Top Reasons Why Building Owners Should Invest in Preventive HVAC Maintenance
In Delaware and New Jersey’s variable climates, an efficient heating, cooling, and ventilation system is critical for maintaining a healthy, comfortable indoor environment in your building.
Because your HVAC system sees constant use, it depends on routine preventive HVAC maintenance to stay in shape. Staying on top of maintenance not only saves you money and time, but also helps keep your building trouble-free and its occupants healthy.
Increased Energy Efficiency
When you consider only the upfront costs, scheduling a maintenance inspection can seem like an unnecessary expense unless your system is having obvious performance issues. That makes it tempting to skip maintenance for a year or two to cut costs.
In reality, neglecting maintenance will cost you more. Normal use causes wear and debris buildup that reduce your system’s energy efficiency. Dirty air filters, loose electrical connections, motor voltage problems, dust on the air conditioner evaporator coil, and a number of other problems all make your system less energy efficient.
When multiplied over a large commercial building, even a small drop in efficiency can mean much bigger bills. Professional maintenance corrects these problems so your system always runs at top efficiency and your energy bills stay low.
Longer Equipment Life
If ignored for too long, small problems worsen and can eventually lead to component failure or cause the whole system to break down before it reaches its full life expectancy. For example, a little dust on your A/C evaporator coil won’t do serious damage, but heavy buildup can cause the compressor to fail. Investing in preventive HVAC maintenance is ultimately more cost-effective than spending your money and time to replace components that fail early.
If you have an older system that requires frequent repairs, it may be cheaper in the long run to upgrade to a new model. An HVAC professional can perform a life-cycle cost analysis to determine if repair or replacement is the better financial choice for you.
Identification of Developing Problems
A routine preventive HVAC maintenance inspection can turn up emerging problems before they cause serious damage. This applies not just to components that are wearing out, but also to issues with the system as a whole. If moisture has entered your system, the cause can be found and corrected before any damage occurs. Ignore regular maintenance, though, and moisture from leaks or condensation can eventually cause component damage as well as mold growth that spreads to other parts of the building.
If your air conditioner isn’t dehumidifying as is should, a maintenance inspection will let you know before you end up with damage to your building due to moisture buildup.
Better Working Environment
A poorly-maintained heating and cooling system can harbor a variety of air contaminants, including dust, mold spores, and pollen. These contaminants can trigger asthma attacks and exacerbate allergies. They also irritate the airways of otherwise healthy people, causing cold-like symptoms such as a sore throat and runny nose. If your ventilation system isn’t operating correctly, it can allow a buildup of contaminants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from printers, copy machines, and cleaning chemicals.
When the air quality is poor or the temperatures are uncomfortable, building occupants may be unable to work efficiently or even perform their jobs at all. Keeping the HVAC system in good condition helps create a healthy working environment, which promotes productivity and reduces time lost to sick leave.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about Plumbing, HVACR, Fire Protection, and Alarm Systems in Mechanical, Commercial, and Residential settings. For more information about preventive HVAC maintenance and to view projects we’ve worked on, visit our website!
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