The move to the Grade-2 listed building follows rapid growth of the company's activities locally and nationally, with cooling and heating decarbonisation projects underway for schools, public buildings and national retailers across the UK.

Rob Smelt, BREng managing director, said: 'There is a tremendous surge in demand for HVAC projects focussed on decarbonisation and energy reduction. This is being driven by the recent steep rises in energy costs and the imperative to move to low-carbon technologies.'

He added: 'Our new premises provide the facilities to meet the expanded workload, while the location in the North East provides excellent access to active projects as far-afield as Scotland and Cornwall.'

BREng has particular expertise in decarbonisation and low energy solutions, including integration of heat pumps, heat recovery systems, energy optimisation, control strategies, ventilation, and on-site troubleshooting.

It recently completed decarbonisation projects for a number of schools in the North East, including conversion to air-source heat pumps and phased projects using enhanced heat emitters.

Current projects include a heat-recovery system for an NHS consulting centre in Wembley, an integrated HVAC system for an office complex in Derby, and a high efficiency close-control temperature and humidity solution for a German-owned prestige motor manufacturer.

The company recently introduced a pioneering 3D digital building scanning service, that involves rendering an entire building envelope in digital form for use in BIM project planning. This enables detailed schemes for HVAC, plumbing and electrical services to be mapped out without the need to attend site.

As part of expansion, the family-owned company – founded by Rob Smelt and Bridget Marvin-Smelt in 2019 – has been joined by sons Tom and Jack, who specialise in building services engineering and building digitalisation respectively.

Smelt said: 'It is an exciting time to be part of the air conditioning and building services industry. The technology, and the legislative framework in which we operate, is changing rapidly. It will have a huge impact on the entire national building estate, and require massive investment by both the public and private sector to achieve the net zero targets mandated by government.'

He added: 'With more than 30 years experience in the industry and proven expertise in low carbon solutions, BREng is well placed to help clients plan their journey to net zero.'