Energy Saving Tips To Improve HVAC

Older Roof Top unit.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average commercial building wastes around 30 percent of the energy it consumes. That means that as a property manager, if you haven’t taken any steps to improve your building’s efficiency in the last few years, it may be wasting even more. If that’s the case, you’ll find many opportunities to improve, some that you can implement immediately and will have lasting impact well into the future.

Tip #1 Start With An Energy Audit and Inspection

Its hard to know where you can make improvements and save energy if you have no idea what shape your current equipment is in. So the best place to start is by calling and having a HVAC contractor come out and perform an inspection on your existing equipment. Before the inspection, perform your own audit by collecting the utility bills from the past year. Also pull any records for service, repair or maintenance. These can show trends that have been happening throughout your building, and help the contractor understand where potential problems may lie. Equipment that is breaking down regularly is probably in poor condition, meaning its also wasting energy. You may be surprised to learn how much you can save by upgrading to a new, more efficient unit.

Tip #2 Educate Building Occupants About Energy Savings

One of the best ways to increase your buildings efficiency is to bring all building occupants on board. Training sessions can help employees or tenants learn more about how to best use the equipment in the building, how much savings little things can make (such as powering down computers at night), and can provide tips for reporting problems in a quicker manner. Is it easy for employees/tenants to report a leaky faucet or a running toilet? Many people understand the importance of energy efficiency, and have taken steps to make their homes more efficient; they will care about where they work too if you give them the opportunity.

New Roof Top Unit. 

Tip #3 Timers and Program Controls

Why heat or cool your building when its not in use? One of the easiest ways to save energy is to control the temperature when the building is empty. Depending on the size of your building, you can use a programmable thermostat for a smaller operation, or a timing automation system for larger buildings, and have the air conditioning, heat and lights turned down during off hours.

Tip #4 Upgrade Your Insulation

Depending on the age of your building, the insulation may not be up to par. This goes beyond upgrading your windows. Adding insulation around pipes, HVAC duct work, and around electrical outlets reduces the amount of energy lost during normal every day function. If your building is older, it may be time to clean and inspect the ducts. Over time, ducts can wear down, with leaks or holes forming in the system. As these form, cool air from air conditioning and warm air from heating seep out into the walls and utility space of the building. This can further break down insulation in these areas. By fixing the duct work and upgrading insulation, the energy efficiency of your building can be increased dramatically.

Tip #5 Set Up A Maintenance Schedule For Your HVAC Equipment

Chillers, boilers, heating and cooling equipment all lose efficiency over time when they aren’t cleaned regularly and operate at a less than optimal level. For example, if dust and debris accumulates on the coils of your air conditioning system, the heat transfer is compromised and the unit will not cool effectively. As it works harder, it loses its efficiency levels. Regular maintenance means changing air filters to keep dust and contaminants out of the system. It means checking and cleaning all parts to make sure they are in good working condition. Changing little things along the way not only helps your system work better, it helps you avoid large emergency costs too that can come with larger, more unexpected breakdowns.

 If you’re ready to improve the efficiency of your commercial building, give us a call today. 

6 Mistakes You Shouldn’t Make While Heating Your Home This Year

1.   TURNING UP A THERMOSTAT TOO HIGH TO HEAT A COLD HOUSE- Thermostats don’t work like an accelerator on a car… turning the heat up to blistering levels won’t warm your house any faster. BE PATIENT!
2. TURNING THE THERMOSTAT WAY DOWN AT NIGHT- Avoided extremes with your thermostat… don’t require your heating system to do a lot of work to warm the house in the morning.
3.  OVERWORKING A THERMOSTAT THAT HAS ITS LIMITS- Do not force your furnace to work beyond its capability. Instead, find out what’s causing the problem and fix it.
4. HEATING AN EMPTY HOUSE – Heating an empty house is one of the easiest ways to ways your money…. A programmable thermostat can save hundreds of dollars every year.
5. LEAVING CURTAINS CLOSED ON SUNNY DAYS- Open the curtains to allow as much heating sunlight in to your dwelling as possible.
6.  KEEP WINDOWS UNLOCKED- if you forget to lock those windows up before the cold weather arrive, take the time now to ensure all windows are locked and sealed to keep warm are for escaping. 

When it comes to providing a quality work environment and protecting a building’s occupants against indoor air pollutants, an air filter becomes one of the most important components of a HVAC system.

Today’s facility managers have a wide variety of concerns to keep a building operational. Increasingly, clean air is topping the list. Studies have come out showing poor indoor air quality can cause nasal congestion, headaches, nausea, fatigue, serious infections, asthma, and even chronic conditions such as lung disease. Those with compromised immune systems, especially infants and the elderly, are at a greater risk of developing symptoms due to inadequate air quality.

But its not just health that is at stake. Poor indoor air quality costs the US economy around $160 billion annually in increased medical costs and in reduced productivity. Adults are missing around 24.5 million days of work every year just for symptoms attributed to poor indoor air quality.

The first line of defense is preventing pollutants from entering a building’s air supply is ensuring the incoming air flow is unobstructed. Which means one of the most important jobs an HVAC system has to do is protect the air through an effective air filtration system, which will reduce microorganisms, dust, allergens and other pollutants.

Selecting an appropriate air filter is one of the first steps in achieving quality air. Most filters on the market today have a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) rating. A MERV 1 is the lowest level, which means it’s the least efficient type of filter. The highest level is a MERV 16, and is the most efficient. Most filtration experts agree that if you install an air filter within the MERV 14-16 range, you’ll be providing the best for the system. Also select a filter that offers a balance of mechanical and electret efficiency.

Using a proper air filter is only the starting point for cleaner air. To keep an HVAC system running properly, its important to maintain the overall system as well. A dirty HVAC system is a breeding ground for mold, bacteria and viruses. Its important to remove debris on a regular basis, both by vacuuming and blowing out dirt and dust from the area.

Air filters also only work as well as the quality of the air filter. If its old and dirty, it can’t do its job effectively. Make sure your air filters are routinely cleaned and changed for optimal performance.

If you have any questions about the quality of your indoor air, or don’t have a regular maintenance schedule in place for your HVAC system, isn’t it time for a change?

How To Avoid Office Temperature Fluctuations With Your Commercial HVAC System

Fall is a difficult time of the year. From one day to the next, you can experience 10, 20, even 30 degrees or more of fluctuation in the temperature. Add in rain and humidity, and its easy to see why a building’s HVAC system can have a difficult time keeping up with the demands. The environment changes from one moment to the next, and your HVAC system doesn't know whether to keep it hot or keep it cold.

The result? Throughout your building, there will be spots that many consider overheated, or simply not warm enough. High humidity may start causing condensation buildup, and mold and mildew may quickly start contaminating the air. And when the air isn't as clean as it should be, it can quickly have an impact on your employees or tenants.

Your job as the property manager or building owner is to provide a comfortable atmosphere for all that reside there. But if its an uncomfortable environment, they are already taking matters into their own hands.

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     They bring in personal fans and space heaters to keep underneath their desks. This continues to impact your building’s hot and cold zones by misleading the sensors that are trying to keep individual areas of the building at certain temperatures.

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     They block air vents. Nobody likes a cold stream of air blowing down on them as they sit at their desk, especially if they run cold anyway. Walk around the building and you’ll probably find a vent or two with paper or cardboard taped over the vent, attempting to control the situation on their own.

The only thing these do-it-yourself strategies do is cause more problems with the efficiency of your HVAC system, and compromise the safety guidelines of your work-space. Personal heaters, for instance, can be a fire hazard and can even lead to power outages throughout your building.

In many cases, employees begin to assume that working in a building means they’ll consistently be combating the hot/cold problem, and will more often than not have to take matters into their own hands. But as a property manager or building owner, realize that there are many things you can do, and it all starts with a phone call to your local HVAC contractor.

Regular maintenance with an HVAC system can often find and fix the little problems before they even begin. Your hot/cold zones may be caused by something as simple as a clogged duct or a dirty air filter.

There’s also a chance your system hasn’t been changed or updated to keep up with demand. If the building layout has changed and usage has increased, the duct work should be configured to keep up with the demand. Even something as simple as changing the layout of cubicles could have a major impact on the efficiency of the HVAC system.

If you've noticed more space heaters making their way into your building, or have received more than one complaint from tenants this fall as the weather turns colder, it might be time for your HVAC system to be evaluated. With hundreds of components and thousands of working parts, your HVAC system may be costing you more than you realize. Find out today how you can make your system more efficient, and keep your tenants and employees happy all season long.