If you are a commercial building’s facility manager, you may be wondering if there are any HVAC maintenance tips you can implement. The good news is that there are plenty of things you can be doing to help maintain your HVAC system, as well as more advanced techniques that you can have professionals look at during their next inspection.
HVAC maintenance should not be taken lightly. If you consistently maintain the health of your system yourself, and regularly organise routine inspections with trained HVAC technicians, then your system will run more efficiently and the risk of breaking down will be greatly reduced.
At Air-rite Solutions, we help businesses in Brisbane and South East Queensland maintain healthy and functional HVAC systems. Here are some best practice HVAC maintenance tips that all facility managers should be aware of.
HVAC Maintenance Tip: Chillers
The chillers are an important part of your HVAC system and need to be optimised properly to increase energy efficiency and avoid costly breakdowns. The next time you have your system inspected, ensure the technician is making the chilled water temperature as high as possible, while keeping the condenser water as low as possible.
We also recommend that you replace older chillers that use reciprocating compressors with thermostatic expansion valves, with electronically controlled expansion valves. Doing so will increase the energy efficiency of your chiller by as much as 25%, helping to keep down the overall operating costs of your commercial air conditioning in Brisbane.
HVAC Maintenance Tip: Cooling Towers
Cooling towers reject heat from water cooled chillers. One of the main faults with cooling towers is water overflow, which can be caused by the following problems:
- Faulty water level controls
- The level of water draining to the sump when the tower stops operating.
- If there are multiple cooling towers installed, a lack of a balance pump to equalise the water levels.
A trained HVAC technician will be able to identify each of these problems and carry out the necessary work to resolve the issue.
HVAC Maintenance Tip: Air Handling Units
Air handling units (AHUs) are designed to circulate and condition air within buildings. An important maintenance task for AHUs that should be near the top of your checklist for HVAC maintenance is to keep the heat exchange coils clean at all times. Dirty heat exchange surfaces will increase the resistance to heat transfer. This reduces the efficiency for other components of the HVAC system, such as the chiller, the boiler, and the fans.
It’s also recommended to check for leaking heating and cooling control valves. If there is a leak, it can cause both the heating system and cooling system to clash with each other, which wastes a lot of energy and can cause damage between the two systems. If an issue is discovered, it should be resolved as soon as possible.
HVAC Maintenance Tip: Pumps
Pumps are responsible for circulating water in a HVAC system. You should regularly check for any leaks in your pumps as these will reduce the system’s energy efficiency and could potentially cause damage to other components. You should also check for any blockages in the pumps, such as dust build-up and other debris, as these will put unnecessary strain on the pumps.
Contact Air-rite Solutions
These HVAC maintenance tips will help your Brisbane or South East Queensland business keep your commercial HVAC system operating at peak efficiency over a longer period of time. Air-rite Solutions is more than capable of carrying out each of these important maintenance tasks, as well as any more, for your business. With our team of experienced HVAC technicians looking after your systems, you will see both your energy bills and repair costs go down dramatically.
Contact Air-rite Solutions today on 073274 2199!
