Why Gosnells needs more cooling
The Gosnells City station (009106) records a mean daily maximum of 33.0 degrees in January and February. Perth as a whole averages 26 days a year above 35 degrees, and the Bureau's figures put Gosnells' summer afternoons among the warmest in the metro area.
That matters for sizing. ActronAir says an air conditioner loses cooling capacity above 35 degrees, giving the example of a 14 kW system dropping to 10 or 12 kW. Mitsubishi Electric says a proper heat load calculation takes in climate, orientation, insulation, windows and ceiling height. Ask for one, rather than a size picked from the floor area.
Winter isn't harsh, with July nights at the station averaging 8.9 degrees, but most homes still want heating for a few months. Reverse cycle covers both.
Gosnells homes
A 1960s and 70s boom
The City of Gosnells grew from 7,524 people in 1961 to 52,419 in 1981. Houses from those decades often have an older evaporative cooler, a gas heater or both, and roof spaces worth checking before ducted goes in.
Mostly houses, some townhouses
At the 2021 Census, 80.9% of the 7,885 occupied homes were separate houses, 15.7% townhouses or semis and 3.0% flats or apartments.
Almost a third rented
31.3% of homes were rented in 2021. Tenants should raise a failing cooler or heater with the owner or agent, and get written OK for anything new.
The scarp to the east
The City of Gosnells covers 128 square kilometres, with state forest rising into the Darling Scarp on its eastern side.
Signs your cooling is too small for Gosnells
- It runs flat out all afternoon on hot days and the room never gets comfortable.
- It copes in the morning but falls behind once the day passes 35 degrees.
- West-facing rooms are still hot hours after sunset, with the system running.
- The quote you were given didn't mention orientation, insulation or a heat load at all.
What we'd do
If we lived in Gosnells
We'd size for the hot afternoons, not the average, with a heat load worked out for the house. For a whole home, that's ducted reverse cycle or a well-serviced evaporative system with heating sorted separately. For one room, a reverse cycle split facing the afternoon sun. And we'd get the old cooler serviced before summer rather than in the middle of a heatwave.
