What this service covers
Air conditioning is expensive to install and to run. Before we design a dedicated chiller, we therefore check what the heating system already in the building and the ventilation can achieve. A heat pump with a borehole field can cool in summer while regenerating the ground; the ventilation takes on part of the load through night purging and supply air tempering. Whatever cooling load remains after that, we size precisely — based on an hourly calculation across the entire summer.
- Cooling load calculation — room by room, accounting for internal gains, glazing, thermal mass, and shading
- Cooling generation — vapor compression, free cooling, borehole regeneration, and waste heat recovery
- Cooling distribution — chilled water networks, chilled ceilings, fan coil units, and thermally activated slabs
- Process cooling — server rooms, retail, production, and storage
- Heat pump operation in summer — cooling and regenerating with the same system
- Dehumidification — where indoor humidity governs the use of the space
How we work
Check the existing system first
Before designing cooling, we establish what the heating system and ventilation can do — heat pump in cooling mode, borehole cooling, night purging, and supply air tempering. That often covers most of the load.
Build first, then cool
External solar shading, thermal mass, and shading are almost always cheaper than installed cooling capacity. We show how far that carries.
Hourly instead of flat rate
Cooling load varies across the day and across the summer. A dynamic simulation shows the actual peaks — and how often they occur at all.
Cooling and heating thought through together
Where a borehole field exists, summer waste heat can regenerate it. That improves the seasonal performance factor of the heating system and delivers cooling almost as a by-product.
Use waste heat instead of discarding it
Chillers inevitably produce heat. Where there is a consumer — hot water, preheating, an adjacent use — we design the connection.
Refrigerants with foresight
Regulatory requirements for refrigerants keep tightening. We take that into account when selecting the concept so the system does not become a problem prematurely.
Scope of the engagement
Frequently asked questions
Can an office building manage without cooling?
Sometimes yes. What matters is the glazing ratio, solar shading, internal gains, and the option of night purging. We check this with a simulation and show how many hours per year the comfort limit would actually be exceeded.
Can the heat pump also cool?
In many cases yes. With a borehole field it makes double sense, because the summer heat input regenerates the ground. Cooling capacity is limited, but usually sufficient for residential buildings.
What does air conditioning cost to operate?
That depends almost entirely on operating hours, not on installed capacity. Which is precisely why we calculate hourly — a system running 200 hours a year is something completely different from one running 2,000.
Do you design server room cooling?
Yes. And where it fits, we examine using the waste heat to heat the building — there is a post about it in our blog (in German).
Let's talk about your project
A short conversation is enough to define scope, schedule, and fees. We usually reply within one business day.
Send an inquiry or 081 377 80 80