Some UK houses share a looped electricity supply with a neighbour. The cable is the distribution network operator's, not yours. Adding air conditioning, especially more than a small load, may mean the operator has to alter that supply. Do not unloop it, do not cut it, and do not ask the air conditioning installer to. An electrician can suspect a loop and the operator confirms it. Keep the air conditioning price provisional until that answer exists. The refrigerant work, later, is an F-gas install. Outdoor siting in England follows the Planning Portal.
A service shared with the house next door
A looped supply is a service arrangement where neighbouring houses are fed in a way that ties the cables together, common in older terraces. The details sit with the network operator. You may see an unusual service head, a label, or an electrician's note. You will not see a neat switch that disconnects the neighbour.
Seals left untouched on the service head
Confirmation comes from the operator or from an electrician inspecting with that question in mind. A guess from a photograph on this page would be false. Send the suspicion. Do not open sealed equipment.
A small extra load is not a whole-house bank
The network operator owns the loop. Keep the equipment order provisional.
- The network operator owns the loop.
- Do not cut or unloop anything yourself.
- Do not ask the air conditioning fitter to unloop it.
- Keep the equipment order provisional.
No amp figure for a cable in the street
A small additional load is sometimes acceptable. A whole-house set of splits, or splits plus an electric vehicle charger and an immersion, can be more than that shared cable should carry. The electrician says whether the board can take a circuit. The operator says whether the loop has to be altered first. Those are sequential answers, not a sentence in a brochure. There is no amp ceiling here. Inventing one would ignore the cable in the street. Wait for the people who can see it.
Condensers waiting in a garage
Do not disconnect the neighbour's supply, do not move the service head, and do not treat a YouTube method as instructions. Unlooping is the operator's job, on their programme, sometimes with a cost and a wait. Plan the rooms in the meantime. Do not pay for condensers that will sit in a garage for a year. You can still get a quote for the split as a provisional price for the rooms and the outdoor spot. Do not treat it as firm, and do not order the units, until the supply question is answered.
Wrong when anyone but the operator cuts the loop
You cannot unloop the supply to free up capacity. The loop belongs to the distribution network operator. Do not cut it or ask an air conditioning installer to. They confirm and alter it if it needs altering. A looped supply is not the same as a full fuse board. The board is in your house and an electrician can change it. The loop is the network. You can have either, or both. Say which one you were told. When the supply is confirmed, survey the split in the normal way: rooms, noise, Planning Portal conditions in England, F-gas certification. Energy Saving Trust's air-to-air page describes the heating and cooling. It does not describe the service cable.
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How this guide was prepared
This guide was written by the Local AC Installers Editorial Team. We compare official guidance, legislation and established consumer information, separate general information from project-specific advice, and show publication dates and sources. We do not accept installer accreditation claims at face value.