Skip to main content

One garden office. Both seasons

Fern checks the glass, roof, power supply and drain route, then sizes one air conditioning system to warm the office in January and cool it in July. In the worked winter example below, it uses about a third of the electricity of a panel heater.

Start the home calculator
A timber garden studio among green planting

January, half past eight

The coffee cools while the panel heater warms the patch beside your desk. By July, the same insulated room holds too much heat. Small enough to expect comfort, exposed enough to resist it.

Four details decide whether the simple install stays simple

Glass and roof exposure

Large doors, roof lights and an unshaded roof can dominate the summer load even in a small, well-insulated office.

Electrical supply

The survey checks the existing supply and whether the proposed system needs dedicated electrical work.

Condensate

Cooling removes water from the air. That water needs a dependable route away from the building, not a container inside.

Outdoor airflow

The outdoor unit needs clear space around it. Fences, bins and planting cannot block the air it moves.

The winter calculation

£204

a winter with a 2 kW panel heater

£63

the same illustrative heat from air conditioning in heating mode

Illustration: 2 kW of heat for three hours a day across 130 winter days, using the Ofgem July to September 2026 GB-average Direct Debit default-tariff rate of 26.11p per kWh, including VAT. The air conditioning calculation uses a worked COP of 3.25. Tariffs, weather and use vary. Figures illustrative. We confirm the installation price after a survey.

Panel, fan and oil-filled electric heaters all convert electricity directly into heat. Under the stated worked assumption, air conditioning in heating mode moves three and a quarter units of heat for each unit of electricity used.

Compare running costs with your own tariff.

Start with the room, then the thermostat

If the office is poorly insulated or draughty, improving the fabric may be the better first step. Once the room is sound, keep the door and windows shut while the system runs, use a steady comfortable setting, keep furniture clear of the airflow and clean the filter when the manufacturer’s instructions say to.

A straightforward office may fit into one day

A compact outdoor unit sits beside or behind the office. A slim indoor unit goes where air can move well through the room. Access, electrical work and the chosen pipe route can add time, so we confirm the plan and likely installation time before work begins.

A survey at your home, a fixed quote for the agreed work and a written guarantee.