Why Kent homes run hot
Kent sits in the south-east corner of England, one of the warmest parts of the country in summer, and most of its homes were built with cold winters in mind rather than hot Julys. Victorian and Edwardian terraces in Canterbury, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells have solid brick walls that soak up sun through the day and let it back out at night, exactly when you are trying to sleep. Converted oast houses and weatherboarded cottages often put bedrooms directly under the roof — lovely in October, hard work in a heatwave. Newer estates around Ashford and Kings Hill are airtight and well insulated, which keeps winter bills down but means that once heat gets in, it has nowhere to go.
The useful thing to know is that a modern split-system air conditioner is a reversible air-to-air heat pump. It cools in summer and heats in winter, and because it moves heat rather than generating it, it costs far less to run than a plug-in electric heater for the room you actually use. One honest caveat: air-to-air systems are not covered by the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which applies to air-to-water heat pumps only.
Costs, old cottages and conservation areas
We would rather point you to a proper breakdown than quote numbers that turn out wrong for your house. What a system costs depends on how many rooms you want covered, where the outdoor unit can go, and the state of your wiring — our guide to air conditioning costs in the UK walks through all of it. A few things come up more often in Kent than elsewhere:
- Older electrics. Period cottages and pre-war terraces often need the wiring checked, and sometimes a consumer unit upgrade, before an installer will fit anything. Our guide on whether your home electrics can handle air conditioning covers what to look for.
- Conservation areas and listed buildings. Kent has plenty of both, from central Canterbury to the Wealden villages. An outdoor unit on a visible wall may need consent, so check with your council before committing — and be wary of anyone who promises it will definitely be fine.
- Flats and leasehold. You will almost always need the freeholder's written consent before anything is fixed to the building.
Where Coolhouse is up to in Kent
A straight answer: our vetted installers currently work in Hertfordshire, not Kent. We are building our network here, and we would rather say that plainly than let you book a survey that never comes. If you register your interest, we will tell you honestly where we are up to and put you in touch with a vetted installer as soon as we have one near you — not before.