Air conditioning that heats as well as it cools
Most people come to us about one hot bedroom or a loft conversion that is unusable in July. What they end up with is a system that runs the heating for most of the year at a fraction of what electric heating costs.
F-Gas registered engineers • Free on-site assessment • Fixed written quotes
The rooms people actually call us about
Almost every domestic job we quote starts as one of these.
The worst room in the house for six weeks a year and often the coldest in January. Little insulation above, glazing facing the wrong way, and a long way from the boiler. The single most common reason we get called.
Large glazed areas, a flat or shallow roof, and underfloor heating that does nothing in summer. Usually needs more capacity than people expect, which is exactly why it gets calculated rather than guessed.
Where noise matters more than anything else. Every unit we fit runs at or under 20dB on its quiet setting, which is below the sound of breathing.
A small room with a person, a couple of screens and a closed door. Easy to cool, easy to oversize, and the one where the wrong unit short-cycles all day.
Honest answer: sometimes the glazing has to be addressed first. We will tell you if a unit alone is going to disappoint you before we quote for one.
Several rooms off one outdoor unit, added at once or over a few years. Worth sizing the outdoor unit for where you are going, not where you are.
You are buying a heat pump
An air conditioner and an air-to-air heat pump are the same machine. Ours run in reverse all winter.
Cooling is what you buy it for. Heating is what you use it for.
In this country the cooling season is a few weeks. The heating season is half the year. A unit sized properly for a loft conversion will take the chill off that room in seconds in November, from a plug rather than a boiler.
Heat only what you use
A home office warm from eight until six without heating the whole house to do it.
Filtration comes with it
Every unit filters as it runs. The better ones add allergen and odour filtration on top.
Damp rooms dry out
Pulling moisture out is part of how cooling works, which is why damp box rooms improve.
You probably do not need planning permission
The rules changed and most people have not caught up.
The one-metre standoff from the boundary has gone.
Nearly trebled, so far more systems fit inside permitted development.
Detached properties can now take two outdoor units.
Cooling-mode air-to-air finally counts as permitted development.
None of it touches a listed building, which needs consent in its own right, or an elevation facing a highway in a conservation area. The MCS 020 noise limit at the neighbouring window applies to every property regardless. We check all of it before quoting — it is not something you should be finding out afterwards.
How an install actually goes
Four steps, and you know the price before step three.
An engineer walks the rooms, checks wall construction, pipe routes and where the outdoor unit can legally go.
FreeHeat-load calculated per room, system sized against it, and the quote agreed in writing before anything is ordered.
Fixed in writingMost single-room installs are done in a day. Access, pipe routing and making-good agreed before we start.
F-Gas registeredPressure tested, charged, performance logged and the controls explained properly before we leave.
Parts & labour warrantyHow we work › · The design process › · Installation & commissioning ›
Straight answers on keeping it running
A domestic system wants servicing once a year — filters, drainage, refrigerant charge and a performance check. Skipping it is how a quiet, efficient system becomes a noisy, expensive one over about four years.
Which unit goes in
We fit ten manufacturers and take nothing from any of them for placing a unit. The right one depends on your room, not on our stockholding.
Every brand we fit, on one scale, with price bands and noise figures side by side.
Compare the range ›
Daikin’s design range runs to nine finishes including wood and fabric.
Daikin air conditioning ›
Ducted units live in the ceiling void and leave grilles only.
Ducted air conditioning ›
One outdoor unit can run your rooms and a hot water cylinder.
Daikin Multi+ ›
Why have ArcticNord fit it?
The unit is half the job. Sizing, siting and commissioning decide whether you get what you paid for.
Heat-load run on the actual room — glazing, orientation, insulation, occupancy. An oversized unit short-cycles, runs noisily and costs more to buy and to run.
Refrigerant handling is legally controlled work. Our engineers are certified and the paperwork at handover proves it.
Access, airflow, condensate, and noise at the neighbouring window. Decided before we quote, not on the day.
Conservation area, listed status and the MCS 020 noise limit all confirmed at survey, not discovered later.
Ten manufacturers, no placement money from any of them. If the cheaper unit does your room, we will say so.
Servicing and care plans run in-house, by the people who installed it and know how it was set up.
Common questions
How much does it cost to run?
Far less than people expect, because a heat pump moves heat rather than making it. A well-sized wall unit typically delivers three to five times more heating or cooling than the electricity it draws. The number for your room depends on the unit and how you use it, and we will put a real figure against it at survey rather than a slogan.
Is it noisy?
Indoors, no. Every unit we fit reaches 20dB(A) or below on its quiet setting, which is quieter than a library. Outdoors matters more, because of your neighbours — the MCS 020 limit is assessed at their window, and that is part of siting the outdoor unit properly.
Do I need planning permission?
Usually not, since May 2025. The boundary standoff has gone, the permitted unit size nearly trebled, and cooling-mode systems now count as permitted development. Listed buildings and highway-facing elevations in conservation areas are the exceptions, and we check both before quoting.
How long does an installation take?
A single room is usually one day. Multi-room systems take two or three depending on pipe routes and access. We agree access and making-good before we start rather than discovering it on the day.
Will it heat the room in winter?
Yes, and that is where most of the value is. It is an air-to-air heat pump, so it runs in reverse. In this country you will use it for heating far more than for cooling.
Can I add more rooms later?
Yes, if the outdoor unit was sized for it. That is worth deciding at the first survey — specifying a larger condenser now is much cheaper than replacing it in two years.
Find out what your rooms actually need
Free on-site assessment, heat-load sizing, and a fixed written quote before anything is ordered.