Air conditioning in Mallorca
Splits, multi-splits, ducted systems and hydronic cooling, with how-to and maintenance videos.
See the air-conditioning guide →Air conditioning · Porto Cristo
Air conditioning in Porto Cristo, where salt is the enemy
In Porto Cristo the sea air reaches the last street of the harbour, and the outdoor unit is the first thing to feel it. We are Joaquín and Juan, a RITE-registered installer certified for F-gases: we choose where the machine goes and how it is looked after so it survives the coast.
Send us photos and details · Reply within 24-48 hours on working days · We assist you in English, Spanish and German
- Seafront
- Humidity control
- RITE and F-gas
- Holiday homes
Your area
What changes when you air-condition in Porto Cristo
Porto Cristo is Manacor's harbour, set in a narrow cove, with the Coves del Drac next door. Renovated fishermen's houses, flats overlooking the port and villas in S'Illot, Cala Anguila or Cala Mendia: almost everything is a few metres from the water.
The outdoor unit, sheltered
Salt-laden wind corrodes the coil fins and the fixings. Whenever possible, the outdoor unit goes on the side of the house that doesn't face the sea, or under cover, not on the balcony that takes the easterly storms head-on.
Humidity indoors
On the coast, many summer nights the problem is not heat, it is mugginess. When cooling, the coil condenses water out of the air and drains it away; "Dry" mode dehumidifies with little cooling. The RITE takes 45-60 % relative humidity as its indoor design condition for summer.
Flats that stay closed for months
A summer home that is shut up builds up damp. Many current units can be controlled over Wi-Fi, so you can switch on a while before you arrive and the house doesn't smell closed.
In numbers
What the data says about the east coast
The nearest official AEMET series with published normals is Palma airport: average relative humidity of 72 % over the year and 62-65 % in July and August (1981-2010). Right on the harbour it can easily be damper still, which is why we care so much that the condensate drain is done properly, with a fall and no sections that hold water.
Lowering humidity also saves: with drier air, 26 °C feels cooler, and IDAE calculates around 7 % savings for each degree you don't ask of the machine. And a ceiling fan, according to the same IDAE, feels 3 to 5 °C cooler while using very little.
How we work
Your air conditioning in Porto Cristo, in 3 steps
1
Photos and measurements
Send us photos of the rooms and of the spot for the outdoor unit, with approximate sizes. If we need to see it, we come.
2
Calculation and quote
We calculate the thermal loads of each room, as the RITE requires, and send you an itemised quote.
3
Installation and commissioning
We fit it ourselves: vacuum and leak test of the circuit, drain tested and the unit running, with the 3-year legal guarantee and the manufacturer warranty.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions about air conditioning in Porto Cristo
Does the salt air in Porto Cristo damage the outdoor unit?
Over time, yes: Porto Cristo's salt settles on the aluminium fins of the coil and on the fixings, heat exchange gets worse and the unit uses more to deliver the same. So we look for a spot sheltered from the sea wind, check in the datasheet whether the manufacturer offers an anti-corrosion coil and, on the seafront, recommend cleaning the outdoor unit more often. The datasheet SEER (9.2 for a General ASEH09KJCAL, for example) is measured with a clean coil.
How often should a seafront air conditioner be serviced?
On the Porto Cristo seafront, whichever is stricter, the regulations or your unit's manual. The RITE (IT.3, table 3.1) sets as a minimum for an air conditioner up to 12 kW a service every 4 years in homes and every 2 in other uses; if its gas charge brings it under the leak checks of Regulation (EU) 2024/573, that obligation is added; and if the manufacturer asks for more, you do what the manufacturer asks. On the coast, because of the salt, we recommend not stretching those minimums.
My flat in Porto Cristo is closed all winter: will the air conditioning help with damp?
Yes. When cooling, the split condenses water vapour and drains it, and "Dry" mode is designed to remove moisture with little cooling. In Palma average annual relative humidity is 72 % (AEMET, 1981-2010), while the RITE design value for summer is 45-60 %. If the unit has Wi-Fi control, you can start it remotely a few days before you arrive.
Can I put the outdoor unit on the balcony facing the harbour?
In a Porto Cristo flat, the balcony is part of the façade, which is common property: the Horizontal Property Act (art. 7.1) requires telling the community first and not altering the external appearance. It is also the side that gets the most salt. If there is no other option, we protect it as far as possible and leave it accessible for cleaning.
What gas does a new air conditioner use, and is it true it will be banned?
In Porto Cristo, as across Mallorca, a wall split such as, for example, the General ASEH09KJCAL uses R32, with a global warming potential (GWP) of 675 under Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2024/573. That regulation bans placing on the market, from 1 January 2029, air-to-air split systems up to 12 kW with gas of GWP 150 or more, unless safety requires it (Annex IV, point 9). It is a ban on selling new units: what you install before can keep running and be repaired.
Do you also work in S'Illot, Cala Anguila and Cala Mendia?
Yes, along the whole Manacor coast and the rest of Mallorca. We reply within 24-48 hours on working days, in English, Spanish or German, and the two of us do the work with our own team.
Keep learning
Other ways to save at home
Air conditioning is one part; these guides complete the savings in your home.
Solar panels in Porto Cristo
Run your summer air conditioning on the sun from your own roof.
See solar in Porto Cristo →Heat pumps in Porto Cristo
Heating, hot water and fan coils from one air-to-water heat pump.
See heat pumps in Porto Cristo →Across Mallorca
Air conditioning in the east and south of Mallorca: Manacor · Felanitx · Cala d'Or · Santanyí · Campos · Calas de Mallorca, or see the air-conditioning guide for Mallorca →
Air conditioning by area (east coast): Cala Millor · Cala Ratjada · Portocolom
Also in Porto Cristo: sewage treatment plants · water softeners
See our work and customer reviews on the JSL Google Maps profile →
Quality
We work with every brand
For example DAITSU, Daikin, Mitsubishi Electric, General, Fujitsu, Midea, Gree, Panasonic, Samsung, LG, Toshiba or Haier: we choose the model for efficiency, noise and space, not for the badge.
Own a home in Porto Cristo and want the AC to stand up to the sea?
Send us a photo of the sea-facing façade and where the outdoor unit could go. We'll tell you which spot suits it.