Office air conditioning in Maidstone

What the law expects of a workplace

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require a reasonable temperature in indoor workplaces. There is no legal maximum, as GOV.UK and the Health and Safety Executive both confirm, but employers must assess the risks from heat and act on them as far as is reasonably practicable. Air conditioning is not the only answer, as blinds, ventilation and flexible hours all help, but in a sunny, full office it is often the one that works reliably in a heatwave.

Choosing the right type of unit

• Wall-mounted units suit smaller offices and meeting rooms and are usually the least costly to fit.
• Ceiling cassettes sit in a suspended ceiling and spread air in several directions, which suits open-plan floors.
• Ducted units hide above the ceiling, with only grilles on show, and cost more to install.
• Multi-split systems run several rooms from one outdoor unit, each with its own controls.

Which works depends on the ceiling, where the outdoor unit can go and how the space is split up.

How an office is sized

Offices are sized on heat gains as much as floor area. Each person gives off heat, and so does each computer, screen and printer. Add sun through the windows and the lighting. Meeting rooms are the awkward ones: small, full for an hour and empty the next, so they need their own control. If you are planning to add desks, tell us, because a system sized for today's headcount may fall short next year.

Energy inspections for larger systems

If the air conditioning in a building adds up to more than 12kW of output, even across several small units, it must have an energy inspection by an accredited assessor at least every five years. This is often called a TM44 inspection. The duty sits with whoever controls the system, usually the owner or the occupier. The penalty for not having a report is £300, and £200 for failing to produce one within seven days of Trading Standards asking. We can tell you whether your system is likely to be in scope, and the assessor carries out the inspection itself.

Working around your business

Drilling, ceiling work and power cuts do not mix with a working office, so tell us what your hours are and we will plan the noisy parts around them. In a rented building, check the lease and get the landlord's written consent before work starts, because outdoor units and new holes in walls often need it. Planning rules for business premises differ from the rules for homes, so check with the council first.