Strategies To Make Your HVAC Projects Run Smoothly

As a manager of a building or property, you quickly learn the art of mediation. One minute you may be working with a vendor to keep the building’s operating system running efficient and smooth; the next moment you may be calming a tenant down after finding the change in the system disrupted his office’s workflow. Give and take; it’s the only way to make sure every day runs perfectly.

Overall, you have two goals to strive for in everything you do.

1. Keep the building running properly, upgrading systems as appropriate, and striving to do all you can on a pre-established budget.

2. Keep the building occupants happy, with as little disruption as possible.

While some changes are minor, barely registering on a building occupant’s mind, with HVAC challenges, that’s rarely the case. If a HVAC contractor is replacing an air handler, for instance, and disconnects one and moves to the next unit, it may cause major disruptions to sensitive areas of a building. And if the occupant wasn’t prepared for the disruption, you can have a mighty unhappy customer on your hand.

Anytime you are working on HVAC projects throughout your building, there are strategies you can put into place to keep things running smooth.

Communicate with occupants

Communication is key to any good relationship, and as a property manager, this rule is a great place to start. If you will be working with the HVAC equipment, block out the timeframe for work to be done, and understand the potential consequences of the process. Then communicate this process with every point of contact you have throughout the building. The more detail you can provide, the less surprises you’ll have throughout the process. You can also work with your building’s occupants before the process begins, finding out if there are better timeframes than others.

Establish a realistic schedule

As a property manager, its easy to provide your expectations for the HVAC project at hand, and request that the proposal be written in such a way that work is completed on your timeframe. Unfortunately, many contractors want your business and will agree to anything upfront in order to win the bid, knowing full well the work will take longer than specified. Instead of projecting your timeframes into the proposal process, ask for HVAC project bids to establish realistic schedules of how long the process will take, and what areas of your property will be most effected throughout the schedule. This will help you avoid crises between you and the contractor, and you and your tenants.

Plan for the whole system

If one small piece of your HVAC system is weak, its easy to fix that one small piece. But how will that impact your overall system? Will it cause weak spots in different parts of the building – maybe a corner office will have reduced air flow, and therefore be colder in the winter and warmer in the summer? When retrofitting new pieces with older existing systems, its easy to reduce the efficiency of your entire system. Before agreeing to certain repairs, make sure you understand how it will impact your entire system overall. An easy way of handling this problem is by working with the same HVAC contractor again and again, He will understand your system’s potential, and know when to make repairs, and when to replace.

Have points of contact available for immediate assistance

In many cases, problems arise because connections can’t be made. Can the HVAC contractor get a hold or you or another person that can make decisions at a moments notice if a problem arises? Do you have access to decision makers throughout the building that may be impacted by this change? Many projects have been put on hold simply because a person in authority can’t be found to give the go-ahead to move forward. If you have access to these people during the time of the project, you’ll be able to complete the project in record time.

Test

Finally, if you can test things in stages, or test when the potential for problems is the smallest, you reduce the chances of bigger emergency issues falling into your lap. If you’ll be installing a new terminal unit, can you make the switch on a Saturday morning when the building is largely unoccupied? If you’re replacing a large system, can you replace and test in phases so the entire project isn’t released at once?

Most issues can be avoided with just a little strategy from the beginning. If you’ve never had a HVAC maintenance team to help you stay on track with your building’s heating and cooling, now may be the time to find out how easy a team approach makes the process. 

Retrofitting Existing Commercial HVAC Equipment For Better Response

When was the last time you updated your HVAC system? If you are like many property managers, your answer may be “that depends”. Unless you have a brand new building, chances are your HVAC equipment was originally installed, and over the years has had significant changes and upgrades. A new piece of equipment here, a new piece of equipment there, and pretty soon your system is a hodge-podge of pieces that all work together to provide you the best service possible.

HVAC equipment can be one of the most expensive systems within your building, and with good reason. Not only does it provide the climate controls to keep building occupants warm in the winter and cool in the summer, it also works to maintain overall air quality, keeping occupants healthy and safe year round as well.

That’s a lot of demands out of one system.

And because of the expense, why change out a piece of equipment if it still has life left in it? As you deal with replacing certain pieces, and repairing others, your system will be retrofitted with new and modified parts that allow your system to continue functioning without complete replacement. In some cases, pieces may need to be changed due to industry standards, or availability issues with parts from the original system.

A common retrofit that is easy to do and is necessary as the industry standards have changed is with a system’s refrigerant. Freon has been phased out in the use of heating and cooling systems, making some building owners choose to retrofit their existing AC units or heat pumps to accommodate alternative refrigerants. New lines may be required based on the refrigerant used and the equipment needed to keep the system in place. While the old system may work just fine, it needs slight modifications to ensure it runs efficiently with the new refrigerant in place.

Another easy change that can have long lasting effects is with a building’s thermostat. Studies show that up to 70 percent of commercial buildings still use standard pneumatic HVAC control systems. By retrofitting the system with a wireless control system, you can easily make your entire building’s energy system more energy efficient, right from day one. By retrofitting with today’s technology, you can easily have the capabilities to:

• Monitor temperature and pressure through a wireless device
• Have immediate notification of deviations
•  Program temperature setbacks for various times throughout the week
•  Provide diagnostics
•  Automatically self-calibrate the system

Even with these few, simple changes, the effects can be long lasting, having the potential of lowering your overall energy costs substantially.

If your HVAC is a hodge-podge of working pieces that all provide you with a system you’ve used for years, you may be able to increase your efficiency simply through regular maintenance and retrofitting a few new parts here and there. To keep your building’s HVAC system running strong doesn’t have to mean costly upgrades and replacing the entire system; it simply means knowing what the right pieces are to replace to give you the efficiency you demand. Let’s get started with an energy audit today. 

Is Your HVAC System In Need Of Repair?

According to several studies, one in three commercial HVAC systems are broken and not operating correctly. One in three.

And while that number may seem unbelievably high, there are other studies that put the problem in more dire straights. Roof top units have a high rate of improper refrigerant charge, low airflow, and problems with the air economizer system, with estimates as great as one in two facing one of these problems.

How can that be?

Commercial HVAC systems are often larger, have more working parts, and therefore often make it more difficult to notice when a problem is occurring. For example, if a building has six roof top units and one fails, it may not be readily noticeable. Yet overall, the efficiency drops significantly.

The broken unit may still try to heat or cool the air; it may pump unconditioned air into the space. It will still use horsepower to run the fan, and turn the motor to continue the flow into the air stream.  But just as much as its sending unconditioned air into the air stream, the other units have to work that much harder to produce the effect that is being called for.

While its easy to see how this can happen, it should be just as easy to see how to prevent it. In today’s world, two things can stop this situation from happening, and allow your HVAC system to run as efficiently as possible every day of its working life:

    1. Schedule regular maintenance to check on the overall efficiency of your HVAC system

    2. Use today’s technology to pinpoint where problems occur

As a building owner or property manager, you realize that there is one common truth when it comes to the physical assets in your building; they will all fail at some point in time. The question becomes when, and how can you prevent it from happening at the most inopportune time?

If you use both tasks regularly, you can quickly spot a problem almost as fast as it occurs, and repair it and maintain it immediately to help prevent even more problems down the road.

Today’s technology can offer you may ways to digitize, track and analyze your system from afar. With today’s energy management systems, you can quickly check to see if your HVAC equipment is running at its optimal level. When you notice even small problems, you can hone in on where the problem originates from, and connect with your HVAC company to determine the best way to proceed. Sometimes it might be determine that immediate repair is needed. Or sometimes it can be fixed on the next regularly schedules maintenance appointment.

In either case, clear records can help you see the track record of your HVAC equipment, and help you maintain it at its optimal level. Not something that’s possible with older units, or systems that aren’t being maintained on a regular basis.

If you’re interested in learning more about how today’s technology is helping run commercial HVAC equipment more effectively, or how a regular maintenance schedule can help you keep problems at bay, give us a call today. 

How Many Years Will My Commercial HVAC Equipment Last?

One of the most important skills a business owner or property manager needs to have is the ability to budget effectively. After all, every single day brings new opportunities and new challenges. And if the money isn’t there, if cash flow isn’t conducive to providing the best every single day, the bottom line will eventually break the business.

Its not the little things that hurt the most; it’s the large problems that arise and take a big bite out of a monthly allowance. Like a HVAC emergency. If your HVAC suddenly stops operating and you haven’t planned on an upgrade, thousands of dollars disappearing from your monthly allotment can send you into a tailspin.

But just like all maintenance items that exist as a part of your business, HVAC equipment has different life expectancies based on the type of equipment.

• Life expectancy of commercial HVAC equipment typically depends on a few things:
• The size of the unit in use
• The size of the unit in relation to the square footage its servicing
• The effectiveness of the ductwork
• Preventative maintenance strategies
• How often the filters have been changed
• The weather and climate conditions
• How well the original equipment was installed
• How old the equipment is 

While age of equipment is a leading indicator of how well the equipment will perform, its also the one thing that can be misleading when making decisions about repairing or replacing. After all, most HVAC units have a variety of parts. And over the years, different parts may be repaired or replaced on different time spans. If its not replaced altogether, how long should each part last?

While every piece of equipment is unique to its surrounding areas, there are some general rules you can follow:

• Electric water heater – 14 years
• Gas water heater – 12 years
• Furnace – 18 years
• Boilers – 30 years
• Heat pump – 15 years
• Central air conditioning – 15 years
• Rooftop air conditioning – 15 years
• Air compressor – 15 years

Keep in mind that these are general guidelines, and will depend entirely on the factors listed above. Yet as a property manager, you can use these figures as you are making your budget each year.

Nothing extends the life of your HVAC system like regular maintenance. In addition to helping you extend the life of your equipment, it can also help you avoid avoid lost sales, customer complaints and employee productivity problems by having your equipment go down at the most inopportune times. With a variety of maintenance programs available, we offer the perfect solution to help keep your HVAC equipment in top shape year round.

Is Your Commercial HVAC System At Risk For Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

We all know the potential risks of carbon monoxide poisoning. Every year, the news touches on a story of a family that has a problem inside the home with their heating system, and carbon monoxide poisoning costs them everything.

But carbon monoxide poisoning has long been thought of as an individual residence problem, with carbon monoxide detection systems a requirement for residential housing alone.

Unfortunately, carbon monoxide does not distinguish between an individual residence or a commercial location. If a building is constructed using a fuel burning HVAC system, it runs the risk of having a problem with carbon monoxide.

As a building owner, one of your primary responsibilities is to keep the building occupants safe. And new building codes and regulations are starting to implement the necessity of detecting carbon monoxide in a similar manner to residential code. Yet if you have a commercial HVAC unit that uses a fuel based system, there’s no better time than the present to make sure your building stays safe, and your building occupants understand the procedures to stay safe as well.

Develop Procedures For Carbon Monoxide Detection

In our homes, we have both smoke detection and carbon monoxide detection systems that alert us to potential problems. But the alert system will only work if the occupants understand the procedures to follow. Not only should they leave their residence and contact authorities the moment they hear an alert, they should also maintain the system with fresh batteries and new units as technology increases.

Home owners take on that responsibility when they purchase a home. But as a business owner, its imperative that you are as forthcoming about building procedures as a home owner would be with their family.

Develop procedures that alert every occupant to expectations and policies. Everyone should understand proper procedures for evacuating the premises if a problem is suspected. The fire department should be alerted immediately to begin taking action as quickly as possible. Fixing the problem should only be started once safety has been attained. While business losses may mount during “shut down” time periods, health and lives are at stake.

Take Action To Prevent Problems

The good news is there is an easy way to avoid potential problems with carbon monoxide: have furnaces, vents, and any other fuel burning appliance inspected by a qualified HVAC professional on a regular basis. Also, install detection systems to provide notification of problems in between regularly scheduled inspections.

The most common cause of a carbon monoxide leak is a failed or leaking heat exchanger. The heat exchanger's job is to vent poisonous gases from the heat combustion process away from your ducts and out of the building. If the heat exchanger develops a problem, cracks, or has a hole in it, the furnace keeps working, but the results can be disastrous. The carbon monoxide continues to form; it mixes with the heat and fills the building rather than leaving the building as the system was designed.

Another common cause of a carbon monoxide leak is a blocked vent. Vents can be blocked from a variety of things: dust and buildup over years of use; insects, birds and other rodents looking for a way in; even debris making its way from the outside in. If any of these happen, your HVAC system will continue to work normally, with little indication of a problem until sensors warn you.

The best way to avoid potential problem is to receive maintenance and inspection on a regular basis. A certified HVAC professional will make sure your equipment is working in a safe manner, and that potential problems are corrected long before they become an issue.

When was your last inspection?