FAQ
Aircon installation questions, answered
Every answer here comes from a regulation, a City of Cape Town page, a manufacturer or a published price guide, and we name the source in the answer. Where nobody has published a reliable answer, we have left the question out.
Cost and electricity
Published prices vary, and none of the sources below says whether VAT is included. Sucasa Air advertised a back-to-back installation of a 9,000 to 24,000 BTU midwall split at R3,250 on a Black November sale (it was R3,800), with 1 metre of copper pipe included. UtilityPal lists R2,940 to install one wall split in the Western Cape. Kandua's 2025 guide puts Western Cape installation labour at R2,000 to R3,500. Those figures are for fitting only. King Handyman's September 2026 guide gives budgets that include the unit itself, starting at R6,500 to R10,500 for a 9,000 BTU unit. Your own price comes in a written quote after a site visit.
It depends on the unit, the room and how long it runs, so we cannot give one figure. What we can give you is the rate. On the City of Cape Town's Home User tariff, from 1 July 2026, the first 600 kWh in a month cost 309.52c per kWh before VAT (355.95c with VAT), and every kWh above that costs 407.88c (469.06c with VAT). These rates apply only where the City supplies the electricity. Midea's South African aircon site says non-inverter units consume up to 40% more electricity than inverter models.
We cannot name one brand: none of the sources we read compares brands on efficiency. An amended energy-efficiency and labelling specification for air conditioners up to 16 kW, VC 9008, was gazetted on 28 August 2026, but its first phase only takes effect 12 months after publication, so around August 2027. Until then, compare the efficiency figures on each model's own specification sheet, and ask whether the unit is an inverter.
The full source-by-source table, with dates and what each price includes, is on our aircon installation cost page.
Sizing, rules and paperwork
Brands give different answers. LG South Africa's chart says 9,000 BTU for 15 to 20 m², 12,000 BTU for 20 to 30 m² and 18,000 BTU for 30 to 40 m². Midea's guide says 9,000 BTU for 15 to 18 m², 12,000 BTU for 20 to 25 m² and 18,000 BTU for 30 to 35 m², leaves gaps between those bands, and says larger areas need an installer to advise. Samsung Air, a Samsung distributor, uses a rule of thumb of about 600 BTU per square metre. Sun, insulation and ceiling height also matter, which is why we measure on site.
Under the Pressure Equipment Regulations, the Department of Employment and Labour's guidance says the certificate of conformity for installing or servicing a refrigeration system must come from an SAQCC Gas registered practitioner, and the standard it names, SANS 10147, covers refrigerating systems including plants associated with air-conditioning systems. The installer who does the work must be SAQCC Gas registered. Ask to see the card, and you can check it on SAQCC Gas's public search.
If a circuit is added or the wiring is altered, yes. The Electrical Installation Regulations require a certificate of compliance for at least the addition or alteration, issued by a registered electrical contractor. If your installation predates 23 October 1992 and the property has not changed hands since 1 March 1994, any addition means a certificate for the whole installation.
No. Since 1 January 2015, using R22 or any other HCFC refrigerant in a new air-conditioning installation has been prohibited. For existing units, the national HCFC supply is capped at 2.5% of the baseline from 2026 to 2030, may only be used for servicing from 2031, and by 2040 HCFCs may not be imported or used at all.
Yes. The Western Cape Noise Control Regulations of 2013 apply across the province. In a residential area, air-conditioning equipment may not make more than 50 dBA at the property boundary, or more than 5 dBA above the background noise there, unless the local authority allows it or there is an emergency.
Probably. Under the default conduct rules for sectional title schemes, you need the trustees' written consent to change the external appearance of your section, unless the change is minor, and to drive nails or screws into a structure that is common property. The rules do not mention aircons by name, and your scheme may have its own, so check them first.
It can. The City of Cape Town says a permit from Heritage Western Cape is required for any alteration to a building older than 60 years. It does not say whether mounting an aircon counts, so on an older house ask the City's heritage office first. The age of the wiring matters too, for the electrical certificate.
The order these come up in on a real job is laid out on how an installation works, and our home aircon installation page puts the brand sizing charts side by side.
After the install
Follow your unit's warranty card, because warranties can depend on it. Samsung Air says its 5-year warranty on Samsung midwall splits requires servicing as the warranty card sets out. Hirsch's, a retailer, makes all warranties on its installations subject to an annual service and recommends six-monthly servicing.
Yes, if it is a reverse-cycle split, which heats as well as cools. At the Cape Town International Airport weather station, the average July minimum was 7.4 °C over 1991 to 2020, and the average January maximum was 27.0 °C. Conditions in your own suburb may differ from the airport's.
Booking a check-up for a unit you already have? See aircon servicing in Cape Town, and for heating, the winter heating page.
Call 060 016 7019