Air Conditioner Installation in Nanaimo & Vancouver Island
P3 Mechanical & Electrical installs and services air conditioning for homes and small businesses in Nanaimo and across central Vancouver Island. Most jobs are a ductless system or a cooling coil added to existing ductwork, and are usually finished in a day. Every one of them starts with a free in-home visit and a written quote instead of a guess over the phone.
Air conditioner or heat pump on the Island?
Nearly every cooling system going into Island homes now is a heat pump, because the same machine that cools in August heats in February. A cooling-only air conditioner still makes sense when your heating already works and you only need to fix one hot room.
Sizing decides how it feels. An oversized unit cools fast, shuts off before pulling much moisture out, and leaves the room clammy, so we size from a heat load calculation. Salt air off the Strait of Georgia is hard on outdoor coils, so where the condenser sits is part of the design.
What's included
- A heat load calculation for the rooms you want cooled
- Removal and disposal of the old cooling equipment
- Indoor unit or coil, outdoor condenser, lineset, and condensate drainage
- A mounting pad or brackets set clear of salt spray and whatever the roof sheds
- Thermostat setup, with the settings explained before we go
- Evacuation, charging to specification, and an airflow check
Pricing & what's covered
Free estimate
We price the job after an in-home visit, once someone has seen what's there.
- One-year warranty on our labour. Equipment and parts are covered separately, under the supplier's or manufacturer's own warranty.
- Licensed in BC: Refrigeration licence LBP0210874. We install and service Mitsubishi Electric, Daikin, Fujitsu, Carrier, Keeprite, Goodman, and Trane equipment.
How it works
Free site visit — the house, the rooms you want cooled, and where an outdoor unit can sit.
Written quote — equipment and labour in one number, cooling-only and heat pump side by side.
Installation — units, lineset, and drainage, with the area cleaned afterwards.
Commissioning — refrigerant charge, airflow, and controls measured, then the paperwork.
Frequently asked questions
Should I install an air conditioner or a heat pump?
A heat pump is an air conditioner that also runs in reverse to heat the house, so one machine covers both seasons and qualifies for the CleanBC Better Homes and BC Hydro rebate programs, where what you get back depends on your household income and on the equipment installed. Cooling-only is the simpler choice when your heating is already fine.
How much does air conditioning cost in Nanaimo?
We do not publish figures for it, because the same equipment lands in a very different place from one house to the next. Adding a coil to ducts you already have costs less than a multi-head ductless system, and the number of rooms you want cooled moves it from there. The visit is free, and the figure goes in writing once someone has seen the house.
Can I get air conditioning if my house has no ductwork?
Yes, and plenty of Island homes have none. A ductless system puts a wall or ceiling head in the rooms that need cooling and links it to the outdoor unit through a small refrigerant line.
Does salt air damage an outdoor unit near the water?
Coastal air corrodes aluminium fins and fasteners faster than inland air does. It is worth a coil coating built for it, mounting clear of salt spray, and a fresh-water rinse once or twice a year.
Do I need strata approval before installing an outdoor unit?
Usually yes. Most strata corporations treat the exterior wall, roof, and patio as common property, so the condenser and its lineset need written approval. We plan the route before quoting.
Ready to get it fixed?
Call now, or send us the details online and we'll follow up.