As the summer starts in earnest, we again face the ironically hot potato of many an office manager; Air Conditioning.
We are all well aware that one man’s Sahara is another woman’s Antarctic, but we offer the following advice to try to achieve that magic happy medium somewhere between ‘surface of the Sun’ and ‘dark side of Pluto’.
Air conditioning units are rated by capacity to cool, measured in BTUs (British Thermal Units) per hour, so the higher this figure, the more cooling you will get.
The main consideration with regards to the required output is not how low the temperature you want to reach is, but how big the room is.
Room Size (m2) BTU’s per hour 45 12,000 55 14,000 65 16,000 75 18,000
This will give you a good start on calculating the rating of the conditioning unit you need, however life is rarely this simple and there are a few other considerations to add in to the mix. The size of windows and how much direct sunlight will also need to be factored in, as a south facing office with large glass windows will obviously need more cooling than a shady basement. Lastly, the amount of people typically using a space will greatly influence the size of the unit required; it is estimated that after the first two people in a room, each additional person will add 600 BTUs to the required cooling capacity of an office.
It is tempting to just go for the largest BTU rating you can find – after all surely it will just work quicker. However, due to the fact that air conditioning units will both cool the air and remove moisture, too large a unit for a room will cool all the air before having a chance to remove the required humidity, leaving you will a clammy and uncomfortable space.
We hope that this helps you chose the right air conditioner for your office, if our sales team can be any further help, feel free to give us a ring.
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