Booking air con quotes before the Christmas rush

Every commercial trade goes quiet for two weeks around Christmas. Air conditioning installers are no different. If you want a fitted unit in January, late November is when to book the survey.

Why the timing gets tight

Two things happen at once from about mid-December:

• Installer availability drops. Most teams take at least the fortnight from 20 December to 5 January. Some take longer. Anything not booked before then rolls into a busier January.
• Enquiries spike after New Year. People decide the freezing living room is finally a job for January. By 3 January the pipeline is full and lead times stretch to March.

Book a survey in the last week of November and you still get the pick of dates. Book on 2 January and you fight for scraps.

What “book now” actually means

You are not committing to an install date by requesting a quote. What you get is:

• A phone call or email from up to three installers within 24 hours of the enquiry.
• A short conversation about the property, rooms and any access quirks.
• A site survey booked before the Christmas break, often the same week.
• A fixed price in writing before you commit to anything.

If you like a quote, you book the install for a January date that suits you. If you do not, you have three fixed prices to compare - which is worth doing anyway.

What we hear from installers this time of year

Installers we talk to describe November and early December as the calm before the panic. Three consistent themes come up:

• Prices are firm but not inflated. Nobody is padding quotes yet.
• Surveyors have time to do a thorough visit. Longer, more useful conversations.
• Install slots for late January and February are still open, so you can plan around holidays and childcare.

By mid-January that changes. Prices are still fair, but survey times shorten and install slots get pushed to March.

The two mistakes people make in December

1. Waiting for the “January sales” on air con. There are not any. The kit does not go on sale like a fridge or a TV. What varies is installer availability, and the calmest month is not January.
2. Assuming installers work around Christmas. Most do not. The one or two that do usually charge a premium.

What to send us

Fill in the quote form with your postcode, property type, and rough number of rooms. That is enough to route the enquiry to the right installers. If you already know which brand you want, add it in the comments. If you have no idea, do not worry - the installers will suggest options at the survey.

We aim for three fixed quotes back within 24 hours. Every installer on our network has been checked - F-Gas certification, public liability insurance, REFCOM registration.

Or check the prices page for a rough bracket first.