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Commercial air conditioning FAQ | Arctic Cooling

Commercial air conditioning FAQ — servicing, cost, planning, repairs and compliance answered by an airside-cleared contractor near Heathrow.

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Commercial air conditioning FAQ

This commercial air conditioning FAQ answers the questions facilities managers, main contractors and building owners ask us most — on servicing, cost, compliance and who’s responsible for repairs. If your commercial HVAC question isn’t covered here, get in touch and we’ll answer it against your building rather than in general terms.

For more detail, our pages on commercial air conditioning, maintenance contracts, emergency call-out and working airside go further, and the areas we cover page shows where we work. Every answer below comes from what clients actually ask, and we answer as the contractor doing the work — approaching 40 engineers, all seven trades in-house, trading since 2016.

Who asks us these questions

Most come from facilities managers and main contractors working in aviation and airports, data centres, logistics and warehousing, hotels and hospitality, healthcare and commercial offices. Some answers apply to any commercial building. Others, like working airside, apply only to sites that demand the same access and compliance as a live airport.

The accreditations behind these answers

We’re F-Gas certified, SafeContractor approved, Constructionline Gold, an NICEIC Approved Contractor for commercial electrical work, a Daikin D1 installer and a Mitsubishi approved partner. All seven trades are delivered in-house by our own engineers, with minimal subcontracting, so when a question below touches compliance, installation or repair, you’re getting the answer from the people who’ll do the job.

Frequently asked questions

How often should commercial air conditioning be serviced?
Most commercial systems should be serviced at least twice a year — once before the summer cooling season and once before winter. Larger systems carry F-Gas leak-check obligations too, with intervals set by how much refrigerant they hold. A maintenance contract keeps all of this on schedule so nothing lapses.
It depends on the size of the building, the system type and how many indoor units you need, so there’s no honest flat figure. We survey the site, work out what the building actually requires, and give you a fixed quote against that. That way you’re pricing the real job, not a rule of thumb.
Often yes, particularly for external condensers, and the rules are stricter for listed buildings and in conservation areas. We check the planning position as part of the survey and advise on where units can go. It’s better to sort this before the job starts than to move plant afterwards.
It usually comes down to the lease, which sets out who holds responsibility for the plant. A common split is the landlord owning the equipment while the tenant covers day-to-day maintenance, but the wording is what decides it, so check your lease. We work for both landlords and tenants and can quote either side.
Commercial systems are larger, run harder and often use VRF or VRV to serve several zones from one system. They hold far more refrigerant, so they sit under stricter F-Gas and inspection rules than a domestic split. Design, resilience and controls carry much more weight, which is why commercial work needs a properly accredited contractor.
Yes. We’re cleared to work airside at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, with airside signatory status, driving permits and engineer passes all held directly in Arctic Cooling’s own name — not borrowed through a third party. We’ve delivered cooling for Hold Baggage Screening and repaired Pre-Conditioned Air units feeding parked aircraft. If we can deliver at a live airport, we can deliver in your building.
Yes — same-day reactive call-out for all clients. Clients on a maintenance contract get a faster response and up to 24/7 cover as a contract benefit. See our emergency call-out page for how to reach us when a system goes down.
We’re based around Heathrow. Our core patch is West London and the Thames Valley — Hounslow, Slough, Staines, Uxbridge and the M4/M25 corridor — then Greater London and the wider South East, including Gatwick and Stansted where our airside status runs. The areas we cover page lists this in full.
Yes, we’re F-Gas certified, which is a legal requirement for anyone handling refrigerant on commercial air conditioning. We’re also SafeContractor approved, Constructionline Gold, an NICEIC Approved Contractor for commercial electrical work, a Daikin D1 installer and a Mitsubishi approved partner. Ask and we’ll share our certificates before you appoint us.
Yes. Planned maintenance keeps systems compliant with F-Gas rules, and it catches faults before they become breakdowns. Contract clients also get a faster response and up to 24/7 cover. Our maintenance page sets out what a contract with us includes.
We self-deliver all seven trades in-house with our own engineers — air conditioning, refrigeration, plumbing, electrical, catering, mechanical and ventilation, and maintenance. That means one contractor is accountable from survey to sign-off, with no blame-chain between separate firms when something goes wrong. Approaching 40 engineers, trading since 2016, and cleared to work airside at three airports.
Yes. We’re a Daikin D1 installer — their highest tier — which lets us offer extended manufacturer warranties on Daikin kit, and we’re a Mitsubishi approved partner. We design and install VRF and VRV systems as well as splits from both manufacturers, matched to what your building needs rather than what we’d prefer to fit.