Prevent an iced-up air handler with HVAC preventive maintenance.
Heavy, wet snow is poised to start falling in Washington, DC; Maryland; and Virginia late Wednesday night, February 12th, into Thursday. And it’s going to be a big one. In fact, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe have both already declared a state of emergency. Is your commercial building and HVAC system ready for the impending snow storm?
Prevent Costly Facility Issues with these Facility Maintenance Winter Tips
Snow, ice, and freezing rain can wreak havoc on a commercial building, especially if you are not prepared. Fortunately, the facility management specialists at Crockett Facilities Services, Inc. (CFSI) have compiled a checklist of tasks to help any building owner or property manager prepare for the snow storm.
Checklist to Prepare Your Office Building for the Snow Storm
- Have a Plan: As a property manager, it is important to have a written emergency and disaster plan in place, including preventive measures and procedures. Also, list critical shut-off locations for water, electrical mains, emergency generators, and fire protection systems.
- Preventive Maintenance: Have your water heater and HVAC system inspected and serviced regularly. These systems work especially hard during the winter.
- Identify and Address Potential Issues: Before the storm hits, it is important to identify and address potential issues, such as pavement deficiencies that may become covered by snow, or roof drainage issues that can cause water to drain onto walkways.
- Snow Removal: The flat roofs on most commercial buildings are prone to freezing, thawing, and refreezing, which can plug roof drains and add excess weight, which could cause the roof to collapse. This is why it is so important to remove snow as necessary, ensuring areas around vents and exhaust pipes are clear.
- Pipes: Wrap vulnerable pipes with insulation sleeves to keep them from freezing. If a pipe does freeze and burst, turn off the main water supply to the pipe immediately and leave the faucet open until repairs can be made.
- Clear Walkways: Keep walkways clear of snow and ice. Use salt, chemical pellets, and sand as appropriate. It is also a good idea to display caution signs where appropriate.
- Emergency Generators: Check the fuel oil supply for Emergency Generators in case there is an outage.
- HVAC System: Be sure your cooling tower heaters and piping heat trace are functioning to protect them from freezing. Also, heat pumps and condensing units can fail when snow builds up around them and restricts airflow, so be sure to keep them clear of snow & ice buildup. Make sure your economizer is not calling for outside air. Check that outside dampers function properly as in some instances they may need to be closed manually.
- Temperatures: Check your set-back temperatures after hours and determine if hard-to-heat areas need to be adjusted to higher temperatures to protect critical building equipment and systems.
- Hire a Top-Notch Facility Management Team: As a mechanical contractor with over ten years of complete facilities management experience, CFSI provides efficient and sustainable building operations, maintenance and repair services so your government or commercial building can operate at peak efficiency. We are also prepared for just about anything. Check out how we handled the United States Department of State in Portsmouth, New Hampshire last year after a snow storm dropped 24 inches of snow on the state. While countless companies and organizations were forced to close for several days, the United States Department of State in Portsmouth, New Hampshire was not one of them.
Good luck and be safe out there!
For more information on Preparing an Office Building and HVAC System for a Snow Storm, please contact Crockett Facilities Services by calling 301.262.2771, email sales@crockett-facilities.com, or submit a form for a service quote. Like us on Facebook; follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+.
Sources:
Winter Warm‐Up: Minimize Winter Maintenance and Risk Management Issues