What does commercial air conditioning servicing cost?

What does commercial air conditioning servicing cost?

Servicing prices come from contractors' quotes rather than from an official source, so a figure on a web page is someone's quote, not a rate. What can be sourced is the structure. The price is the number of units visited, multiplied by the visits a year, plus the statutory leak checks and records for systems above the F-gas thresholds, plus whatever the contract leaves out.

The commercial HVAC cost overview publishes a dated benchmark per indoor unit and names its source. Use it to test a quote, not to replace one. What a visit covers is on the air conditioning service page, and the wider contract is on the maintenance and PPM page.

How is a servicing price built up?

Price element	What sets it	Question for the quote
Planned visits	Indoor units multiplied by visits a year, and access to each (ceiling voids, plant rooms, roofs)	How many unit-visits, and which tasks on each?
Leak checks	Refrigerant charge and its GWP, which set the band below	Are they inside the visit price or charged separately?
Records	Refrigerant added, and the dates and results of checks, kept for five years	Who keeps the log, and in what format?
Certified company	Certification renewed every three years	What is the certificate and its expiry?
Parts, refrigerant, consumables	The contract's scope	Which are in, which are out, and who approves repairs?
Hours and access	Out-of-hours work, permits, access equipment	Is it priced separately?
Inspection above 12 kW	A separate duty, not a service task	Included, or left to you?

The F-gas rules require records of the quantity and type of gas installed, the gas added during maintenance (for example in leak repairs), and the dates and results of all mandatory leak checks. A company that services equipment operated by others must be certified, and that certification has to be renewed every three years. The guide to checking an F-gas certificate shows how to verify one.

Which leak-check band does a system fall in?

The band follows the charge expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent. To work it out, convert the nameplate mass from kilograms to tonnes by dividing by 1,000, then multiply by the gas's global warming potential. The table converts the three bands into kilograms for two common refrigerants. The R410A masses are GOV.UK's; the R32 masses are calculated here from its GWP of 675.

Band (tonnes CO2 equivalent)	Leak check at least every	With a leak detection system	R410A (GWP 2,088)	R32 (GWP 675)
5 to under 50	12 months	24 months	2.4 kg	7.4 kg
50 to under 500	6 months	12 months	24 kg	74 kg
500 or more	3 months	6 months, and a detection system is mandatory	240 kg	741 kg

Each band changes how many statutory checks the contract must contain. Hermetically sealed equipment has no maximum period unless it holds 10 tonnes or more. A detection system that is required must itself be checked every year. If a check finds a leak, it must be repaired as soon as possible and re-tested within a month, which is an extra visit that a reactive-only budget does not show.

The user of the equipment carries the duty. GOV.UK says that if you rent out equipment, the rental agreement may make you responsible for leak checks instead of the end user, and that missing checks or unrepaired leaks can bring a civil penalty.

How do a ten-unit split site, a VRF system and an AHU site differ?

Site	What is visited	Statutory items	Where the price moves
Ten split units	Ten indoor and a similar number of outdoor units, each with its own charge	Compare each nameplate charge with the table. Combined output above 12 kW brings in the five-yearly inspection	Unit count, ceiling access, roof or ground-level condensers
VRF system	Few outdoor units, many indoor units on large circuits	A charge in the tens of kilograms can reach the 6-month band; required detection systems need annual checks	Indoor unit count, leak searching on long pipe runs, controls
Site with AHUs	Fans, filters, coils and ductwork as well as refrigerant plant	Fire dampers tested at least annually; duct cleanliness under TR19 Air	Filter media, plant-room access, damper count, duct cleaning

For ventilation plant, BESA records BS 9999:2017 as requiring fire dampers to be tested by a competent person on completion and at least annually thereafter. BESA also says debris in ducts can obstruct airflow and force fans to work harder, which is why duct cleaning appears as its own line. It is covered in the guide to commercial air conditioning cleaning.

What does a service record change?

The government's guide to air conditioning inspections says the inspection is in addition to the standard activities of owning and operating the system. Where documents clearly show regular good-practice checking and maintenance, aspects of the inspection and advice may be reduced or omitted. For a system under a maintenance contract, the contractor should know the capacity and report it in the maintenance records.

Cleaning and control adjustments do not form part of the inspection, so a service contract does not replace it. The penalty for not having the report is fixed at £300, with a further £200 for not producing it within seven days of a request. The TM44 guide covers the duty.

How do you compare two servicing quotes?

1. Convert each to unit-visits: indoor units multiplied by visits a year. Ten units visited twice is 20 unit-visits; 30 indoor units on a VRF system visited twice is 60.
2. Divide the annual price by the unit-visits, then adjust for what each quote excludes.
3. Separate the statutory element (leak checks and records) from optional tasks.
4. List the exclusions side by side: parts, refrigerant, consumables, out-of-hours work, inspection.
5. Check the contractor's certification and its expiry date.

The maintenance contract checklist covers the clauses, and the PPM schedule guide shows how visits spread across a year. The tasks themselves are often specified with SFG20, which BESA developed and describes as the industry standard for building maintenance. You can send an enquiry through the form to ask for quotes against your own plant list.

Sources

• Checking F gas equipment for leaks, Environment Agency and Defra, GOV.UK, checked 22 October 2026
• Regulation (EU) No 517/2014, Article 4, legislation.gov.uk, checked 22 October 2026
• Record F gas in equipment you own or service, GOV.UK, checked 22 October 2026
• Certification for companies working on equipment containing F gas, GOV.UK, updated 21 August 2019, checked 22 October 2026
• Calculate the carbon dioxide equivalent quantity of an F gas, GOV.UK, updated 16 January 2024, checked 22 October 2026
• Fluorinated gases (F gases), GOV.UK, updated 7 February 2024, checked 22 October 2026
• A guide to air conditioning inspections in buildings, MHCLG, GOV.UK, updated 18 September 2024, checked 22 October 2026
• Momentous moment for maintenance as industry bodies unite, BESA, 14 October 2022, checked 22 October 2026
• Fire damper testing frequency requirements, BESA, checked 22 October 2026
• New BESA guidance will revolutionise building air quality, BESA, checked 22 October 2026

Guides on this topic

• Commercial air conditioning cleaning: what to clean and how often

Frequently asked questions

How often should commercial air conditioning be serviced?

The law fixes the F-gas leak-check intervals and the inspection every five years above 12 kW, not the service frequency itself. Visit frequency comes from the manufacturer’s instructions and a maintenance specification such as SFG20, which BESA developed. Match it to the plant and how critical it is.

Does a service include the F-gas leak check?

Only if the contract says so. Leak checks on air conditioning must be carried out by certified persons, and the date and result must be recorded. Ask for the check to be itemised so it can be compared between quotes.

Is the TM44 inspection part of servicing?

No. It is carried out by an energy assessor, is in addition to the standard operation and maintenance of the system, and does not include cleaning or adjusting controls. A service record can reduce the scope of the inspection but does not replace it.

Who is responsible for leak checks on leased equipment?

GOV.UK says that if you rent out equipment, you may be responsible for leak checks rather than the end user, depending on the rental agreement. Check the lease or hire terms before agreeing a servicing contract.