Why you need to design HVACs for regular maintenance

It’s common for a commercial building’s HVAC to consume between 40% to 70% of its energy usage each year. Clearly, a quality HVAC has to respond to environmental issues by minimising energy consumption. This isn’t a nice-to-do issue. It’s a must.

Regions all have their own codes that energy-efficient HVACs must adhere to, so ensure you know what these are in your local area. There are also performance standards your HVAC should meet, which are set by the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers, known as CIBSE. Also, make sure you read our Quick guide: the small HVAC components for your design.

HVAC optimisation relies in large part on preventative maintenance. There’s just one problem. Design engineers don’t make it easy to carry out HVAC preventative maintenance. For example, fire dampers or valves are often difficult to access.

Another typical problem: air filters. It’s common to have to bend them for removal. To install new ones, maintenance personnel are faced with having to bend these, too, rendering them close to useless. These just aren’t inconveniences you’re subjecting personnel to. Bad design in terms of HVAC system maintenance can actually discourage work from being done.

The knock-on effect is that the HVAC can’t optimise efficiency – or worse, becomes a hazard. Preventative maintenance is the most cost-effective way to ensure that the equipment operates at maximum efficiency and saves energy usage. This is your reputation on the line, so you want to make heating and air maintenance easy for your customer.

Designing for maintenance efficiency

Designers are faced with the challenge of limited space and how to make the most of it. Mechanical and electrical systems become an afterthought, being stuffed wherever they can fit with a minimal footprint. Think of this from the maintenance team’s perspective. How do they access something that breaks, and do it with ease? Undertaking repairs becomes costly when equipment has to be cut up into sections simply to remove it from the building.

Allotting space for mechanical and electrical systems does infringe on usable space, but it’s absolutely necessary for regular and efficient HVAC maintenance work, which will ensure an optimal HVAC.

Communication is critical

Working in silos, the people designing the building and what will go in it are on a different path than those who will operate the building once it’s ready for occupation. Design engineers are under to pressure to finish the job within the deadline and budget, even if that means eliminating HVAC system features or the space meant for mechanical equipment.

What if design engineers involved operations and maintenance personnel at the design stage? After all, they’re the ones who have to live with the consequences of designs, so it’s worth getting their feedback on how you can make HVAC system maintenance easier for them. Of course, this will increase costs, but the alternative of ignoring their needs could be far more costly. HVAC life that falls far below what’s expected reflects poorly on your company.

What does HVAC maintenance include?

Before you begin designing, it’s worth reminding yourself of what’s entailed with an HVAC system service.

First, how often should HVAC systems be serviced? Annual HVAC maintenance is the bare minimum, and really, not good enough. Instead of yearly maintenance, facility energy optimisation involves seasonal HVAC maintenance.

Heating and air-conditioning maintenance are two different aspects of your HVAC. That is, air conditioning maintenance should be done every spring and summer. Heating maintenance should be carried out every autumn and winter.

Some maintenance needs to be done even more often. Both heating and air-conditioning preventive maintenance involve checking the air filters of each subsystem. In commercial and industrial buildings, this should be done at least every three months. How often really depends on the type of work the building carries out. If it’s manufacturing, then more dirt and dust will accumulate, and thus, more filter changes will be needed. Frequent visual inspections will tell you when it’s time.

HVAC preventative maintenance checklist

How to optimise energy: Heating and cooling maintenance involve the following tasks. Ensure that your design provides easy access to these components to optimise maintenance quality.

Autumn & Winter: Heating maintenance
✔	Replace filters
✔	Inspect belts and pulleys – replace as needed
✔	Clear drain lines and pans
✔	Examine electrical connections
✔	Inspect fan and blower motor – check operation and adjust as needed
✔	Check ignition and burner assembly
✔	Lubricate moving parts, e.g., motors and bearings
✔	Check all controls, such as thermostats
✔	Examine heat exchanger

Spring & Summer: Air-conditioner maintenance
✔	Replace filters
✔	Inspect condition of belts and pulleys – replace as needed
✔	Clean condenser
✔	Clean evaporator coils
✔	Check refrigerant charge – if charge is low, look for leaks
✔	Clear drain lines and pans
✔	Examine electrical connections
✔	Inspect fan and blower motor – check operation and adjust as needed
✔	Lubricate moving parts, e.g., motors and bearings
✔	Check all controls, such as thermostats
✔	Ensure air flow is adequate

 

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