Split System Installation in Maidstone

Every split system has a maximum pipe length and a maximum height difference between the indoor head and the outdoor unit. In a double storey Maidstone townhouse, an upstairs rear bedroom head running down to a condenser in a small ground level courtyard can approach both limits at once, particularly on a multi head system where each branch adds to the total.

Long runs also need extra refrigerant and they reduce delivered capacity at the head, so an upstairs bedroom served by a long run may need a larger head than its size suggests. That is a design calculation, not a catalogue selection, and it is why we look for the vertical route before we quote a system.

Modern Maidstone townhouses have insulated cavity walls and insulated ceilings, so the base heat load is low. What works against them is upstairs heat, west facing glazing on tight setbacks with no shading from neighbours, and rooms over a garage that have a cold floor in winter and no thermal buffer.

A standard upstairs bedroom here is usually 2.5kW. A bedroom over the garage with a large west facing window is 3.5kW. The ground floor open plan living, dining and kitchen area, typically with 2.55 metre ceilings and stacker doors to a courtyard, is generally 5.0 to 7.1kW depending on how much glass there is and whether the stairwell is open to it.

The remaining older Maidstone cottages have modest room sizes and ceilings around 2.7 to 3.0 metres, and typically no wall insulation and tired ceiling batts. Volumes are small but the envelope leaks, so capacities land higher than the room dimensions imply.

They also usually have limited side access, which restricts outdoor unit positions and pushes these homes toward a multi head system with one condenser in the rear yard. We check the roof space before sizing, because restoring ceiling insulation in a cottage like this is the cheapest capacity available and it improves every room, not just the conditioned ones.

Every indoor head needs a dedicated circuit and an isolator. Newer townhouse boards handle that easily. Older Maidstone cottages regularly need the board and sometimes the consumer mains between the meter and the board upgraded first, and that appears as a separate line in the quote rather than being absorbed.

Installed cost is $2,500 to $7,500 depending on capacity and head count, with more for long pipe runs and upper floor heads, both common here. Victorian Energy Upgrades discounts come off the invoice directly, no income test, property at least two years old, $200 including GST minimum contribution. The program changed on 30 September 2026 so amounts are confirmed at quote. Refrigerant work is under ARC licence, electrical work under REC 37223.

The things that should never be optional are the ones you cannot see: brazed joints, a nitrogen pressure test, a proper vacuum on the lines, insulated and UV protected pipework and a condensate drain with real fall. On a Maidstone townhouse with a long external chase, the UV protection on the pipe insulation matters, because unprotected lagging perishes within a couple of summers.