Edmonton at a glance
Cane country turned suburb
Edmonton is an outer suburb 13.7 km south-south-west of the Cairns CBD. Its main industry was traditionally sugarcane, on plantations first selected in 1883.
Families and mortgages
At the 2021 Census, 42.8% of homes were owned with a mortgage, 22.2% owned outright and 32.0% rented. The median age was 33, and the suburb grew from 10,753 people in 2016 to 11,409 in 2021.
Houses, mostly
90.1% of occupied homes were separate houses, 7.6% flats or apartments and 1.8% semis or townhouses.
Hot and humid
At the Bureau's Cairns station, December averages a 31.8 degree maximum and July nights 17.2. February afternoons average 71% humidity.
Built for cyclones
The Queensland Reconstruction Authority says coastal areas north of Bundaberg, Cairns included, are Wind Region C, where homes are designed for cyclone winds of 250 km/h.
What families in Edmonton usually get done
Bedrooms first. A small split in each bedroom lets you cool only the rooms people sleep in. With three or more bedrooms, a multi-split or zoned ducted system can be tidier, with fewer outdoor units on the house.
Sized for the humidity. Rinnai says an oversized system short cycles and dehumidifies less effectively, so a bigger unit isn't better here. Ask for a heat load check for each room. Our Cairns installation page covers placement and sizing.
Running costs you can estimate. Find the unit's input power in kW (not its capacity), multiply by the hours you'll run it and by the rate on your bill. Our running cost tool does the sums. There's no mains gas listed for Cairns, so it's all electric.
Before cyclone season
You can
- Know where the isolator and the air conditioner's circuit breaker are.
- Clear loose items and garden waste away from the outdoor unit.
- Clean the filters; Daikin suggests at least monthly through summer.
Leave to a licensed installer
- Checking the outdoor unit's bracket or stand is fixed properly for the wind region.
- Raising a unit on a flood-prone block above the flood level, as Get Ready Queensland advises.
- Any electrical or refrigerant work, and anything you can't reach from the ground.
What we'd do
If it were our home in Edmonton
We'd start with right-sized inverter splits in the bedrooms, run with the doors and windows shut, and add the living area next. We'd book a yearly service before the wet, and ask the installer to check how the outdoor units are fixed while they're there.
