The ARC Air Conditioning Guide: Buying, Installing & Running

The guide’s pre-purchase checklist is about heat load, not hardware: Is the ceiling and wall insulation adequate? Are windows and doors draught-proofed? Which way do the main windows face, and are they shaded, tinted or double-glazed? Is the roof pitched or flat, metal or tile? Every improvement on that list either shrinks the capacity you need to buy or cuts the running cost of whatever you install.

Then comes the star rating: more stars mean more cooling per kilowatt of electricity, lower bills, and less emissions. Ratings compare fairly only between units of similar capacity — so size first, stars second. For the sizing step, our room-by-room sizing guide and 30-second calculator apply the same kW-per-square-metre logic the industry uses.

The guide is unambiguous: because split systems contain fluorocarbon refrigerant, installation must be carried out by an ARCtick-licensed technician, and the electrical connection needs a licensed electrician. A perfect unit installed badly leaks refrigerant, underperforms and voids its own warranty. This is also where quotes diverge — our published installation prices explain exactly what a compliant back-to-back installation includes (COES certificate, pressure testing, vacuum commissioning) so you can compare like with like. The back-to-back guide covers what makes an install standard or not.

The booklet closes the loop with ownership: sensible thermostat settings, keeping filters clean, and an annual licensed service — the same ground covered in depth by the ARC’s maintenance brochure. It also includes a terminology page (“the cold hard facts”) that decodes inverter, kW capacity, COP and star ratings — worth ten minutes before you read any brochure, so marketing language can’t out-talk the specification sheet.

Pages 8–9 are the practical payoff: a purchase checklist and a house-plan template to sketch your rooms with measurements. Bring both to any quote — including ours. When you request a free measure, that’s effectively what our team fills in professionally: room dimensions, orientation, insulation, electrical capacity, and a fixed written price before any work begins.