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What Happens On Installation Day
Most people have never had air conditioning fitted before and have no idea what the day involves — how long it takes, how much mess there is, or what half the words on the quotation mean. This walks through every stage from the first visit to the first service, including the two steps that matter most and are easiest to skip.
What this tool can and cannot tell you
This describes how ACE Climate works on a typical domestic installation. Your own job may differ: multi-room systems, concealed pipework, work in ceilings and voids and anything needing access equipment all take longer, and the quotation for your installation is what states its expected timescale. No timings are given for individual stages beyond the two where an honest one exists, because a figure invented for a stage is a figure somebody will hold a stopwatch against.
These are stages, not visits. 5 of the 8 below happen on the same day — they are marked. For most domestic single-room systems that day is one working day.
Survey
We visit, measure, and work out what will actually fit and where.
Usually under an hour for a single room
A survey is not a sales visit with a tape measure. It is the point at which the installation is designed, and most of what decides whether you are happy with the result gets settled during it.
We look at the room — its dimensions, ceiling height, construction, insulation, glazing and which way it faces, how the space is used and what equipment is in it — because that is what decides the capacity, rather than floor area on its own.
We work out where the indoor unit can go, where the outdoor unit can go, and what route the pipework and the condensate drain can take between them. That last one is often the biggest practical constraint on the whole job, and it is the one that is impossible to judge from photographs.
We also check what the electrical supply is and whether it is adequate. Electrical work is done by a qualified electrician.
What you need to do
Tell us which rooms matter most, whether this is about cooling, heating or both, and where you would rather things did not go. If anyone in the house is sensitive to noise or draughts, say so — it changes what we recommend.
Quotation
A written quotation naming the equipment, what is included, and how long it will take.
You get a written quotation setting out the specification, what is included and the price. It names the equipment proposed and its capacity, describes the installation approach, and says what is not included.
It also states the expected timescale. We would rather you knew that before any work begins than on the morning we arrive.
Where there is more than one sensible approach — a concealed pipework route against a surface-mounted one, say — we set out the options rather than picking for you.
What you need to do
Read it, and ask about anything that is not clear. A question at this stage is much cheaper than a surprise later.
Installation
Installation dayThe indoor and outdoor units are mounted and the pipework, drain and cabling are run between them.
Most domestic single-room systems are completed within one working day
The indoor unit is mounted, the outdoor unit is mounted on a wall bracket or a ground stand, and the refrigerant pipework, the condensate drain and the interconnecting cable are run between them.
Most domestic single-room systems are completed within one working day, including everything that follows on this page. Multi-room systems, and installations where the pipework has a longer or more complicated route, take longer — as can jobs needing access equipment or work in ceilings and voids.
If something we find on site changes the expected timescale, we will say so before carrying on rather than afterwards.
What you need to do
Clear access to the rooms and to wherever the outdoor unit is going. Beyond that, not much — though it is worth being contactable in case something on site needs a decision.
Pressure testing
Installation dayThe pipework is tested for leaks before the system is put into service.
The pipework is tested for leaks before the system is put into service.
This matters because a refrigerant circuit is sealed and is meant to stay sealed for the life of the system. A joint that is very slightly imperfect will not show itself on the day — it shows itself as a system that gradually loses performance over a year or two, by which point the cause is much harder to find.
Testing it under pressure at the point of installation is how that is caught while everything is still accessible.
Removing air and moisture
Installation dayAir and moisture are drawn out of the pipework before the refrigerant is released into it.
Air and moisture are drawn out of the refrigerant pipework — the trade word is evacuation, or vacuuming — because anything left in there shortens the life of the system.
Refrigerant circuits are designed to contain refrigerant and nothing else. Air does not circulate the way refrigerant does and raises operating pressures; moisture is worse, because it can react with the oil in the system and produce acids that attack the compressor from the inside.
Neither shows up as a fault on handover day. Both shorten the life of an expensive component quietly, over years. This is the step that is easiest to rush and one of the ones that matters most, which is why it is on this page rather than left as trade detail.
Commissioning
Installation dayThe final testing and setting-up that confirms the system is installed and working correctly.
Commissioning is the final testing and setting-up that confirms the system is installed correctly, running correctly and configured for the room.
The system is run in each mode it will be used in and its actual performance is checked against what it should be doing in the conditions on the day. Settings are configured for the room rather than left at whatever the factory shipped them as.
It produces a written commissioning record, which is what a future engineer needs and what most manufacturer warranties depend on. It is also, in our experience, the step most often skipped on a cheap quotation.
Handover
Installation dayWe show you how to use it, and leave you the paperwork.
We demonstrate the controls before we leave — how to set a temperature, how to change mode, how the timer and any app control work, and which settings are worth leaving alone.
This takes a few minutes and saves a surprising number of calls. The commonest 'fault' we are called back to on a new installation is a system doing exactly what its settings tell it to.
You get the documentation for the equipment and the commissioning record for your system.
What you need to do
Ask about anything you are unsure of while we are still there. There is no such thing as a daft question about a control panel.
Aftercare
Servicing, warranty support and someone to ring.
For a domestic system in normal use, servicing once a year is usually right — ideally before the cooling season rather than during it. Filters and coils that have dirtied up make the system work harder for the same result, and most failures give some warning that a planned visit is the opportunity to catch.
Manufacturer warranties frequently depend on the system being commissioned correctly and maintained. Keeping the servicing up is what keeps that cover intact.
If something is not right, ring us. We would much rather look at a new installation that is not behaving as expected than have you live with it.
How long the whole thing takes
Most domestic single-room air-conditioning systems are completed within one working day, covering the installation itself, pressure testing, removing air and moisture from the pipework, commissioning and a demonstration of the controls. Multi-room systems and more complicated pipework routes take longer, and we will tell you the expected timescale in the quotation before any work begins.
We give no timings for the individual stages beyond the two above. A figure invented for a stage is a figure somebody will hold a stopwatch against, and the honest answer for most of them is that they take as long as doing them properly takes.
Related services
What this tool is a first step towards.
Want this checked properly?
A survey measures the things this page had to ask you to estimate. It is free, there is no obligation, and you get an answer based on your building rather than on a general rule.
Before you rely on this
- This is indicative, not a specification. It is a guide to help you plan and ask better questions. It is not a design, not a quotation and not a substitute for a survey.
- A survey is what decides. An engineer measures the things this page can only ask you to estimate, and confirms where equipment can physically go, how it will be run and what the electrical supply allows.
- Installation and refrigerant work are regulated. Air-conditioning systems contain refrigerant under pressure and are connected to a fixed electrical supply. Installing, moving, opening, recharging or decommissioning one is work for a qualified, F-Gas registered engineer — never a DIY job.
- We do not publish a saving. Nothing on this page claims what you would save against any other way of heating or cooling a room. What you would save depends on what you have now, how you use it and what you pay for energy, and we will not put a number on that without knowing all three.