Commercial HVAC systems are a critical part of any business. It is important to have a preventive maintenance checklist to ensure your system is running properly and to be proactive at catching potential issues. Galgon HVAC wants to reduce your service calls by recommending a preventative maintenance plan that works for your budget as well as your facility.
Section 1: What is included in a Commercial HVAC preventive maintenance checklist?
Anything you want! A preventative maintenance checklist can be as much or as little as you want it to be. Galgon HVAC is here to consult and make recommendations based on variables such as: budget, facility type, critical needs, operating hours of equipment, operating and utility expenses and possible savings on those expenses.
Section 2: When should you schedule preventive maintenance?
The best part about this is, we schedule and remind you when to do the preventative maintenance. We will come up with a quarterly schedule and we will remind the customer when it is time to do maintenance based on the preventative maintenance contract and what the customer set up. This takes the scheduling and having to remember when your preventative maintenance is off your plate.
Section 3: What are the benefits of preventive maintenance for commercial buildings?
Below are a few benefits of a preventative maintenance agreement.
- Lower Utility and Operating Costs of the Facility
- Better energy-efficiency and lower energy bills go hand in hand. As your commercial HVAC equipment gets old, naturally the equipment from the fan blower to the compressor will have to work harder to maintain the facility’s needs. This leads to more expensive utility bills for the facility. However, studies have found that through basic maintenance like coil cleaning and changing filters, commercial building owners can reduce these HVAC energy-related costs by an average of 15-20%. The HVAC industry is constantly changing and making units more efficient. But if you have older units that are still working properly HVAC preventative maintenance can go a long way to maximize energy savings.
- Fewer Service Calls and Repair Bills
- Building owners and engineers have a lot on their plate with the day to day service calls within their own building. This makes it very hard for them to do their own maintenance because there are so many hours in a day. What makes these jobs even harder is when HVAC equipment goes down and fails. With preventative maintenance, you can be proactive in your approach and catch potential problems with your commercial HVAC system before they lead to large repair bills, saving you a lot of money over time. No business owner wants to have to shut down temporarily because they have to close for repairs. If you have to halt production because your commercial HVAC is not working, this could cost some companies millions of dollars for every minute that the HVAC is not working and their production is stopped
- Improved Air Quality
- A simple change of this filter removes trapped debris, dirt and allergens from your building. Changing a filter can also save on a potential service call. It is good practice and industry standard to replace filters quarterly. However, if you manufacture something like plastics, your warehouse can be filled with particles and might need to change filters on a monthly basis instead. If you or your employees suffer from asthma or other respiratory illnesses, preventative HVAC maintenance can significantly help to reduce symptoms. Preventative HVAC maintenance can also help to eliminate the spreading of airborne allergens. Indoor allergens can carry airborne particles such as dust mites, pollen, mold, and cigarette smoke, and more, which can pose serious health concerns. One of the goals of HVAC preventative maintenance is to create a cleaner atmosphere for anyone that walks through your building.
- Longer Lifespan of Equipment
- Maintenance is critical for prolonging your HVAC system’s lifespan. ASHRAE says most units will last between 10-15 years but if you have a well-maintained HVAC unit, you could get an extra 5 years depending on the unit and the environment it is in. Choosing to have a preventive maintenance program can save you money and time in the long run.
- Peace of Mind
- Anything mechanical is bound to fail and these failures with be more common if you do not have a HVAC preventative maintenance plan in place. Having this program in place reduces the stress of building owners because they know that their biggest cost and expense is being looked at and reported on a regular basis. HVAC maintenance can prevent these issues before they turn into serious emergencies. This keeps your AC equipment functioning smoothly, which helps the operation stay in motion.
- Improved Equipment Efficiency
- HVAC equipment efficiency is a large piece that building owners look at. For a system to operate at maximum efficiency, it requires annual inspections, tune-ups, cleanings, and other maintenance work. With the right maintenance plan, your property and facility can prevent these efficiency losses. Doing this will save you money because that means the unit is having to use less energy to stay operational.
- Safety
- Preventive maintenance can also help your building be safe. Maintenance plans can include checking the heat exchanger in units that have them. This can protect against the risk of carbon monoxide. According to the Centers for Disease Control, exposure to even the lowest levels of carbon monoxide can cause serious health issues. The most common cause of a carbon monoxide leak is a cracked or failed heat exchanger. As a building owner or facility engineer you should leave most of the HVAC preventative maintenance to licensed union technicians. They have been through certified training and can take the liability away from the building owner.
A preventive maintenance checklist is an important tool to keep your commercial HVAC system running properly. It is important to schedule preventive maintenance at regular intervals and have a qualified technician perform the maintenance. Being proactive with your commercial HVAC equipment will help with the headaches and stress of equipment failures.
