How Much Does It Cost To Install Air Conditioning In A UK Home?
One room fitted costs about £1,500 to £3,000, and the unit alone starts near £500 before any fitting.
Key Takeaways
- One room, fitted: about £1,500 to £3,000, with £3,000 the figure to budget if your pipe run is long or the outdoor unit sits high.
- Several rooms: £3,200 to £4,500 for two and £4,000 to £8,000 for three or four. A ducted whole-house system runs from £8,000 to £15,000 and beyond.
- The unit is the smaller share of a single-room job. Labour, pipe, electrics and access make up the rest.
- Fixed systems supplied and installed in a home carry 0% VAT until 31 March 2027. Portable units and supply-only kit pay VAT at the standard rate.
- UK law requires F-Gas qualifications to install a split system.
- If you want to heat the whole house and its hot water, price an air-to-water heat pump too. The government grant for those is £7,500 in England and Wales.
In This Guide
Search for a split air conditioner and the box itself costs upwards of £500, the figure Which? gives for split units before installation fees (August 2026). Ask for one fitted in a single room and the Energy Saving Trust’s estimate is around £1,900 (as reported by Which?, July 2026). Selectra’s guide, updated on 13 October 2026, puts one fitted room at £1,500 to £3,000 and says £700 to £1,200 of that is labour.
The difference between the box and the fitted price buys the engineer’s time, the copper pipe and cable between the indoor and outdoor units, the electrical connection and the refrigerant work. Your house decides how much of each you need, so two quotes for the same unit can differ by more than the price of the box.
Air Conditioning Costs In The UK, By System
Where the two sources disagree, plan on the higher number: Selectra’s table is the more recent, and a quote that lands under it leaves room in your budget.
| System | What it serves | Fitted price, UK | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single split, wall-mounted | One room | £1,500 to £3,000 | Selectra, updated 13 Oct 2026 |
| Single-unit system | One room | around £1,900 | Energy Saving Trust, via Which?, 17 Jul 2026 |
| Multi-split, two zones | Two rooms | £3,200 to £4,500 | Selectra |
| Multi-unit system | Three-bedroom semi | around £3,700 | Energy Saving Trust, via Which? |
| Multi-split | Three or four rooms | £4,000 to £8,000 | Selectra |
| Ducted whole-home | The whole house | £8,000 to £15,000+ | Selectra |
| Portable unit, no fitting | One room at a time | about £227 to £700 for the models Which? lists | Which?, 26 Aug 2026 |
Single split: one room
A single split pairs one indoor unit, high on the wall of the room, with one outdoor unit outside. Two refrigerant pipes, a drain and a cable join them through a hole in the wall. A bigger room needs a bigger unit, which moves you up the range.
Multi-split: two to five rooms
A multi-split runs several indoor units from one outdoor unit. Which? notes that one outdoor unit can serve up to five indoor units. You save on outdoor units, while each extra room still adds an indoor unit, its own pipe run and the labour to fit it.
Ducted: the whole house
A ducted system hides the indoor unit in a loft or ceiling void and feeds each room through grilles. It costs the most of the three because the ductwork has to be built into the house.
Selectra puts London and the South East 20 to 30% above the rest of the country.
How Much Is An Air Conditioning Unit Without Fitting?
Which? puts split units at upwards of £500 before installation fees. That buys the indoor unit, the outdoor unit and their remote, and none of the work that makes them run.
You can’t plug a split system in yourself and switch it on. The refrigerant circuit needs an F-Gas qualified engineer to connect, pressure-test and commission it, so the online price only becomes a working system once you add an installer’s bill. Sellers of split kit that isn’t hermetically sealed have to ask you, before the sale, for the details of the qualified technician who will install it (GOV.UK, Selling F gas or equipment). Buy the unit yourself and pay someone to fit it, and you also lose the VAT relief covered below.
What Moves The Fitted Price
The work around the unit sets the difference between two quotes for the same room, and these are the parts to ask about when you compare them.
The pipe run between the two units
Mitsubishi Electric’s installation manual for its MSZ-A09 and A12 wall units shows the limits on one model: the outdoor unit comes charged with refrigerant for a pipe run of up to 7 m, longer runs need refrigerant added on site, and the run can’t go past 20 m or climb more than 12 m. A bedroom unit with its outdoor unit on the other side of the same wall is the cheapest layout. A run that crosses the house or travels along an outside wall in cover trunking adds pipe, trunking and hours.
The wall the pipes go through
The pipes, cable and drain pass through one cored hole in an outside wall. An engineer cores a cavity brick wall in a short time, while the thick solid stone of older Peak District houses takes longer. The inside route counts too, if the pipes have to cross a room or run up a stair.
Electrics
Your engineer needs a power supply at the unit. If the job needs a new circuit from your consumer unit, that is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations, which means it goes through building control or an electrician registered with a self-certification scheme. Replacing a consumer unit is notifiable too, so an old board with no spare way can add a line to the quote (Ribble Valley Borough Council, Part P guidance).
Getting rid of the condensate
Cooling pulls water out of the room air, and the indoor unit drains it through a hose. Mitsubishi Electric’s manual asks for that drain to run downhill all the way. Where your indoor unit sits on an inside wall, or below the nearest outlet, the water can’t fall to a drain on its own and a small condensate pump goes in, with its own wiring and fitting time.
Where the outdoor unit sits
An outdoor unit on a ground-level bracket or on feet beside the house is quick to fit and easy to reach for a service. One that has to go high on a wall, above a lean-to or on a three-storey gable can need a tower or scaffold, and Selectra names that access as one of the costs that swings a total. Where you put it also decides where the fan noise goes, and our air-to-air heat pump guide covers siting and planning on older houses, along with how the same unit heats a room in winter.
Portable Units: The Price You Pay Now And Later
The portables Which? lists cost from about £227 to £700, and you plug one in the day it arrives. They push the hot air out through a hose at a window, and Which? rates them less efficient at cooling than split units. HMRC’s relief excludes portable and movable units, so they carry VAT at the standard rate.
A fixed split costs more on day one, and our guide to how much air conditioning costs to run works through what each type costs once it is switched on.
VAT On Air Conditioning Until 31 March 2027
Fixed air conditioning systems we supply and install in a home carry 0% VAT under the energy-saving materials relief until 31 March 2027, so the quoted price is the price.
HMRC’s notice on energy-saving materials treats permanently fixed air source heat pumps, including units that reverse to cool a building, as qualifying when they are supplied and installed in residential accommodation. HMRC also says it considers most air conditioning units to be air source heat pumps, case by case. From 1 April 2027 the rate moves to 5%. A supply-only sale is standard-rated, and so is a portable unit. When you compare quotes, check which rate each one applies.
The F-Gas Engineer You Need By Law
GOV.UK lists installing a new air conditioning system among the jobs that need an F-Gas qualification, and states that working on F-Gas equipment without the correct qualification is against the law.
We’re F-Gas certified. Our engineer holds the City & Guilds Level 2 Award in F-Gas and ODS Regulations, Category I, awarded on 23 June 2026, and Category I is the one GOV.UK lists as covering every activity, installation included. Ask any installer you get a quote from for their F-Gas details before you sign.
If The Goal Is Heating The Whole House
A reversible split heats as well as cools, so it is tempting to price air conditioning as your heating. For one cold room, a garden office or a loft conversion, it can be the right call. For the whole house and its hot water, put an air-to-water heat pump on the list before you sign anything.
An air-to-water heat pump feeds your radiators and a hot water cylinder. Which? notes that some air-to-air systems can connect to a hot water tank and others can’t, so an air conditioning install may leave your boiler doing the hot water. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme takes £7,500 off an eligible air source heat pump in England and Wales (GOV.UK, read 14 October 2026). Air conditioning fitted for summer cooling beside a working boiler gets no grant.
A heat pump costs more to fit than a single split, and our heat pump costs guide sets the install and running figures out in full. Grant claims run through MCS certification and ours is in progress, so ask at the survey and you get the current position. The heat pump installation page covers the design survey, the room-by-room heat loss and the written quote.
What Air Conditioning Costs With First Point
We don’t publish an air conditioning price, because the pipe run, the wall, the electrics, the drain and the outdoor spot change from one house to the next. Our engineer prices each job after a survey, and the quote names the units, the route and the work.
We fit Mitsubishi units. A single room takes about a day, and a whole house up to a week. Our 2-year workmanship guarantee runs alongside the manufacturer’s warranty. The air conditioning installation page sets out the full service.
Air Conditioning Quotes Within About 20 Miles Of New Mills
We’re based in New Mills and quote air conditioning within about 20 miles of it: Manchester and Stockport, the High Peak from Glossop and Buxton to Whaley Bridge and Marple, and the Hope Valley toward Sheffield. On a gritstone terrace the outdoor unit can end up on a back yard wall close to a neighbour, while a detached house with a side garden has room for a ground-level bracket and a short run. Our local pages for air conditioning in Stockport, Glossop and Buxton cover each area.
Air Conditioning Cost Questions
How much is an air conditioning unit without installation?
Which? puts split units at upwards of £500 before installation fees, and the portables it lists cost about £227 to £700. A split unit needs an F-Gas qualified engineer to fit it, so budget for the fitted price.
How much does it cost to install air conditioning in a three-bedroom house?
The Energy Saving Trust puts a multi-unit system in a three-bedroom semi at around £3,700 (via Which?, July 2026), and Selectra’s 2026 range for three or four rooms runs to £8,000. Budget toward the higher figure if the pipes need a long run to reach the bedrooms.
Is air conditioning installation 0% VAT?
For a fixed system supplied and installed in a home, yes, until 31 March 2027, after which the rate moves to 5%. Portable units and kit bought supply-only pay VAT at the standard rate.
Can I buy a split air conditioner online and fit it myself?
Not legally, for a standard split system. Installing one needs an F-Gas qualification under UK law, and sellers of split kit that isn’t hermetically sealed have to take the qualified installer’s details from you before the sale.
How long does it take to install air conditioning?
One room takes us about a day. A whole house takes up to a week, depending on how many indoor units go in and how far the pipes run.
Do you install air conditioning in Stockport, Glossop and Buxton?
Yes. We quote air conditioning within about 20 miles of New Mills, which takes in Stockport and Manchester, Glossop, Buxton, Whaley Bridge, Marple and the Hope Valley toward Sheffield. Our engineer surveys the house and prices the job.
Sources
- Which?, Using air-to-air heat pumps for air conditioning (Karen Lawrence, 17 July 2026), reporting Energy Saving Trust cost figures
- Which?, Best portable air conditioners: how to buy an air conditioner (26 August 2026)
- Selectra, Fixed air conditioning installation cost and fitting wait times (David Tait, updated 13 October 2026)
- HMRC, VAT Notice 708/6: Energy-saving materials and heating equipment (sections 1.1, 2.3, 2.15, 2.21)
- GOV.UK, Qualifications to work with F gas (updated 3 March 2026)
- GOV.UK, Company certification to work with F gas
- GOV.UK, Selling F gas in cylinders or equipment (updated 17 January 2024)
- GOV.UK, Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme: What you can get
- Ribble Valley Borough Council, Electrical safety: Building Regulations (Part P)
- Mitsubishi Electric, Split-type air conditioners installation manual, MSZ-A09/A12YV and MUZ-A09/A12YV(H) (SG79Y281H07)
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Get A Price For Your Own House
Our engineer surveys the room, the wall and the outside spot, then sends a written quote that names the units, the pipe route and the work, at 0% VAT on a fixed system in your home.