Aircon Installation in Cape Town

Why Cape Town homes need more than one kind of aircon advice

Cape Town's climate changes a lot over a short distance. A Sea Point apartment, a Constantia family home, a Durbanville house and a Stellenbosch student flat can all be within an hour of each other and need quite different aircon setups.

• The Atlantic Seaboard and Blouberg have salt air and strong summer wind, but milder temperatures.
• The Southern Suburbs are greener and more sheltered, with damp winters under the mountain.
• The northern suburbs such as Durbanville, Bellville and Brackenfell get noticeably hotter summers.
• The Winelands and Helderberg have hot, dry summers and cold winter nights.

We plan every installation around where you live, not a one-size-fits-all formula.

Our installation warranty

Every aircon we install comes with:

• A 2-year warranty on the installation
• A free service every six months for those two years, which means four free services in total
• A fixed written quote before we start
• More than 15 years of experience behind the work

The free services are not just a bonus. Cleaning filters and coils, flushing drains and checking gas pressures twice a year keeps the unit efficient and catches problems early, which matters on the coast, where salt and wind are hard on outdoor units.

Planning around the south-easter

The summer south-easter blows hard for days at a time, especially along the False Bay coast, the Atlantic Seaboard and the city bowl. Strong wind straight into an outdoor unit makes it work harder, drives salt and sand into the coil and can loosen brackets.

We recommend:

• Placing the outdoor unit on a wall sheltered from the south-easter where possible
• Corrosion-resistant or stainless brackets and fixings
• A coated condenser coil for homes near the sea
• Solid mounting with anti-vibration pads
• Clear space around the unit for airflow

Sizing for Cape Town rooms

Typical starting points:

• Bedrooms: 9,000 to 12,000 BTU
• Studies and home offices: 12,000 BTU
• Open-plan living areas: 18,000 to 24,000 BTU, sometimes two units

Rooms facing north or west, rooms under flat or uninsulated roofs and rooms with large glass doors need more capacity. Northern suburbs and Winelands homes usually need the larger end of each range. We confirm the size after seeing the room or clear photos.

Heating in winter

Cape Town's wet, cold winters make reverse-cycle aircons especially useful. A reverse-cycle inverter unit heats a room efficiently, usually for less electricity than bar or oil heaters, and helps dry out damp air at the same time.

Apartments, complexes and estates

Many Cape Town homes are in apartment blocks, sectional title complexes and security estates with rules about where outdoor units may go and how they are screened. We send photos of the proposed position for approval before booking, and work neatly within the rules.

Heritage and older homes

In older Southern Suburbs and city homes with thick walls and high ceilings, we plan pipe routes carefully to keep the installation discreet, and size units for the larger room volume.

What happens on installation day

We confirm the indoor and outdoor positions with you, mount the indoor unit level, core and seal the wall, run insulated copper pipes and a properly falling drain, and mount the outdoor unit securely. Then we pressure test the joints, pull a deep vacuum, release the refrigerant and test cooling and heating. Before leaving, we show you the remote and the filters and book your first free six-monthly service.