Simple HVAC Preventive Maintenance Adds Up to Savings and Performance

As a business owner or facility manager, how do you handle your commercial facility’s energy management? If you are like most, you probably think investing in new, high-efficiency (and high-cost) equipment is the best way to go, when, in reality, HVAC Preventive Maintenance is your best bet to cut energy costs and save money. No matter the HVAC system or its rated efficiency, it will perform only as well as it is maintained. In fact, equipment can lose as much as 5% of its overall efficiency each year it goes without maintenance. This is just one of the many reasons it is better to be proactive than reactive. Still, according to several surveys, 60% of facility managers take a reactive approach to HVAC maintenance.

It’s time to change conventional thinking and adopt an HVAC preventive maintenance plan.

Simple Maintenance Activities Can Reduce Energy Use, Improve Operating Efficiency

1. Walk-Throughs: One of the simplest, most cost effective, and easiest preventive maintenance steps that facility managers can take is the walk-through. These simple after-hours inspections can help identify systems that are unnecessarily operating in unoccupied spaces. Remember, not all HVAC equipment needs to operate 24/7 and when equipment runs when it shouldn’t, it costs you money.
2. Patchwork Repairs: These quick “fixes” can dramatically alter the way the HVAC system operates, negatively affecting performance and efficiency among other things. Over time the system may not operate the way it was intentionally intended with many modifications.
3. Retrocommissioning: This process can bring the system’s operation back to the way it was originally intended. It looks performance levels required and if existing systems meet these needs. The process helps to identify changes – such as changes to equipment, operating schedules, control systems, and maintenance procedures –that need to be made to maximize performance and minimize energy use.
4. Chiller Maintenance: Chillers are typically the single largest users of electricity in commercial facilities. As such, if they are well-maintained so they operate effectively, they can improve energy efficiency and reliability. Click Here to learn more about the benefits of chiller maintenance.
5. Boiler Maintenance: As with chillers, boilers must be regularly inspected, cleaned, and serviced (including water-treatment programs) to maintain both safety and energy efficiency. Click Here to learn more about improving boiler efficiency with a remote-monitoring system.
6. Building Automation Systems (BAS): Even BAS require regular maintenance to ensure they are performing as intended. Sensors can go out of calibration, and normal wear and tear can take its toll on the system.

Deferred maintenance leads to breakdowns, down time, and costly repairs, all of which cost your organization money. Preventive maintenance, meanwhile, helps catch small issues before they snowball into big problems.

HVAC preventive maintenance is often disregarded – however it is well worth the cost to invest in a monthly, quarterly or semi-annual maintenance program that includes both proactive inspection and service.

Trust Crockett Facilities Services, Inc. For All of Your HVAC Preventive Maintenance Needs

CFSI is committed to helping building owners, property managers, engineers and facility professionals lower their operating expenses through preventive HVAC maintenance. Our trained technicians evaluate existing HVAC systems to develop a well-defined maintenance strategy for improved performance, reduced costs, and extended equipment life.

For more information about HVAC Preventive Maintenance, please contact CFSI 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:

Hidden Savings in HVAC Systems, facilitiesnet.com

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 28th, 2014 at . Both comments and pings are currently closed.