Commercial HVAC Repair: How to Spend Less & Get More

Let’s face it, HVAC repair services can take a significant chunk from your budget – that’s a fact, no doubt about that. Since most of us are always on a tight budget, here is some good news: you can do something about it so as to prevent the costly breakdowns from happening, which is regular maintenance. Yes, maintenance is very important, and if you have ever been led to believe otherwise, then it is safe to say that you have been misled. By the end of this article, you will see the reason why.

To start off, here are some of the most common cause of HVAC failures, and how regular maintenance could help to prevent the breakdowns from occurring.

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Electrical issues – electrical devices are pretty delicate and if they fail, they can trigger many issues. But by inspecting everything, from the wiring to the connections, you are able to prevent major problems that are most likely to occur, requiring commercial HVAC repair. Problems such as capacitor failure is one of the main problems that you will be preventing. Capacitors regulates the flow of power, so, if it fails, the entire system will fail as well, and it will be costly to fix. Still, something as common and innocuous as dust that collects in the fuse could also inhibit the flow of electricity thereby causing a system failure. To avoid all these, just ensure that you inspect everything regularly. You may spend a little amount of money to hire a professional technician to inspect and maintain your entire system, and avoid spending much more money in repairs in case the problem escalates.

Motor failures – any HVAC system has motors, which power fans blowing air over the condenser coil as well as in the evaporator coil. Now, if any of these motors was to break down, it could take down the entire system, requiring you to dig deep into your pocket. But with proper maintenance, which includes lubrication, inspecting motors, and also replacing worn out pulleys and belts, will keep your motors in their perfect conditions, and working as they should. This way, you will avoid the costly HVAC repairs that are as a result of neglect.

Refrigerant leaks – refrigerant doesn’t run out, you know, like car gas. A HVAC unit contains a coil that always contains the same amount of refrigerant that’s initially installed with. If the coil develops small holes or cracks, the refrigerant could leak, which means that you could be looking at a costly HVAC repair. However, regular maintenance saves you all these trouble. When grime or dust builds up in the coils, it leads to corrosion, resulting to holes and cracks which leaks refrigerant. So, before it gets to this point, let HVAC repair techs clean your system at minimal costs, and avoid the expensive repairs that you may be required to do if the problem gets out of hand.

Water leaks – a HVAC unit draws water from the air via the evaporator coil, which is how it functions. When functioning normally, the water collected runs down the drain line in the coil, where it is later collected in a drain pan. The water should not cause visible moisture or leak, so if you see a suspicious sign that it’s leaking, then a HVAC repair may be necessary to fix it. Water leaks can occur due to a number of reasons. First, as water goes down the coils, it collects dust and grime and brings it to the drain pan. And if the drain pan or line is clogged, then draining of water may be hindered and can overflow.

If your HVAC system is installed in the basement, then you may need a pump to pump the water collected out, increasing the burden to the homeowner if it was to start malfunctioning. Secondly, improper installation can also lead to water leaks. In any commercial building, any vibrations is enough to disrupt and disconnect a drain line that’s installed poorly, resulting to spillage of the collected water, which in turn destroys your floors, ceilings and walls, which will require a lot of money to repair.

But you can hire a professional technician to maintain your system at minimal costs, which will go a long way in ensuring that your systems becomes more efficient and also prevent the need for system repair, which is costly.

Frozen coils – in the event that an evaporator gets frozen, it could cause so much damage, which includes water damage and compressor failure. So, if you see an ice or a frost in you AC unit, then you should know that commercial HVAC repairs are needed to fix the problem. The reason why coils freezes is, for instance, when a motor breaks or even runs too slowly, due to a refrigerant leak or air flow problems. However, regular maintenance ensures that the coils and the motors are in good working conditions. All you need to do is to spend just a little amount of money to hire a professional who will inspect and clean everything and will also be able to fix the tiny things that are broken, preventing the situation from escalating into frozen coils, which will, as a result, require a complete HVAC repair.
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Control problems – if you find that your system isn’t reaching the temperature that you’ve set, then you can narrow down the problem to your thermostat. If the thermostat fails to register accurate readings, chances are that it is sending the wrong signals to your system. Regular maintenance by a HVAC professional enables them to diagnose any potential control issues and also recalibrate the thermostats. This boosts efficiency for the entire system, and also ensures that system control issues are detected early thereby preventing serious damages that may cost a fortune to fix.