Questions people ask before they ring
Everything below is the honest version, not the reassuring one. If your question is not here, it is quicker to ask it on the phone than to search for it.
- Will it look awful on the wall?
- The indoor unit is a slim white box, usually high on the wall where you stop noticing it after a week. Outside there is one small box, and we place it where you have to go looking for it. The photo at the top of this page has one on it.
- Does it heat as well as cool?
- Yes. These are heat pumps, so they run in reverse in winter and they are cheap to run for what they give you. Most people who fit one for summer end up using it in February.
- How much mess is it?
- One core hole through the wall, roughly the size of a ten pence piece, plus a pipe run. Dust sheets down, holes made good, hoovered before we go.
- Why not just tell me the price on the website?
- Because the honest answer depends on the room, the wall and the pipe run, and a number on a website is either wrong or padded to cover the worst case. We would rather ring you and tell you the real one.
- How long does an install take?
- Most single-room installs are done in a day, start to finish, machine tested and running before we leave. More than one room takes longer; we will tell you how much on the call.
- Do I need planning permission?
- Almost always no, for an ordinary house. Flats, listed buildings and conservation areas can be different, so we check your address before the quote rather than after the deposit.
- Will it work in a flat?
- Yes, plenty of ours are. The main thing to sort first is whether the outdoor unit needs a management company or freeholder to sign it off, which we help you work out rather than leaving you to find out.
- What will it cost to run?
- That depends on the size of the room, how well it holds heat or cold, your tariff and how much you use it, especially if you run it as heating through winter as well as cooling in summer. We cannot give a figure without knowing your home, but it is a heat pump doing the work rather than a bar heater, so it earns its keep across the whole year, not just the hot fortnight.
- Is it noisy?
- Modern outdoor units are quiet, closer to a fridge humming than the rattling boxes people remember. We also think about where it sits, not straight outside a bedroom window if there is a better spot.
- What does the guarantee cover?
- Every install carries a year’s workmanship guarantee as standard. There is a maintenance plan that extends that cover up to five years, arranged when we fit your unit; ask on the day.
- Can you do more than one room?
- Yes, and it is worth mentioning even if you only need one room right now. Doing a second room while the van and the tools are already on site costs far less per room than us coming back separately, so flag it on the call even as a maybe.
Still got a question?
We’ll ring you back within two hours.Mon to Sat, 10am to 6pm. Outside those hours, first thing the next working day.