Tips for Maintaining Your Energy-Efficient Ventilation

Beyond the comfort of your building, the key benefits of a good HVAC system are how it can save your health and your money. Maintaining the ventilation is especially important to that end. But is there anything you can do between annual HVAC inspections?

Save Money By:

Paying Attention. If you start to notice any odd drafts, especially by windows or doors, it may indicate that there is an air leak. Take note. Such air leaks can undermine the efficiency of a good ventilation system.
Checking Weather Stripping. Ensure that the weather stripping on your doorways are not worn down, and are still fully sealing the doorway. (For more information on what type of weather stripping is best for your needs, here is a helpful breakdown from the Department of Energy).
Maintaining or Adding Caulk. Caulk should not be cracked, and should fully cover the gap or crack it is meant to seal. Gaps that need to be caulked are often found around windows, doors, and ducting.
Protect Your Health By:
Looking for mold. Mold in your insulation can compromise the health benefits of your ventilation system.
Checking your Filters. In an HVAC system, the air is pushed through a filter before it is distributed throughout the building. This is meant to maintain the air quality. However, if the filters become too dirty, they cannot do their job properly.

What To Expect From Your Annual Furnace Inspection

No one enjoys the necessity of keeping up with building maintenance. Just keeping your property or office in decent function can seem like it takes so much time and energy. However, some aspects of building maintenance are less time-consuming and invasive than others. Your recommended annual furnace inspection may sound like a nuisance, but in reality it is very quick, with minimal equipment and personnel cluttering the property.

Basic Checks to Prevent Big Problems

Many types of building maintenance involve bulky equipment laying around, and workers walking in and out the doors all day. It can be a serious annoyance, especially in an office running ongoing business. However, with regular maintenance, an annual furnace inspection is most often a simple affair involving a quick check by a single worker, with little to no special equipment involved.

Some of the basic things your furnace maintenance worker will do during your annual maintenance are:
checking for leaks or corrosion
-removing detritus in the ventilation
-changing old filters
-checking the thermostat and controls
-ensuring that excess heat is not escaping
These simple checks can usually be accomplished with a visual inspection and minor tweaks from your maintenance worker, but can make a huge difference in the energy efficiency and safety of your building.

Save Money with An Annual HVAC Update

It is easy to think of air conditioning and ventilation installation as a one-and-done cost. However, in reality, an annual update on your business’s HVAC system not only pays for itself, but might actually save you money. But how is that possible?

Legal Concerns
While federal IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) regulations do not apply to most states, twenty-two states are subject to their own regulations in compliance with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) standards.
OSHA specifically cites “poor upkeep of ventilation, heating and air-conditioning systems” as one of the primary causes of hazardous air quality in the workplace. Their website goes on to point out that there is no simple test to determine the safety of air quality. Regular, professional inspection is the only way to be sure of the safety of IAQ in your business. As such, failure to schedule regular HVAC maintenance on your workplace could result in costly legal fees.

Employee Productivity
Although the physical and mental health effects associated with IAQ are still under study, many negative effects of poor air quality in the work environment are well-documented. These include possible symptoms such as respiratory irritation, lethargy, and mental fatigue. It can even contribute to serious illnesses such as Legionnaire’s disease. Unsurprisingly, the illness and discomfort that may be caused by an outdated HVAC system often results in a drop in employee productivity. And the impact is not insignificant. According to the EPA, recent studies suggest that the average financial loss for a business—just from productivity decline associated with poor IAQ—is 2-4%. To further put that into perspective, a company with 1 million dollars in annual revenue could stand to lose up to $40,000 per year.

In short, it is far more cost effective for a business to be proactive in maintaining healthy air quality in the workplace, rather than paying for the damages if it becomes less than quality. And that is as easy as a simple annual inspection and update on your HVAC system.

Blog-Feature

TSS HVAC 40 Ton RTU Project

TSS serviced and repaired customer’s existing equipment for years. However due to the cost of repair, age and condition of the equipment we recommended replacing the RTU ( Roof Top Air Handling Unit). This upgrade allows the customer to save money on future costly repairs and energy usage. It will also provide better indoor air quality and comfort for tenants.

HVAC technician checking amperage on HVAC system

HVAC Technology

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) is often one of the primary contributors to energy use in homes throughout the United States. Of course, with advances in technology over the years and more efficient management of HVAC use around the home, the impact on your energy bill can now be lessened substantially. In the accompanying infographic, we’ll cover some statistics that show where money is being spent in the home to manage the temperature. Along with that, we’ll walk you through several fixes around the house that will help take some of the work off your HVAC system, saving you even more in energy costs.