South of the river: the facts that count
Which suburbs we mean
There's no formal boundary, but Wikipedia's list of Brisbane suburbs counts 52 in the City of Brisbane south of the river, including Annerley, Yeronga, Rocklea, Moorooka, Holland Park, Mount Gravatt, Sunnybank, Runcorn, Eight Mile Plains, Calamvale, Acacia Ridge, Inala and Forest Lake.
Warmer inland
At Archerfield Airport, January averages a top of 30.8 degrees, against 29.1 at Brisbane Airport on the bay. Archerfield is itself a southside suburb, so its figures are a fair guide for the inland suburbs around it.
Heatwaves, defined
Brisbane City Council counts a heatwave as maximum and minimum temperatures that are unusually hot over 3 or more days, and says extreme heat is most likely from November to March.
Allgas, where it runs
The Queensland Government says Allgas Energy, part of the APA Group, supplies gas to Brisbane's southern suburbs, though not every street has a mains network.
Three ways water arrives
Council describes creek flooding from heavy rain near a creek catchment, river flooding from long rain over the river catchment, and overland flow when storm rain runs across land. Any of them can reach an outdoor unit sitting on low ground.
Common jobs on the southside
Bedrooms first. On humid summer nights, a split system in the main bedroom is a sensible first step, sized for the room rather than the hottest day of the year.
Whole-house ducted. In a bigger single-storey house with roof space, ducted reverse cycle with zones covers every room from one system.
Repairs in the hot weeks. Faults tend to show when a unit is working its hardest. Our Brisbane repair page has the safe checks to try before you book.
What we'd do
If it were our southside home
We'd cool the bedrooms first and size them for humid nights, then decide whether the rest of the house needs ducted or a couple more splits. We'd keep the outdoor unit out of any dip in the yard where storm water collects. Tell us what you need. Licence-checked installers who do that kind of job see it where we have them south of the river, and only the one who takes it gets your details. If nobody south of the river takes it within 48 hours, installers elsewhere in Queensland may see it too.
