What You Need to Know about Air Conditioning

Our summers are getting warmer. If you have spent recent Julys closing every curtain in the house, lying awake in a bedroom that will not cool down, or abandoning your conservatory for four months of the year, you are not alone.

Interest in home air conditioning has grown significantly across Torbay and South Devon over the past few years. At Datel Electrical, we carry out installations across Newton Abbot, Torquay, Paignton and the wider area, and the questions we are asked most often are always the same: what are the options, what does it actually cost to run, and is there a way to do it without a big unit on the outside of the house?

This post answers those questions honestly.

What Are the Options for Home Air Conditioning?

There are three main routes for homeowners in South Devon:

Portable air conditioning units

The cheapest upfront option and the one most people try first. Portable units are available from most electrical retailers and need no professional installation. They work by drawing warm air from the room, passing it across a refrigeration system and exhausting the hot air through a flexible hose vented through a window or door.

The downsides are significant. They are noisy, typically 50 to 58 decibels, which is about the volume of a normal conversation. They are bulky, taking up floor space and looking exactly like the temporary measure they are. They are less efficient than permanently installed alternatives. And they only cool, there is no heating function.

For occasional use they do the job. As a long-term solution for a South Devon home, most people who start with a portable unit end up looking at something more permanent within a couple of years.

Conventional split air conditioning

The system most people picture when they think of air conditioning, an indoor wall unit connected by refrigerant pipes to an external compressor mounted on the outside of the building. Split systems are genuinely effective. They are quiet indoors, highly efficient, and the better models also provide heating in winter as well as cooling in summer.

The two main obstacles in South Devon properties are practical. First, a suitable external wall position for the compressor is not always available, particularly on terraced properties, flats, listed buildings or homes where the owner simply does not want equipment on the exterior. Second, installation requires F-Gas certified refrigerant engineers, which adds to the overall installation cost.

Where a split system can be installed, it remains an excellent choice for larger rooms or for a whole-house approach across multiple rooms.

Permanently installed through-wall systems

The option we are seeing increasing demand for across South Devon, particularly in conservatories, flats, holiday lets and properties where the external appearance matters.

These systems house all the working components within a single wall-mounted unit inside the room. Instead of an external compressor, the unit connects to the outside through two discreet circular openings in the wall, fitted with flush external grilles. No large equipment on the building facade. No refrigerant pipes visible externally.

The same unit heats in winter and cools in summer, which is why qualifying permanently installed systems of this type currently benefit from 0% VAT on supply and installation in residential properties, they are classified as air-source heat pumps for VAT purposes. That 0% rate is currently scheduled to run until 31 March 2027.

They are quieter than portable units and significantly more discreet externally than a split system compressor. The trade-off is that they cover smaller areas than the largest split systems, which is why correct sizing at the survey stage matters.

Which Option is Right for Your South Devon Home?

The honest answer depends on the room, the property, and what you are trying to achieve.

Conservatories

The through-wall permanently installed system is almost always the best answer here. Conservatories often do not have a suitable external position for a split system compressor, and a portable unit in a conservatory is barely adequate even on a moderate day. A permanently installed system sized correctly for the conservatory transforms how usable the space is, year-round.

Bedrooms

Where there is a suitable external wall position and the room is large enough, a split system will be quieter and more efficient. Where the property does not lend itself to an external unit, a through-wall permanently installed system is the practical alternative.

Flats and apartments

Leasehold restrictions, the absence of suitable external space and the visual requirements of apartment buildings make conventional split systems difficult or impossible in many South Devon flats. Through-wall systems are frequently the only practical permanent option.

Holiday lets

Both split systems and through-wall permanently installed systems work well in holiday let properties. The 0% VAT relief on qualifying through-wall installations makes those particularly cost-effective right now. We install across Torbay and South Devon and can advise at the survey stage on which approach best suits the property.

The VAT Position in 2026

This is worth understanding before you make a decision. Qualifying permanently installed air-source heat pump systems, which includes the through-wall heating and cooling systems we install, are currently zero-rated for VAT when supplied and installed in residential properties by a registered business. The 0% rate runs until 31 March 2027, after which it is currently scheduled to revert to 5%.

This does not apply to portable units or to customers who purchase a unit themselves and arrange installation separately. It applies to qualifying supply-and-install packages, which is exactly what Datel Electrical provides.

Whether your specific installation qualifies depends on the system and the installation. We are happy to discuss this at the free survey stage, and you can also seek independent tax advice if you want to confirm eligibility before proceeding.

What Datel Electrical Offers

We carry out complete heating and cooling installations across Newton Abbot, Torquay, Paignton, Teignmouth, Dawlish, Brixham, Totnes, Dartmouth, Kingsbridge and Salcombe. That means the survey, the specification, the supply of the unit, the specialist core drilling, the electrical installation, and the testing and commissioning, all handled by our own team.

We do not recommend a system without surveying the room first. Every room is different and getting the sizing right is the single most important factor in whether a system performs as expected.

“The question we get asked is always some version of: can you make my house more comfortable in summer without it looking terrible from outside? The answer is yes, and more often than not there is a well-timed VAT benefit that makes acting now rather than later a straightforward decision.”

Dave Wright, Founder, Datel Electrical

Free survey across South Devon. Call 01803 874074 or find out more here

Frequently Asked Questions