As a busy commercial building owner or facility manager, you probably maintain a level of dread around an unexpected emergency repair or downtime scenario.
We completely understand. It’s costly in more ways than one, and can lead to frustrating issues with tenants who are inconvenienced or may even be losing money too.
To help ease that concern, we’d like to offer this quick, practical guide to help you identify three common commercial HVAC repair scenarios based on the complaints you or your tenants may have, and show you how they can best be avoided:
“The vents are making strange noises.”
Noisy heating or AC vents can certainly be annoying and can affect how a business runs. Just imagine, concentrating can be difficult with loud clangs and rattles echoing through the vents behind you.
Fortunately, there are several obvious things that can be causing noisy air flow:
- Loose/broken fan blades
- Cracked/broken air ducts
- Loose air vents
It’s wise to also check the heating and cooling units themselves just to make sure the sounds and/or vibrations aren’t coming directly from the unit, which could indicate a more serious issue.
Avoid this issue through planned maintenance and scheduled inspections
In both cases, it’s best to contact your HVAC service provider so they can send an experienced technician to help. An even better option is to arrange a planned maintenance program with your provider that includes scheduled inspections on a routine basis. Having a trained technician on-site to perform a system inspection regularly will likely allow them to identify and repair problem areas before they become an annoyance and cause of complaint.
“Something smells odd.”
If tenants in an isolated section of the building complain about the quality of the air, it’s likely a sign that maintenance or cleaning is needed on one or more of the air ducts in that area. On the other hand, if most or all of the building has an air quality issue, it’s more likely caused by something in the mechanical equipment itself.
Some common causes of poor air quality include:
- Air filters that haven’t been cleaned or replaced properly
- Stagnant water from a leak or condensation
- Debris melting on the elements of the heat exchanger
- Parts inside one or more system motor overheating
Avoid this issue through planned maintenance
In all these cases, a planned maintenance program that’s both well-planned and strategically scheduled can most likely catch these issues before they progress to the point that air quality is adversely affected. Periodic visual inspections of the duct work and equipment, along with electronic diagnostics, can help catch developing issues before they start to make themselves known.
“Our electricity bill keeps going up!”
In this case, your HVAC system may still be keeping the building comfortable, but you start to notice your monthly energy usage rising for no obvious reason.
This is most likely a sign that the system is no longer using energy efficiently due to some underlying mechanical or control problem. While there can be many causes, they all generally boil down to a few key issues:
- Necessary cleaning that’s been neglected
- Aging equipment that’s beginning to fail
- Faulty or weak parts that require other components to overcompensate
- Recalibration required on electronic controls
Avoid this issue through an operational assessment and control system monitoring
The best option for avoiding these issues is to for a trained technician to perform an operational assessment and inspection to properly identify the cause.
A building automation and analytics system can also help make this process more effective and easier to maintain. These tools help control and monitor your building’s HVAC system using electronic sensors and analytical software. These can be used to continually optimize the system and ensure it’s running as efficiently as possible, and that developing issues are brought to your attention quickly.
Of course, there are many other scenarios that could potentially require HVAC repairs on your commercial building. While practicing prevention and avoiding problems is the best option, emergency HVAC repairs, when needed, can be handled quickly and effectively to minimize downtime. If you’d like to discuss any of these tools and recommendations, and learn more about how we can help your Colorado, Arizona or Virginia building avoid these repair scenarios, contact us today.
