Keep Your Restaurant’s HVAC System Running
The weather is starting to warm up, which means that summer months are coming. For food and beverage businesses, this can be a lucrative time of year if you take care of your customers and employees. The best way to do this when it gets warm is to make sure that your HVAC system is well-maintained: keeping the right temperature inside your business makes everyone more comfortable, keeps food from spoiling, and even protects equipment from getting damaged.
HVAC system maintenance is all about preventing problems from happening and becoming much more expensive. Regular maintenance and smaller repairs as needed can help your system last longer, run more efficiently, and save money. While commercial HVAC systems aren’t much different from the system you might have at home, investing in a professional maintenance company can be worthwhile to make sure everything is done right without you having to worry about it. Here are some of the things a company like Command7 will look at when they get your system ready for the summer months.
Cleaning
Sometimes a good cleaning is all that an HVAC system needs after a winter of inactivity. Keeping everything cleaned properly can help control mold, which could bring in more problems that you don’t need on top of a broken HVAC system. While it seems like an easy thing to accomplish, many people forget to change and monitor their air filters: dirty and worn filters will force the unit to work harder, which both increases your energy costs and the costs to maintain a system that will wear out faster. While the filters are getting looked at, ensure that the ducts and airways associated with them are free of dust and debris before you turn on your system for the first time. If your system is on the roof of your building, make sure that someone gets up there and ensures that there isn’t debris like leaves or branches blocking the airflow. Finally, the coils on HVAC and refrigeration units can also get dirty: a specialist in HVAC maintenance will be able to do this easily.
Tune-Ups
Maintenance specialists will want to make sure that the thermostat controls are working properly so that you can take advantage of your system. They’re looking to make sure that the controls respond, the temperature can be read and maintained, and that the batteries are fresh. Things that need to be tight, like hoses and other connectors, will be tightened: things that should be moving will need lubricant. Check on the level of refrigerant in the unit to make sure that it’s at the proper level and that there are no leaks, and while you’re looking at liquids, make sure that the condensation from your unit has a place to drain and that it’s doing so properly. Finally, before the warm weather sets in and you experience downtime due to unexpected breaks, test all components, especially the blower and blades, to make sure that they’re in working order before the season begins, and replace them if you need to.
Looking at the Cooling Tower
A cooling tower is important to the function and efficiency of your HVAC system and should be inspected to make sure that it can keep producing cool air. If a maintenance specialist believes that your cooling tower should be replaced, do it as soon as you can: older systems end up costing more to use than just buying a new unit because of inefficiencies. Make sure that your cooling tower is cleaned regularly, because residue can build up on it during the summer and impact its performance.
Call Command7 for HVAC Maintenance
Making sure that your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems are in working order is the key to running a successful business, especially in the retail or food service industry. Making sure that you’re prepared for challenges and taking steps to avoid them starts with a maintenance program like the ones offered through Command7. We can provide basic and custom services to make sure that your HVAC system is working no matter what the weather looks like, and if something does break, we can send someone out to fix it and get you back to work as quickly as possible. For more information or a quote, call 855.214.2168 or contact us online.