When installing an air conditioning system within the Sutherland Shire there are several rules and guidelines to consider. Every air-conditioning system’s noise is calculated using the decibel (dB) This unit is to measure the unit of sound.
Is my air conditioning system too loud and How is offensive noise measured?
Any noise from a Sutherland shire Air conditioning system that surpasses 5 decibels [dB(A)] above the background level might be offensive. The background sound level is measured without the difficult noise source occurring and rejecting unrelated noise such as traffic or rail noise. The background level will vary depending on the time of day and the location of the property. The minimum background level used in noise calculation is 30 dB(A).
Sutherland Shire Air conditioning time restrictions within residential areas.
If you receive a complaint for an old noisy air conditioning system you may be required to stick to the below times to operate your air conditioning system.
- Saturday, Sunday or public holiday – before 8am or after 10pm.
- Any other day – before 7am or after 10pm.
Sutherland shire Ducted air conditioning installations. Modern Ducted air conditioning systems are high tech, efficient and very quiet compared to older style systems. We recommend that you talk to our staff when choosing to install your ducted air-conditioning system in the Sutherland shire so we can guide you to having the most suitable system for the house you live in.
Sutherland shire Split system air conditioning installations. Split systems have a lower dB rating so could be beneficial if you live in dense living area such as apartments.
Things to consider with your Sutherland shire air conditioning system
- Replace or repair old noisy air-conditioning systems before you receive a complaint.
- Locate the equipment away from your neighbour’s bedroom and living room windows.
- Locating the unit close to a common boundary adjacent to your neighbour’s dwelling is likely to cause a noise problem to your neighbour that may result in the council becoming involved, and you having to either reduce the impact of the sound or re locate the system to different place.
When should I replace my air conditioning system?
Good signs to replace your air-conditioning system.
- 1. Air conditioning unit is more than 10 years old. In general, you can expect a well looked after and maintained air conditioning system to last around 15 years. However, if you’re in need of expensive repairs and your air conditioner is more than 10 years old, it will often make more sense to replace it. This is true when you consider the advancements in efficiency with air conditioners in the past 10 years alone.
- 2. Air conditioner is inefficient and causing very high power bills. If your air conditioning unit has a poor star rating, it can cost you lots of money to operate it. Air conditioning units can also be inefficient if it is poorly installed or is the wrong size system for the application, for example if your air conditioning system is too big for your home it will constantly turn on and off causing strain and excessive electricity use. Or if your system is to small it will be constantly running to try and cool or heat the space it is serving.
- Frequent breakdowns and service calls.
Is your air conditioning unit always breaking down? Are you calling CoolCats air conditioning every month because of a new problem with your air conditioning unit? These costs can really add up. Save yourself the stress, headaches and the money by investing in a new unit.
- 4. You’re facing expensive repairs. Any time you’re facing an expensive repair, you’ll want to weigh the costs of the repair against the costs of a new unit. If the cost of the repair would cover a large part of a new system, and especially if your air conditioner is showing any of the other signs in this list, it will likely make more financial sense to replace it.
- 5. Air conditioning unit uses R22 gas. Australian government is phasing out R22 as it is bad for the environment.
It’s a great thing that the Australian government has recognized that this gas is causing harm to our environment so we can slowly implement more environmentally friendly substitutes and more efficient gasses.
If your system is using R22 and you have a leak it can be very expensive to retrofit a new gas so we recommend replacing to a new substitute.