Daikin against the cheap split you found online

A wall split listed online for a fraction of the price of a known brand looks like an easy decision on a phone screen. This is the comparison we talk people through. We use Daikin as the example because its Australian warranty, parts and support details are published and easy to check. We are not naming any online brand. Some of those units do the job. The point is to know what you are buying, and who answers the phone when it stops, before the box turns up.

Who stands behind the warranty

Goods sold to consumers in Australia come with Australian Consumer Law guarantees, whatever the brand. A maker's warranty sits on top of that, and the useful question is who actually comes out.

Daikin's 5 year parts and labour warranty applies to split, multi split and ducted air conditioners bought and installed in homes across Australia. Its warranty card names Daikin Australia Pty Ltd, gives a Sydney address and an Australian customer service number, and says covered repairs are done in normal business hours by Daikin Australia or a repairer it arranges. For a consumer with a valid claim, the card says Daikin bears the cost of arranging the repair, including the technician's attendance.

For the online unit, ask the seller:

• Who is the warrantor, and do they have an Australian address and phone number?
• Does the warranty cover labour, or parts only?
• Who attends a fault in Central Victoria, and who pays their travel?

The installation clause

Daikin's own FAQ says its 5 year warranty does not cover faults caused by the product being installed incorrectly or not in line with the installation manual. Most makers say something similar, so the installer matters as much as the unit.

There is also the law. The Australian Refrigeration Council says any person who handles refrigerant must hold a refrigerant handling licence, and that a licence is needed to install pre-charged equipment even though the equipment itself can be sold without one. Daikin's FAQ puts it plainly: it is illegal for technicians or tradespeople without an ARC licence to handle refrigerant gas. The power to the outdoor unit is electrical work, which brings its own licensing. A split you fit yourself, or have fitted by someone without the licence, can leave you with a unit and no warranty.

Parts and service here

Daikin says it keeps spare parts warehoused in Australia and has a nationwide network of authorised service agents. Its Daikin Park site at Warwick Farm in Sydney includes a large warehouse that holds spare parts alongside finished goods.

Ask the online seller where a replacement circuit board or fan motor would come from, and roughly how long it takes. A heating fault in a Trentham July is a very different problem when the part is on a shelf in Sydney than when it has to be ordered from overseas. When we repair a split, it is charged as a service call: the call-out, the time on site and any parts.

Read the energy label for your zone

Every split worth considering should carry the Zoned Energy Rating Label. The government's guide explains it rates efficiency in three bands: Hot, Average and Cold. Melbourne falls in the Cold band, and our part of the ranges runs colder again. Sustainability Victoria suggests multiplying Melbourne heating costs by about 1.5 for a cold climate like Ballarat.

So read the Cold row. Red stars show heating efficiency, blue stars show cooling, and more stars is better. The label also gives yearly electricity use in kWh for heating and cooling, where lower is better. Stars on the old label cannot be compared with stars on the zoned label, because they are worked out differently. If a listing shows no label, or an old one, look the model up on the registration database at energyrating.gov.au before you buy.

Heating when it is properly cold

The label shows two heating figures: capacity at 7 degrees outside, and at 2 degrees. The government's notes explain the 2 degree figure gives an idea of how the unit copes with frosting, which starts on the outdoor coil once it drops below about 5.5 degrees. A unit that defers its defrost cycles tests better at 2 degrees. On a frosty Daylesford morning, that second number is the one we would compare first.

Noise

The label also shows noise in dB(A), one number for inside and one for near the outdoor unit. Lower is better. It is measured as sound power, which the government's notes say is not affected by the room, so it is a fair way to compare one model with another. Daikin points out that some brochures quote sound pressure instead, which is a different measurement, so compare like with like. This matters for a bedroom head, and for a neighbour whose window is a metre from your outdoor unit.

Where we land

We work on all the major brands, and we would rather install something we can get parts for, with a warranty that has a phone number in this country. The Daikin range is one of several we fit, and who Daikin is explains why the support side holds up.

If you have a listing open and want a second opinion, ring us on 0417 734 206, Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm, or get in touch. For a new split system we measure the room and quote before anything is ordered.