For England and Wales, examine the system’s effective rated output and relevant control arrangements. The proportion of cooled floor area is useful context for the assessor, not a substitute for the statutory equipment test.
What you need to know
- Identify which rooms and floors the plant actually serves.
- Use rated cooling output rather than cooled floor area.
- Check grouping and technical control within the building.
- Compare the existing report with present equipment and zones.
Map cooling in the rooms and areas actually served
Mark the cooled spaces on a floor plan, including small offices, meeting rooms and technical areas. Identify which outdoor unit or central system supplies each zone.
Record uncooled areas without using them to dilute the equipment rating. A large warehouse with a small cooled office still needs its actual office cooling installation assessed for applicability.
TM44 eligibility guidanceCheck the entire system's effective rated cooling output
Obtain the manufacturer’s effective rated cooling output for the relevant equipment. A system does not become a smaller rated installation merely because fewer rooms are occupied or controls currently call for less cooling.
Check whether connected indoor units share an outdoor system. Avoid adding both sides of that arrangement as separate capacity, or using electrical input as though it were cooling output.
Distinguish grouped systems from independent equipment
Show which components form one installation and which are independent systems. Provide commissioning records or a schematic where the relationship cannot be determined from the room layout.
Relevant individual units in one building may need to be grouped under the England and Wales control rule. A separate wall controller in each room does not, on its own, settle the legal arrangement.
Identify common control in multi-occupier premises
Identify the person controlling technical functioning and compare landlord services with tenant-installed plant. A department occupying one floor may have room controls while a building operator makes the principal technical decisions.
Keep evidence of those arrangements with the scope. Refer a genuinely disputed responsibility boundary for appropriate advice rather than assuming the party booking the inspection automatically carries every duty.
Confirm which plant existing reports actually cover
Read the report’s equipment and area descriptions. Determine whether it covers the currently cooled rooms and whether later additions, replacements or control changes are documented.
A report bearing the building address may concern only a defined installation. Ask the assessor to clarify scope before describing the entire property as covered.
Request an accurate inspection scope if eligibility is uncertain
Supply the address, plant ratings, control information and an outline of the areas served. Mark uncertain details for the assessor to resolve rather than estimating a convenient total.
Request a scope that explains the systems to be assessed and any access needs. The quotation can then reflect the installation instead of a misleading percentage of the building.
Request an inspection quotationCheck the governing guidance
This article does not authenticate a government register entry or establish the status of an individual building. Confirm the applicable national framework and the actual installed equipment before relying on a compliance conclusion.
England and Wales legal points are anchored in current government publications and the regulations. Technical applicability for a specific building still requires its actual system information.