Split System Installation in Laverton

Post war housing here typically has 2.4 metre ceilings, single glazed windows and either no wall insulation or the remains of something added in the 1980s. Room volumes are modest, which helps, but the building envelope is working against you in both directions.

That combination means a 4 by 4 metre bedroom that a chart would call 2.5kW often wants 3.5kW here. Before sizing anything we look in the roof space, because ceiling insulation is the cheapest capacity available and restoring it can drop a living area a full step. It also improves the room whether or not you install anything at all.

The newer compact estate housing in Laverton is built to modern insulation standards, so heat load per room is lower and capacities can be smaller. The constraint moves outdoors. Narrow setbacks, a services area already occupied by the hot water unit and the meter box, and neighbours close enough that condenser noise and position matter.

Where there is one viable outdoor position, a multi head system serving two to four indoor heads is usually the practical answer. It is worth knowing the trade off before you commit. All heads share one compressor and one refrigerant circuit, so they run in the same mode, part load efficiency is lower than a well matched single, and one outdoor fault takes out every room at once.

Because of the industrial zoning around Aviation Road and the rail corridor, three phase supply reaches more Laverton addresses than it does in most residential suburbs. For a single split system that makes no difference at all, since domestic splits run on single phase.

Where it matters is at the larger end. Big ducted reverse cycle systems, multiple systems on one property, or a workshop and a house drawing at the same time. If three phase is already at your meter, larger equipment becomes practical without a supply upgrade. It is worth checking the meter box before assuming your options are limited to what a single phase supply will carry.

Installed cost is $2,500 to $7,500 depending on capacity and head count, with more for long pipe runs, difficult access or upper floor heads. Reverse cycle returns 3 to 4 units of heat per unit of electricity where gas converts only 80 to 92 percent of its fuel, which is roughly 28 to 36 cents an hour to heat a room against 50 to 72 cents for ducted gas.

Victorian Energy Upgrades discounts are applied directly to the invoice, with no income test, on properties at least two years old, and with a $200 including GST minimum customer contribution. The program changed on 30 September 2026 so amounts are confirmed at quote. Refrigerant work is done under ARC licence and the electrical connection under REC 37223 with a Certificate of Electrical Safety issued on completion.

Older Laverton boards are among the most likely in the west to warrant outright replacement rather than modification, and every indoor head needs its own dedicated circuit and isolator. Where the board has to be replaced first, it is quoted as a separate line so you can see which part is the air conditioning and which part is the house being brought up to standard.