Staying on budget can be difficult at best for most commercial property managers. Just when things look good, an emergency strikes and expenses skyrocket.
Your heating and cooling systems are at the top of the list for potential problems. The US Department of Energy states that about 15 percent of your energy budget goes to cooling your building. What’s more, up to 30 percent of your overall utility bill is wasted energy. This is your HVAC system operating inefficiently, and the conditioned air never goes where it’s supposed to end.
Want to spend less each month? Focus on making your commercial HVAC system more sustainable.
Change Out Air Filters
You can’t read a post on HVAC efficiency and not find changing out air filters as advice. Why? Because it works. And unfortunately, it’s one thing that people continue to ignore. If an air filter is dirty, airflow is restricted. That means your HVAC system can’t operate at peak performance, and it costs more for your equipment to run. Just by switching out dirty air filters regularly, you can reduce wasted energy costs by as much as 10 percent.
Go Programmable
Are you still operating building temperatures manually? There’s an app for that. Why not invest in technology that allows you to set the temperature for 7 days of the week? That gives you the ability to set temperatures for the 5 day workweek as well as reduce temperatures on the weekends when traffic is down. You can be precise with temperature control depending on how your building operates.
Seal The Ducts
Buildings age. Every time your heating and cooling system turns on, air movement causes the ventilation system expand and contract. That’s a lot of energy zipping through the ducts multiple times each day. Over time, it can cause screws to loosen, joints to come apart, connections to change. When was the last time an HVAC technician checked and sealed air ducts for added efficiency?
Upgrade
Sometimes the best way to improve your efficiency is to upgrade your equipment. Depending on the age of the models you currently have in place, you can easily make improvements that will reduce energy costs by as much as 20 percent. Look for EnergyStar appliances that have high efficiency ratings.
Maintain
What does your HVAC system to operate efficiently? Don’t know? The best place to start is with a regular maintenance plan in place. By working with an HVAC company regularly, you’ll know technicians understand your heating and cooling system and make changes and repairs when appropriate to give you the biggest bang for the buck.
Are you ready to explore how a maintenance contract will help you stay within your budget?