Commercial HVAC

When the AC is down, so is the business

A failed rooftop unit in July can send customers out the door and staff home early. Offices, shops, restaurants and rental properties across Dallas-Fort Worth can call one number, day or night, and be put through to a licensed local HVAC company.

Call (469) 649-7066

What commercial calls usually involve

Most small and mid-sized commercial buildings in the metroplex are cooled by packaged rooftop units, with split systems in older buildings and smaller suites. The failures look familiar: capacitors, contactors, fan motors, worn belts, clogged coils and condensate drains that back up into a ceiling. The difference is what the downtime costs. A dead unit over a dining room or a server closet is an emergency in a way a warm bedroom is not.

When you call, say it is a commercial property, what kind of equipment it is if you know, and whether the building is open. That way the company you are put through to sends a technician who works on rooftop equipment and brings the right parts.

Outdoor condensing units beside a Dallas building — Split systems serve many older buildings and smaller suites. Rooftop units handle most newer ones.

A maintenance plan that actually prevents calls

A commercial system runs longer hours than a home system and pulls in more dust, grease and debris. A written maintenance plan pays for itself if it covers the things that cause most breakdowns:

Filter changes on a set schedule, often quarterly and more often for restaurants
Belt inspection and replacement before they snap
Condenser and evaporator coil cleaning
Condensate drain clearing, which prevents ceiling leaks
Electrical checks on capacitors, contactors and connections
Economizer and thermostat checks, where fitted
A written report after each visit listing what was found

Ask for the plan in writing, with the visit schedule and what is and is not included. If you manage more than one location, ask for one point of contact and one report format for all of them.

Restaurants and kitchens

Kitchens are the hardest case. Cooking equipment adds heat, exhaust hoods pull conditioned air out of the building, and grease finds its way onto coils and filters. If the dining room will not cool on a busy night, the cause is often makeup air, the fresh air supplied to replace what the hood removes, rather than the air conditioner itself. It is worth asking the technician to look at the two together.

HVAC installers setting a new condensing unit in place — Replacement work on a commercial property is usually scheduled around business hours to limit downtime.

If a replacement comes up

Can the work be done after hours or over a weekend?
Will the job need a crane, and who arranges it and the street or lot access?
Who pulls the permit, and is the inspection included?
What is the labor warranty, separate from the equipment warranty?
Is the new unit sized from a load calculation, or copied from the old nameplate?

Commercial unit down?

Call any time, say it is a commercial property, and you will be put through to a licensed local HVAC company.

Call (469) 649-7066