A nursery school is a set of occupied rooms: many children, several staff, a peak through the day, and doors opening onto play. This page is about that building. It is not a guide to cooling a baby's bedroom at home. The indoor units have to be quiet enough that staff can hear children, and the outdoor unit must not mask the play yard or sit where it creates a safeguarding and access problem. A split recirculates. Fresh air for the rooms is a separate ventilation question. If the combined effective rated output is more than 12 kW, the operator has the inspection duty on GOV.UK's air conditioning inspections page, including TM44. Installation is F-gas work.
Full rooms after outdoor play
The load is a full room of children and adults, sun on a glazed side, and the hour after outdoor play when everyone comes back in. Size that peak. Do not import a domestic nursery wattage meant for one sleeping child. Base rooms, a sleep room and an office do not share one closed-door condition.
Say how many children and staff a room holds. Session hours, including the peak after outdoor play, are the pattern. Fresh air should be named as in or out of scope.
Safeguarding on site and rest-time noise
Installers on site, plant rooms and outdoor compounds need the nursery's safeguarding rules: who is escorted, which gates open, and when work can happen around children.
Neighbours and upper-floor flats still matter at rest time. Anti-vibration mounts and a position off the sleep-room wall are part of the survey. HSE workplace temperature guidance applies to the staff: reasonable comfort, no legal maximum. It is not a clinical temperature for children.
Drains, fingers and a board with spare ways
Indoor units, sensors and pipe covers have to be out of reach, with no trailing condensate line across a room. A leak onto a play floor is a slip. Pumps need alarms that staff understand. Filter cleaning has to be possible when children are not in that room, or from a safe access the manager can control.
Power, landlord or freeholder consent, and any school-site landlord if you are in a shared building, sit on the programme before kit is ordered. An F-gas certified company does the refrigerant work.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as air conditioning a baby's bedroom?
No. A nursery school is full rooms, staff supervision and safeguarding around noise and access. A home cot room is a different guide and a different load.
Will a split supply fresh air for the children?
No. It recirculates and cools. Fresh air is a ventilation design and stays separate. Do not accept a quote that blurs the two.
Where should the nursery outdoor unit go?
Outside the play space, in a place staff can still hear the yard, with service access that does not put contractors among children. A locked compound or a checked roof is the usual answer. A condenser in a play yard is a collision risk and a noise mask.
How quiet does the indoor unit need to be?
Staff have to supervise by ear as well as by sight. An indoor fan that forces adults to raise their voices is the wrong selection even if the temperature is met. Ask for the noise at the fan speed that holds a full room.
What if the nursery ceiling has no void?
Many nursery rooms are single-storey with a simple ceiling and no void for a cassette. A high wall unit may be the honest install.
Core buying guides
Start with these high-intent guides, then dig into the rest of the library.
Related guides
Sources and further reading
How this guide was prepared
This guide was written by the Local AC Installers Editorial Team. We compare official guidance, legislation and established consumer information, separate general information from project-specific advice, and show publication dates and sources. We do not accept installer accreditation claims at face value.