The Complete Commercial HVAC Maintenance Guide

It's better to be proactive than reactive, and that rings true for various walks of life - sports, health, your car, and yes, even your commercial HVAC equipment.

Preventative commercial HVAC is necessary in keeping energy efficiency in your building high, operating costs low, and tenants comfortable. Regular inspections and upkeep of your commercial HVAC equipment helps you avoid costly HVAC repairs and downtime in the future.

Commercial HVAC systems are complex, and have lots of moving parts and technologies to monitor and maintain. To help keep your HVAC system efficient and long-lasting, follow this guide to preventative HVAC maintenance.

Air Filters and Air Handling Systems

Commercial air filters should be checked, and if necessary replaced, every month. Due to the large amounts of dust and potential mould that can collect in the filter when unkempt, the efficiency of your air handling system is compromised. That means working your air system harder for similar HVAC results, and paying more on your energy bill.

We recommend replacing them at the very minimum twice a year, but again, regular preventative HVAC upkeep is key.

Evaporator and Condenser Coil Cleaning

Unless you want the office to smell like B.O. and resentment throughout the summer, you should be examining the air conditioning system in your commercial building. That includes voltage monitoring, lubricating machine components, and draining condensation to avoid water damage.

We suggest having the evaporator and condenser coil cleaned at least twice a year; this can drop to once a year depending on your building's age and condition. The condenser coil should be cleaned carefully and thoroughly, due to all the filthy, outdoor air it processes that can have a noticeable degradative effect. Bi-annual condenser coil cleaning and protective chemical treatments will prevent the buildup of bacteria.

Air Ducts

The frequency of commercial air duct cleaning largely depends on the function it performs and the condition of the building. Regular inspection and upkeep is essential, but if you're running a medical facility for example, you should clean the air ducts more often than if you were overseeing a factory.

Regular air duct maintenance maintains air quality, but be sure to inspect leaks and cracks that may reduce the energy efficiency of your commercial HVAC equipment.

System Operation

When you boot up your commercial HVAC system for a maintenance checkup, don't forget to inspect and test the following:

Double check operating and safety controls.
Monitor and ensure correct load/volts of the system.
Verify system operation aligners with manufacturer's specifications.
Check for uneven or unusual distribution of temperatures throughout the building.
Finish with a report on system operations, including suggested HVAC repair or replacement as necessary.

High-Rise Maintenance

If you're responsible for the HVAC of a high-rise commercial office tower, you're probably aware that it's a whole different game than running other high-rise buildings. They have specific uses for a wide variety of occupants, like office spaces, retail, health clubs, data centres, etc.

These varying usages put disparate loads on the building's HVAC systems. Some areas may require more cooling and heating, while others may need more or less air flow. The dynamic of constantly changing HVAC requirements means the commercial HVAC system must be adaptive and fluid.

And the only way to do that is - you guessed it - constant preventative maintenance to ensure all HVAC systems are meeting each area's needs.

Ambient Mechanical is one of the few 24-hour commercial HVAC companies in Toronto that has all the preventative maintenance services you need under one roof:

Cooling Plants: including chiller, cooling towers and pump service.
Heating Plants: including boilers, heat exchangers, heat recovery pumps.
Air handlers including: filtration, motors, variable frequency drives, fan assemblies.
Building control Systems: we service everything from pneumatics, to the most advanced digital control systems, including remote access and alarming.

If you're in need of regular, preventative HVAC maintenance that's affordable and professional, get in touch with us today.