The early summer, before the heavy heat of July and August start up, is a good time to pay close attention to the air conditioning system for your commercial space. It’s just started doing it’s regular work, and making sure that it isn’t developing malfunctions is helpful to head off serious system breakdowns during the summer—the kind of breakdowns that lead to work stoppage and other costly interruptions.
The best step you can take to get ahead of potential repairs is to schedule routine maintenance for your commercial air conditioning in Brighton, MI. This should always be done during spring, before the system goes to work for the year. If you’ve already had maintenance for your AC, it should be in good shape. But just in case, watch for these warning signs you need to call our repair technicians for help:
Uneven cooling around the facility
Commercial spaces are usually larger than residential ones and often have zoning so cooling can be directed only to the spaces that use it. Because of the large area being conditioned, uneven cooling is one of the earliest signs something is wrong: it only takes a small loss of cooling power to cause one spot in the facility to feel warmer than normal. When you hear complaints from employees, clients, tenants, etc. about hot spots where there weren’t any before, it’s a good idea to have professionals inspect the system.
Odd sounds from the vents
The standard commercial HVAC set-up uses packaged rooftop units. In a packaged unit, all the components, including the air handler and both sets of refrigerant coils, are housed in a single cabinet on the roof. This helps keep the noise of the system away from the workspace. It also makes it harder to hear warning sounds from the system when it malfunctions. You’ll have to listen to the vents to hear the echo of grinding motors and other noisy repair problems.
An increase in humidity
Although air conditioning systems aren’t specifically designed as dehumidifiers (although they can be combined with them), they do remove some moisture from the air as they run. For a commercial space, the difference in humidity when an AC isn’t operating correctly can be significant. Poor air circulation from the AC and vents will also lead to humid indoor conditions.
A steep rise in utility bills
You keep a close watch on your business expenses—this is just part of running a company. Pay special attention to your electrical bills after the first month of steady AC operation. Is electrical use much higher than the same time last month, even though there isn’t a good reason for it? This is an indication that something may be wrong with the air conditioner, since it’s a major source of electrical power use.
System age
Rooftop units for commercial systems can last from 15 to 20 years. If you’re system is in this age range, it’s at a higher chance of problems, and we recommend scheduling a replacement. Since commercial HVAC systems are usually modular, you won’t have to be completely without cooling while the replacement is done.
First Choice Heating & Cooling offers both quality commercial and residential air conditioning services. Call today to fix your commercial AC.