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Coffs Harbour, New South Wales

Heating and cooling in Coffs HarbourCooling and drying the air come first.

An installer for Coffs Harbour

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In Coffs Harbour, the aircon's main job is coping with humid summers. The building code lists Coffs Harbour as climate zone 2, warm humid summer and mild winter, and afternoon humidity at Coffs Harbour MO averages 67% in January and 69% in February. Heating still matters on July nights, but it's the lighter half of the job.

Coffs Harbour's climate and homes

Climate zone 2

The NCC's climate zone table puts Coffs Harbour in zone 2: warm humid summer, mild winter. The NSW Planning Portal also names NatHERS climate zone 11 after Coffs Harbour, in the BASIX rules for new homes.

Wet, humid summers

Summers here are moderately hot, wet and humid. January's mean daily maximum at Coffs Harbour MO is 27.4 degrees.

Mild winters

July's mean minimum is 8.2 degrees, and the coldest on record is minus 3.2, also in July.

Heat before summer

Coffs Harbour MO's record high of 43.3 degrees has been reached in November as well as January, so the hot weather can arrive before summer officially starts.

Resorts, apartments and houses

The region around Coffs is dominated by coastal resorts and apartments. Across the council area, though, 75.7% of occupied homes were separate houses at the 2021 Census, with 11.8% semis or townhouses and 10.3% flats or apartments.

What this means for your system

Reverse cycle is the default here: it cools and dehumidifies through a humid summer and covers the cooler nights in winter.

Getting the size right matters even more in humid air. Rinnai says an oversized system short cycles and dehumidifies less effectively, and ActronAir says tropical and subtropical parts of Australia place much greater demands on a system than cooler regions. A proper heat load handles both.

Evaporative cooling is a poor match. Seeley says that on humid days the air already holds too much moisture for evaporation to happen, and it doesn't recommend evaporative systems in humid climates.

Near the coast, salt air is the outdoor unit's enemy. Read the corrosion clause in the warranty for the model you're quoted, and see our coastal homes guide. In an apartment or resort-style complex, strata approval comes first, so agree the outdoor unit's position with the building before an installer books a date.

NSW rules and the ESS in Coffs Harbour

In NSW, air conditioning work needs a licence or certificate, and advertising it without a current contractor licence is against the law. Look the business up on Service NSW's licence check before you agree to a visit.

Coffs Harbour households may be eligible for the ESS discount on a new energy efficient air conditioner, applied through an installer partnered with an IPART-accredited certificate provider. It's not paid by the NSW Government, and the nomination form must be signed before work starts. Our ESS guide has the detail.

What we'd do

Where we'd start in Coffs Harbour

We'd plan the system around summer humidity: reverse cycle, sized from a heat load rather than bumped up a size, with filters cleaned on the manufacturer's schedule. We'd book servicing in early spring, ahead of any November heat. And we'd want an installer who works in Coffs Harbour's humidity and salt air week in, week out.

What this work looks like

Photos from real jobs in Melbourne, to show what the work looks like. They aren't from an installer near you.

Underfloor heating pipe laid on insulation panels
Underfloor heating pipe laid on insulation panels. A job in Melbourne.
Wiring a new outdoor unit
Wiring a new outdoor unit. A job in Melbourne.
Lifting a new split system indoor unit into place
Lifting a new split system indoor unit into place. A job in Melbourne.

More job photos

Heating and cooling jobs in Coffs Harbour

Questions people ask

What does climate zone 2 mean for my aircon?
It's the building code's label for a warm humid summer and a mild winter. In practice, your system's main job is cooling and dehumidifying, with lighter heating in winter.
Do I need heating in Coffs Harbour?
Some. July nights average 8.2 degrees at Coffs Harbour MO, and it has dropped below zero. A reverse cycle system heats from the same unit, so one system can cover both seasons.
When should I service my aircon in Coffs Harbour?
In early spring. The record heat here has come in November as well as January, so you want the system checked before the first hot spell, not in the middle of it. Our Coffs Harbour servicing page explains what to ask for.
I'm building in Coffs Harbour. Does BASIX affect my heating and cooling?
The NSW Planning Portal says the BASIX thermal performance standards for NatHERS zones 9, 10 and 11 aren't changing, and zone 11 is the one named after Coffs Harbour. Your builder or designer can tell you what that means for your plans.
Do you match installers in Coffs Harbour?
We don't pick one for you. Licence-checked installers near Coffs Harbour who specialise in that work see your job, where we have them, and only the one who takes it gets your contact details. If none of them takes it within 48 hours, installers elsewhere in NSW can see it too.

Ready for the right installer to take a look in Coffs Harbour?

Your postcode and three quick questions. Licence-checked local installers who specialise in your kind of job see it, and the one who takes it gets in touch to quote.

Free for you. Installers pay us for each job we pass on.

Read next

  1. 01Heating and cooling in New South WalesNSW air conditioning licences, the Service NSW check, the ESS discount and strata approval.
  2. 02Reverse cycle air conditioningHow reverse cycle heats and cools, which type suits your home, and what to check for winter.
  3. 03Evaporative or refrigerated cooling?How each kind of cooling works, why humidity matters, and what each one needs from your home.
  4. 04Air conditioning near the coastSalt, coil coatings, warranty fine print and where the outdoor unit should go near the sea.
  5. 05What size air conditioner do I need?Rough kW sizes by room, what changes them, and how an installer should check the number.
  6. 06NSW Energy Savings SchemeHow the ESS discount works on a new or replacement air conditioner, and what's left out.

Where this information comes from

We don't publish prices. Every home is different, so an installer's written quote is the only real number. How we write and check these pages.

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