A solicitor's office is cellular: closed offices, a meeting room and a reception. People speak quietly and sit still for long meetings. One cassette in reception does not cool a room with a shut door. Each occupied closed room needs its own indoor unit, quiet enough that it does not lift voices, and placed so papers and people are not in a draught. The outdoor unit should not hum through a consulting-room window. An F-gas certified company installs the system.
A shut office, a monitor and the afternoon sun
Heat in a small office is two people, a monitor, an afternoon sun on one window and no air change when the door is shut for a call. That room can be uncomfortable while reception feels fine. Survey the rooms you actually close, including the meeting room when it is full.
A meeting room that peaks and then sits empty
A meeting room packed for an hour is a peak. It then sits empty. Its own control, and a throw that is not aimed down the table into faces, matters more than a larger shared unit in the corridor.
Glazed office fronts and a corridor unit
Partitions and glazed office fronts leak sound. An indoor unit on high fan will make people talk louder, which defeats the point of the door. Specify the low-fan condition. A corridor unit is for the corridor. It is not a trick for serving offices.
- One indoor unit per closed office you cool.
- Keep meeting-room air off faces down the table.
- Low noise so voices stay down.
Staff who sit all day in cellular rooms
HSE workplace temperature guidance is the right frame for staff who sit all day: reasonable comfort, no legal maximum. Clients feel the meeting room, but the design case is still the closed room at its peak, not the empty corridor at lunch.
Lath and plaster where a cassette will not fit
Many practices occupy older buildings. A cassette may be impossible under a lath-and-plaster ceiling. A wall unit on an internal partition may be the honest option, with pipes dropped where the fabric allows. Landlord and, where relevant, conservation consent sit on the critical path.
Drains and spare ways in a townhouse board
Condensate from several indoors needs a drawn route, not a hopeful fall to a toilet two rooms away. Pumps need alarms. The electrical board in a converted townhouse may not have spare ways for several fan coils. Find that out at survey.
Frequently asked questions
Will a reception cassette cool the offices?
No. Shut doors isolate each office. Cool the rooms you close, each with its own indoor unit and control.
Core buying guides
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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.