Office Climate Control: How to Choose a System
Why an office isn't an apartment
An office is more complex. High occupancy: 1 person per 6–10 m² instead of 20–30 m² at home. Equipment: every computer gives off 200–400 W of heat, a server up to 2 kW. Doors open constantly. You need not just temperature but fresh air for concentration.
A simple split system in an open-plan office of 80 is like fighting a fire with a glass of water. It runs itself into the ground, blasts the nearest staff and can't handle the load.
Three options for different scales
Wall splits (up to 50 m²)
Suitable for small offices with separate rooms. The upsides are clear: low cost, simple installation, individual control. The downsides:
- Lots of outdoor units on the facade — the building management may forbid it
- Uneven air distribution in open spaces
- Each unit is controlled separately — no central control
Cassette units (50–150 m²)
Recessed into a suspended ceiling, they distribute air in four directions. For open-plan they're the ideal solution:
- One 18,000–24,000 BTU unit covers 40–60 m²
- Even airflow, no “dead zones”
- Takes up no wall space and looks professional
Requirement: a suspended ceiling with at least 30 cm of plenum space.
VRF system (from 150 m²)
One powerful outdoor unit serves dozens of indoor units. You can mix them: wall units in offices, cassettes in open-plan, ducted in meeting rooms. Central control via BMS.
A climate-control design for your office
An engineer will calculate the heat loads and propose a system to fit your layout and budget.
Discuss your projectCapacity sizing: 150–200 BTU per square metre
For an office the baseline is 150–200 BTU/m² instead of 100 BTU/m² for homes. The reason is heat gain from people and equipment. Corrections:
- Server room: 300–500 BTU/m² with year-round cooling
- A 20-seat meeting room: +12,000 BTU on top of the base figure
- Kitchen or coffee area: +30 % on the base
- South facade with full glazing: +20 %
Ventilation: an AC doesn't replace fresh air
The norm for offices is 60 m³/h per person. With 20 staff that's 1,200 m³/h of fresh air. An AC doesn't solve that.
The answer is a supply-and-extract unit with heat recovery, integrated with the air-conditioning system. The recuperator returns 70–80 % of the energy, easing the load on both cooling and heating.
Cost in Tbilisi
- Wall splits: from 2,000 GEL per office (equipment + installation)
- Cassette unit: from 4,000 GEL per unit installed
- VRF for a 300 m² office: from 25,000 GEL (design + equipment + installation)
- Lead time: 2–4 weeks
We handle the full cycle: design, supply, installation, commissioning and annual maintenance.