How to Choose an Air Conditioning Installer in the UK
How to choose an air conditioning installer in the UK starts with the law: refrigerant work is restricted to F-Gas certified engineers, and the contracting company must hold company certification. Then you check insurance, the written quote, and whether anyone will still answer the phone after commissioning.
By British Air Conditioners
F-Gas certification: the legal minimum
Stationary air conditioning uses fluorinated greenhouse gases. The person who joins the refrigerant circuit has to be qualified to do it. REFCOM's F-Gas pages, live in 2026, state that personnel carrying out installation, commissioning, repair, maintenance or servicing of stationary air conditioning equipment that contains or is designed to contain F-Gas refrigerants must hold the relevant qualifications, and that carrying out in-scope activities without an F gas certificate is a criminal offence.
GOV.UK's guidance on company certification, last updated 21 August 2019 and still the live page in 2026, says a company, including a sole trader, must be certified by an approved body to install, repair, maintain or decommission stationary air conditioning containing F gas that is operated by other people. Individual qualifications and company certificates are separate. A card in a van is not the same as a company certificate.
This site does not hold F-Gas certification, because we do not handle refrigerant. Our vetted contractors are F-Gas certified. We match you with them. We do not send "our engineers" to join pipework.
If someone offers to fit the boxes and leave you to "buy a gas bottle later," stop. That is not a legal install. MyJobQuote's 2026 hiring checklist puts F-Gas as the first qualification to check, for the same reason.
REFCOM registration and what it means
REFCOM is one of the approved UK bodies that can issue the company certificate for stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump work. GOV.UK lists REFCOM, the F-Gas Register, and Bureau Veritas as certification bodies for that work, and says company certification must be renewed every 3 years. REFCOM's own 2026 materials describe a company certificate valid for three years, with a public listing once the business meets the standard.
REFCOM registration is evidence that the contracting company is on that register. It is not a promise about your room temperature, and it is not the same as REFCOM Elite, which REFCOM describes as a separate, voluntary scheme. Do not let a logo on a van replace a check of the listing.
Ask for the company name as it is registered, not a trading nickname, and look it up. If the installer cannot tell you which approved body certified the company, you do not have enough to sign. Dual registration with two schemes is not required by law. REFCOM's 2026 FAQs say you only need to be registered with one certification scheme.
We match you with REFCOM-registered contractors where that is the company certificate they hold. Other approved bodies exist. The test is an in-date company certificate from an approved body, plus F-Gas qualified people on the tools.
Insurance and workmanship guarantees
Ask for proof of current public liability insurance. MyJobQuote's 2026 checklist tells homeowners to do exactly that, to cover accidental damage to the property. Ask to see the schedule, not a sentence on a website. Check the dates and the insured company name against the quote.
A manufacturer warranty covers the equipment if it is installed and registered correctly. A workmanship guarantee covers the contractor's fitting. They are different documents. Ask how long the workmanship cover runs, what it excludes, and who you call if a joint weeps in month two. Do not treat either document as a guarantee of a price, a timescale, or a particular energy saving.
Electrical work should be carried out by someone competent to do it. MyJobQuote's 2026 guide notes Part P for electrical safety and suggests looking for registration such as NICEIC, NAPIT or ELECSA where a new circuit is involved. Ask who will certify that part of the job.
If you also need a repair on an existing system rather than a new install, use air conditioning repair as the service route. The same F-Gas and insurance tests still apply.
Warning signs in a quote
A quote that is only a single number with no model, no pipe route and no exclusions is not a quote you can compare. Ask for the indoor and outdoor model names, what is included for electrics, brackets, trunking, condensate and commissioning, and what happens if they find a hidden obstruction.
A price that is far below the published directory ranges may be omitting labour, electrics or a legal refrigerant charge. MyJobQuote's 2026 guide puts a wall-mounted unit, kit and fitting, at £550 to £2,100, with a typical homeowner spend around £1,200. That is a range from real quotes on their platform, not your figure, and it still depends on a survey. A number given without a visit is a marketing figure.
Pressure to pay cash, to sign on the doorstep, or to skip the survey is a warning sign. So is a contractor who cannot name the F-Gas qualified person who will attend. So is a promise that planning is "never needed" for your specific house. Confirm planning with your local planning authority.
If two written quotes differ, compare scope before you compare the total. Pipe length and outdoor position explain more gaps than haggling does. Air conditioning pipework is often where the surprise sits.
How to choose an air conditioning installer: questions before you sign
Ask who holds the individual F-Gas qualification, and which approved body issued the company certificate. Ask how you verify both. Ask whether the people on site are employees or sub-contractors, because REFCOM's 2026 FAQs say sub-contractors must have their own company certificate. You cannot rely on the main contractor's certificate to cover a separate firm.
Ask when the manufacturer warranty is registered, and in whose name. Ask for a written programme that is typical and subject to survey, not a guaranteed completion hour. Ask how they will protect floors, where condensate will go, and what paperwork you will receive at handover.
Ask what they need from you: parking, loft access, neighbour permission, freeholder consent. If you are in a Glasgow tenement or any other flat, ask how they will place the outdoor unit without using someone else's property as a platform.
Write the answers down. If the conversation is charming but the paperwork is thin, wait. Choosing an installer is slower than choosing a portable unit. It is also the decision that decides whether the system is legal to put into service.
Why we vet contractors before matching you
British Air Conditioners is a matching service. We do not install, survey or handle refrigerant. Before we introduce you to a contractor, we look for the legal minimum: F-Gas qualified people and company certification from an approved body, with REFCOM registration where that is the certificate they hold. We also look for insurance and a willingness to quote in writing after a survey.
Vetting is not a guarantee of an outcome. It is a filter so you are not starting from a random name on a van. You still approve the quote. You still confirm planning with your local planning authority where that is relevant. You still collect F-Gas documentation at handover.
If you want to see the job as a sequence before you pick anyone, the air conditioning installation process sets out enquiry, survey, quote, install and paperwork.
When you are ready to be matched, request a quote. Tell us the property type, the rooms, and any lease or conservation constraints you already know. The contractor still has to visit. The checks on this page are how you judge them when they do.
FAQ
Is F-Gas certification a legal requirement?
Yes, for in-scope refrigerant work on stationary air conditioning. REFCOM's 2026 guidance says personnel doing that work must hold the relevant qualifications, and that working without an F gas certificate is a criminal offence. GOV.UK also requires the contracting company to hold company certification from an approved body when it installs or maintains equipment for other people.
How do I check a contractor is registered?
Ask for the registered company name and which approved body issued the company certificate. GOV.UK lists REFCOM, the F-Gas Register and Bureau Veritas for stationary air conditioning. REFCOM maintains a public listing for businesses it has certified. Check the listing yourself. A logo on a van is not a substitute for that check.
Should I get three quotes?
Comparing more than one written quote helps you spot missing electrics, missing trunking or an outdoor position that was never surveyed. There is no law that says you must collect three. Two detailed quotes after surveys are more useful than five phone numbers. Match like for like: same rooms, same pipe route, same models.
What insurance should they carry?
Ask for current public liability insurance in the same company name as the quote, and read the dates on the schedule. MyJobQuote's 2026 checklist flags this as cover for accidental damage to your property. Also ask who insures any sub-contractor. A workmanship guarantee is separate, and it is not a guarantee of price, timescale or a particular energy bill.