The weather has started to cool. The leaves have begun to change. Before you know it, winter will be here. Are you ready? More importantly, is your commercial facility ready?
Climate experts are predicting another harsh winter this year, and the Farmer’s Almanac agrees, calling for a cold, wet winter capped with lots of snowfall across the country. That being said, it is essential to have your commercial HVAC systems inspected and maintained before winter arrives. This will not only ensure your tenants stay nice and toasty all winter long but will also minimize breakdowns and costly repairs and cut energy costs. Did you know that heating demands account for 33% of the overall energy consumption of most commercial buildings?
Check out the following preventive maintenance tips put together by Crockett.
HVAC Preventive Maintenance Tips Checklist to Ensure Your HVAC Equipment Operates Efficiently and Keeps Customers Comfortable
- HVAC Replacement: If your HVAC equipment is more than ten years old, replacing it may make more sense. At this point, maintenance is more a Band-Aid than anything else. Many gas furnaces installed more than ten years ago are only about 50-60% efficient. Today’s gas furnaces boast efficiency ratings as high as 97%.
- Replace Air Filters:Dirty air filters restrict airflow and hamper HVAC efficiency. This is why you should ideally change your air filters once a month.
- Adjust the Supply Registers:When the weather begins to cool, it is important to open a few of the supply registers on the first floor and close a few on the second floor. This will help your system heat your commercial building more efficiently.
- Calibrate Thermostats:If the calibrations are not correct, your heating system will not be as efficient as it could be.
- Programmable Thermostat:A programmable thermostat could cut your heating costs by as much as 75%, allowing you better to control the heating and cooling of your office building.
- Check the Furnace: Have your furnace professionally inspected and cleaned before winter arrives. This will help ensure that your furnace operates safely and efficiently. Check for cracks in the heat exchanger to ensure that carbon dioxide is not leaking.
- Humidifier:Make sure you have a humidifier to add humidity as heat dries out the air. Check to make sure it is working correctly and is monitoring the humidity levels.
- HVAC Inspection: You should have your HVAC system inspected twice a year (spring and fall) by a professional contractor, who will check for the reliable, efficient, and safe operation of all HVAC equipment. This will help identify potential problems and ensure your system is working as efficiently as possible.
- HVAC Preventive Maintenance Agreement:Taking advantage of an HVAC maintenance agreement is a great way to keep your system running at peak efficiency.
Reduce the number of truck rolls/service calls.
In addition to the preventive maintenance tips listed above, ENTOUCH’s energy management services can help reduce service calls to your commercial business. Our unique energy monitoring system lets our experts get a detailed look at potential issues inside each piece of critical equipment in your facility. ENTOUCH energy experts can often diagnose and troubleshoot the problem remotely, reducing the number of technician visits and helping you control service costs.
Make service calls more efficient.
In cases where a technician needs to come to your facility, ENTOUCH EMaaS can provide them with data that will help diagnose and repair the problem faster and more efficiently than if they had no information about the issue. That means EMaaS can usually identify the issue before the tech is dispatched, allowing them to bring the correct parts and appropriate tools the first time. They’ll be in and out in less time, and you’ll be back to business as usual without business disruption.