Air conditioning repairs in Ilford

What can you safely check before booking a repair?

Four things, in this order, none of which needs a tool:

1. Power. Look for a tripped breaker in the consumer unit and make sure the isolator beside the outdoor unit is on. After a power cut, give the system a few minutes to restart.
2. The outdoor unit. Clear away anything stacked against it, and take off any cover put on for the winter.
3. The filters. Lift the front panel; if the mesh is matted with dust, rinse it and let it dry.
4. The remote. Check the mode, the setpoint and the batteries.

If a breaker trips a second time, keep it switched off for our visit. Do not take the casing off or touch the copper pipes.

What do the common symptoms usually point to?

These are starting points. Gauges, a meter and a thermometer settle it on the visit.

Why is a refill without a leak repair wasted money?

Because refrigerant is not used up. A system that is short of it has a leak, and gas added without finding that leak will escape the same way. R410A, still found in older systems, has a GWP of 2,088, so each kilogram lost does real harm as well as costing you. The proper repair is to find the leak, fix it, pressure-test the circuit and recharge to the weight on the rating plate, all work the law reserves for a technician with an F-gas qualification. Sources: GOV.UK, global warming potentials; GOV.UK, F-gas qualifications.

Does the F-gas ban mean an older R410A system must go?

No. GOV.UK's bans apply to placing new products on the market: since 2025, new single split systems holding less than 3kg cannot be sold if their refrigerant's GWP is above 750, and movable units that use HFCs above 150 are already banned. R410A, at 2,088, is over that line, so a like-for-like R410A split can no longer be sold new, while R32, at 675, sits under it. The exceptions GOV.UK lists, three of them added on 27 August 2026 (systems used solely to cool products, air-to-water splits and splits on maritime craft), do not change that for an air-to-air split in a home or shop. Nothing in the bans makes you remove a working R410A system, and GOV.UK's separate refill ban is written for large refrigeration systems using gases above 2,500 and does not mention air conditioning. The practical point comes when a big component fails on an old R410A unit: then a new R32 system is worth pricing next to the repair. Sources: GOV.UK, F gas bans; GOV.UK, global warming potentials; GOV.UK, refill ban.

When is replacing the unit the better choice?

When the compressor has failed on an older unit, when the same leak or fault returns every summer, when parts for the model can no longer be found, or when the unit was never big enough for the room. We put the repair and the replacement side by side and you decide. If you rent, the system probably belongs to your landlord, who has to authorise the work: in Ilford Town ward 56.27% of households rent privately, so that conversation comes first for many people here. Our overview of air conditioning in Ilford covers how we work locally. Source: Ilford Town ward, Census 2021.