HVAC TRADE · COMMERCIAL AC
Commercial air conditioning — a recognized expert in large-scale cooling
Optimize the comfort and value of your buildings with our intelligent air conditioning solutions. Kolostat is a recognized expert in the construction of large-scale cooling infrastructures, particularly in the data center sector — and delivers the same engineering rigor across office, retail, multi-residential, industrial, and institutional AC scopes.
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- Certified specialistsEngineers, technologists, and technicians — LEED, CEM, CMVP, RCx — across four offices.
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- Projects deliveredMechanical scopes across Canadian commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings since 1927.
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- Energy saved on critical coolingAnnual savings on past mission-critical cooling mandates, validated by transparent audits.
What we do for commercial AC
Large-scale cooling, engineered end-to-end
Air conditioning is a trade scope on its own, and a sub-scope of nearly every commercial HVAC project we run. We are a recognized expert in the construction of large-scale cooling infrastructures, with tailor-made HVAC solutions engineered to the stringent indoor-air-quality and energy-efficiency requirements of each environment.
Large-scale cooling infrastructures
Chilled-water plants and large-scale cooling infrastructures — chillers, primary and secondary loops, cooling towers, and controls — designed for office, multi-residential, industrial, and mission-critical loads. The chilled-water work behind our data-center cooling track is the same engineering applied here.
Tailor-made for complex environments
From commercial buildings to cleanrooms, we design tailor-made cooling systems for the most stringent indoor-air-quality and energy-efficiency requirements — engineered to the technical environment, not picked from a catalog.
Reliability for business-critical cooling
Exceptionally reliable cooling systems engineered to prevent the failures that interrupt operations — for the business customers whose cooling load is non-negotiable.
Intelligent zone control and BMS integration
Intelligent energy management with precise temperature control by zone — tied back into the building management system on Automated Logic / WebCTRL® where applicable, so drift is caught before it becomes a breakdown.
Connected services
Commercial AC sits inside a wider mechanical practice
The commercial AC scope rarely lives on its own. Where the project crosses into design-build, maintenance, electrification, or mission-critical, the connected service is run by the same in-house team.
Design-Build — full system
When the AC scope is part of a wider mechanical build — heating, ventilation, piping, and controls — one contract from engineering to commissioning typically beats fragmented mechanical procurement. RBQ, CMMTQ.
Preventive maintenance contracts
Scheduled inspections on the AC asset list — in-depth inspections, regular adjustments, BMS monitoring, and written reports as part of a customized preventive maintenance plan.
Heat pump retrofit — AC + heating in one
When the building is up for an AC replacement and also burns gas for heat, a heat pump consolidates both loads onto one electric platform — and unlocks the Énergir + Hydro-Québec + TEQ dual-energy grant envelope.
Data center cooling
Precision cooling for compute halls — CRAC, CRAH, in-row, rear-door, and liquid cooling, with redundant chilled-water plants designed to N+1 or 2N. The pointy-end of our AC practice.
Mission-critical HVAC
Cleanrooms, labs, pharma, and other environments where AC failure is not an option. Redundant designs validated by transparent audits, and 24/7 specialized dispatch for the operating year.
Controls optimization
BMS retrofit, sequence tuning, and continuous optimization on top of installed AC — the layer that makes existing equipment run closer to its design intent without a capital project.
How we work
Four steps from first conversation to commissioning
Meet
Senior-engineer site walk and discovery on the cooling scope — free.
Visit
We measure existing AC loads, refrigerant inventory, distribution constraints, and tenant impact.
Diagnose
Engineering proposal — platform recommendation, cost, schedule, grant eligibility (Hydro-Québec for efficient cooling, dual-energy if pivoting to heat pumps).
Build
Execution, commissioning, and performance handover — with continued life-cycle support through our service division.
Commercial AC FAQ
What our clients ask before engaging an AC scope
How do you decide between a central chilled-water plant and a distributed cooling approach?
Platform selection is engineered to the building's structure, load profile, indoor-air-quality requirements, and operating constraints. We are technology-neutral and have delivered large-scale chilled-water infrastructures alongside more distributed configurations — the recommendation falls out of the engineering proposal, not a default platform preference.
When does it make sense to repair existing AC equipment versus replace it?
The repair-vs-replace recommendation is scoped during the engineering assessment — based on the condition of the equipment, operating-cost trajectory, available grant eligibility, and the client's asset horizon. The diagnostic visit gives a defensible answer for your building, not a brochure rule.
Should we consider replacing cooling-only AC with a heat pump that handles heating too?
Often, yes — especially on buildings that currently burn gas for heat. A heat pump consolidates the cooling and heating loads onto one electric platform, eliminates a separate gas plant, and qualifies the project for the dual-energy program (Énergir + Hydro-Québec + TEQ) which can finance up to 80% of project surcharges. For pure cooling-only contexts — data halls, manufacturing process loads — efficient chilled-water cooling usually remains the right answer. See our commercial heat pump retrofit page for the conversion framework.
Are there Hydro-Québec rebates for efficient electric cooling on a commercial AC project?
Yes. Hydro-Québec administers efficient-electric programs that can apply to commercial cooling measures — high-efficiency chillers, controls upgrades, and demand-management measures that reduce peak cooling load. We file the eligibility and the application through Kolostat's Energy division as part of the engineering proposal, alongside any ÉcoPerformance or Énergir envelope the project qualifies for. The specific rebate path depends on the measure list and the building type.
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Optimize the comfort and value of your buildings with our intelligent air conditioning solutions. Request a quote, or call dispatch for 24/7 emergency cooling support.