The importance of comfort in commercial buildings can never be overemphasized. Comfortable building interiors improve the health and well-being of workers and also boost their mood and productivity.

In modern society, HVAC installation plays a big part in helping businesses and other commercial facilities to provide comfortable environments for their workers and other building users such as customers. HVAC systems achieve this by manipulating several aspects of indoor comfort, including temperature, humidity, and air quality.

If you are in the market for an HVAC system for your commercial establishment, you should know that not all HVAC systems are created equal. Multiple versions of HVAC equipment exist on the market, each having specific pros and cons that affect their suitability for use in certain applications.

Consider these factors when deciding which HVAC product is best for your commercial property.

Your Building Design 

Does the design of your commercial building include or omit HVAC ductwork?

Large commercial buildings usually have HVAC ducts to ensure uniform and efficient distribution of the conditioned air. As a result, they tend to lean towards central or ducted heating and cooling. Since the upfront cost of ductwork installation can be quite high, ducted HVAC systems may not make financial sense for smaller commercial buildings or facilities.

Indeed, small commercial spaces are often served by ductless heating and cooling systems such as packaged rooftop units and mini-splits.

Your HVAC Load

For any HVAC system to work well, it must match or slightly exceed a building's total heating and cooling load. An essential part of choosing the right commercial HVAC system is figuring out which size system will keep you comfortably cool or warm year-round.

Your HVAC load will depend on several variables, including:

• Your local climate – some regions are hotter or colder than others
• The design of your commercial building – passive buildings require less additional heating and cooling than regular ones
• The orientation of the building – buildings that face certain directions heat up or become cold faster than others
• The number of people that will use the building – the more people inside a building, the more the heating and cooling demand
• The intended use of the building – commercial activities like cooking in restaurant kitchens increase a building's overall HVAC load

The higher the HVAC demand of your commercial building, the bigger your HVAC system should be.

Remember that factors other than your commercial building design and heating/cooling load will affect your choice of an HVAC system. Get in touch with an HVAC contractor to further explore and understand your options.

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