Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is it important to size an air conditioner for your home or office?
2. How do I get a quote?
3. Is air conditioning more efficient than electric heaters?
4. What brand should I use?
5. Do I need a qualified installer?
6. Can homeowners install their own air conditioner?
7. Can homeowners repair their own air conditioner?
8. When do I know it's time to replace my system?
9. Should I keep running my old system until it wears out or replace it sooner?

1) Is it important to size an air conditioner for your home or office?

This is essential! If your air conditioner is too small, it will run all the time- using extra electricity, icing up continuously and shortening the life of your air conditioner. The size of air conditioner that you need depends on many factors including the size (volume) of the room, the room’s shape, the amount of window space and the effectiveness of wall insulation. Therefore, you should always have an expert assess the area that you want air conditioned and advise you on the most cost effective way of achieving this.

2) How do I get a quote?

Everest Air Conditioning provides a free quotation service to your home or commercial site to assess the best air conditioning solution for your home or work environment.

3) Is air conditioning more efficient than electric heaters?

If an electric heater uses one kilowatt of power it can at most only produce one kilowatt of heating. If an air conditioner uses one kilowatt of power it can generate up to four kilowatts of heating, which makes it much more efficient than an electric heater. In this country, we use a star system to indicate energy efficiency and, generally, the higher the star rating the more efficient the air conditioner.

4) What brand should I use?

As with any other product, not all brands are created equal and though some brands may be inexpensive to purchase initially, they may end up more expensive over the life of the unit because they are less efficient, less reliable, have poorer performance (especially during temperature extremes) or have a shorter life than more expensive brands. Also, when the unit goes wrong (which is usually when you need it most!) you sometimes find that there is no-one available who knows how to repair the unit or that spare parts are unavailable. Everest Air Conditioning only supplies brands that have an excellent reputation for efficiency and reliability and have full local support of technically competent staff. 

5) Do I need a qualified installer?

Absolutely! Even the best brand of air conditioner will perform poorly or have a reduced life if it is not installed correctly. Unfortunately, installation faults may only surface after a couple of years and by then, that ‘cheap’ installer may be difficult to find. Also, a poor installation may invalidate your manufacturer’s warranty- again a risk you don’t want to take. Everest Air Conditioning is a well established company and its installation engineers have the expertise and experience to ensure that you get the highest quality installation and after-sale service.

6) Can homeowners install their own air conditioner?

Unless the air conditioner has been specifically designed to be installed by non-technical personnel, definitely not.

7) Can homeowners repair their own air conditioner?

In most cases, definitely not! Cooling systems today are more complicated to service and usually require expert attention in order to comply with local regulations which prohibit releasing refrigerants into the atmosphere. An air conditioning contractor or service technician should be called at the first sign of trouble.

8) When do I know it's time to replace my system?

When the system starts giving you more problems than seem cost-effective to fix, particularly when major components such as the compressor start making unusual noises or otherwise indicating need for service. When faced with major repairs, consider that a new system will eliminate costly repairs and will save money on your monthly power bill because of the increased efficiency.

9) Should I keep running my old system until it wears out or replace it sooner?

Because newer equipment usually is more energy efficient than older air conditioning or heat pump systems, you may actually save money by replacing your old system before it wears out. In some cases, the money you save in reduced utility costs might pay back your purchase price of a new system years earlier than you might think.