Have you been told you can't have air conditioning in your Manchester apartment?
Our air conditioning system is designed for apartments and listed properties, where an external unit is not an option.
Manchester apartments simply aren't built for a hot summer
You’ve invested in a beautiful apartment in Deansgate Square, Ancoats, or possibly overlooking Salford Quays. You love the floor-to-ceiling windows, the modern aesthetic, and the vibrant Manchester city lifestyle. But when the summer months hit, those same large glass windows turn your home into an unbearable greenhouse.
By early afternoon the rooms are in the high twenties and they’re still holding the heat at midnight. For most apartment owners in Manchester this isn’t just a two-week heatwave problem, it runs from May through to September.
Your hot apartment affects more than your comfort
Your sleep
It takes you ages to get sleep and when you finally do you are constantly waking up through the night, meaning that you wake up tired and start the next day feeling exhausted rather than rested.
Your work
By early afternoon your apartment becomes uncomfortably warm and impossible to concentrate in, the productive day you planned goes out the window and you end up playing catch up for the rest of the week.
Your evenings
Your home, the place where you would normally enjoy spending time winding down and relaxing, becomes a place you no longer want to be and avoid.
Your property
If you let the apartment out, overheating is one of the most common tenant complaints in modern city centre blocks. It affects how easily you let it, how long tenants stay, and what you can charge.
Why conventional air conditioning isn't an option in your apartment
Every conventional air conditioning system needs a condenser fitted to an outside wall or on a balcony. In your Manchester apartment, that challenge comes because of one of these three reasons:
No outdoor space?
In high-rise residential towers like those around Deansgate and Castlefield and Greengate, these types of properties frequently have no balcony, no external access and no outside wall the leaseholder is allowed to alter.
Property lease restrictions?
The vast majority of apartment leases across Manchester prohibit alterations to the structure or exterior of the building. Managing agents in the city centre routinely decline condenser applications, and those that consider them can take months to reach a decision.
Planning and heritage constraints?
In listed properties across Ancoats, Castlefield and Whitworth Street, and in conservation areas including Didsbury, Chorlton and Victoria Park, an external unit requires a planning application with a limited prospect of success.
The other solutions you’ve probably tried already
Portable units
They require a window to be open, which lets warm air and street noise straight back in. They are loud, they need draining, and they take up floor space in the room you are trying to use.
Fans
They just circulate warm air around the room without lowering the temperature of the room.
Blackout blinds
They reduce solar gain but darken the room without cooling it at all.
Having been told no and with these failed solutions, it may feel like you're out of options, but you're not. Up until now most apartment owners in Manchester have never been told this option exists. Our air conditioning system allows you to achieve a perfectly cool and comfortable apartment without the need for an outdoor unit or altering the outside of your building.
Internal air conditioning, designed for Manchester apartments and listed properties
Our water cooled air conditioning system is designed specifically for Manchester apartments and listed properties where an external unit is not an option. It sits entirely inside your property, nothing is installed on the outside and your building’s external appearance does not change in any way.
So how is it possible?
A conventional air conditioning system rejects the heat it removes from your rooms into the outside air. That is the only reason it requires a condenser mounted on an external wall or balcony. A water cooled system rejects that heat into your mains water supply instead, which means the condenser can be installed indoors.
Because nothing is installed on the outside of your building, planning permission is not required, and for the majority of apartments there is nothing for a freeholder or managing agent to approve.
Water cooled compared with a conventional system
The system does the same job. The difference is where the heat goes, and everything that follows from that.
Water Cooled Air Conditioning
A fully internal system without an outdoor condenser.
- No external unit required
- No planning permission needed
- Nothing to approve in most apartments
- External appearance unchanged
- Cools as well as conventional A/C
Conventional Air Conditioning
A split system with an outdoor condenser.
- External unit required
- Planning permission usually required
- Freeholder approval often refused
- Visible unit alters the exterior
- Less efficient on the hottest days
What's actually installed in your home
Water Cooled Condenser
The water cooled condenser is installed inside a utility cupboard or boiler room, where the unit can be plumbed into your existing cold water supply, waste and electrics. It can provide cooling capacity for up to 5 wall units, whilst also being rated AAA for electrical efficiency.
Wall Units
Choose from our two wall units - Urban Signature and Urban Designer which comes with interchangeable textile covers in a choice of colours, or a ducted unit concealed in a ceiling or bulkhead with only a slim grill visible.
Refrigerant Pipework
The water cooled condenser and wall units are connected via thin refrigerant pipework that is carefully run through your property by cutting small access holes that are made good afterwards. No leftover holes, marks or mess.
The three things everyone asks us
We understand that this may be the first time you've heard of water cooled air conditioning, and nobody buys something they've never heard of without asking a few questions first. So here are three of the questions that come up in most conversations with customers...
What happens if a pipe bursts inside my property?
Only refrigerant gas flows through the pipework connecting the units. Water never leaves the condenser, and no water passes through the pipes connecting the wall units.
If one of the pipes connecting the units were damaged, the only thing released would be refrigerant, which is harmless and evaporates into the air. There would be no water leeks or no water damage, as there is no water in the pipes.
All of our water cooled condensers are manufactured to the highest standards, with all internal components fully brazed to minimise the risk of leaks. In practice this makes the likelihood of a water leak similar to that of a washing machine or dishwasher already installed in your home.
Does it cool as well as a conventional system with an external unit?
Yes. A water cooled system will cool your room to the same temperature as a conventional system, typically around 18°C, and on the hottest days it can actually be more effective.
Our condensers provide a cooling capacity of up to 15kW and a cooling power input of up to 5kW, with one condenser able to cool up to 5 rooms at once. That makes our water cooled systems as powerful and as efficient as any conventional air conditioning with an external condenser.
On the hottest days, a water cooled system can actually be more effective than a conventional one. A conventional system has to reject heat into the outside air, which becomes harder the hotter that air gets. When outside temperatures are above 30°C, the water entering your property typically stays at around 20°C or below, therefore our system can remove heat more efficiently on the days you need it most.
Is the technology proven, and are parts available?
We have been installing fully internal water cooled air conditioning systems for over 10 years and have completed more than 1,000 successful installations, from city-centre one-bed apartments to listed buildings valued at over £5 million.
If you look through our 430+ reviews, you’ll see how we have transformed the properties of many customers who were once in the same position as you.
Our units are designed and assembled in the UK to UKCA standards. We hold parts, and every system we install is fitted and maintained by our own engineers and dedicated aftercare team.
Like any air conditioning system, ours need servicing to operate efficiently and last as long as possible, and we recommend a professional service once a year. Regular maintenance prevents breakdowns, improves performance and keeps the system running at peak efficiency.
More Frequently Asked Questions
How does internal air conditioning compare to conventional air conditioning?
Our wide range of internal water air conditioning systems provide a cooling capacity of up to 15kw and a cooling power input of up to 5kw. This makes our internal systems as powerful and efficient as any conventional air conditioning unit.
Our internal water cooled air conditioner can supply up to 8 rooms with cool air at the specified desired temperature, easily controlled with our smartphone app or remote.
Do the systems heat as well as cool?
Our water cooled system does provide heating; however, we advise only using this as a backup and not a primary source of heating for your property.
Do I need to get planning permission to have a water cooled air conditioning system installed?
If you're wondering, do you need planning permission for air conditioning?—the answer is no, not with our fully internal water cooled air conditioning systems. Because they don’t require an external unit or any changes to the exterior of your property, planning permission isn't necessary. This makes the system ideal for apartments, listed buildings and properties located within conservation areas, as it doesn't have an external unit and no external modification to the property are required.
How much water does the system use?
A common question we get is: how much water does air conditioning use? The exact amount is actually very hard to determine as usage depends on the following variable factors.
Setpoint temperature: One of these factors is the setpoint temperature of the room that is being air conditioned. This is because more water will be required to bring the room down to say, 18degC than it would if it was set to our recommendation of 22 - 23degC.
Outdoor air temperature: The outdoor air temperature is also going to play an important role in the amount of water consumption. The hotter it is outside the more heat is being transferred from the outdoor air to the cooler room being air conditioned.
Building Materials: Another factor is how your property has been constructed and the type of materials that have been used. A building with a lot of glass and thermal insulation will absorb external heat and retain it in the building for longer.
Input water temperature: As we are using cold water to cool the hot refrigerant, the colder the water that comes into the system, the less that will be required to remove the latent heat from the refrigerant.
Usage: Probably the most obvious is the number of hours the unit is operating for someone who leaves the air conditioning system on all day will require a lot more water than someone that switches the system on for a few hours to cool a bedroom before going to bed.
To give you an idea - an average sized bedroom of, 5m x 4m, with a normal amount of glass windows, well insulated to modern building regs, an outdoor temperature of 27degrees C and an incoming water supply of 12degC - would require a 2kw indoor unit, as well as the condenser unit. This condenser would give out a water flow of 40 litres per hour to cool the room to 22 degrees.
Our condenser units only use water when the condenser is running to provide cooling. When the room has reached the setpoint temperature of 22 - 23 degC the condenser will switch off. To maintain the setpoint temperature of the room or systems normally only take 20 – 30 minutes per hour of operation, so water consumption will drop when the setpoint temperature is simply being maintained.
Can you recycle the used water?
As the wastewater has been heated up to around 45-50degC - it makes sense to try and re-use the heated water. We are able to connect up to a large hot water storage cylinder to the unit, so the heated water can be used for a shower or bath. However, this is not possible in a lot of cases as hot water cylinders do take up a lot of room and they will also add to the cost of installation.
If your building has a communal heating system and or a chilled water circuit then it is possible for our water-cooled condenser unit to connect to these without any waste water at all. This would depend on what water flow temperatures are running through these systems.
How is an internal water cooled system installed?
The installation process for this system is straightforward and takes on average one day per indoor unit.
Firstly, we install the condenser and connect it to your water mains, drainage and electrical supply. Its compact design makes it easy to conceal in a utility room or cupboard.
Next the indoor units (which can be wall mounted, floor mounted or ducted) are installed in each room which requires cooling. The optimal locations are established at survey stage, ensuring the property is cooled in the most efficient way.
Get four months of the year back in your Manchester apartment
Sleep through the night
From the moment you go to bed until your alarm goes off, your bedroom stays whatever temperature you set it to. The windows stay shut, you no longer wake up at two in the morning to kick the covers off, and instead you wake up feeling rested, ready for your day ahead.
Work through the whole afternoon
Your apartment stays cool right through the afternoon, so the second half of your day is as productive as the first. The day you planned is the day you actually have, and you are no longer spending the rest of the week catching up on work you were unable to get done.
Enjoy your apartment all summer
Even on the hottest days of the summer, your apartment becomes the place you want to wind down in and relax at the end of the day. You no longer feel like you're trying to escape your own home, and most importantly you're finally getting the full use of the apartment you're paying for.
We've been trusted by 1,000+ customers in apartments & listed properties just like yours
Read what two Manchester property owners who thought they couldn't have air conditioning in their home have to say now.
"Superb service from start to finish from Ian and the team in Manchester. I thought it wasn't going to be possible to have AC but their can do attitude and customer satisfaction approach were exceptional."
John
"Both the sales team and the installation team delivered excellent and supportive services to me even though there is a problem with the slightly oversized condenser in my small boiler room. With this cooling system in place now, I am able to perform my daily activities as usual even in the heatwave time. It may be an expensive investment but I think it is worth it. Thank you Ian and Mike. Highly appreciate their services."
Zoe
How much does water cooled air conditioning cost?
In order to provide you with an accurate quote for your Manchester property, we need to complete a free 'no obligation' survey of your property. However, we have provided some guide prices below in order to give you an idea of the cost of an installation based on the number of rooms you wish to cool and which wall unit you'd prefer.
Urban Signature
A slim white flat panel wall unit, rated A++ energy efficiency.
Urban Designer
Interchangeable textile covers, giving you a choice of colours.
Urban Ducted
Concealed in a ceiling or bulkhead, with only a slim grill visible.
All prices include installation, making good, and a 5-year warranty. We'll also price match any equivalent solution (system & wall unit) you've been given elsewhere.
Arrange a survey to find out if Water Cooled AC will work in your apartment
Tell us about your Manchester property and a member of our team will get back to you within 24 working hours.* No pressure, no pushy salesperson, no obligation, just expert help and advice.
