Air conditioning quotes in Cyprus — what should be in writing

A comparable quote states the cooling capacity and the calculation it came from, names both units by model, gives the refrigerant pipe run in metres and its route, sets out the electrical work and who certifies it, says how the outdoor unit will be reached, and lists what commissioning covers. Anything shorter is a total attached to an assumption, and the assumption is the part that moves.

Recorded quotes for a split unit up to 12,000 BTU, supplied and installed, run from €550 to €1,200 with a median of €780. Two quotes at opposite ends of that spread are rarely pricing the same job.

Why written scope matters

Equipment is the part of an installation with the least price variance: the same split units arrive through the same port at the same import price whether they are fitted in Aglantzia or Chloraka. Against the island median, recorded quotes still run about 12 per cent higher in Limassol district and about 6 per cent higher in Paphos, about 4 per cent lower in Larnaca and about 8 per cent lower in Famagusta district. That is installer availability, not hardware. Written scope is what separates a genuine district difference from a quote that included less.

Cypriot building stock makes the omissions predictable. In the 1970s to 1990s blocks that dominate Strovolos, a spare way on the consumer unit is rarely waiting. On the high-rise stock around Limassol centre, a condenser fixed to a rendered facade above the second floor needs a bracket detail, a permission from the management committee and arranged access. In Kato Paphos the air carries salt, so galvanised or marine-grade fixings and coated coils belong in the specification by name — they reach the price only when someone wrote them down.

The eleven items a quote needs

1. 1. Capacity, and the calculation behind it

   In BTU or kW, with the inputs named: glazed area, orientation, shading, insulation and occupancy. Floor area alone is not a calculation. Oversizing is as much a fault as undersizing — an oversized unit short-cycles and leaves humidity in the room.

2. 2. Make, model and type of both units

   Model numbers for indoor and outdoor units, and whether the system is inverter-driven or fixed speed. Where humidity is the larger part of the problem — the strip around the Oroklini salt lake is the clearest case — modulation matters more than raw output.

3. 3. Whether the price is per unit or per system

   Single splits are quoted per indoor unit installed. Multi-splits are quoted as one system, where pipe run to each head rather than head count decides the total. A quote mixing the two bases compares with neither.

4. 4. Outdoor unit position and fixing method

   Named position, wall or slab, bracket or feet, anti-vibration mounts. Above the second floor it should also say who obtains the management committee's permission and whose programme absorbs the wait.

5. 5. Pipe run in metres, with the route described

   Chased into masonry or surface-trunked, internal or external, and how many metres. Two quotes assuming different lengths answer different questions, and the longer run needs its refrigerant charge adjusted at commissioning.

6. 6. Condensate drainage and its termination

   Gravity fall or pump, the route, and the discharge point. A condensate line taken to the nearest convenient place rather than a drain is the usual cause of a stained facade one summer later.

7. 7. Electrical scope, in full

   Whether a dedicated circuit is included, whether the board has a spare way, who issues the certificate, and what happens if the consumer unit needs replacing. Certified electrician time is recorded at €32 to €65 per hour, labour only. This is the commonest reason a final invoice exceeds an accepted quote.

8. 8. Access and temporary works

   Ladder, tower, scaffold or rope, stated rather than implied. Scaffolding is recorded at €4 to €13 per square metre per week, billed from erection to dismantling. On the hillside plots above Peyia, steep access roads cap vehicle size before any of this begins.

9. 9. Corrosion specification where exposure warrants it

   On directly exposed frontage such as Kato Paphos, galvanised or marine-grade fixings and coated coils are standard. A few kilometres inland they are not, and a quote applying the coastal detail everywhere is padding.

10. 10. What commissioning includes

    Vacuum, pressure and leak test, charge adjusted for the actual pipe length, readings recorded, written handover. These are the items most easily skipped and the ones whose absence stays invisible until the second summer.

11. 11. Warranties, listed separately

    Manufacturer cover on the equipment, the installer's workmanship cover, and any annual service are three things with three durations. The service is normally in neither, and on many manufacturer terms skipping it voids the first.

Payment stages

Payments should attach to events rather than dates, because dates arrive whether or not anything was fitted. A workable structure ties a deposit to the equipment order, a stage to delivery on site, a stage to the installation being mechanically complete — units mounted, pipework run and pressure-tested — and the final portion to commissioning, the electrical certificate and the written handover. Holding the last stage until the certificate exists is the most useful clause in the document, because certification is the step most often left as paperwork to follow.

One scheme is worth settling before the order rather than after. The energy upgrade scheme for existing buildings is worth up to €12,000, runs from 01/03/2026 to 28/02/2027, and requires an energy performance assessment both before and after the works. It names insulation, glazing and heating upgrades rather than cooling specifically, so whether a given installation qualifies is a question for the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry — asked before anything is fitted, because the first assessment cannot be done retrospectively.

Variations and how they are priced

A variation is any work outside the written scope. The rates are negotiable before the first one exists and not afterwards. A quote should carry a day rate for extra labour, the markup on materials bought for a variation, and a threshold below which small items are absorbed. Four are worth pricing now as provisional sums:

• No spare way on the consumer unit. Common in the older apartment stock. The fix ranges from one added way to a board replacement, which is too wide a gap to discover mid-job.
• A supply that will not take the load. Where the existing supply is already loaded, the answer runs through the Electricity Authority of Cyprus, and the timescale is theirs rather than the installer's.
• A longer pipe run than surveyed. Usually because the condenser moves for access, noise or committee reasons. Priced per metre, with the charge adjustment stated.
• Access worse than assumed. Narrow or steep approaches, no lift, or a route that only exists from a neighbouring balcony.

Making good after chasing belongs here too: cutting channels for pipework and cable leaves damage, and whether patching, skimming and repainting are included has a measurable answer.

Red flags

• A price per square metre of floor area. Installation is quoted per indoor unit and sized by calculation; a per-m² figure means no survey happened.
• No model numbers. The outdoor unit is the component most likely to be substituted between quotation and delivery.
• Electrical work described as "if required". Included, excluded or priced as an option are all acceptable. Unstated is not.
• No commissioning detail. A quote ending at "installation and testing" has committed to neither the vacuum, the leak test nor the charge adjustment.
• A grant shown as a discount already applied. Which scheme, what it pays, who claims it and whether the assessment has been done are four separate questions.
• A price expiring during a heatwave. Demand is genuinely seasonal, but a deadline the buyer cannot verify is a sales technique.

Timing is the lever a household with a flexible programme controls. Quotes requested during the first sustained heat sit higher and carry longer lead times; the same scope priced in late autumn comes from installers with open diaries. That inverts in Famagusta district, where seasonal accommodation around Ayia Napa concentrates refurbishment into November to March. The air conditioning price guide on this site holds the current ranges with their sample sizes attached, and the installer listings cover five districts with the towns each company works in.

Common questions

How many quotes should be requested?

Three, and only if all three price the same written scope: capacity, pipe length, electrical work, access and commissioning. Otherwise the lowest number belongs to whoever assumed the least.

Is there a price per square metre for air conditioning?

No. Recorded quotes are per indoor unit installed — €550 to €1,200 for a split unit up to 12,000 BTU, median €780 — and capacity comes from a calculation on glazing, orientation, shading, insulation and occupancy.

Who certifies the electrical work?

An electrician licensed for the work, with the certificate issued in their name at completion. ETEK maintains the register for the related professional disciplines, and asking for registration before signing is easier than asking after.

Does pipe length really change the price?

It changes price and performance. Pipework, drainage and trunking are priced by the metre and by route difficulty, and the refrigerant charge has to be adjusted for the installed length. An unadjusted long run underperforms quietly for years.

When is the best time of year to book?

Late autumn to early spring across most of the island, when lead times shorten. In the Famagusta resort towns the winter window is the busy one, so the calendar there runs the other way.