Guides
Where the outdoor unit should go
Somewhere with genuine clearance for airflow, shaded if possible but never enclosed, close enough to the indoor unit to keep the pipe run short, and accessible for servicing. Airflow matters more than shade — a unit in full sun with clear air outperforms one boxed into a shaded recess.
Last reviewed
Clearance before shade
The outdoor unit rejects heat by pulling air across its coil and blowing it away. Boxed into a balcony recess or hemmed against a wall, it re-ingests its own hot exhaust and efficiency collapses on exactly the afternoons you need it. Clearance at the intake and a clear path for the discharge are the requirements; shade is a bonus on top.
Keep the pipe run short
Every extra metre of refrigerant pipe costs a little capacity and adds a little more to the installation. A long run also means more joints and more places for a future leak. Siting the outdoor unit as close to the indoor unit as the building allows is one of the quiet decisions that separates a good installation from an adequate one.
Access for servicing, planned now
The condenser needs washing at least once a year here. A unit mounted high on a wall over a stairwell, or behind a permanent grille, turns a routine clean into a job requiring equipment — and the predictable result is that it never gets cleaned. Site it where somebody can reach it with a hose.
Neighbours, drainage and noise
The discharge is hot air and the unit vibrates. Pointing it at a neighbour's window or a seating area causes problems that are expensive to fix later, and mounting brackets on a shared wall transmits vibration. Rubber mounts, a considered direction of discharge, and a thought about where condensate drains cost nothing at installation.
Where should the outdoor unit of a split AC be installed?
Can the outdoor unit go on the roof?
Yes, and airflow is usually excellent there. Two cautions: the pipe run to an indoor unit two floors down gets long, and roof units are the ones that never get serviced because reaching them is a job. If it goes on the roof, make sure there is a safe route to it or the cleaning simply will not happen.
Does the outdoor unit need a cover?
Not in normal use — it is built for outdoor exposure, and a cover that restricts airflow does more harm than the weather would. A shade that sits well clear of the intake and discharge is fine. What genuinely helps is keeping the coil clear of debris and the surroundings free of anything that blocks air.
How far apart can the indoor and outdoor units be?
Manufacturers state a maximum, and most installations sit well within it, but the practical guidance is shorter than the maximum: capacity falls and cost rises with distance. If the only viable outdoor position is far away, that is worth knowing at the survey, because it changes both the quote and the expected performance.
Rather have it done?
AC installation is a sizing decision followed by a plumbing job: tonnage matched to the room, indoor and outdoor units sited for airflow, pipe run kept short and lagged, and the system vacuumed properly before gas is released. Fitting starts at PKR 8,000, and supply-and-fit for a 1.5 ton inverter unit starts near PKR 140,000.
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