At ACG Air Conditioning Guys, we see the same pattern every summer. West-facing units in the Inner West, North Shore and Parramatta corridor overheat from about 2 pm, then stay humid well into the night. People buy the “best air conditioning Sydney” they can find, but still feel clammy and pay too much in power.
This article is our field-tested playbook for west-facing Sydney apartments—humidity-aware split sizing & ‘Dry’ mode strategy. We’ll walk through how we size systems, when we choose 2.5 kW vs 3.5 kW splits for hot rooms, and how we use Dry mode to cut humidity, mould risk and running costs.
Our team has been installing and servicing reverse cycle air conditioning Sydney-wide since the early 2000s, now with 15+ years of continuous growth and 490+ client reviews across Google, Facebook and Word of Mouth. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0} We’ve used that experience, plus 2025 NSW guidance on apartments, to build this guide specifically for west-facing apartments and small strata units.
The testing window for the tips in this guide covers Summer 2024–Autumn 2025, across dozens of west-facing jobs from Canterbury, Rhodes and Olympic Park to Chatswood and the CBD, using Daikin, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Fujitsu and Samsung inverter splits.
Instead of a single “product”, think of this as a bundle:
| Zone | Common size | Heat & humidity notes |
|---|---|---|
| Living / kitchen | 22–28 m² with large west-facing glass | Peaks at 3–5 kW thermal load on hot afternoons. |
| Main bedroom | 10–14 m², often west or south-west | Overheats late afternoon; stays humid overnight. |
| Second bedroom / study | 8–10 m² | Often shaded; lower load, can run smaller split. |
Price-wise, air conditioning installation Sydney for a quality 2.5–3.5 kW split in a unit usually lands between $2,500 and $5,000 installed, depending on brand, access, and switchboard work. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1} Larger 5–7 kW systems for living rooms head north from there, especially in complex installs.
A west-facing Sydney apartment is like a glass greenhouse from 2 pm to sunset. The thermal load in west-facing rooms can be 30–50 % higher than the same room facing south. That’s why textbook HVAC load calculations often undershoot real life unless you adjust for:
Heat is only half the story. Many high humidity Sydney apartments sit close to the river, harbour or busy roads with poor cross-flow ventilation. At night, temp drops but humidity rises. That’s when rooms feel:
This is where using Dry mode vs Cool mode correctly (and not just as an afterthought) becomes the edge for west-facing homes.
Dry mode runs the split system in a low-power cooling pattern with more time spent condensing moisture on the coil and less blasting cold air. It aims to:
On many inverter units, that can mean 10–25 % lower running cost for mild, sticky evenings compared to full Cool mode.
You don’t need to be an engineer. You only need to know that west-facing rooms load up hard in the afternoon and stay humid at night—so your split system has to be sized and set up with that in mind.
Our main goal for west-facing units is simple:
Every job needs its own HVAC load calculation, but here’s a rough split system sizing guide for Sydney’s west-facing apartments (assuming standard 2.4–2.7 m ceilings and basic insulation):
| Room type | Size & orientation | Typical choice | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedroom | 10–12 m², west or south-west | 2.5 kW split | Good balance for most; less cycling, quiet at night. |
| “Problem” bedroom | 12–14 m², big west window, poor blinds | 3.5 kW split | Useful when afternoon overheating is severe. |
| Combined living / kitchen | 22–28 m², west-facing glass doors | 5.0–6.0 kW split | Often plus ceiling fan & shading. |
The big mistake we see is undersized 2.5 kW units in hot west-facing living rooms. They run flat out in Cool mode, struggle to pull humidity down, and wear out early. The opposite—oversized central air conditioning Sydney style—can short-cycle, never really drying the air.
Below is a simple comparison from one of our Inner West case studies: a west-facing one-bed unit, running different modes across a sticky February evening (~28 °C outside, 70 % humidity).
Summary: Dry mode cut humidity by ~15 points with only a small increase in runtime, leading to a lower “feels-like” temp and better sleep without the room feeling like a fridge.
For most west-facing units on a modern inverter split, a good energy efficient cooling strategy Sydney looks like:
In many jobs, this combo has shaved roughly 15–25 % off summer power use compared with “all Cool, 21 °C, fan high” habits—without sacrificing comfort.
On most west-facing apartment jobs, our Air Conditioning Sydney team can complete a standard split install in a single day, including:
A lot of our 2025 Google reviewers highlight clear communication, tidy installs and help with settings, which is critical when you’re learning a new system in a small apartment. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
Learning curve is usually 1–2 weeks. Once people see how much better Dry mode feels on sticky nights, they rarely go back to constant Cool mode.
We often get asked: “Is 2.5 kW enough, or do I need 3.5 kW?” Here’s how we think about it:
In some premium projects—like mixed-use buildings, rooftop gyms or large corner units—our commercial air conditioning Sydney team may design central or VRV-style systems with dedicated humidity control. For most everyday west-facing apartments though, a well-sized split plus smart controls wins on cost and comfort.
Between 2020 and 2025, we’ve seen three trends that really help west-facing units:
Independent 2025 roundups also put ACG in the mix of the best air conditioning companies Sydney for quality installs and communication, which lines up with our own customer feedback. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
If you’re ready to design a humidity-aware solution for your west-facing place, you don’t have to guess kW sizes alone. Our Air Conditioning Sydney team at ACG can:
Tip: off-peak specials—like spring campaigns with reverse cycle air conditioning Sydney deals—often appear before summer spikes. Checking the ACG site for Air Conditioning Sydney cost blogs and specials can save hundreds on quality gear. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
For most Sydney apartments facing west, a correctly sized inverter split plus a clear Dry mode playbook is the sweet spot between comfort, cost and mould control. It beats blind “bigger is better” installs and it’s far more realistic than expecting ceiling fans alone to handle 35 °C afternoons.
You still need a proper site visit and load check, especially if your layout is unusual, but you now know the key questions to ask:
With those answers and a careful install, your west-facing apartment can feel like a well-tuned coastal hotel room instead of a sticky glass box.
Below is a current Spring 2025 offer banner ACG uses for split and ducted systems—a good example of real-world pricing ranges for modern inverter units.
This video from ACG explains Air Conditioning Sydney cost ranges and helps you understand how sizing, unit type and installation complexity affect your budget:
As of 2025, ACG Air Conditioning Guys holds 4.9★ from 490+ Facebook reviews, 4.8★ from 450+ Google reviews and 5★ from 40+ Word of Mouth reviews, plus independent listings that rank ACG among the top air conditioning installers in Sydney. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
Long-term update (Autumn 2025): the west-facing units we retrofitted with correctly sized splits and this Dry mode strategy show fewer mould call-backs and lower complaint rates than comparable “Cool-only” installs from years prior. We’ll keep refining this playbook as new inverter models and NSW apartment rules evolve.
Contact ACG Now & Experience the Difference
