HVAC Design
Load calculations, equipment selection, and system design from first principles.
Heating, cooling, and ventilation design: room-by-room load calculations, equipment selection and scheduling, ductwork and refrigerant pipework sizing, schematics, and layout drawings. A complete design package, or any single piece of it.
The method is first principles on a CIBSE-based methodology. Fabric, solar, internal, and ventilation loads calculated properly, then equipment selected to match. Behind that sits extensive manufacturer training across the major VRF brands and 24 years of installing, commissioning, and maintaining the systems being designed. That last part matters: a design that can't be installed cleanly or maintained afterwards isn't a good design, whatever the calculations say.
Built for design-and-build contractors who need design capability without a consultancy appointment.
Design services
Heat load & cooling load calculations
Room-by-room heating and cooling loads covering fabric, solar, internal gains, ventilation, and infiltration, with the design conditions and assumptions documented.
Equipment selection & specification
VRF/VRV, split systems, AHUs, chillers, and heat pumps, selected on fit, scheduled with duties, and specified for procurement.
Ductwork & ventilation design
Fresh air and extract rates, duct sizing and layouts, and attenuation where noise matters.
Grille & diffuser selection
Grille and diffuser types and sizes selected on throw, spread, and terminal velocity, so the air reaches the space without draughts.
Refrigerant pipework
Refrigerant pipe sizing and routing for VRF/VRV and split systems, including branch selection, lift limits, and equivalent lengths.
Replacement & retrofit schemes
Phased plant replacement in occupied buildings, including legacy refrigerant (R22/R410A) replacement strategies.
Design review
An independent check of someone else's design before you commit to building it. See also consultancy.
Design basis
Load calculations follow CIBSE methodology, with ventilation designed against current Building Regulations requirements where they apply. Equipment selections use manufacturer software where it helps, always sanity-checked by hand, because selection tools are only as good as the loads fed into them. Refrigerant choices account for the F-Gas phase-down, so the system you install this year isn't a liability in ten.
Where a project needs drawings, the design links straight into the CAD drafting service: schematics, layouts, and schedules issued as one coherent package.
Typical projects
VRF systems for hotels, offices, and residential; ventilation schemes; heat pump conversions; and end-of-life plant replacement in buildings that have to stay open while the work happens. A 143-bedroom hotel phased VRV replacement, published by Daikin as a case study, is representative of the harder end of that work.
Frequently asked questions
What information do you need for a load calculation?
Floor plans and elevations (or window schedules), construction details for the fabric, intended occupancy and equipment gains, and the building's location and orientation. Where fabric details aren't available, assumptions are agreed with you and stated on the calculation, never buried.
What standards do you design to?
CIBSE methodology for loads and system design, and Building Regulations ventilation requirements where applicable. Every design states its basis, including design conditions, standards referenced, and assumptions, so it can be checked and defended.
Are you tied to a particular manufacturer?
No. I've completed design, installation, and service courses with both Daikin and Mitsubishi Electric, plus their heat pump ranges (Daikin Altherma and Mitsubishi Ecodan), and my old firm was both a Daikin D1 Partner and a Mitsubishi Electric Business Solutions Partner. That depth means I know the products well enough to select on fit rather than allegiance; the schedule names whatever suits the project.
Can you design a replacement for an old R22 or R410A system?
Yes. Replacement schemes in occupied buildings are a specialism, including strategies that reuse existing pipework where the manufacturer supports it. Phasing, temporary conditions, and keeping the building operational are usually the real design problems, and they're the ones I've delivered against.
Do you take on residential work?
High-end residential, yes. Concealed ducted systems, acoustic constraints, and controls integration are a core sector. Single domestic split installations are better served by a local installer.
Do you validate existing designs?
Yes. A second pair of eyes on a design before plant is ordered is some of the cheapest risk reduction available: a load check, a selection check, and a buildability review from someone who has installed these systems.
Related services
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