Match the capacity to the floor area
Allow roughly 1 kW of cooling (3,500–4,000 BTU) per 10 m². A standard 25 m² Batumi studio is comfortable with a 9,000 BTU unit. A 50 m² two-room flat needs 18,000 BTU or two split systems. Oversizing is not "better": the unit will cycle in bursts, wear out sooner and be harder to run for heating in winter.
Models that work well here
- LG Standard Plus 12000 — the workhorse, ₾1,400–1,600 plus installation.
- Samsung AR4500 — quieter, inverter, ₾1,800–2,200.
- Mitsubishi Heavy SRK-ZS — the best for quietness and service life, ₾3,500 and up.
- Cooper&Hunter — the budget end at ₾900–1,100, a reasonable choice for a rented flat.
What installation costs in 2026
A standard install (up to 3 m of pipe run, stock brackets) is ₾250–350. Each extra metre of run adds ₾30–50. Drilling through a load-bearing wall is ₾80–150 on top. Topping up refrigerant on a long run is around ₾100. A realistic all-in installation budget is ₾350–500 on top of the price of the unit.
What to check before the installer leaves
- The fall on the drain pipe — get it wrong and water drips into the room.
- The line is vacuumed before charging. Skip that and the compressor dies within a season.
- The outdoor unit is shaded from direct sun — in Batumi that matters a lot.
- Cooling and heating both tested while the installer is still there, not "check it yourself later".
When to call a service engineer
Blowing warm air — refrigerant. Water dripping indoors — drainage. Loud noise — mounting. A strange smell on start-up — the evaporator needs cleaning. A service call in Batumi is ₾100–200 plus the work. Do not open the system yourself: depressurise it and the unit becomes scrap metal.