What Is Your Commercial HVAC Security Plan?

We incorporate security into all kinds of things that take place in our daily lives.

We set up a home security system to keep our families safe.  

We use security and backups on our computer to make our most sensitive data more protected.  

We even buy insurance policies to ensure everything in our daily lives is safe from harm, from our homes, to our cars, and even to our very lives.

But what about the HVAC system in the property you manage?

HVAC systems are designed to spread air throughout the building. Yet just as easily it can spread other, more dangerous contaminants as well. Whether accidental or intentional, your HVAC system could be putting your building at risk; unless you take adequate precautionary measures.

HVAC security risks can include a variety of things: fires, natural disasters, chemical spills, bacteria, viruses, mold, VOC fumes, smoke, asbestos and carbon dioxide. And they can spread through your building in a variety of ways: production activities within an office, sick office workers, chemical spills inside or outside of the building, water damage from a flood, even normal day to day activities can add in to the problem.

While its impossible to eliminate the chance of a problem from ever occurring within your building, it is important in having detection measures in place so you can eliminate the problem as quickly as possible.

Every HVAC security plan should start by having a design document that outlines how the system works, where every piece of equipment is placed, and what safety or alarm features exist. It should outline how the system functions, what equipment is in use, and where key entry points lie.

With a thorough planning document in place, the next step is to evaluate the system and find the greatest areas of vulnerability. Risk assessments should include determining where a potential contamination can easily take place, and what actions would be required to remedy the situation.

In many commercial environments, HVAC equipment is located on the outside of the building. Who has access to the equipment? Is it on ground level, easily accessible to anyone who may walk by? Or is it on the roof, protected and available to only those who have access to the building? Access doors should be secured. You can also build in additional security measures, such as monitors and alarms that will alert key personnel if and when the security is breached.

You should also build in security measures for accidents that may occur relevant to what is housed within the building itself. If the building is leased by a painting company, for instance, it will be at more risk for chemical spills and VOC hazards. Proper security should be added for both protection and detection.

Never forget that even minor, routine maintenance items can sometimes be your biggest defense. If your security plan calls for regular scheduled maintenance from a professional HVAC contractor, you will know that air filters are cleaned and replaced regularly, all filters are properly installed, equipment is running in its proper manner, gas detectors are properly calibrated, and screens and grates are cleaned and kept free of debris. Just these few routine tasks can alert you to problems that can quickly escalate and grow in a short period of time.

So what’s your plan? If this is the first time you’ve contemplated what your plan should be, there’s no better time than now to fix it. Let’s talk. With one of our professional HVAC contractors, we can help you design the perfect HVAC security plan for your building, giving you both security and peace of mind in the years to come.

How HVAC Impacts Your Building’s Clean Air

The term HVAC is fairly straightforward and easy for most to understand. It consists of three parts: heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, all necessary for keeping the environment within your building comfortable all year through. However there is another part to the HVAC system that few building owners think about – the control. Control determines how effective your HVAC system is during operation, and how well it meets the goals of comfort, safety and cost effectiveness.

Heating can be accomplished in different ways. It can be supplied by heating the air within a space through a supply air system, or by using radiant heat through equipment like radiant panels.

Ventilation controls the delivery system. It can be accomplished passively through natural ventilation, or through active methods of distribution powered with fans. Ventilation mixes gases with the air we breathe in order to provide the proper balance for breathing, controlling odors, and even removing contaminants from the air supply.

Air conditioning is the process of controlling both the air temperature and the humidity levels within a room. Cool air is not comfortable if it is too humid. Therefore its important to have a proper cooling system in place that removes moisture while cooling, leaving you comfortable in the process.

With all three in place, the control ensures a variety of things. Above all, it provides comfort and safety for the building occupants. It also ensures equipment safety, helping you maintain your investment at optimal levels for long periods of time. It can even provide you with effective ways to conserve energy, and therefore help you save money over time. An HVAC system accounts for nearly 40 percent of the energy used within a commercial building, meaning its one of the most important systems to monitor and improve to realize significant savings.  

Within most building environments, a property owner assumes that if the heat works in the winter, and the cooling works in the summer, the proper equipment is in place. But that isn’t always the case. The best heating or cooling system in the world will not be effective and run at its optimal level if the ventilation system isn't adequate for the surrounding area.

And if the ventilation system doesn't allow the proper heating or cooling to take place, it can also be deficient in other ways, all of which can impact the quality of the air supply you and the building occupants take in every day.

If you've ever heard of the term Sick Building Syndrome, keep in mind that this condition is real. This is a condition where medical symptoms are worse in a particular building or room, then subside when the person moves away from that location. If the ventilation system isn’t doing its job, it can allow a buildup of a variety of things within that building or room. Mold, mildew, bacteria, viruses, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, etc can all come into play and be a part of the indoor air quality problem. 

While there can be a variety of reasons why air quality is bad within a building, one of the most predominant reasons starts with the HVAC system. HVAC systems for commercial buildings draw in air from the outside, and condition it to adjust to the proper temperature requested for the inside of the building. If the ventilation isn’t adequate for the job, the process will be compromised. By upgrading and improving the ventilation system, it will be able to pull in more fresh air while expelling more “dirty” indoor air back to the outside before it can do harm.

While in writing, it’s a simple solution, it takes a professional commercial HVAC contractor to evaluate your system and determine what controls are in place. He can find where deficiencies exist and make recommendations on the best way to improve your system, both to keep your building’s air clean and breathable, and to save you energy and money overall.

Call us today if you would like a complete evaluation of your system, to determine if its truly adequate for your needs and requirements.

4 Most Common Questions A HVAC Maintenance Contractor Hears

With more than 25 years in the HVAC business, and having offices in three major cities in the Pacific Northwest, we get our share of surprising questions about air conditioning and heating. But some questions we hear over and over again by building owners and property managers.

1. How many years can I expect my new air conditioner to last?

After the warm summer and mild fall we’ve been having, many air conditioning units are still working on a regular basis. When they go into overtime and work longer than you expect into the season, its natural to wonder how long of a life you can expect. Most light commercial systems have a lifespan of about 15 to 20 years. However, your personal working conditions will play a big part in that process. If the unit is outside or on the rooftop, it is exposed to all of the natural elements we receive every day. Sun, wind, rain, pollution, even corrosion and build up of debris can cause damage to parts.

While all of these are taken into account when a unit is produced, there is also one more factor that can severely cut off the expected lifespan: neglect. You can’t expect something to work at its full potential if you don’t keep it working at its optimal level. It needs regular cleaning and maintenance, which means once before you start it up and once after the system is shut down in the fall, a professional should thoroughly clean and tune up the system for maximum potential.

2. Is regular maintenance really that important?

Yes, its one of the best ways to maintain its life. And its also the easiest. A regular inspection means having a trained, professional HVAC contractor come in twice per year and make sure your system is running efficiently.

When debris accumulates around the coils, fan blades, and other working parts, the metal corrodes and won’t work as it was intended. When it works harder, it can also lead to other parts having to overcompensate for the lack. When leaks in the refrigerant begin, system failure is eminent. And when the system isn’t working properly, it can also drain your energy efficiency, meaning you’ll be using more electricity in the process.

3. Can’t I have my own staff perform regular maintenance?

When you have general contractors on staff, its easy to assume they can handle all maintenance tasks involved in the upkeep of a building. Yet general contractors are general by nature – they know a little bit about everything.

Trained and certified professional HVAC contractors spend all of their time working on HVAC units. They have specialized skills and understanding to work on all aspects of the unit, and know what to watch for to determine if something is wrong. They can drain lines, check electrical connections, and provide a full inspection of all working parts. Your general contractor won’t know how to do all of this.

4. I’ve repaired my unit several times, is it worth repairing again or should I replace it?

It depends on several factors.

How old is your unit? The average life is 15 to 20 years. But if your current unit is 10 years or older, and it has a history of problems, it may be time to replace it.

What’s broken? Some problems are easier to fix than others. And even if your unit has broken down several times in the past, it could be different problems. Are they interrelated? Are they minor in nature?

Has your unit been well maintained? If your unit is cleaned properly and maintained by a certified HVAC contractor, it has a much longer life expectancy than one without.

If you own a building in Seattle, Portland or Boise, chances are you have specific questions that we didn't touch on here. We’d be happy to answer them and help you develop a maintenance plan perfect for your business. Just call.