Air Conditioning in Torquay
From the old town between the highway and the beach to the estates north of it. Coastal exposure, a lot of glass, and a population that triples over summer.
- Coastal specification available
- Ducted, split and multi head
- All brands serviced
- Free site visits
Three towns in one, and all of them exposed
Torquay grew outward in stages. The original town sits between the Surf Coast Highway and the beach, Jan Juc filled in through the 1970s, and everything north of the highway has gone up since the 1980s, a lot of it in the last twenty years. About 18,500 people live here and the number roughly triples in January.
What unites all three is exposure. Torquay faces Bass Strait directly at Point Danger and Zeally Bay, and the salt laden south westerly does not stop at the old town boundary. It reaches the newer estates as well, just more slowly.
Original town and Jan Juc
Older beach houses, many rebuilt or heavily extended. Mixed construction, mixed insulation, and outdoor units in the harshest salt environment in our service area.
Modern northern estates
Post 1990s slab on ground homes, well sealed, generally straightforward to duct. Often with far more glazing than the older stock.
Architectural rebuilds
A great deal of Torquay’s older stock has been replaced with large glazed homes designed around the view. Beautiful, and a serious heat load in summer.
Holiday and short stay housing
A large share of dwellings sit empty for months and then run hard for six weeks. Equipment choice and service intervals should reflect that.
What Torquay households ring us about
Salt and glass account for most of our work here, in roughly equal measure.
Corroded outdoor units
The worst we see anywhere. Standard coils in Torquay can be visibly degraded inside a decade. Coastal coil treatment is not an upsell here, it is the sensible specification.
Living areas with too much glass
Large north and west facing windows put out a heat load that surprises people. Sizing a system for a glazed living space is a different calculation to sizing for a standard room.
Systems that fail on the first hot weekend
Holiday houses that have not run since Easter. Almost always a capacitor, a drain or a filter, and almost always discovered when every technician on the Surf Coast is booked out.
Wind noise and unit placement
Outdoor units on exposed elevations get buffeted, and mounting that was fine inland rattles here. Placement and bracket choice matter more than usual.
How we work out what a Torquay house needs
The two questions that decide almost everything are how much glass there is and how far you are from the water.
1. Measure the glazing and its orientation
On a modern Torquay home this is the dominant load. We measure it rather than estimate, because the difference between two adjacent houses can be a full unit size.
2. Assess salt exposure
Front row and the streets immediately behind it get coastal specification as standard. Further north we will tell you honestly whether it is worth the extra.
3. Ask about occupancy
Permanent home, weekender or short stay rental. It changes the equipment we recommend and the service interval we suggest.
4. Check the outdoor unit location for wind
An exposed elevation needs different bracketing and a sheltered position where one exists. It is a five minute decision that prevents years of noise complaints.
Matching the problem to the work
The common Torquay situations and what we normally recommend.
Modern home with a large glazed living area
Zoned ducted reverse cycle, sized properly for the glass. A single split will not carry a room like that on a hot afternoon.
Older beach house, two or three rooms
A multi head system. One outdoor unit means one thing to protect from salt, which matters here more than the equipment cost.
Short stay rental
Simple, robust split systems with straightforward controls, plus a service booking every spring. Guests will not read a manual.
Existing system with a corroded outdoor unit
Replacement with a coastal specification coil, rather than a repair that buys a season. We will show you the coil so you can see the state of it.
Weekender that has not run since Easter?
Book the service in spring. The first hot Saturday in December is the worst possible time to discover a fault.
Comparing quotes in Torquay
Salt makes Torquay quotes different from Geelong quotes, and it is worth checking that yours accounts for it.
Is the outdoor unit coastal specified?
The single most important question here. An uncoated coil in Torquay is a shorter warranty in practice than it is on paper.
How was the glazing accounted for?
If nobody measured the windows, the sizing is a guess. In a modern glazed home that guess is usually low.
Where does the outdoor unit go, and how is it fixed?
Exposed elevations need proper bracketing and thought about wind. Ask where it is going before you sign, not on the day.
What service interval is recommended?
Coastal equipment should be looked at more often than inland equipment. A supplier who says annual regardless has not thought about where you live.
Where new equipment replaces existing gas or inefficient electric systems, a Victorian Energy Upgrades discount may apply. Eligibility depends on the equipment, the property and the current program rules, and we confirm yours before you commit.
Torquay questions
Most relevant services here: ducted air conditioning. multi head systems. servicing and maintenance.
Nearby: Armstrong Creek, Barwon Heads, Waurn Ponds.
Do Torquay outdoor units really corrode faster?
Yes, noticeably. Salt carried on the wind settles on the aluminium fins of the outdoor coil and corrodes them, which reduces heat transfer and makes the compressor work harder. We see the effect strongest in the streets nearest the beach, but it reaches well back into the northern estates too.
Is Torquay inside your service area?
Yes. We work across the Surf Coast including Torquay and Jan Juc, and out toward Anglesea and Lorne. Site visits in Torquay are free and there is no travel charge.
What size system do I need for an open plan living area with big windows?
More than you would need for the same floor area with normal windows. Glazing is the dominant heat load in most modern Torquay homes, and a room with a large north or west facing window wall can need a full size step up. We measure it rather than work from floor area.
Can you install for a short stay rental between bookings?
Yes, and we do it regularly. Tell us the gaps in your calendar and we will schedule around them. For rentals we tend to recommend simple controls and a spring service, because a system guests cannot operate generates complaints regardless of how good it is.
Should I choose ducted or splits for a beach house?
It depends on the roof space and how many rooms you actually use. In a modern estate home, ducted is usually the better result. In an older beach house with limited roof cavity, two or three splits or a multi head will normally cost less and perform better than forcing ducting into a space that will not take it.
Get a quote in Torquay
Tell us the street and roughly how far you are from the beach. It decides whether we specify a coastal coil.
If the living area has a lot of glass, mention the orientation. It is the biggest single input into the sizing.
For weekenders and short stay properties, tell us your booking gaps and we will schedule around them.
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