A UK pub has at least two temperature problems that should not be muddled. The bar needs comfort for staff and customers among glass, bodies and a kitchen pass. The cellar needs stock held at a proper product temperature, usually on a cellar cooling system that runs to a different setpoint. A bar split will not keep cask ale by leaving the cellar door open. Survey both spaces, the plant position and the electrical supply before you buy domestic heads for a trading room. Refrigerant work needs an F-gas certified company. If the building's air conditioning is over 12 kW of effective rated cooling output, inspection duties can apply.
The bar load and the cellar setpoint
Cellar cooling is about beer and other stock, often cooler than any customer would sit in, and it runs in winter as well as summer. Comfort cooling in the bar is about people, sunshine through the front windows, and heat from the glasswasher and the pass. Linking them with an open door warms the cellar and wastes the bar unit. Keep cellar setpoints and bar setpoints on separate plant. Who looks after cellar equipment may already be a drinks supplier. Who looks after the bar should be an air conditioning firm that understands pubs. One badge on a bedroom unit in the snug is not a cellar strategy. Ask who already maintains the cellar cooler before you replace anything.
Evening trade, staff heat and inspection thresholds
Pubs leak air every time the street door opens, and they gain heat from crowds, lighting and cooking. Size the bar for a busy Saturday, not a Tuesday morning. A single domestic wall unit above the optics will disappoint on a match day. Cassettes, ducted supplies or several indoors are normal once the room is more than a snug. Keep indoor units out of the grease from the kitchen pass. Outdoor plant on a flat roof or a yard needs noise thought for neighbouring bedrooms, because you trade in the evening.
Staff are at work in that heat. HSE guidance on workplace temperature is about keeping people reasonably comfortable, with no single legal maximum figure that lets you ignore a hot bar. Cooling is one control. Water, breaks and a working extract in the kitchen still matter. The installer does not replace your duties as an employer. Anyone who installs or breaks into the refrigerant circuit must work for an F-gas certified company and hold the right qualification. Plan maintenance when the cellar and the condensers can be reached without dragging a ladder through Saturday service. GOV.UK air conditioning inspection guidance applies where the effective rated output of the system is over 12 kW. A whole pub, counting bar and back-of-house plant, often crosses that line even when each room looks modest. A single small snug unit may not. Budget an inspection path and a clean-coil habit. Dirty pub filters are how next July feels worse than this one.
Frequently asked questions
Can the bar air conditioning cool the cellar?
No. Cellar plant is set for stock and should stay independent. Cooling the bar and propping the cellar door wastes both systems.
Does a pub need an air conditioning inspection?
If the effective rated cooling output of the air conditioning is over 12 kW, GOV.UK inspection rules can apply. Many pubs reach that once all the plant is added up. A single small snug unit may not.
Will a domestic multi-split do for a pub?
A quiet side room, sometimes. A busy bar with a kitchen, rarely. Survey the peak trade and use commercial-grade equipment and maintenance where the hours demand it.
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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.