What's particular about Frenchs Forest
A rural district until the 1950s
Frenchs Forest stayed mostly rural until the middle of the 20th century. A 1951 Bulletin article noted that a lot of the Forest had already become a suburb.
Ridges and bushland
The suburb runs along ridgelines surrounded by native bushland, next to Garigal National Park.
Houses, overwhelmingly
At the 2021 Census, 92.5% of homes were separate houses and just 3.1% were flats or apartments. Only 15.7% were rented, and the average home had 3.8 bedrooms.
New homes near the hospital
A 2010s rezoning around the Northern Beaches Hospital made room for a town centre, a relocated high school and about 2,200 new homes.
Zone 5
The ABCB's climate map shades the Northern Beaches council area zone 5, warm temperate, so summers are milder than in western Sydney.
Ducted or splits in a Frenchs Forest house?
With close to four bedrooms in the average home, ducted reverse cycle is the obvious candidate. Solar Victoria says ducted suits larger homes, and the ACT Government guide puts the line at about 180 square metres. Zoning matters as much as size: ActronAir says zones work through dampers in the ductwork that open or close to each area, so you can run the living areas by day and the bedrooms at night.
If you only use two or three rooms, a multi-split or two splits can be the better fit. Zone 5 is gentler than the west, so there's no case for oversizing. See ducted in Sydney for how the design should start.
Where can the outdoor unit go?
Northern Beaches Council says most home air conditioners are exempt development under the NSW Codes SEPP, so no council approval, as long as the unit meets the standards. It can't go on a wall or roof that faces the main street, or forward of the building line. It has to be at least 450mm from each lot boundary, and mounted on a wall or on the ground no higher than 1.8m.
Noise counts too. At peak times the unit must stay within five decibels of the background noise at any boundary, and at off-peak times it mustn't be audible in a neighbour's bedroom or living room. A side passage right beside a neighbour's bedroom is the spot to avoid.
What we'd do
Where we'd start in Frenchs Forest
In a three or four-bedroom house, we'd get a ducted quote with at least two zones, living and sleeping, and a multi-split quote to compare. We'd settle where the outdoor unit goes before anything else, using the council's rules. We'd want a ducted specialist who's done plenty of Northern Beaches homes. Installers like that, licence-checked, can see your job, and only the one who takes it gets your details. Should none around Frenchs Forest take it within 48 hours, it may be shown to installers elsewhere in New South Wales.
