Multi-split air conditioning in Croydon

How does a multi-split differ from fitting two single units?

Outside, there is one box instead of two or three. Inside, nothing changes: each room still has its own wall unit and its own remote. Every indoor unit has its own pipe run back to the outdoor unit, so a three-room system means three pairs of pipes converging on one point, usually at the rear of the house.

Why does Croydon's housing make this the sensible choice?

Because so much of it is joined to the house next door. The 2021 Census counted 35,580 terraced households and 37,841 semi-detached in the borough, nearly half of all homes. The permitted development rules give a semi or a terrace its first outdoor unit without a planning application and nothing after that. One outdoor unit serving the bedrooms and the living room keeps you inside that allowance. A detached house gets two, which gives it more options. Sources: Census 2021; Planning Portal.

What are the drawbacks?

• A single point of failure. If the outdoor unit stops, every room on it stops.
• More pipework. Three rooms on three floors means three routes to plan and hide.
• A bigger outdoor unit. It needs the space, and it still has to pass the 37 dB(A) test at the neighbour's nearest window.
• One mode at a time. On most systems every room heats or every room cools; you cannot do both at once.
• Capacity is shared. If every room runs flat out on the hottest afternoon, a system sized for typical use will fall behind. The survey has to ask how you really live.

When are separate single splits better?

When the rooms are far apart, when you want to start with one room and add others years later, or when the house is detached and can take two outdoor units under permitted development. Two singles also mean two independent systems, so a fault in one leaves the other running. At the survey we price the same rooms both ways and let you compare.

What about a house divided into flats?

Each flat normally needs its own system and its own agreement with the freeholder, because the outside walls belong to the building, not the flat. In Croydon 12,973 households live in houses that have been split up, and the first question is always the lease. Read air conditioning in a flat before asking for prices. Source: Census 2021.