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Heating and cooling guidesPlain answers, with the sources listed on every page.
These guides answer the questions people ask before, during and after a heating or cooling job. They're written in plain English, every fact is sourced, and none of them is selling you a brand. Start with the question that's closest to yours.
Where to start
Choosing a system? Start with what size you need, then split systems or ducted. If you heat with gas now, reverse cycle or gas heating covers efficiency and the Victorian rules. In a dry climate, evaporative or refrigerated cooling is worth a read too.
Something's stopped working? The problem guides start with the checks you can safely do yourself, like a unit leaking water or one that won't cool or heat, and say plainly when it's time to call someone.
Watching the power bill? Running costs shows how to work out what your unit uses from its input power and your own rate, and running it on solar explains when your panels can cover it.
Hiring an installer? Find out how to check a licence, what a quote should include and your cooling-off rights if you sign at home.
Rebates and rules? The VEU guide explains how Victorian discounts work through accredited providers, and the rental rules guide covers what changes from 1 March 2027.
How these guides are written
Every number on these pages comes from a published source, such as a government agency, a regulator, a consumer group or a manufacturer's own documents, and the sources are listed at the foot of each guide. Where sources disagree, we say so. We don't publish prices, because a written quote from someone who has seen your home is the only figure worth having.
When you're ready for help with the job itself, tell us what you need and your postcode. Licence-checked local installers who specialise in that kind of work will see the job, and your contact details go to just one of them: whoever takes it. You pay us nothing.
Choosing a system
- What size air conditioner do I need?Rough kW sizes by room, what changes them, and how an installer should check the number.
- Split systems or ducted?House size, the rooms you use, zoning and efficiency: how to pick between splits and ducted.
- Reverse cycle or gas heating?Efficiency, cold mornings, carbon monoxide and the Victorian gas rules, in plain terms.
- Evaporative or refrigerated cooling?How each kind of cooling works, why humidity matters, and what each one needs from your home.
- Hydronic or ducted heating?Water through panels or air through vents: how hydronic and ducted heating compare.
- How to choose a split systemSize, energy stars, noise, inverter and warranty conditions: what to check before you choose.
- How to choose a ducted systemGas or reverse cycle, heat load, zones, duct insulation and warranty terms, in order.
- How to choose an evaporative coolerClimate, exhaust, pads, water handling, servicing and warranty: what to check before you buy.
- How to choose an installerThe licences to check, the questions to ask and the red flags, before you hire anyone.
Something not working
- Air conditioner leaking waterWhat's normal outside, what isn't inside, and the checks you can do yourself.
- Air conditioner not cooling (or not heating)The checks to do yourself, what's normal in winter, and when it needs a technician.
- Why your aircon smellsMusty, burning or gassy: what the smell means and what to do about it.
- Noisy air conditionerWhich sounds are normal, which aren't, and why a unit keeps switching off.
- Ducted heating not workingSafe checks for a ducted heater that won't start, and the signs that mean a gasfitter.
Looking after it
- How to clean your aircon filtersStep by step for split and ducted filters, how often to do it, and what a clean won't fix.
- How often to service an air conditionerService intervals for each system, what your warranty may require, and what a service covers.
- Air conditioning near the coastSalt, coil coatings, warranty fine print and where the outdoor unit should go near the sea.
- Air conditioner warrantiesWhat voids an air conditioner warranty, the paperwork to keep, and who to call first.
Rebates and rules
- Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU)How VEU discounts work, what qualifies, the 2026 co-payments and the offers to walk away from.
- NSW Energy Savings SchemeHow the ESS discount works on a new or replacement air conditioner, and what's left out.
- ACT Sustainable Household SchemeHow the ACT loan works for electric heating and cooling, and the rebate some homeowners can add.
- Heating and cooling rebates by stateWhat we could confirm in each state, how each scheme reaches you, and the warning signs.
- Victorian rental heating and cooling rulesWhat a rental's heater and cooler must be now and from 1 March 2027, and what can stay.
- Aircon noise rules and neighboursQuiet hours, decibel limits by state, and how to place an outdoor unit so the neighbours don't notice.
Hiring an installer
- How to check an installer's licenceRun the ARCtick check, read RAC01 and RSS03, and check the state licence too.
- Reading an air conditioning quoteWhat a complete heating or cooling quote includes, and how to compare two fairly.
- Signed at home? Your cooling-off rightsWhen a heating or cooling deal signed at home can be cancelled, and how to do it.
Read next
- 01ToolsSix quick tools for sizing, running use, choosing a system and checking a quote.
- 02Types of heating and cooling systemsSplits, multi-heads, ducted, evaporative and the rest: what each one suits.
- 03Air conditioner and heater brandsWhat each brand says about its range, warranty and installers, and what to compare.
- 04How it worksWho sees your job, who gets your details, what we check and how we're paid.
- 05Editorial policyWhere our facts come from, how we handle sources that disagree, and how to report a mistake.