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Mackay, Queensland

Heating and cooling in MackayHumid wet seasons, raised timber houses and cyclones.

An installer for Mackay

Licence-checked installers in Mackay who specialise in your kind of job see it, and the one who takes it calls you to quote.

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  • Only the installer who takes your job gets your details

In Mackay, air conditioning earns its keep from December to March, when the wet season brings heat, high humidity and heavy rain. The dry season from June to October is cooler and less humid, with July nights averaging a minimum of 11.4 degrees at Mackay Aero, so reverse cycle heating gets some use too. No natural gas network is listed for Mackay, which makes reverse cycle the natural all-rounder.

What's different about Mackay

On the climate line

The ABCB map shades the Mackay council area as climate zone 2, with the Whitsundays to the north in zone 1. The Queensland Government describes zone 1 as the coast north of Mackay and zone 2 as the coast south of it.

Two seasons

Wikipedia describes a December to March wet season of hot weather, high humidity and intense rain, and a cooler, less humid dry season from June to October. At the Bureau of Meteorology's Mackay Aero station, December's mean maximum is 30.8 degrees and February's afternoon humidity averages 72%.

Raised timber houses

Mackay Regional Council's heritage guide says almost all the region's heritage houses are single storey, timber and raised on stumps. It also says about 70 per cent of the building stock was destroyed in the 1918 cyclone, after which cottages were brought from Mount Morgan, many to South and East Mackay.

Cyclones and outages

When Cyclone Ului crossed near Airlie Beach in March 2010, about 60,000 homes between Mackay, Proserpine and Collinsville lost power. Ahead of Cyclone Debbie in 2017, 25,000 residents in low-lying parts of Mackay were ordered to evacuate.

Storm tide beaches

Council's storm surge evacuation maps cover low-lying places such as Seaforth, Ball Bay, Louisa Creek, the Grasstree, Sarina and Campwin beaches, and Armstrong Beach.

Houses and power

At the 2021 Census, 84.7% of occupied dwellings in the council area were separate houses and 10.1% were semi-detached houses or townhouses. Mackay isn't on the Queensland Government's natural gas distribution list, and power comes through Ergon Energy's regional network.

The jobs that come up most in Mackay

Installs timed for the dry season. June to October is the comfortable time to have a new system fitted and tested before the wet. On a raised timber house there are usually several ways to run the pipes and place the outdoor unit, so agree the plan in writing. See installation in Mackay.

Servicing before December. A system about to run through a humid wet season should start it clean. Servicing in Mackay covers the timing and what to ask for.

Wet-season repairs. Leaks, musty smells and units that won't come back on after a storm cuts the power. Repairs in Mackay has the checks to run first.

Why evaporative cooling struggles here

The Queensland Government says evaporative coolers lose effectiveness as humidity rises, and to switch the water pump off when humidity in the region is over 65%. Mackay Aero's February afternoons average 72%, so through the wet a cooler often can't do its job.

Refrigerated air conditioning dries the air as it cools, which is what a Mackay summer needs, and Rinnai notes that an oversized system dehumidifies less effectively. A reverse cycle unit sized properly for the room does both jobs. Our evaporative or refrigerated guide compares the two.

Air conditioning an old raised house

The Queensland Government's advice is to insulate and seal any room you air-condition. On an older timber house, we'd start with the rooms you'll actually cool: the gaps around their doors and windows, and the ceiling above them.

Ask your installer where the outdoor unit can sit so it still gets fresh air and can be reached for servicing. The ACT Government's guide warns against enclosed courtyards and slat fencing around an outdoor unit, and the same logic applies if the space under your house has been closed in.

Yours, and the installer's

You can

  • Clean the filters through the wet season, more often than in the dry.
  • Know where your outdoor unit's isolator is before a cyclone warning.
  • Check council's storm surge maps if you live near the beaches.

Leave to a licensed installer

  • Running pipes and drains on a raised timber house.
  • Raising an outdoor unit and its electrics above storm tide or flood level.
  • All refrigerant and electrical work.

What we'd do

Our advice for Mackay homes

Reverse cycle throughout, installed in the dry season and serviced before December. In a beachside storm surge area, we'd keep the outdoor unit and its electrics above the storm tide level, and on a raised timber house we'd want the pipe route agreed in writing. We'd skip evaporative cooling: the wet season is too humid for it.

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.

Fixing the wall plate for a split system, with the pipe hole below
Fixing the wall plate for a split system, with the pipe hole below. 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.
An evaporative cooler beside a new flue on a Colorbond roof
An evaporative cooler beside a new flue on a Colorbond roof. Jul 2023. A job in Melbourne.

More job photos

Heating and cooling jobs in Mackay

Questions people ask

Do I need heating in Mackay?
Only a little. July's mean minimum at Mackay Aero is 11.4 degrees, and a reverse cycle system's heat mode handles that. With no natural gas network listed for Mackay, there's little reason to look further.
What happens to my aircon in a cyclone power cut?
It stops, and it may not restart the moment power returns. Mitsubishi Electric's units won't run for about 3 minutes after a restart, to protect themselves. If it still won't start, or the breaker trips again, leave it off and book a repair.
How do I find a licensed installer in Mackay?
Check any installer's licence on the QBCC register, which you can search by name or licence number. Where we have them, licence-checked installers near Mackay who specialise in the job can see it, and only the one who takes it gets your contact details. Left untaken for 48 hours, a Mackay job may be seen by installers elsewhere in Queensland too.
Is there a concession if I need cooling for a medical condition?
Queensland's Medical Cooling and Heating Electricity Concession Scheme helps Pensioner Concession Card and Health Care Card holders whose qualifying chronic condition needs cooling or heating at home. You re-apply every two years.

Ready for the right installer to take a look in Mackay?

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Read next

  1. 01Reverse cycle air conditioningHow reverse cycle heats and cools, which type suits your home, and what to check for winter.
  2. 02Evaporative or refrigerated cooling?How each kind of cooling works, why humidity matters, and what each one needs from your home.
  3. 03What it costs to run an air conditionerThe method: input power times hours times your rate, and what pushes the number up or down.
  4. 04How to check an installer's licenceRun the ARCtick check, read RAC01 and RSS03, and check the state licence too.
  5. 05Multi-split systemsOne outdoor unit, several rooms: when a multi-split fits, and the trade-offs to know.
  6. 06Heating and cooling in QueenslandQueensland's QBCC licence at any value, who does the wiring and gas, and how to read an installer's ad.

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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