Comprehensive Guide to HVAC Preventive Maintenance

Preventive maintenance is when you have a regular, routine plan for your physical assets to prevent failure or downtime for the company. Having preventive maintenance of different assets in your facilities helps in keeping things running to cut costs from breakdowns and knowing the indicators for when an asset should be replaced. 

This is crucial, especially for commercial HVAC systems. If your facility doesn’t have an HVAC preventive maintenance plan in place, the facility could experience a variety of scenarios, including unhappy tenants, higher energy costs, and thousands of dollars in repair or replacement fees. Being proactive instead of reactive saves time and money. 

What is HVAC Preventive Maintenance? 

HVAC preventive maintenance helps keep your commercial HVAC system and its assets running efficiently and effectively year-round. This is when the system is cleaned, inspected, and may require parts updates. Without a preventative maintenance HVAC plan, the system could fail without warning. This alleviates extra costs associated with air conditioning challenges like downtime, higher costs for parts, and in some cases, having to purchase a new system. In most cases, this maintenance is conducted twice a year, but certain parts may require more based on usage. 

Importance of HVAC Preventive Maintenance 

The bottom line is important to any business. HVAC system preventive maintenance helps in keeping the energy bills regulated, prevents the high cost of repairs, extends the life of the system, improves the air quality, keeps areas comfortable by distributing the air more evenly, and knowing when it’s time to service or replace key parts. A preventive maintenance checklist helps maintain information on wear and tear to keep the system productive and efficient. 

The facility cannot operate at optimal levels if the HVAC system is down. Facilities need their HVAC systems to work at high levels for many reasons, including needing the air to be at certain temperatures, keeping the areas warm or cool for different offices, and providing a comfortable experience for patrons and employees. 

Benefits of HVAC Preventive Maintenance 

There are many benefits to preventive maintenance HVAC policies. In fact, using preventive maintenance software can help design a customized HVAC pm service that keeps everyone on task and the assets at their best. These are high-level benefits of preventive maintenance: 

Improved Energy Efficiency 

Maintenance can help with keeping the system operating at high levels of efficiency to ensure energy bills are low and you get the most out of the equipment. 

Prolonged Lifespan 

When an HVAC system is properly maintained, it lasts a lot longer than the expected lifespan from the manufacturer. This can help save thousands of dollars in replacement costs which can be used for other things. 

Enhanced Indoor Air Quality 

A well-maintained system improves air quality which cuts down on airborne illnesses and germs. When air quality suffers, the facility can become a health hazard. This prevents situations where these instances may occur. 

Increased System Reliability 

HVAC systems are reliable when properly maintained, cutting down on the need to address breakdowns or pay higher costs for replacement parts. 

Compliance with Warranty Requirements 

Commercial HVAC systems have warranties that won’t be honored if the company can’t provide adequate maintenance records. This ensures any breakdowns beyond your control are covered.

What is Included in HVAC Preventive Maintenance? 

Planned maintenance is key when having a good HVAC preventive maintenance schedule. There are certain items that must be included when creating a workable plan that gets results: 

Air Filter Replacement 

You must replace your air filter in the unit on a regular basis to maintain the integrity of the air quality. 

Cleaning and Lubrication 

There are many parts that must be cleaned and lubricated to run at optimal levels. 

Electrical Connection Check 

Many commercial HVAC systems break down when the electrical system is having issues. Checking the connections can prevent downtime. 

Testing Safety Controls 

Every system has safety control. Checking to make sure these controls work in the event of an emergency is important. 

Coil Cleaning 

The coils must be cleaned and maintained for the system to work at its best. When the coils are dirty, the system has to work harder. When they are clean, the system is more efficient. 

Refrigerant Level Check 

The refrigerant level must be checked to make sure the system is cooling how it should. When the coolant level is low, the air starts to feel warm and stuffy. Checking the level ensures the facilities won’t ever experience unexpected changes in temperature. 

Get the Most Out of Your HVAC System 

Commercial HVAC systems are constantly in use at high levels. Having a plan and preventive maintenance schedule in place can keep the assets working without experiencing high energy costs from parts breaking down, downtime from broken systems, or confusion about what was checked and what wasn’t. 

Using a maintenance software solution can help keep things in check and streamline the preventive maintenance process. Ongoing monitoring and improvement of the HVAC preventive maintenance schedule helps in creating a system where parts are checked, rotated, or replaced well before it becomes an issue. This can also help in determining areas of concern before they become a problem. 

For more information on HVAC preventive maintenance and how ServiceChannel can help you find the right partner for your repairs, explore the ServiceChannel Marketplace.