{"id":97398,"date":"2026-01-28T06:10:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T20:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=97398"},"modified":"2026-01-28T07:59:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T22:29:54","slug":"what-aircon-installs-cost-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/what-aircon-installs-cost-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Aircon Installs: What It Really Costs To Beat The Heat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AnIt wasn’t even 11am in my neck of the woods in Adelaide on Tuesday, and the temperature had already reached 42.2C. After several days roasting in the forties, it’s fair to say that if I didn’t already have air conditioning, I’d have given up one of my kidneys to get it. Maybe even both of them.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, air conditioning installers don’t typically expect human organs as payment – although that doesn’t mean a quality new system comes cheap. Here’s how much it typically costs to install an air conditioner in Australia in 2026.<\/p>\n

What Does An Air Conditioning Install Cost In Australia?<\/h2>\n

The cost of installing a reverse-cycle air conditioner depends on a range of factors, including what type of air conditioner you get, the size of the system, the brand, extra features and the complexity of the job. Including install, reverse cycle ducted systems typically cost $12,000 to $17,000, multi-head splits between $4,200 and $8,000, while a single split system is around $1,800 to $4,800.<\/p>\n

Don’t Rush Your Purchase On A Hot Day<\/h2>\n

Like much of the country in recent days, here in South Australia we’ve been copping an absolute monster of a heatwave.\u00a0 It hit 44.7C in Adelaide on Monday, while Ceduna was cooked to the tune of 49.5C, at which point you might as well be living on Venus.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, I got a reverse cycle ducted system in 2024 that’s sheltered us from the worst of it. Ducted is on the expensive side, but given we wanted to cover four different rooms we decided to make the investment instead of a handful of different split systems (here’s how to choose between ducted and splits)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We went with a 12.5kW Panasonic ducted system (our review of Panasonic<\/a> explains why it is also one of our recommended aircon brands for split systems<\/a>) and I don’t regret it, particularly at times like this when you can cook an egg on the pavement before midday.<\/p>\n

It took a few days to get an installer to visit and there was a lead time of three weeks to get the system installed, so there’s no point racing out to get a new system based on the day’s weather – particularly for complex ducted installs.<\/p>\n

When I bought the system in 2024 it cost $11,680, but I opted against a few extra bells and whistles that would have added to the bill. I chose not to get a Polyaire AirTouch 5 that would have given me wireless control for $620 extra.<\/p>\n

I also opted against mounting the outdoor unit on a concrete slab, saving $270. Instead the outdoor unit is attached to the wall with brackets, which means there’s more vibration and noise, but for us it is located out of the way and we haven’t noticed it anyway.<\/p>\n

\"An

Installing the outdoor unit of my ducted system on the wall instead of atop a concrete slab reduced the cost of the install by a couple of hundred bucks, but the extra noise may not be worth it, depending on location.<\/p><\/div>\n

Typical Air Conditioner System & Installation Costs In 2026<\/h2>\n

Prices have gone up since I got my system in 2024, unsurprisingly. The SolarQuotes team did some research and found that these days the air conditioner and install costs vary significantly:<\/p>\n