Quotes, not estimates. The price we quote is the price you pay.

Home Air Conditioning Across Dorset - Cool in Summer, Warm in Winter

Local installers of air conditioning and air-to-air heat pumps for homes across Bournemouth, Poole and Dorset. One wall-mounted unit cools your room in a heatwave and heats it for pennies in winter. A fixed price in writing, no VAT to add, no markup on materials, and Pete quotes every job himself. We are open 7 days a week - call any day, 7am to 7pm, and Saturday surveys and installs are available at normal rates.

What air conditioning really is now

Every modern wall-split unit is a reversible air-to-air heat pump. In summer it cools and dehumidifies. In winter it runs in reverse and heats the room, delivering roughly 3 to 4 kilowatts of heat for every kilowatt of electricity it uses. That makes it about 70 percent cheaper to run than plug-in electric heaters for the same warmth - which is why the smart way to buy one is as a year-round appliance, not a summer gadget.

Fewer than 5 in 100 UK homes have one, while around half of UK homes now overheat in summer. Dorset's mild coastal winters also mean the heating side works at its most efficient exactly where we live.

The systems we fit

  • Single wall split - one indoor unit, one outdoor unit. The bedroom, living room or home office answer, typically fitted in a day
  • Multi-split - one outdoor unit running two to four indoor units. Whole-upstairs cooling or several rooms without a row of boxes outside
  • Garden rooms, offices and conservatories - spaces that are unusable in August and freezing in January are exactly what a heating-and-cooling unit fixes
  • Flats and annexes - efficient room heating where there is no gas, without storage heaters

How the install works

Every install is a two-trade job. Our electricians handle the survey, mounting, pipework routing, condensate, wiring and testing - the half most air conditioning firms subcontract out. The refrigerant connections, pressure test and commissioning are completed by an F-Gas certified engineer, and the manufacturer's warranty is registered on completion. One firm, one boss: Pete quotes the job, runs the job and stays your single point of contact.

Being electrician-led matters more than it sounds: every air conditioning install needs a dedicated electrical circuit, an isolator and a fuse board with the capacity to take it. For most installers that is a subcontract. For us it is the day job, tested and certificated properly.

Planning permission, in plain English

The rules changed in May 2025, in your favour. A unit that provides heating as well as cooling - which every unit we fit does - is permitted development on most houses: no planning application, provided the outdoor unit is under 1.5 cubic metres, it is not on a wall facing the road, and there are no more than two units on a detached house or one otherwise. A noise assessment to the current MCS standard applies, and we complete it as part of the survey. Listed buildings and cooling-only units still need a planning application - we tell you straight at the survey if yours is one of them.

What it costs to run

A typical 2.5 kilowatt bedroom unit costs roughly 15p to 25p an hour to run in cooling mode at current electricity prices. In heating mode the same unit delivers warmth at a running cost broadly on a par with mains gas - and far below any plug-in heater. Nationally, most homeowners pay between £1,600 and £2,800 for a single-room system supplied and installed; multi-room systems run £3,500 to £7,000. Our own quotes are fixed in writing with no VAT to add - see the air conditioning cost guide for the full breakdown.

Areas we cover

We install across the BH postcodes from our Poole base - see the local pages for air conditioning in Bournemouth and air conditioning in Poole, and we also cover Christchurch, Ferndown, Wimborne, Broadstone, Corfe Mullen and Verwood. Not sure if we reach you? Give Pete a call and ask.

Why choose Dorset Rewires

  • Quotes, not estimates - a fixed price in writing that only changes if you change the job
  • No VAT to add (we are not VAT registered, not yet)
  • No markup on materials - we charge them at cost, our margin is in the labour
  • Electrician-led installs - the dedicated circuit, the fuse board check and the wiring are our own trade, done properly and certificated
  • A 10-year workmanship guarantee on our installation work, plus the manufacturer's warranty on the unit
  • Open 7 days a week - call 7am to 7pm, Saturday appointments at normal rates

Quick answers

Does air conditioning heat as well as cool?

Yes. Every modern wall-split unit is a reversible air-to-air heat pump: it cools in summer and heats in winter, typically delivering 3 to 4 kilowatts of heat for every kilowatt of electricity. Run against plug-in electric heaters, that is roughly a 70 percent cut in running cost for the same warmth.

Do I need planning permission for air conditioning in England?

Usually no. Since May 2025, units that provide heating as well as cooling are permitted development on most houses: up to 1.5 cubic metres, not on a wall facing the road, up to two units on a detached house and one otherwise. Cooling-only units and listed buildings still need a planning application, and a noise check to the current MCS standard applies. We check your property as part of the free survey.

How much does air conditioning cost to install?

Nationally, most homeowners pay between £1,600 and £2,800 for a single-room wall split, supplied and installed, and £3,500 to £7,000 for multi-room systems. We quote every job fixed, in writing, with no VAT to add. See our cost guide for the full breakdown.

Who does the refrigerant work?

The refrigerant connections, pressure test and commissioning are completed by an F-Gas certified engineer, as the law requires. Our electricians handle the survey, mounting, pipework routing, wiring and testing - and Pete stays your single point of contact for the whole job.

How long does an installation take?

A straightforward single-room wall split is typically fitted in a day. Multi-room systems usually take one to two days depending on pipe runs and access.

Want a room that works all year round?

Free survey, fixed written quote, no VAT to add, 10-year workmanship guarantee on our installation work. Call any day, 7am to 7pm.

Call Pete on 07836 535100 Read the cost guide →