Home Air conditioning installation Belfast
Air conditioning installation in Belfast
Describe the rooms you want cooled or heated and we pass the details to F-Gas certified installers covering Belfast and its suburbs.
Few Belfast homes need cooling for more than a handful of days a year. Where air conditioning earns its place is in rooms that trap heat, such as top-floor apartments, glazed extensions and home offices, and as an efficient heater in homes that rely on electricity.
Belfast at a glance
- Housing mix
- 36.8% of Belfast households lived in a terraced house in 2021, 31.2% in a semi and 12.3% in a detached house. 19.6% lived in a flat, maisonette or apartment. Source
Try shading first
Most overheating in Belfast homes comes from sun through glass. Blinds or curtains closed during the afternoon, reflective film on roof glazing and opening windows on opposite sides of the house in the evening can make a hot room bearable without a unit. If the room is still too hot, a split system is the next step.
Heating as well as cooling
A split air conditioner is an air-to-air heat pump. In the 2.4% of Belfast homes that heat with electricity only, replacing storage or panel heaters in the main living room with an air-to-air unit can cut running costs. Note that it won't heat water.
Apartments
About one in five Belfast households lives in a flat. Before planning a unit, check your lease and ask the management company for consent to fix an outdoor unit, drill through the wall or run condensate pipes. Some blocks don't allow outdoor units at all.
F-Gas and quality
Anyone working on the refrigerant circuit must hold an F-Gas certificate. Ask the installer for proof of certification, the unit's efficiency ratings and noise levels, and how they'll protect the outdoor unit in an exposed position.
Planning permission is usually not needed for a small unit on a house, but check with Belfast City Council if you're in a conservation area or your home is listed.
Belfast homes and what they need
Victorian and Edwardian red-brick terraces
Attic conversions are the usual hot rooms. A small wall unit with the outdoor unit on the rear return roof or in the yard is a common layout.
Suburban semis
Conservatories overheat on sunny days. Shading and a better roof often help more than an AC unit.
Apartments in the city centre and riverside
Apartments with large windows facing south or west get hot in summer. Blinds and a single split unit in the living room are usually enough.
Areas covered
Engineers who cover Belfast work across areas including Ormeau, Stranmillis, Malone, Ballyhackamore, Sydenham, Andersonstown, Newtownabbey, Holywood, Dundonald and Carryduff.
Questions people in Belfast ask
Is a portable air conditioner worth it in Belfast?
For a few warm days a year, perhaps. Portable units are noisy and inefficient, so for regular use a split system is better.
How long does installation take?
A single split unit usually takes a day. Multi-room systems take longer.