Full cooling output restored
Clean filters and coils return airflow and heat rejection to specification, which is usually the difference between a room that cools and a room that only takes the edge off.
Cooling · Basingstoke & north Hampshire
Air Conditioning ServicingIn Basingstoke —Output, Efficiency, Air Quality
An annual service by an F-Gas certified engineer keeps your system delivering the cooling capacity you paid for, keeps the air it circulates clean, and catches the small faults that turn into compressor failures.
F-Gas certified Refcom REF1025590 · 15 years qualified · £2 million public liability · one-year workmanship guarantee
At a glance
Domestic AC servicing to keep output, efficiency and air quality where they should be.
- Free survey and a written price, fixed once given
- 8am–5pm, Monday to Friday
- Out-of-hours emergency call-outs available
- One-year workmanship guarantee on every job
15 years qualified
Apprenticeship completed 2011
Gas Safe 593588
Registered engineer
F-Gas certified
Refcom REF1025590
£2 million cover
Public liability insured
Fixed quotes
Free, and fixed once given
Overview
What an air conditioning service covers
Air conditioning degrades gradually and invisibly. Filters load with dust, indoor and outdoor coils foul, the condensate route silts up and refrigerant charge can drift. None of it announces itself — the system simply takes longer to cool the room each summer, and the electricity it consumes to do so creeps upwards.
A service reverses that. Filters and coils are cleaned, the condensate route is cleared and proved, electrical connections and controls are checked, and the system's operating performance is verified in both cooling and heating so any drop in capacity is identified rather than tolerated.
It is also the visit where the air quality side gets attention. An indoor unit circulates the room's air through a wet coil and a filter, and a neglected unit will hold dust and biological growth that ends up in the air you breathe. That is the part people notice most immediately once it has been dealt with.
Who it is for
- Anyone with a domestic split or multi-split system, whoever installed it
- Households noticing weaker cooling, longer run times or higher summer electricity bills
- Owners of systems still under manufacturer warranty, where maintenance is typically a condition
- Anyone with musty odours, visible dust on grilles or water dripping from an indoor unit
- People who have just moved into a property with an existing system and no service history
When it is needed
- Annually, ideally in spring before the cooling season begins
- When cooling output has noticeably fallen or run times have lengthened
- If there is any smell, noise or water discharge from an indoor unit
- Where the manufacturer warranty requires documented maintenance
- After a long period out of use, such as taking on a property with a dormant system
The cost of leaving it
What a neglected system does to itself
A blocked filter is the first domino. Restricted airflow across the indoor coil drops the coil temperature, which causes icing, which drops output further and returns liquid refrigerant towards a compressor designed to handle gas. Compressor damage is the single most expensive failure a split system can suffer, and it is regularly the end of the system rather than a repair.
The outdoor coil does the same thing from the other end. Choked with dust, pollen and debris it cannot reject heat, so head pressure rises, efficiency collapses and the compressor works harder and hotter for the same cooling. You pay for that in electricity long before anything breaks.
The condensate route is the failure that damages the building rather than the system. A silted drain backs up into the indoor unit and overflows down the wall — usually behind or below the unit, so the first sign is staining, blown plaster or a damp patch on a ceiling.
And a dirty, damp indoor unit is a biological problem as much as a mechanical one. Dust and moisture on a coil support growth, and that growth ends up in the air of the room the system serves — commonly a bedroom.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a system that still blows cold air needs nothing done to it
- Never cleaning the filters between annual services, which is the one task owners can do themselves
- Ignoring ice forming on the pipework or indoor coil, which is a warning rather than a quirk
- Topping up refrigerant repeatedly instead of finding the leak causing the loss
- Letting someone without F-Gas certification open the refrigerant circuit
Our process
What happens during the service
A consistent inspection and clean of both units, finished with a performance check.
01
Indoor unit inspection and clean
Filters are removed and cleaned or replaced, the coil, fan and blower are inspected and cleaned, and the casing and grilles are checked for dust build-up and any sign of biological growth.
02
Condensate route clearing and testing
The drain pan and condensate line are cleared and proved to run freely, and any pump is tested. This is the check that prevents water damage to the wall and the room below.
03
Outdoor unit inspection and clean
The condenser coil is cleaned of dust, pollen and debris, fan operation is checked, clearances are confirmed and mountings, brackets and anti-vibration measures are inspected.
04
Electrical, controls and refrigerant check
Electrical connections, isolation and controls are checked, and system operating pressures and temperatures are assessed for any sign of refrigerant loss. Refrigerant work is carried out under F-Gas certification Refcom REF1025590.
05
Performance verification and report
The system is run in cooling and heating and the delivered performance is verified rather than assumed. You get a plain summary of condition, anything that needs attention, and what it would cost — with no work started unasked.
Benefits
What you get out of it
The capacity you paid for, held where it should be.
Lower running cost
A fouled system draws more electricity for less cooling. Cleaning the coils and confirming correct operation is the cheapest efficiency measure available to an existing system.
Cleaner air indoors
Filters and the indoor coil are the two places dust and growth accumulate, and they are both dealt with — which matters most in bedrooms and home offices.
Water damage prevented
The condensate pan, drain and any pump are cleared and proved, so the system does not discharge into your wall during the first hot week.
Compressor life protected
Airflow restrictions, icing and refrigerant loss are the three things that kill compressors, and all three are checked at every service.
Certified, insured, documented
F-Gas certified Refcom REF1025590, £2 million public liability insurance, and a service record you can produce for a warranty claim. Work carries a one-year guarantee.
In detail
Maintenance detail: components, symptoms and system variations
What actually degrades, how you can tell, and what maintenance differs between system types.
Filters, coils and airflow
Filters are the owner's job between services and should be checked monthly through the cooling season — they slide out of the indoor unit and rinse clean. Everything else needs an engineer, because the indoor coil and blower wheel sit behind the filter and accumulate a film that no amount of filter cleaning reaches.
The outdoor coil is exposed to whatever the garden produces: pollen in spring, dust in summer, leaves in autumn. Cleaning it and maintaining the manufacturer's clearances around the unit is what allows it to reject heat at the rate the system was designed around.
Refrigerant charge and leaks
A sealed refrigerant circuit should not lose charge. If a system is short on refrigerant, there is a leak, and repeatedly topping it up is both an environmental problem and a way of paying for the same fault every year while the compressor runs undercharged.
The service checks operating pressures and temperatures for the signature of undercharge. Where a leak is indicated, it is traced and repaired under F-Gas certification, then the system is evacuated and correctly recharged rather than simply topped up.
- Ice on pipework or the indoor coil — restricted airflow or low charge
- Longer run times for the same room temperature — fouled coils or lost capacity
- Water dripping from an indoor unit — blocked condensate route
- Musty odour when the unit starts — growth on the coil and in the drain pan
- Rattling or droning from outdoors — fan, mounting or vibration isolation
Condensate management
An indoor unit in cooling mode produces a continuous flow of water. Gravity drains need consistent fall the whole way to their termination; where the unit's position makes that impossible, a condensate pump is used and becomes another component that needs testing annually.
Silting in the drain pan is normal over a year, particularly on a unit that is also collecting dust. Clearing it is routine at service and it is the reason the majority of AC water damage incidents never happen to serviced systems.
Single splits versus multi-splits
A single split has one indoor and one outdoor unit, so the service is straightforward. A multi-split shares one condenser across several indoor units, which means each indoor unit needs individual attention and the shared outdoor unit carries proportionally more load.
On multi-splits it is also worth checking that every indoor unit is performing, because a household will often only notice degradation in the room they use most while another unit has been underperforming for a season or more.
Systems used for heating in winter
Because modern split systems reverse to provide heating, many are now in use year-round rather than for eight weeks each summer. That doubles the running hours and makes annual maintenance more, not less, relevant.
In heating mode the outdoor unit becomes the evaporator and will defrost periodically, discharging water at its base. Ensuring the unit is mounted with drainage and clearance in mind stops that becoming an ice problem in cold weather.
Domestic servicing across north Hampshire — and your heating at the same visit
Servicing covers domestic systems across Basingstoke, Hook, Hartley Wintney, Tadley, Andover, Kingsclere, Overton, Micheldever and Aldermaston, whoever originally installed them.
Because the business is both F-Gas certified and Gas Safe registered, an air conditioning service can be booked alongside an annual boiler service — or a landlord gas safety certificate at £90 + VAT — so the property's maintenance happens in one visit rather than three.
Air conditioning servicing across Basingstoke and north Hampshire
Questions
Air conditioning servicing
answered straight
Anything not covered here, call 07825 758511 and ask. 8am–5pm, Monday to Friday, with out-of-hours emergency call-outs available.
How much does an air conditioning service cost?
Servicing is quoted for your system and property, and quotes are free and fixed once given. Where work is charged by time rather than by quote, the rate is £90 + VAT per hour.
How often should air conditioning be serviced?
Annually, ideally in spring before the cooling season. If the system is also used for heating through winter, its running hours are far higher and annual servicing matters more, not less.
Why is my air conditioning not cooling as well as it used to?
The usual causes are loaded filters, a fouled indoor or outdoor coil restricting airflow and heat rejection, or refrigerant loss from a leak. A service identifies which applies rather than leaving you guessing.
Water is dripping from my indoor unit — what is wrong?
Almost always a blocked condensate drain or a failed condensate pump, so the water that the unit normally drains away backs up and overflows. It is a straightforward fix and it is exactly what annual servicing prevents.
Can I just clean the filters myself?
Yes, and you should — monthly through the cooling season. But the coil, blower wheel, condensate pan and outdoor coil sit beyond the filter and need an engineer, and refrigerant checks legally require F-Gas certification.
Do you service systems you did not install?
Yes. We service domestic split and multi-split systems regardless of who installed them or which brand they are.
Why is ice forming on my air conditioning?
Icing means either airflow is restricted — a blocked filter or dirty coil — or the system is low on refrigerant. Both need dealing with promptly, because running an iced system returns liquid refrigerant toward the compressor and that is the most expensive component to lose.
Does servicing keep my manufacturer warranty valid?
Manufacturers generally require documented maintenance for warranty cover to remain in force. Servicing is recorded so you have that evidence if you need to claim.
Are you certified to work on refrigerant systems?
Yes — F-Gas certified under Refcom REF1025590, with £2 million public liability insurance. The business is also Gas Safe registered under 593588 for gas work.
Can you service my boiler on the same visit?
Yes. Being both Gas Safe registered and F-Gas certified means heating and cooling maintenance, including a landlord CP12 at £90 + VAT where relevant, can be handled in a single appointment.
Next step
Book your air conditioning service
Filters and coils cleaned, condensate proved, performance verified in cooling and heating. One visit, and the system delivers what it was installed to deliver.
- Gas Safe registered 593588 · F-Gas Refcom REF1025590
- £2 million public liability insurance
- One-year workmanship guarantee, up to 10 years on new boilers
- 3 Mansfield Road, Basingstoke, RG22 6DU