What Ballarat changes about a split
Frosty nights
Ballarat Aerodrome averages a July low of 3.0 degrees, and below-freezing nights can turn up from May to September. The label's heating figures at 7 and 2 degrees tell you far more here than the cooling stars do.
Defrost water
In cold, humid weather, Mitsubishi Electric says frost forms on the outdoor unit, it stops for up to 10 minutes to defrost, and the melted ice drips down. On Ballarat's foggy winter mornings that's routine, so the outdoor unit needs a spot where the water can drain away rather than pool on a path.
Wind
Ballarat is one of the windiest cities in Australia. Mitsubishi Electric says strong wind can draw outside air in through the drain hose and cause a burbling sound indoors, so the drain outlet and the unit's position deserve a thought on an exposed wall.
Terraces and semis
The city's terraces come in short runs, and 12.0% of homes are semis, terraces or townhouses. There, getting the pipes from the front room to an outdoor unit out the back can be the longest part of the job.
Wall unit or floor console?
Most splits are wall-hung, mounted high. The ACT Government lists floor-mounted and cassette indoor units as the other styles. Mitsubishi Electric says floor consoles suit rooms with limited wall or overhead space and work well in heating mode, because the warm air starts low, where you're sitting.
In an older Ballarat home with a gas wall heater coming out, a console can sometimes sit near where the old heater was. Ask the installer whether that spot suits the pipe and drain runs.
Where a split fits in a Ballarat home
A split heats one room or an open living area, which makes it the natural first step away from a wood heater or a gas space heater in the lounge. The ACT Government says a reverse cycle unit turns each unit of electricity into 3 to 6 units of heat, against one for a portable electric heater, and in a room heated every winter evening that gap adds up.
It's also the simplest way for a landlord to meet Victoria's rental heating standard: a non-ducted electric unit with a heating rating of 2 stars or more qualifies. 31.6% of Ballarat homes are rented.
What makes the job bigger or smaller
The quickest job is a wall unit on an outside wall with the outdoor unit on a pad straight behind it. Time and parts go up with a long run to the rear of a terrace, a bracket high on a windy wall, a second-storey room, or a switchboard that needs work for the dedicated circuit Mitsubishi Electric says a split needs.
Taking out an old gas heater is a gasfitter's job, so check whether it's in the quote.
Questions to ask a Ballarat split installer
- What's this unit's heating output at 2 degrees, and how did you size it for this room?
- Would a floor console heat this room better than a wall unit?
- Where will the defrost water from the outdoor unit go?
- How will the outdoor unit and drain hose cope with the wind on this side of the house?
- Does this model have an H2 rating, or a stated heating range for very cold weather?
- Which ARC licence and BPC registration do you hold?
What we'd do
What we'd do with a Ballarat split
We'd put it in the room you spend winter evenings in, choose it on its heating output at 2 degrees, and give a floor console serious thought for a living room. We'd keep the outdoor unit out of the worst of the wind, with somewhere for defrost water to go. A split specialist who installs in cold, windy towns will think of both without being asked.
