What Happens on Installation Day

Before we arrive

Your booking email gives the date, the time we arrive and how many days we will be on site. A few things sorted beforehand help the day go smoothly:

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  Clear the space where each indoor unit is going, and move furniture away from that wall.
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  Make sure we can get to the outside wall where the outdoor unit will sit.
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  If you can, keep a parking space free near the house for our van.
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  Someone over 18 needs to be home when we arrive, and on each day we are on site.
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  Keep pets away from the rooms we are working in.
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  Know where your fuse box (consumer unit) is – we will need to get to it.

If the date or time no longer suits, reply to your booking email, call us on 0161 987 7786 or message us on WhatsApp on 07766 395693, and we will find another.

The day, step by step

This is a wall-mounted split system, the most common job: one indoor unit, one outdoor unit and the pipes between them. A multi-split repeats the indoor steps in each room, and every circuit is tested on its own.

1. 1. We arrive and agree the plan

   We walk through the plan with you first: where the indoor unit goes, where the outdoor unit sits and the route the pipes take between them, as agreed at your survey. Then the dust sheets go down and any furniture near the wall is moved clear.

2. 2. The indoor unit’s mounting plate goes up

   A steel plate is fixed level, high on the wall. The indoor unit hangs on it later, once the pipes are through.

3. 3. One hole through the outside wall

   We core-drill one hole about 65 mm across (80 mm for larger units), sloping slightly down to the outside so water cannot run back in. This is the noisiest part of the day: usually 30 to 45 minutes, and up to an hour depending on how the house is built. The dust is caught at the hole.

4. 4. The outdoor unit goes in

   It goes on wall brackets or on feet on the ground, with the clear space around it that the manufacturer asks for, so it can breathe.

5. 5. Pipes, drain and cable

   Two insulated copper pipes, a condensate drain and a control cable run from the indoor unit, through the hole, to the outdoor unit. They are hidden where the route allows and in neat trunking where it does not, and the hole is sealed around them on both sides.

6. 6. Its own electrical circuit

   The system gets a dedicated circuit from your consumer unit, which is why we need to get to your fuse box, and its own isolator switch. That is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations, so it is done and certified by a registered electrician.

7. 7. A pressure test with nitrogen

   Before any refrigerant goes near the pipework, we fill it with dry nitrogen at pressure and leave it to stand. If the pressure holds, every joint is tight. We write down the test pressure and how long it held.

8. 8. A vacuum

   A vacuum pump then draws the air and moisture out of the pipes, and we leave the vacuum standing to prove it does not creep back. The reading and the hold time go on the record too.

9. 9. The refrigerant is released

   The outdoor unit arrives already charged with refrigerant, enough for a set length of pipe. Opening its valves lets it into the pipes. A longer pipe run needs a little more added, and the amount is weighed in and recorded, as the F-gas rules require.

10. 10. A test run in cooling and heating

    We run the system in both modes and measure the air going in and coming out, check the condensate drains away, and test the controller.

11. 11. We tidy up

    Everything is hoovered, and the packaging and waste go away with us.

12. 12. We show you how it works, and you sign it off

    We show you the remote, how to take out and clean the filters and how often, and where the isolator is, and explain the annual service and the warranty. Then you sign the job off on our phone or tablet.

What you are left with

When the job is signed off, your Installation Handover Pack comes to you by email. Keep it with your paperwork. It holds:

• The completion sign-off you signed.
• The commissioning record for each system: what was fitted, the serial numbers, the test readings and the F-gas details.
• Your warranty statement.
• The aftercare sheet: looking after the system, and what to do if something is not right.

The same email links to the manufacturer’s manuals for your equipment, where we have them. The links do not expire.

About a week later we check in to make sure everything is working and you are happy with it. An annual service keeps the system at its best and, where a manufacturer’s warranty applies, keeps it valid. We get in touch when your first one is due.

How long it takes

For a typical home with straightforward access. Your booking email says how many days we will be on site for your job.

What makes a day longer is mostly the pipe route: a long run, an upstairs room, a route through the loft or under the floor, or an outdoor unit that has to go up high. The survey finds these, and your quote allows for them. For how each type is fitted, see the types of air conditioning.

How we keep the mess down

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  Dust sheets over floors and furniture, and furniture moved clear of the work.
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  Core drilling with dust extraction, or wet coring, so the dust is caught at the hole.
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  The hole sloped to the outside and sealed around the pipes, so no draughts or water get in.
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  Pipes hidden in walls, lofts or floor voids where the route allows, and in neat trunking where it does not.
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  Everything hoovered and the packaging taken away at the end of the day.

The drilling is the noisy part: usually 30 to 45 minutes, and up to an hour depending on how the house is built. The rest of the day is fixing, connecting and testing, which is quieter work.

Frequently asked questions

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