OFFICE HVAC
Designed for the First Tenant and the Next One.
Office HVAC must deliver comfort and fresh air across open floors, meeting rooms and cellular spaces while adapting to changing layouts, tenancies and occupancy patterns.
SYSTEM APPROACH
Tenant-Level Control. Building-Level Efficiency.
Hollis & Pike supports office projects from central plant and VRF systems through fresh-air handling, terminal equipment and controls.
An office system has to serve perimeter and core zones with very different loads, supply fresh air that follows occupancy and accommodate fit-outs that rarely match the original layout. The right approach allows floors to be let whole or divided, and re-planned later, without redesigning the plant.
ENGINEERING CONSIDERATIONS
What Shapes the Selection.
01
Perimeter and core zones
Perimeter zones respond to solar gain and fabric heat loss, while deep-plan core zones can need cooling for most of the year. Heat recovery VRF and four-pipe fan coil systems can heat and cool different zones at the same time.
02
Demand-controlled ventilation
Occupancy in meeting rooms and open floors varies through the day. Controlling fresh air on CO₂ maintains air quality when rooms are full without ventilating empty space at the full design rate.
03
Tenancy splits and metering
Multi-let buildings need zoning, controls and energy metering that can follow a floor or part-floor tenancy, so a single occupier can work late without conditioning the whole building.
04
Ceiling voids and risers
Terminal units, ductwork, pipework and condensate drainage must fit coordinated ceiling voids and riser space. In refurbishments, this is often what decides between VRF and chilled water.
05
Refrigerant in occupied spaces
Where VRF serves small cellular rooms, the system's refrigerant charge must be checked against the volume of the smallest room served, with leak detection where the assessment requires it.
06
Acoustics in quiet rooms
Meeting rooms and cellular offices need terminal units and grilles selected for their noise at the design airflow, not only at their lowest fan speed.
SELECTED WORK