Air Conditioning in Geelong West
Workers’ cottages and narrow blocks either side of Pakington Street. Tight side setbacks, small roof cavities and neighbours close enough to hear everything.
- Multi head and split specialists
- Narrow block placement
- Accredited Master Electrician
- Free site visits
Victorian and Edwardian cottages, close together
Geelong West grew as a working suburb around Pakington Street and much of its original housing survives: single fronted and double fronted Victorian and Edwardian cottages on narrow allotments, with side setbacks measured in centimetres rather than metres.
The suburb has gentrified steadily and a great deal of that housing has been renovated and extended at the rear. What has not changed is the geometry. Narrow blocks with the neighbour’s bedroom two or three metres away make the outdoor unit position the hardest decision on most jobs here.
Single and double fronted cottages
Weatherboard and brick, high ceilings, decorative cornices, and roof cavities that are often too shallow or too cluttered to duct through.
Rear extensions
Very common. The new living area at the back is nearly always where the comfort problem is, and it is the easiest room to fix.
Very narrow side setbacks
The defining constraint. There is often exactly one viable outdoor unit position, and it is close to a neighbour.
Older wiring and switchboards
Unrenovated cottages regularly have boards that cannot take another circuit. Common, and priced rather than discovered.
What Geelong West households ring us about
Almost every call here eventually becomes a conversation about where the outdoor unit can go.
Nowhere obvious for the outdoor unit
Narrow side paths, no rear lane access, and a neighbour close by. It is solvable, but it needs to be solved at quote stage rather than on the day.
Rear extensions that were never conditioned
The back living area added in a renovation, running off nothing. A split in that room is usually the whole fix.
High ceilings that will not warm
Period cottage ceilings mean warm air sits above you. It is a distribution problem, not a capacity one.
Noise complaints from neighbours
On blocks this tight, a badly placed or badly mounted outdoor unit becomes a neighbour problem quickly.
How we work out what a Geelong West house needs
The site visit here is mostly about geometry. We would rather spend twenty minutes on the side path than guess.
1. Find the outdoor unit position first
Before anything else. Clearance for airflow, access for servicing, distance to the neighbour’s windows, and whether it can be mounted off the ground.
2. Measure ceiling heights
Period cottages have volume that a floor area calculation misses entirely. It changes the capacity we recommend.
3. Check the roof cavity honestly
Many cottages here cannot be ducted without bulkheads that spoil the rooms. We will tell you when that is the case.
4. Assess the switchboard
In unrenovated cottages this usually needs work, and it belongs in the quote rather than in a conversation on install day.
Matching the problem to the work
What we would recommend for the situations we see here.
Cottage with several rooms to cover
A multi head system. One outdoor unit is the only thing that fits on most of these blocks, and it keeps the neighbour conversation short.
Just the rear extension
A single split sized for that room. It is the cheapest job that makes the biggest difference in this suburb.
Renovated cottage with a usable roof space
Ducted is sometimes possible in the extended section. We check rather than assume, because it usually is not.
Heating is the main problem
Hydronic panels work very well in high ceilinged cottages, need nothing mounted at high level, and do not blow dust around.
Narrow block and nowhere obvious for the unit?
That is our most common Geelong West problem and it is nearly always solvable. Ring us and describe the side path.
Comparing quotes in Geelong West
On a tight block, the difference between quotes is almost entirely about what was actually looked at.
Where exactly is the outdoor unit going?
Get it in writing. On a block this narrow, discovering the planned position does not work is an expensive day for everyone.
How is it being mounted and isolated?
Wall brackets, anti vibration mounts and orientation away from bedroom windows. On these blocks it is the difference between a quiet install and a dispute.
Were the ceiling heights measured?
Period cottage volume is not captured by floor area. If nobody measured, the sizing is a guess.
Is switchboard work included?
In unrenovated cottages it is often needed. A quote that excludes it is not comparable to one that includes it.
Replacing a gas wall furnace, gas ducted heating or old electric hot water with high efficiency electric equipment may attract a Victorian Energy Upgrades discount. Eligibility depends on the equipment, the property and current program rules.
Geelong West questions
Most relevant services here: multi head systems. split system installation. hydronic heating.
There is barely a metre down the side of my house. Can a unit still go there?
Usually, but it depends on the clearances the specific model needs for airflow and on whether we can mount it off the ground on brackets. There is almost always a solution on a Geelong West block, and it is worth working out at the quote rather than on install day. Occasionally the answer is a different indoor location so the pipe run reaches a better outdoor position.
Will my neighbour be able to hear it?
Modern inverter units are quiet, but on blocks this narrow placement still matters a great deal. We look at what is on the other side of the fence before choosing a position, use anti vibration mounting, and orient the discharge away from bedroom windows where we can. Doing that at the start is far easier than relocating a unit afterwards.
Can ducted air conditioning go in a Geelong West cottage?
Sometimes in the extended rear section, rarely in the original cottage. Most period roofs here are too shallow, too cluttered or too awkward to access, and forcing ducting in means bulkheads that spoil high ceilinged rooms. We get up and look before offering it, and a multi head system usually gives a better result for less disruption.
Why is my cottage so hard to heat?
High ceilings and single glazing. Warm air from a high wall unit rises above head height and you sit in the cooler layer underneath, while heat leaks out through sash windows and floorboards. Lower mounted units, floor consoles or hydronic panels all deal with the stratification. More capacity on its own usually does not.
Do I need permission for an outdoor unit on a heritage street?
Some parts of Geelong West sit within heritage overlay areas, which can affect equipment visible from the street. We plan positions away from the front facade as a matter of course, and we will tell you if we think a planning enquiry is warranted before any work starts.
Get a quote in Geelong West
Tell us how wide the side path is and what is on the other side of the fence. In Geelong West that is the first thing we need to know.
Photos of the side of the house and the rear yard save a trip and let us give you a realistic answer quickly.
Site visits are free and we will work out the outdoor unit position before quoting anything.
Phone (03) 5214 8711
Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm. Weekends by appointment.
Air Conditioning Geelong
Unit 2, 112 Balliang Street
South Geelong VIC 3220