Aircon Installation in Clock House: Timescales from Billericay

Typical timescales for aircon installation in Clock House

Time on site depends mainly on the type of system, the number of rooms served and how much access the building can give. Below are realistic ranges for commercial and public sector buildings. They assume the design is agreed and the equipment is already on order.

Equipment lead times often matter more than installation time. Larger VRF outdoor units, fan coils and chillers can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to arrive, depending on the manufacturer and the time of year. Order dates should be built into the programme from the start, especially when the work has to fit a fixed school holiday or a clinical shutdown.

• Single split system for a server room, comms room or small office: 1 to 2 days, plus a short electrical connection
• Several split or ducted units across one floor: 3 to 7 working days
• VRV/VRF system serving a full floor of offices, classrooms or clinic rooms: 2 to 4 weeks
• Whole building VRF or fan coil installation: often 6 to 12 weeks on site, usually phased
• Chillers and chilled water for MRI, CT or other process cooling: several months from design to handover, including enabling works

What happens before engineers arrive on site

Most of the time that decides your programme is spent before installation starts. Our own engineers survey the building, calculate the cooling and heating loads room by room, and design the system in-house, so the people who design it also install it. For a straightforward office scheme this stage might take two to four weeks. For a hospital or a university laboratory it can be much longer, because of clinical sign-off, ventilation interfaces and electrical capacity checks.

Things worth confirming early include whether the incoming electrical supply can take the extra load, where the outdoor units can sit safely and quietly, routes for refrigerant pipework and condensate drainage, and whether the building has asbestos records for the areas affected. Sorting these out early stops delays later.

Working in live hospitals, schools and council buildings in Clock House

Most buildings we work in cannot simply close. In hospitals we phase the work area by area, agree infection control and noise limits with the trust, and plan isolations so that nothing clinical is affected. Our £4.6 million mechanical and BMS installation at Ealing Hospital's community diagnostic centre is an example of planning this way across a large, complex project.

For schools in and around Clock House, the summer holiday is usually the best window for the noisy and disruptive work, with first fix pipework and outdoor unit installation done while classrooms are empty. Shorter half term breaks can cover smaller phases. Council offices, libraries and university buildings often suit evening or weekend working, which adds days to the programme but keeps services running. Our F-Gas certified engineers travel from Billericay, so Clock House sits well within our usual area across London, Essex and the South East.

Commissioning, BMS integration and handover

Allow time at the end for commissioning. Each system needs pressure testing, evacuation, refrigerant charging and performance checks, and this typically takes one to three days for a medium sized VRF system. Where controls connect to a building management system, integration and witness testing can add a few more days, particularly in hospitals where the estates team needs to see alarms and setpoints working before sign-off.

After handover, systems containing fluorinated gases need regular leak checks. How often depends on the refrigerant charge, usually every 12, 6 or 3 months for larger systems. Through Preou FM we can carry out these checks alongside planned maintenance of ventilation, boilers and BMS, so one contractor keeps the records you need for compliance.