Air conditioning installation across south-east Melbourne
Most air conditioning jobs stall on the switchboard, not the unit. The supplier quotes the equipment, then somebody discovers the board is full and there is nowhere to put the circuit.
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The point where an air conditioning job usually stops
Almost every one of these turns up after the unit has been chosen and before it has been installed, which is the expensive order to find them in.
- The installer has told you the switchboard needs work before they can proceed.
- There is no spare way on the board for the new circuit.
- You are adding ducted to a house still on the supply it was built with.
- The outdoor unit trips the safety switch when it starts.
- The existing air conditioner shares a circuit with power points, so both drop together.
- There is no isolating switch anywhere near the outdoor unit.
- You are adding a second or third head and nobody has added up the total load.
- It is a period home and there is no obvious route for the cable.
What the electrical side of an air conditioning install covers
We do the electrical work and coordinate with your refrigeration technician. Scope depends on whether the board can carry the unit as it stands.
- Maximum demand checked against what the house already draws, before anything is ordered.
- A dedicated circuit from the board, sized to the unit's nameplate rather than to a rule of thumb.
- An isolating switch within sight of the outdoor unit, so it can be worked on safely.
- Residual current device protection on the new circuit.
- A spare way made on the board, or a switchboard upgrade where there is none to make.
- Cable routed through roof or subfloor space rather than chased into finished walls.
- Connection and electrical commissioning with the refrigeration technician on site.
- The circuit labelled, the installation tested and a Certificate of Electrical Safety issued.
About Air conditioning installation
The equipment quote and the electrical quote are different things
An air conditioning supplier quotes the unit and the refrigeration work. What that quote usually assumes, without saying so, is that your switchboard can already carry it. On a Melbourne house wired before the 1990s that assumption is wrong more often than it is right.
The result is familiar: the unit is ordered, the installer arrives, and the job stops at the board. Getting the electrical assessment done first costs an hour and removes that outcome entirely.
Ducted is a supply question before it is a comfort question
A single split system is a modest load. A ducted system conditioning a whole house is not, and it runs for hours at a time in February rather than in bursts. On a board that already carries an induction cooktop, a heat pump and a charger, ducted is often the addition that takes the installation past what the consumer mains were sized for.
That is a maximum demand calculation, not a guess, and it sometimes ends in a mains upgrade. Better to know before the ducting is ordered.
Why the circuit has to be its own
A compressor draws a large current at the moment it starts, far above what it settles to. Share that circuit with power points and two things happen: the protection nuisance trips on startup, and everything else on the circuit drops with the air conditioner. A dedicated circuit sized to the nameplate solves both, and it is a requirement rather than a preference.
The isolator is not optional
There must be an isolating switch the outdoor unit can be worked on from, within sight of it. Plenty of older installations have none, which is why a technician arriving to service a fifteen year old unit sometimes refuses to start. Fitting one is a small job and it is the difference between a serviceable unit and one nobody will touch.
Period homes and where the cable goes
Running a new circuit to a bedroom head in a Federation or interwar house is an access problem rather than a wiring one. Routes go through roof and subfloor space, and where a wall must be opened we choose the point where it can be made good invisibly. Worth walking before the install date rather than on it.
We quote the job in front of us
No rate card, because the honest number depends on things nobody can see from a website. Estimates are free.
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Standards this work is held to
An air conditioner is a fixed appliance with a substantial starting current, so it belongs on its own circuit rather than sharing one. AS/NZS 3000 sets the protection, the cable size and the requirement for an isolating switch the unit can be worked on from. That isolator is the part most often missing on older installations, and it is the part a technician needs before they will touch the outdoor unit.
Refrigerant handling is a separate licence to an electrical one. Anyone charging, recovering or decanting refrigerant must hold an ARCtick licence issued by the Australian Refrigeration Council. We do the electrical work and coordinate with a licensed refrigeration technician for the gas side, so both halves are done by someone qualified to do them.
Switchboard alterations are prescribed electrical work in Victoria. Where the job needs a board upgrade it carries a Certificate of Electrical Safety and an independent inspection by a Licensed Electrical Inspector.
How long it takes
- Quote
- Same day in most cases across south-east Melbourne, once we have seen the board and the intended location.
- Single split, board has capacity
- Half a day for the circuit, the isolator and the connection.
- Ducted or multi-head
- A full day or more, and it frequently needs the board looked at first.
- Board upgrade first
- Adds a day, and the power is off for most of it. Worth doing before the unit arrives rather than after.
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Symon did a brilliant job replacing my bathroom fan. He quoted me $700 when another company quoted me over $2k for the same job! Symon was easy to communicate with, performed the job quickly and tidied up after himself. Would…
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We recommend Simon unreservedly. Tired of overpriced superficial service and competency? Don’t look any further than Simon @ STL Electrical. And to boot, he’s a good guy. Simon will now be our go-to sparky.
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Highly recommend Simon and STL Electrical. One of our mains tripped during a freak thunderstorm resulting in no power to part of our kitchen (incl fridge) and internet. Simon was a lifesaver and kind enough to respond to an after…
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Air conditioning installation questions we get asked
Do you supply the air conditioner as well?
No. We do the electrical work: the dedicated circuit, the isolator, the board capacity and the connection. You buy the unit wherever you like, and the refrigerant side is carried out by a licensed refrigeration technician. Plenty of people prefer that split, because the electrical assessment is the part that decides whether a given unit is even possible.
Who does the refrigerant and gas work?
A technician holding an ARCtick licence from the Australian Refrigeration Council, which is a separate licence to an electrical one. We coordinate with yours, or with one we work alongside regularly. The two halves are done by whoever is qualified for that half, which is how it is supposed to work.
Why does the air conditioner need its own circuit?
Because a compressor draws a large current at startup. On a shared circuit that nuisance trips the protection, and it takes everything else on that circuit down with it. A dedicated circuit sized to the unit's nameplate is both the fix and the requirement under the wiring rules.
Can my switchboard handle a ducted system?
Sometimes, and it is worth checking before you order rather than after. Ducted is a serious sustained load, and on a board that already carries an induction cooktop, a heat pump and a charger it is often the addition that goes past what the mains were sized for. We calculate maximum demand against what the house actually draws.
The installer says we need an electrician before they can proceed. Is that normal?
Very. It usually means there is no spare way on the board, no isolator at the outdoor unit, or no suitable circuit to connect to. All three are ours to fix, and none of them needs the refrigeration work to stop while it happens if we are told early enough.
What does the electrical side cost?
It depends on whether the board has a spare way, how far the cable has to run, and whether an upgrade is needed first. Those move the price too far to publish a rate card. You get a fixed price after we look at the board, and the estimate is free. Ring 03 9889 3341.
Do we get a Certificate of Electrical Safety?
For the circuit, yes. Where the job also needs a switchboard upgrade, that is prescribed electrical work in Victoria and carries an independent inspection by a Licensed Electrical Inspector as well. You get the certificate for your records.
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