With Meteorological Summer (June-August) having just ended, the Met Office has revealed that across the UK as a whole, it was the coolest since 2015. That may come as little surprise, although some might raise an eyebrow at the finding that for most of the UK, it has been drier than average, including in the West Midlands.

Even if it had been hot and everyone without one had been thinking about the need to get an air conditioning system fitted, this time of year, with the nights drawing in and the landscape soon to turn orange with falling leaves and pumpkins, might not seem the opportune moment to do it.

However, that would be to overlook the full range of functions that an air conditioning system performs. Yes, keeping the air temperature comfortable is its primary task, but it is certainly not the only one.

Air conditioning units also act as dehumidifiers, with filters inside each unit absorbing the moisture and also discharging it when it is humid.

This is an important part of the system as humidity and temperature are linked, but also helps you avoid the problems that can be caused by excess humidity indoors, such as condensation, damp, mould and respiratory problems.

Because it has a range of components and uses refrigerant, an air conditioning unit can only be installed correctly by a properly trained and skilled engineer. Without this, it may not work well for very long.

In an increasingly erratic climate, it is important not to leave installing an air conditioning system until it is nearly summer next year. It is not just that occasionally September and even October can produce unusually hot days; spring days can be unusually warm too.

Moreover, as next summer gets nearer, there will be greater demand for units to be installed. If you don’t want to have to wait for appointments to be available, doing it now and ensuring you are future-proofed against heat and humidity is a very wise step.