BENEFITS OF HVAC MAINTENANCE IN COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS
Commercial HVAC systems optimize the humidity, air flow and temperature of your building. Preventative maintenance services extend the life of your equipment, diagnose and correct problems before they become large and costly, and help to minimize expensive repairs. Additional benefits of preventative HVAC maintenance include improving indoor air quality, providing a safe workspace for your employees, and reducing your impact on the environment.
Cost Saver
Regularly scheduled HVAC maintenance will save you money by reducing energy bills, preventing costly breakdowns, and prolonging the longevity of your system.
Energy bills can be reduced by up to 30% if your system is running at peak efficiency. In a commercial environment, thirty percent of your energy is a large savings!
By keeping your HVAC system well maintained, major malfunctions are less likely to occur as any issues will likely be caught before they turn into anything that requires a costly repair and down time. This practice can also extend the lifespan of your system by keeping it healthy and running smoothly.
Less Strain on the Environment
By keeping your commercial HVAC system running at optimal efficiency, you not only save on your energy costs, you also reduce your green footprint by using less fuel! You can further reduce your impact on the environment by choosing a system fueled by natural gas and installing a programmable thermostat to reduce the amount of energy used in the off hours.
Improved Air Quality
Prioritizing indoor air quality is important for businesses. Air in a commercial building can be filled with many allergens such as pet dander, pollen, mold, dust, cigarette smoke, and many more. These pollutants can cause many issues for people who are sensitive to allergens and/or have respiratory issues. Preventive HVAC maintenance can help keep your air as filtered as possible, providing the occupants of your building with clean air to breathe!
Improved Safety
By keeping your HVAC system running efficiently you are far less likely to experience any malfunctions, keeping your environment safe. This will protect the people in your building, your property assets, and the structure itself. You will also avoid the hassle of dealing with unsafe and damaging conditions.
A malfunction in your HVAC system can cause extreme temperatures in your building. If the building is unoccupied over the weekend and the system malfunctions, you could return to a very cold building with frozen, burst pipes or an uncomfortably hot building with lots of humidity. By keeping your system well maintained, you can avoid these unsafe conditions.
Another safety hazard is carbon monoxide. This odorless gas is extremely dangerous if it leaks out of the heat exchanger. According to the Center for Disease Control, low levels of carbon monoxide exposure can cause serious health issues and in higher levels can be fatal. Every commercial building should be equipped with carbon monoxide detectors to alert occupants if there ever is a leak. An HVAC preventative maintenance routine will generally include a carbon monoxide test as an extra layer of protection.
WHAT DOES HVAC MAINTENANCE INCLUDE?
HVAC TESTING AND INSPECTION
Commercial HVAC equipment should be visually inspected and tested equipment to determine its operating condition and efficiency. Typical activities include:
- Testing: for excessive vibration; motor winding resistance; refrigerant charge; fan RPM; refrigerant oil (acid); water condition; flue gas analysis; safety controls, combustion and draft; crankcase heaters, control system(s), etc.
- Inspection: for worn, failed or doubtful parts; mountings, drive couplings; oil level; rotation; soot; flame composition and shape; pilot and igniter; steam, water, oil and/or refrigerant leaks, etc.
COMMERCIAL HVAC MAINTENANCE
Preventative HVAC maintenance services are intended to extend equipment life and assure proper operating condition and efficiency. Typical activities include:
- Cleaning: coil surfaces; fan impellers and blades; electrical contacts; burner orifices; passages and nozzles; pilot and igniter; cooling tower baffles, basin, sump and float; chiller, condenser and boiler tubes.
- Aligning: belt drives; drive couplings; coil fins.
- Calibrating: safety controls; temperature and pressure controls, etc.
- Tightening: electrical connections; mounting bolts; pipe clamps; refrigerant piping fittings; damper sections.
- Adjusting: belt tension; refrigerant charge; super heat; fan RPM; water chemical feed and feed rate; burner fuel/air ratios; gas pressure; set point of controls and limits; compressor cylinder unloaders; damper close-off; and sump floats.
- Lubricating: motors; fan and damper bearings; valve stems; damper linkages; fan vane linkages, etc.
Commercial HVAC Service Company
Metropolitan Mechanical Contractors provides premium mechanical services for Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota. We offer flexible preventative HVAC maintenance programs and service agreements based on the demands of your system. Our Service Direct program encompasses emergency HVAC services for immediate issues. We will work with you to customize a plan to meet your requirements and the manufacturer’s recommendations.