An HVAC commissioning form captures the actual performance of a heating or cooling system against the design intent. flow rates, temperatures, pressures, and system settings. This page explains what the form must contain, provides a free inline checklist, and covers the documentation requirements for heat pump installs under MCS.
Commissioning documentation has always mattered for commercial and public sector HVAC work. Building Regulations Part L and the associated CIBSE commissioning codes (CIBSE Code A for air distribution, CIBSE Code W for water distribution) set out what must be measured and recorded.
For residential work, the position changed when heat pump installs became grant-funded under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. MCS MIS 3005, the standard that governs heat pump installation, requires commissioning in accordance with manufacturer instructions and retention of commissioning records. Without those records the install cannot be registered with MCS. Without MCS registration the customer cannot claim the grant, which is currently £7,500 for an air source heat pump. A missing commissioning form has a direct financial consequence for the customer.
Beyond grant eligibility, commissioning records matter for warranty. Most heat pump manufacturers will not honour a warranty claim for a system that was not correctly commissioned and the commissioning was not documented. The records protect the installer as well as the customer.
The specific items vary by system type, but every commissioning form should address the following.
Make, model, and serial number of every major component: heat pump, cylinder, buffer tank, circulation pump, expansion vessel. Installation address and date. Commissioning engineer name and certification number.
Design flow rate versus actual measured flow rate at the primary circuit. System static pressure. Expansion vessel pre-charge pressure versus system design pressure. Pressure relief valve set point. System fill pressure. Evidence of system flushing and inhibitor dose (product, concentration, and pH reading).
Flow temperature at design conditions. Return temperature at design conditions. Delta T across the heat pump. Refrigerant circuit pressures on suction and discharge lines (where accessible and appropriate). Defrost cycle operation confirmed. Outdoor unit fan operation confirmed. Noise level check at boundary where relevant.
For each radiator or underfloor heating zone: design output, actual flow rate, lockshield valve setting, balancing valve setting. Evidence that the system is balanced. For underfloor heating: zone by zone flow rates, manifold pressure, and thermostat settings.
Weather compensation curve setting. Flow temperature set point. Domestic hot water set point and anti-Legionella cycle setting. Zone valve operation confirmed. Thermostat settings confirmed and handed to customer. Smart controls commissioned and registered where applicable.
HVAC commissioning involves a lot of numbers. Flow rates, temperatures, pressures, delta T, refrigerant readings. Recording all of these accurately requires capturing them at the moment of measurement.
The common failure mode is an engineer who takes readings mentally or on a scrap of paper during the commission, then fills in the form at the van or at home that evening. Some readings get transferred accurately. Others get rounded, approximated, or confused with readings from a different system commissioned the same week.
A commissioning form with fabricated or approximate values does not serve its purpose. If the system later underperforms and the customer claims warranty, the first thing the manufacturer will do is check whether the commissioning values make physical sense. Readings that are implausibly neat, delta T exactly 5°C, flow rate exactly 20 l/min, raise questions that accurate readings recorded at the time would not.
HVAC engineers using Quickler complete the commissioning form via WhatsApp during the commission. Each item is prompted in sequence. Readings are spoken as voice notes, "flow temperature 45.2 degrees, return 40.6", and transcribed automatically. Photos of manifold settings, pressure gauges, and controls screens are sent directly in the conversation and attached to the relevant commissioning item.
At the end of the commission the PDF is generated immediately. The customer copy is sent by one-click email. The record is timestamped and tied to the installation address. For firms running multiple installs per week, the dashboard shows commissioning status across all live jobs.
An HVAC commissioning form must record system identification (make, model, serial number), design parameters versus actual measured values for flow rates, temperatures and pressures, radiator or emitter outputs, refrigerant charge records where applicable, controls settings, and the commissioning engineer's name and signature.
Yes. MCS MIS 3005 requires that heat pump installations are commissioned in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and that commissioning records are retained. Without valid commissioning records the installation cannot be registered with MCS, which affects the customer's eligibility for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant.
Commissioning is the process of setting a system to work and verifying that it operates to design intent, measuring actual flow rates, temperatures and pressures and comparing them to design values. Sign-off is the formal declaration that the commissioning process is complete and the system has been handed over to the client.
Yes. Recording readings as a voice note at the point of measurement is more accurate than transcribing them later. Engineers using Quickler speak readings into WhatsApp during the commissioning workflow: the system transcribes them automatically and they populate the commissioning record.
Copy and paste this into the workflow description when you sign up at app.quickler.co/signup:
HVAC commissioning record — copy and paste this at signup: Workflow name: HVAC commissioning Questions: 1. Engineer name and date? 2. Site and system reference? 3. Equipment make, model and serial number? 4. Design supply air volume (l/s)? 5. Measured supply air volume — all grilles recorded? (readings) 6. Design return air volume? 7. Measured return air volume? 8. Supply air temperature at AHU? 9. Return air temperature? 10. Outside air damper position and volume? 11. Controls — BMS points checked and calibrated? (yes/no) 12. Filters — installed and clean? (yes/no) 13. Any balancing adjustments made? (description) 14. System balanced and signed off? (yes/no) 15. Engineer signature? Commissioning record PDF produced on site. Handover pack complete.
Quickler reads your description and builds the WhatsApp question sequence. Your engineers answer on site. PDF produced automatically.
Start HVAC commissioning records →Quickler runs through WhatsApp. No app install. Setup to first live workflow in under a week.