Split System Installation in Leopold

The older estate blocks of roughly 500 to 750 square metres have clear side access, so there is room for more than one outdoor unit with proper clearance. Separate single head systems are the better answer there, running at their best efficiency per room and failing independently.

The newer Gateway and Estuary estates drop to 350 to 550 square metres and the side access is often lost to the garage. Where one position is all the block offers, a multi head serving two to five heads is the sensible answer rather than a compromise.

Lake Connewarre is a saline estuary and Corio Bay is about two kilometres north, so salt reaches outdoor equipment here despite there being no beach frontage. It is milder than the open ocean exposure at Ocean Grove, but it is not nothing, and it shows up on coil fins and fixings.

Our approach is to match the specification to the position. Exposed elevations facing the lake or the bay get corrosion protected coils and stainless or galvanised hardware. Sheltered positions further inland in the suburb can use standard equipment, and we say which applies rather than charging for the higher spec everywhere.

The 1970s and 80s stock that dominates here usually has a serviceable board, but with limited spare ways left. Each indoor head needs its own dedicated circuit and isolator, so three heads is three positions the board may not have.

That makes a load calculation worth doing before anything is ordered, particularly in a house that has already added electric cooking, a heat pump or a charger. We check at the quote and price the circuits and any board work as separate lines.

The dominant stock is single storey brick veneer with 2.4 metre ceilings, hipped roofs and estate street grids that produce mixed orientations. Volumes are modest, and the 1970s and 80s homes have some wall insulation but ceiling batts that are usually well past their best.

A Leopold bedroom is typically 2.5 to 3.5kW, a lounge 5.0kW, and a knocked through living and dining area with a west facing slider 7.1kW. There is little mature canopy in the estates, so west facing glass gets full afternoon sun.

Reverse cycle returns 3 to 4 units of heat per unit of electricity against 80 to 92 percent conversion for gas, roughly 28 to 36 cents an hour to heat a room instead of 50 to 72 cents, or about $200 to $450 a year. Victorian Energy Upgrades discounts come off the invoice directly, no income test, property at least two years old, $200 including GST minimum contribution, with the program having changed on 30 September 2026.

Leopold is about 70km from our Altona workshop. Because this is a permanent resident suburb, access is easy to arrange and evening confirmation calls actually reach someone, which is not true everywhere on the Bellarine. We still book work here in planned blocks with a nominated week.