Installation is the most important part of buying an air conditioner.

Simple wide angle photos from your phone showing the proposed indoor and outdoor unit locations.

Not sure where? Thats ok.

As long as we can see the whole room we can guide you as to the best location or locations you didn't think of. Anything is possible but you need to know what the costs are for each scenario before buying so you are not left with costly surprises.

The location of the indoor unit in this installation is pretty straight forward. Mounting a unit above your TV is not always the best spot for it as it will be directly in front of you while watching tv and may be annoying blowing on you, especially in heating mode.

In our experience a lot of people are more interested in it looking centred and also sometimes it is the only location for it. This is one such install. The outside location is no so straight forward...

Client wants the outdoor unit located away from entertainment area on the other side of the fence and also just far enough to minimise any sound from the unit. Unit is mounted on a bracket as the ground is on a slope.

Notice the duct is on the right hand side of the down pipe. A standard install would have the pipes exit the wall on the left side of the pipe. That means the duct on the outside not only is on the back side of the fence but also would have to go over the down pipe to get to the out door unit. Not good!

This changes the whole install as the pipes need to be fitted behind the indoor unit so they can exit the right side of the down pipe on the outside. Your "bulk store installer" is not going to be happy about that extra cost when they arrive (if they even stay).

And neither are you.

Also, this is now a two person job as the unit is too heavy for one person to lift onto the bracket as a standard install has it on the ground. The problems just keep mounting.

Oh wait....you bought from us. All good!

The indoor unit is going to be located in the corner of the room instead of centred. Why?

If it is centred on the wall the ducting on the outside of the house will have to run across a wall that faces the front of the house and will be visible from the street. By locating it in the corner the pipes can exit the wall on the back of the house. It will also cost less as there will be less pipe and duct as well.

Generally we recommend units sit of to the side in bedrooms so that it doesn't blow down on the bed (especially in heating mode) but many clients prefer the unit centred for aesthetic reasons.

As you can see the duct is now located on the back wall of the house and the out door unit is mounted onto the pitched roof. The unit and the duct are both out of view from the front of the house.

It costs more to mount the unit on a roof bracket as opposed to attaching it to the wall (which you could very easily be advised to do by an in experienced salesman) but for townhouses like this one...you can't. The second storey walls of the home are rendered styrofoam. There is nothing to bolt the wall bracket to.

The indoor unit is to be located in the room at the from of the house. When units are installed at the front of the house visual considerations come into play.

The simplest solution is to mount the outdoor on the pitched roof pan the other side of the bedroom wall. Obviously it sticks out like a sore thumb right at the front of the house.

You need to weigh up wether it is worth spending more on the installation for a better long term outcome. There is another option...

The second option is to run the pipes up into the roof and across to the side of the house. The outdoor unit can be mounted on the flat garage roof. Visually it is a much nicer installation. The pipes will be covered on both ends with duct.

Of course this is a more expensive option as it requires more materials and labour to get the pipes through the roof and being a second storey roof safety is a major consideration.

So this install seems to be nice and straight forward!

Except for that water tap sitting right above were the outdoor unit was to be located. Regulations prohibit installing here. Now you are told that the unit will need to be moved one way or the other away from the tap.

There are two basic alternatives both of which will cost you more money now.

Your options are to either move the unit to the right which is the easier of the two options but will require more piping and duct.

The other is to run pipes up into the roof and over to the left of the door. This will cost more in materials and labour. Is also possible the better option as the unit will be tucked into the corner of the courtyard. Either way, that basic install you were hoping to pay for just got more expensive.