.





With more of us working from home,

domestic cooling systems are becoming

more and more popular. Incorporating

an air conditioning system into your

home can be a smart move t






Air conditioning units can have high

efficiency rating choosing the right system

to suit your needs is essential to keep

running costs as low as possible.










What are the

Different Types of

Home

Air Conditioning?

Air conditioning is not a one-size-fits-all

product.

There are a number of solutions from

portable units to fully integrated systems

that cover the whole home. 

The simplest air conditioning unit is the

portable unit.

They are an all in one unit that is typically

around the same size as a large kitchen

bin. You use a hose through a window to

remove the resultant warm air and you

will also require a container to capture the

condensation produced.






Fully installed

air conditioning units have

two parts and need to be

installed by a registered

Fgas engineer.






There is a fan unit that is usually located

at high level on a wall or a ducted system

where cool air is distributed to the rooms

through a number of ducts and grilles,

These systems are known as

split air conditioning systems. 





































Portable Air

Conditioning Units










A mobile air cooler unit is handy for

occasional use.

They are suited to single-room use and

can be easily stored during the

rest of the year.








For really effective cooling, look for 

refrigerant-based air conditioning units .











Pros and Cons

of Portable

Air Conditioning

The main benefit of a portable unit is cost,

being less expense than installing an

air conditioning system

However, portable units need an

open window in order to vent the resultant

heat which can be a security risk,

they are also noisy enough to result

in disturbed sleep when used at night

i

t's important to note than evaporative

coolers may not be suitable f

or the UK climate


















































Installed

Air Conditioning

Systems

Installed systems usually comprise an

outdoor unit that among other things

has a fan in it. The unit is then connected

to an indoor unit via two insulated pipes

that contain refrigerant.

(The pipes, including the insulation layer,

are around 28mm diameter.)










The indoor units are available in

various configurations:



  • The high wall unit is a bulk-head



    that is mounted on the wall and is



    about 800mm x 300mm










  • Low wall units look similar to a



    standard radiator or storage heater










  • Ceiling cassettes can be mounted



    in the ceiling in the central area



    of the room










  • More discreet slim-ducted units can



    be positioned in the ceiling or



    housed in grilled boxes above



    cupboards or near doors, as is



    common practice in many hotels.



    The ducted units can also direct air



    to more than one outlet through a



    number of ducts, with separate



    dampers in each duct for individual



    room control.



    These ducts must be insulated to



    avoid condensation.

Domestic air conditioning

systems

are also available in different

levels of complexity:



Simple systems designed for a

single room application will have one

outdoor unit and one indoor unit.

These are known as single split

air conditioners




The other options are multi-split air

conditioner where one outside unit

serves multiple indoor units.  










 




What is Split System

Air Conditioning?

 

Split air conditioning systems

have two parts connected

together with high pressure

copper pipes

contain refrigerant.

There are also power cables

control cable and drainage pipes

There are usually 2 pipes

each around 28mm in diameter

including the insulation. 







There are a number of split systems

available: typically costing from

£1200 fully installed.

These costs may vary according

to location of the unit and brand.

Single split units come in several

outputs so most size of room can

be catered for, they come with IR control














For several rooms you may need to

look at multi-split air conditioning units

One outdoor unit can have up to 8

indoor units (depending on brand)

connected to it. Each indoor unit can

be individually controlled so they can

either all be on or only some of

them as required.


This is useful in a home where perhaps

you want cooling in the home office

and a bedroom during the day but later

on you need cooling in the lounge and

different bedrooms. These systems

cannot however heat some rooms and

cool others simultaneously. They must

be in the same mode

(either heating or cooling).

What is Variable

Refrigerant Flow

In larger properties and

commercial buildings we can

use Variable Refrigerant Flow

(VRF) systems that can have

more than 10 indoor units

connected to them.

There is also the option on many of them

to add a hyrdrobox so that the system

can operate as an air-to-water heat pump

and heat hot water for showers

and washing as well as underfloor

heating, or convection radiators

Some brands have also

introduced ‘heat recovery’

systems to the VRF units

so that you can then cool

your room and heat

your water with the

resultant heat .

























what are the Pros

&

Cons of Split Air

Conditioning Systems?




Split air conditioning systems cost more

to install than portable units

and also cannot be moved

around. There are however usually more

powerful, do not need the

window to be open with a big duct

through them and can often do cooling and

heating, sometimes even simultaneously.












What is an

Air-to-Air System?




Systems designed and used mainly for

heating are

often referred to as air-to-air heat pumps

and they have an option to reverse the

refrigeration cycle if cooling is required.

The vapour compression cycle

still offers over 300% efficiency and so it is a

far more

efficient form of heating than direct electric.





Air-to-air systems are very often installed

as secondary heating

systems. Air has the specific heat capacity

of one, whereas denser

products have higher specific heat capacity

and store up to four times

more heat. Air can therefore heat up

and cool down far quicker with the same

amount of energy transfer,

and heating systems that

target air can have a far quicker reaction time.




The primary heating system may be

connected to underfloor heating,

which is slow to react

, an air-to-air system can boost the air

temperature by a few degrees on demand.

As such, this may be a valuable

feature in homes where there is a

home office or where certain rooms are

used only occasionally.









What are the Pros

of Air-to-Air Systems?

Air to air systems offer a more efficient form

of cooling and heating than direct electric.

They are less disruptive to install

on a retrofit basis and particularly

useful for homes where rooms are

only used occasionally.










How Much Does

Air Conditioning Cost?





Single Split air conditioning systems

start at around £1200 for a small single

room such as a bedroom, living room or

office to around £1,500 per room

for a multi-split air conditioning

system and up to £2,000 per room

for a VRF system.

A whole house split air conditioning unit will

be around £1,200-£1,500 per room fully

installed. Therefore a 5 room

system expect to pay between

£6,000-£7,500.









How Much Does

Air Conditioning

Cost to Run?

Air conditioning running costs depend on the

output of the unit that you install.

The air conditioning system uses

electricity to run a

refrigerant system that creates cooling. The cooling

power is more than the electric

consumption so a 6kW air conditioning

system may use less than 2kWh of electricity.

This is around 26p per hour. (2022)










How Long Does

it take

to Install

an air conditioning unit?

Small domestic split air conditioning systems

can usually be installed in a day

depending on the complexity of the property









Where are Outdoor

Units Best Positioned?

No where they could affect the

comfort of any one near them.





Air conditioning systems have a maximum

pipe length that can be used between

the indoor and outdoor unit. If you have

more than one indoor unit you will have

two critical lengths to be aware of.

There is a maximum length

between the outdoor unit and any indoor

unit and there is also a maximum

overall pipe length.

 We will calculate this on site

and agree a suitable position
















What to Look for in

an Air

Conditioning System?

Two things are important when choosing

an air conditioning system:

Brand quality and installer experience.

It is true that you get what you pay for

and you really want to invest in a good

product and get an installer like us

who is familiar with the nuances

of that particular product . 













What Other Features

Should I Look for?

Wi-Fi / smart control

An air conditioning system that has

connectivity to other systems is useful.

You don’t want an air condition system

to cool the room only for

the heating system to turn on and heat it

up again. Many brands of air

conditioning can be controlled from

third party home

automation systems so if you have one

make sure you choose a compatible brand.

It is also helpful to have an app

if you want to activate the air conditioning

before you get home or if you

happen to forget that you left it on

and need to turn it off.





Dehumidifier 

Air conditioning units do act as dehumidifiers.

When air is cooled the

water vapour in the air condenses and

is no longer in the air, thus

lowering the humidity.





Heating

Most split type air conditioning units

provide heating as well as cooling

These are often referred to as air-to-air heat pumps.








What are the

Best

Brands

of Air

Conditioning Systems?

There are many brands on the market,

Daikin, Fujitsu LG, Mitsubishi Electric

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI),

Panasonic, and Samsung,

We only Install top quality branded

equipment usually Dakin, Fujitsu

or MHI. These manufactures

offer a complete

range of single room split systems and

multi-split systems, suitable

for commercial and domestic installation.










How Much

Maintenance

do air conditioning

systems need?

Air conditioning systems often require annual

servicing to check refrigerant

levels, filters, pumps and pipework.

Filters require cleaning, condense pipework

checking air paths and heat exchangers

kept clean. A visual inspection of the

pipework and insulations,

and the structural integrity of the physical

unit and any electrical connections.

Domestic systems in living rooms and

bedrooms should be serviced annually,

while commercial systems will need

servicing according to

industry, while an office may need

one service a year a Hairdressers may need

three a year due to products in the air.