What air conditioning
actually costs in London
Real numbers, what moves them, and what a quote should include. Use the calculator for an estimate in about thirty seconds, then get a fixed written price after a free survey.
- One room: 1,750 to 3,500 pounds fitted, including VAT
- Two rooms on one outdoor unit: 3,200 to 5,500 pounds
- Three rooms: 4,500 to 7,500 pounds
- Whole 4 bed house: 8,000 to 14,000 pounds
Estimates on this page are cross-checked against Checkatrade, Daikin and OVO published ranges.
- Electro Heating LimitedCompany 12609754, registered in England and Wales
- NICEIC and Gas Safe registeredHeld by the parent company
- MCS certifiedFor heat pump and solar work
- 10+ years in LondonSame engineers, same company
Work out your number
Five questions. It gives you a range rather than a single figure, because anybody quoting one number without seeing the property is guessing.
Air conditioning installation in London costs 1,750 to 3,500 pounds for one room, 3,200 to 5,500 pounds for two rooms on one outdoor unit, and 8,000 to 14,000 pounds for a whole four-bedroom house.
All figures include the units, installation, commissioning, electrical work and VAT. What moves the number is access, pipe length and electrics rather than the brand of the unit.
Price by job size
| Job | System | Installed price |
|---|---|---|
| One bedroom | 2.5kW single split | £1,750 to £2,300 |
| One double bedroom | 3.5kW single split | £1,900 to £2,700 |
| One living room | 5kW single split | £2,300 to £3,500 |
| Two bedrooms | 2 x 2.5kW multi-split | £3,200 to £4,400 |
| Bedroom and living room | 2 unit multi-split | £3,600 to £5,500 |
| Three rooms | 3 unit multi-split | £4,500 to £7,500 |
| Whole 3 bed house | 4 to 5 units | £6,800 to £11,000 |
| Whole 4 bed house | 5 to 6 units, often 2 outdoor | £8,000 to £14,000 |
| Ceiling cassette, per room | Add to the above | +£500 to £900 |
| Slim ducted, per room | Add to the above | +£700 to £1,400 |
What adds cost, and roughly how much
| Item | When it applies | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pipe run over 8 metres | Outdoor unit far from the room | +£40 per metre |
| Wall-mounted outdoor unit | No ground position available | +£250 to £600 |
| Scaffold or tower | Above first floor, no safe ladder access | +£300 to £700 |
| Dedicated circuit from the board | Nearly always on a new install | +£250 to £450 |
| Consumer unit upgrade | Board is full or has no RCD protection | +£450 to £850 |
| Condensate pump | No natural fall to a drain | +£140 to £260 |
| Internal pipe boxing and decoration | Where a surface run is not acceptable | +£180 to £600 |
| Removing an old system | Replacement jobs, includes refrigerant recovery | +£180 to £350 |
Everything on this list is identified at the free survey and appears on the written quote. Nothing on it turns up as an extra on the day.
How to compare three quotes properly
When two quotes for the same job differ by a thousand pounds, the difference is almost never profit. Ask all three installers these five questions and the gap usually explains itself:
- What is the make and model number of every unit? Not the brand. The model, so you can compare the actual specification and the sound level.
- How many metres of pipework are included, and what is the rate after that?
- Is a dedicated electrical circuit included, or are you spurring off something existing? Spurring off a ring is a common corner cut and it is not compliant.
- Will I get a commissioning record with the weighed charge and the pressure test result? If not, ask why not.
- What exactly is excluded? Get it in writing.
Where our numbers come from
The ranges on this page are our own installed prices, cross-checked in September 2026 against three published UK sources so you can see we are not inventing them: Checkatrade puts a 12,000 BTU wall unit at about 750 pounds plus 1,150 pounds to fit, Daikin publishes 1,800 pounds and upwards for a single room, and OVO publishes 1,500 to 3,500 pounds for a single room installation.
Every figure on this site is an estimate based on published UK market ranges and our own installation experience. It is not a quotation. The price you are given after the free survey is the price you pay.
Cost questions
How much does air conditioning cost in the UK?
A single room wall-mounted split system costs 1,750 to 3,500 pounds supplied and fitted including VAT. Two rooms on one outdoor unit is 3,200 to 5,500 pounds, three rooms 4,500 to 7,500 pounds, and a whole four-bedroom house 8,000 to 14,000 pounds.
London sits at the upper half of those ranges, mainly because access is harder, parking is worse and more properties need scaffold or a lift to get an outdoor unit into position.
Why do quotes for the same job vary by 1,000 pounds?
Three reasons, and only one of them is profit. First, what is included: some quotes exclude the electrical circuit, the making good, or the scaffold. Second, the unit: a budget brand and a Daikin or Mitsubishi of the same output differ by 400 to 700 pounds at trade. Third, the time spent commissioning, which is invisible on the quote and is where cheap installs are cheap.
Compare the make and model number, the length of pipe included, whether a dedicated circuit is in the price, and whether you get a commissioning record. Those four questions separate quotes faster than the total does.
Is there VAT on air conditioning installation?
Yes, 20 percent, and every price on this page includes it. Air conditioning does not qualify for the 0 percent VAT relief that applies to heat pumps, solar panels and battery storage, because that relief covers energy saving materials and air-to-air cooling is not on the list.
There is one narrow exception: a system installed as part of a qualifying renovation of a dwelling empty for two years or more can attract 5 percent. Your accountant, not us, should confirm whether that applies.
Can I get a grant or finance for air conditioning?
There is no UK grant for air conditioning. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme covers air-to-water heat pumps only, and air-to-air systems are specifically excluded, so anyone advertising a grant for air conditioning is describing a different machine.
If the grant is what you are after, that is an air source heat pump and it is worth 7,500 pounds.
What does the price include?
The indoor and outdoor units, wall brackets or floor feet, up to eight metres of insulated pipework, condensate run and termination, the dedicated electrical circuit and isolator, core drilling and making good, commissioning with a weighed refrigerant charge, certificates, warranty registration, and removal of all waste.
It does not include scaffold where the position needs it, structural work, redecoration beyond making good the core hole, or a consumer unit upgrade if yours has no spare capacity. Any of those appear on the quote before you agree it, never afterwards.
Turn the estimate into a fixed price
The survey is free and the price we give you afterwards is written, itemised and does not change unless you change the job.