AI tendering for air conditioning installers

Price an air conditioning tender from the heat loads: select units to meet each room's load, measure refrigerant and condensate runs from the layouts, then add brackets, condensate pumps, labour, commissioning and F gas records. State who did the heat loads, who supplies power and whether the external unit needs planning. AI reads the pack fast; you choose the kit.

What makes air con tenders hard to price?

The pack tells you how many rooms; it rarely tells you enough to choose the kit. Air con tenders from main contractors and fit-out firms often give a room schedule and a spec line ("comfort cooling to offices, wall-mounted split systems") with heat loads either missing or supplied by a consultant you can't question.

The problems on most packages:

• Heat loads. Without a calculation, you're designing by choosing unit sizes.
• Pipe runs. Refrigerant and condensate routes are rarely drawn, but they drive labour.
• Condensate. Gravity drain or pump, and where it discharges.
• Electrical supply. Isolators and supplies to outdoor units, often between two packages.
• Planning. External units on homes, listed buildings and commercial frontages.
• Commissioning and maintenance. Leak checks, records and the service contract that follows.

Tenders have the same shape as everyday domestic air con quotes, only longer. Most of the hours go on reading the pack and building the price list, and far fewer on the decisions that win or lose the job.

What do you need before you price?

The heat loads, the routes and the responsibilities. Run through this list on the pack before you select any kit.

How do you price an air con installation tender?

Select units from the heat loads, price the kit, measure the pipe and condensate runs, then add labour and commissioning. Keep it per room so changes are easy to value.

The selection step is where to slow down. If the consultant's loads look low for the room use, raise a clarification question; don't quietly size up and carry the cost difference against cheaper bids.

Tenders often ask for the company certificate number. Have it ready, and see F gas certification for the individual qualifications.

Does the external unit need planning permission?

At a house in England, it depends on whether the system heats as well as cools. Planning Portal says air conditioning may be permitted development only if it provides a heating function and meets the limits; cooling-only systems need an application, and conservation areas and listed buildings need permission or consent.

Camden Council, for example, says you must apply for full planning permission to install, alter, replace or move plant where any part is fixed to the outside, and must send a noise, vibration and ventilation assessment with the application. Other councils set their own requirements. For the domestic limits, see air conditioning and planning permission.

What should an air con tender qualify?

Heat loads, condensate, electrical supply and planning, first. Those are where disputes start.

Tender: project name, comfort cooling package
Our price: £amount excluding VAT, dated date

1. Unit selection based on heat loads supplied by consultant in document reference. Heat load calculation and design responsibility remain with them. Or: units selected from our survey; no heat load calculation included.
2. Outdoor units located as shown on drawing. Relocation will be valued as a variation.
3. Refrigerant pipework priced at metres m total. Additional runs at £rate per metre.
4. Condensate by gravity to location where shown, and by pump for rooms. Connections to drainage beyond metres m by others.
5. Electrical supplies, isolators and controls wiring to indoor and outdoor units by the electrical contractor.
6. Planning permission, listed building consent and landlord consent to be obtained by the client before installation.
7. Builder's work, core holes through structure, fire stopping and making good excluded.
8. Commissioning, leak testing and F gas records included. Handover with number copies of records and manuals.
9. Maintenance contract not included; offered separately at £rate a year for visits visits.
10. Access equipment for outdoor units at height excluded unless listed.
11. Price valid for number days; equipment subject to manufacturer price changes after that date.

For the general wording rules, see tender qualifications and exclusions.

What can AI do on an air con tender, and what can't it?

AI is good at reading the pack, building the kit list and drafting the qualifications; it can't stand in the plant room or judge whether a 7.1 kW unit will fit the wall.

What it does well:

• Reading room schedules and specs, and pulling out heat loads, named kit and commissioning requirements.
• Pipe and condensate runs measured from scaled layouts, with fittings allowances.
• Spotting gaps: no heat loads, power supplies not in any package, units sited near boundaries.
• Drafting the qualifications and planning assumptions.

What still needs you:

• Unit selection when loads look wrong or the room use doesn't match.
• Routes on site, through ceilings and structure the drawings don't show.
• Planning and noise judgement near neighbours.
• Sign-off. You're certifying the install, so you approve the price.

For how Nexley works for mechanical and air con firms, see the mechanical and electrical trade page.

Common questions