Why Brentwood homes overheat
Brentwood is a town of houses rather than flats, and its housing stock struggles with heat in three different ways:
- The 1930s semis on so many of its streets soak up heat through brick and bay windows all afternoon, then release it into the bedrooms all evening — a west-facing room can still be stifling at midnight.
- The larger detached homes out towards Shenfield and Hutton often have generous glazing and converted lofts, and a loft room is reliably the hottest space in any house.
- Newer developments are built airtight and well insulated, which keeps heat in beautifully in January — and does exactly the same in July.
The upside of a town of houses: there's almost always garden space for the outdoor unit, which keeps installation simple. A modern split system is a reversible air-to-air heat pump, so it cools in summer and heats the same room efficiently in winter. If you're in one of the town's conservation areas, check with the council before anything goes on an outside wall — don't assume.
Sort the electrics first
Before you price units, look at your fuse board. Plenty of Brentwood's older houses are still running on dated consumer units, and a split system wants safe, modern electrics behind it — the same as an EV charger or a battery would. An electrical condition report tells you where you stand, and some homes need a new consumer unit before taking the extra load. It's rarely a dealbreaker, just something a good installer checks at survey rather than springs on you later. Our guide to whether your home's electrics can handle air conditioning covers what to look for.
What it costs — and an honest note about being new here
A wall-mounted split system for one room typically comes in around £1,500–£3,000 fitted, depending on the unit and how far the pipework runs. A multi-split covering three or four rooms is roughly £3,500–£7,000 — though most families only cool the two or three rooms that actually get hot. The full cost guide and the running costs guide have the detail.
And the honest note: we're just opening in Brentwood and don't yet have active installers here. We're onboarding vetted local firms now. Leave your details and we'll match you as the network comes online — no obligation, and no barrage of calls when it does.