What a Melbourne system goes through in a year
A long heating season
Melbourne sits in the cold zone on the energy label, and July nights average 7.3 degrees even at Olympic Park in the inner city. A split used as the main heater can run every evening for months, then switch to cooling once summer arrives.
Salt air by the bay
Daikin says all its outdoor coils carry an anti-corrosion treatment it calls Blue Fin, and still says proper maintenance and positioning are essential. If you're near Port Phillip, in St Kilda or Brighton for example, ask for the outdoor coil and casing to be checked at every service.
Units in hard-to-reach spots
In an apartment tower in the city, Southbank or Docklands, or on a two-storey house, the outdoor unit may be on a balcony, a roof or a high wall. Tell the technician where yours is when you book, so they bring the right access gear.
Rentals need a separate electrical check
Victorian rentals also need an electrical safety check every two years by a licensed or registered electrician, reported under AS/NZS 3019. That's in addition to servicing the air conditioner, not instead of it.
Autumn or spring?
If the system is mainly your heater, book it in autumn, so a weak fan or a slow drain shows up before the cold nights rather than during them. If it mostly cools, Daikin suggests a look at the start of every summer. If it works hard in both seasons, pick one and stick to it every year.
Keep to roughly twelve months between visits. ActronAir's warranty terms, for one, set residential maintenance at once every 12 months. The national air conditioning service page covers warranty fine print.
What a Melbourne service visit should cover
- A test run in heating mode and in cooling mode, not just one.
- The filters, indoor coil, fan and drain checked and cleaned.
- The outdoor unit cleared of leaves, with the coil and casing checked for corrosion near the bay.
- A refrigerant check by an RAC01 licence holder. If it's low, the leak is found and fixed first: the ARC says topping up before that is illegal.
- On ducted systems, the return air filter, zone controls and a look at the ducts.
- Any fault written up separately, with a quote, rather than fixed on the spot.
Between services, and on the day
You can
- Clean the filters on your manual's schedule. Mitsubishi Electric and Samsung say every 2 weeks, while Solar Victoria's 2021 guide suggests about twice a year, so go with the manual.
- Switch the power off first, and dry washed filters in the shade.
- Run fan mode after cooling or dry mode, as Mitsubishi Electric recommends, to dry the inside of the indoor unit.
- Keep leaves and stored things away from the outdoor unit.
Leave to a licensed installer
- Opening and cleaning inside the indoor unit.
- Refrigerant checks and leak repairs.
- Electrical connections and controls.
- Units on roofs or above a comfortable ladder height.
Why the filters matter here
Mitsubishi Electric says dirty filters cause condensation inside the unit, which helps mould grow. A system that heats all winter and cools all summer gets little rest, so clean filters matter in both seasons. If it already smells musty, see our aircon cleaning page.
Questions to ask when you book
- Do you hold an RAC01 licence? The refrigerant check needs one.
- Will you test it in heating as well as cooling?
- Near the bay: will you check the outdoor coil for corrosion?
- Do you service my brand often, and will this visit meet the warranty's conditions?
What we'd do
How we'd handle it in Melbourne
We'd pick a month before the season the system works hardest, which for a heating-first Melbourne home is autumn, and book it every year. In between, we'd keep the filters clean and run fan mode after cooling. And we'd ask for a specialist in our type of system who holds an RAC01 licence, so the refrigerant and, near the bay, the outdoor coil both get a proper look.
