What shapes a Byford job
Houses on big lots
At the 2021 Census, 98.7% of Byford's 5,984 occupied homes were separate houses. Estates like Byford on the Scarp, built after 2005, and The Glades, from the early 2010s, are known for generous lot sizes, which gives you more choice about where an outdoor unit goes.
Recently bought
69.0% of homes were owned with a mortgage and 15.4% were rented. Plenty of systems here are the ones the builder fitted, so the warranty and service history are worth digging out.
Foothills and bush
Byford sits about 38 km south-south-east of Perth, below the escarpment. In March 2017 the Department of Fire and Emergency Services rated the Byford Community Kindergarten high risk to bushfire because of the bushland around it.
A big, outer shire
Byford is the largest settlement in the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale, which covers 905 square kilometres of the outer south-east. Inland suburbs like this run warmer in summer than the coast in Bureau of Meteorology averages.
The jobs we'd expect in Byford
Ducted reverse cycle for the whole house. A single-storey home with a roof space suits ducted air conditioning. Zoning lets you cool the living areas in the afternoon and the bedrooms at night, and the same system heats in July.
Getting the builder's system right. A new-build system that never seems to keep up may be undersized or need a service rather than replacing. Rinnai says an undersized system often means not enough heating or cooling and a shorter life, while an oversized one short-cycles. A service and check is the easier first step.
Keeping outdoor units clear. Where a block meets bush, leaves, mulch and long grass build up quickly around an outdoor unit or the base of a roof cooler. The ACT Government's guide asks for fresh air reaching the unit and easy access for maintenance, and that's worth planning in from day one.
What a Byford quote should spell out
- Where the outdoor unit goes, with clear air around it and a path for maintenance.
- The size, and that it came from a heat load for your house.
- The zones and which rooms are in each.
- Who does the switchboard and wiring, with their EC number.
- How the condensate drain is run, and where it ends up.
What we'd do
Our take for Byford
We'd use the space a Byford block gives you: put the outdoor unit somewhere open, shaded if possible, and not tucked against a fence line or garden bed. For a whole house, we'd go zoned ducted reverse cycle from a ducted specialist. And if the builder's system is struggling, we'd book a proper service before anyone talks about replacing it.
