Airtech Pty Ltd
attn. Barry Machin
971 South Road
Melrose Park SA 5039

2 June 1998

Dear Barry,

On the 17th April I had cause to send you a letter describing various problems we have had with the air conditioning system you installed that week. With the exception of the damage done during installation and the incorrectly rated circuit breaker, none of these problems have been resolved, nor do I have a reply to my letter. Instead, on the 7th May, we experienced severe icing of the unit, which caused it to become almost completely ineffective. I called you the following day, and you promised to ``look into'' it and contact me. In fact, Jeff came along on Monday, the 11th, and confirmed that the pressure in the system was still within limits. I have had no further communication.

We are very dissatisfied with this state of affairs, and consider you in breach of contract. From your offer letter, which we consider part of the contract, we note:

I am pleased to submit the following proposal and quotation for the supply and installation of the most suitable air conditioning system for you.
... to comfortably heat and cool a combination of the living and sleeping areas of your home.
At no point was there any mention of any disadvantage compared to other heating systems. In particular, there is no indication that you did not propose to install temperature control in six of the seven zones.
... our after sales service is something our company prides itself on

I believe ducted air conditioning to be the most expensive of the alternatives which were open to us, with the possible exception of individual room air conditioning. At this price, I expect superior performance. The unit you installed does not match up to the performance of much cheaper alternatives. In particular:

As mentioned already, there is no temperature control outside the living room. This means that it is impossible to maintain a comfortable temperature in the other rooms. When the temperature in the constant zone rooms is maintained at 21°, one of the bathrooms does not get warmer than 16°. This was measured at a time where the outside temperature ranged from 10° to 16°, so that it would not be unfair to claim that the heating does not work at all in this room. On the other hand, the kitchen regularly heats up to 25°.
The control unit you supplied is completely inadequate. Even if we were to accept the fact that it controls the temperature of only one room, it is far too inaccurate. There is an uncomfortably large difference of 2.4° between cut-in and cut-out temperature. As a result, we frequently resort to manually turning the unit on and off, which should not be necessary
When I spoke to you on the phone on the 8th May, you stated that the unit was not powerful enough to heat the whole house at the same time. While I have not seen any substantiation for this claim, I find it completely unacceptable. We have purchased a unit for heating the house: now you say (after the installation) that it can't do this job.
Before purchase, I spoke both to you and to one of your suppliers on the subject of icing. You both reassured me that there would be no problem. It appears that you are wrong.

I do not know of any other mechanical heating alternative available which delivers such poor results. Even the cheap fan heaters we used last winter (total investment for 5 rooms of $160) perform better. A more reasonable solution with gas heating would have been much cheaper than the unit you installed.

In my opinion, the problems can be solved. The main cause of the problems is an inadequate control unit which is not able to measure the temperatures in the other zones, nor to control the dampers. A control unit with these capabilities would also be able to control the temperatures in the other zones. In addition, of course, it would be necessary to remove the ``constant zone'', since otherwise temperature control in this area would become impossible.

I remind you again of my request for comment on the other point I mentioned in my letter of the 17th April:

In addition, Jeff, the electrician, told me just before leaving that it was not permissible to turn the dampers on while the unit was running, since they could burn out. If I were to do so, the guarantee would be invalidated.

I find this unacceptable for two reasons: firstly, there should be no reason to build or furnish dampers like this. Secondly, any such information should be supplied in writing. I am not sure whether this information is correct. Please confirm or deny it. If there are any other unwritten things I should know about the unit, please let me know in writing.

Sincerely,

Greg Lehey