What To Plan For During The Transition From Hot To Cold Season

You perform regular fall maintenance on your automobile to preserve its engine and overall condition. The same principle applies to your heating and air ventilating equipment or HVAC. Our seasons change drastically here in Michigan. Temperatures can range from very high to very low, and we’ve reached that time of the year again when the weather will go from hot to cold.

Why should you do preventive maintenance this fall?

To ensure that your HVAC remains dependable throughout the winter season, you should schedule preventive maintenance on your building’s HVAC system before the fall season comes to an end. Remember that it will be more difficult to perform preventive maintenance when the harsh snow sets in. Some companies will even charge you higher for the same set of services just because of the hassle they will have to face when doing repair jobs in the middle of all that ice and snow.

You also need your HVAC system to be in tip-top shape during the winter season. Nothing will cause a more tragic inconvenience as a broken heater in the middle of winter. The number of absentees will rise and productivity will go down. It’s a long series of unfortunate events when you aren’t responsible about HVAC maintenance.

Aside from these obvious disadvantages, your energy bill will also rise because of faulty HVAC systems. Be diligent about performing preventive maintenance on your heating and cooling equipment to better handle your company’s budget.

When should you perform preventive maintenance?

Here is a general guideline as to when you should perform preventive maintenance.

• For a system that heats and cools: perform maintenance twice a year (during springtime and during fall)
• For a system that cools only: perform maintenance once a year, preferably before the winter
• For a system that heats only: perform maintenance once a year, preferably after the winter

Your HVAC contractor may offer an annual or bi-annual agreement to perform the necessary preventive steps to maintain your HVAC systems. It is recommended to follow through with these to ensure optimum conditions for all your heating and cooling machines the whole year round.

Most HVAC technicians report that they get the most number of job requests right after a season ends, or during a transition such as from hot to cold. This is largely because the HVAC systems were not properly prepared to sustain the changes in temperature. This also happens because seasonal check-ups were not followed; thus, the machines weren’t cleaned and checked on for possible problem areas even before the change of the seasons.

Who can perform preventive maintenance on HVAC systems?

You can probably do basic cleaning and de-cluttering of outdoor components. You can remove twigs, rocks and other kinds of debris from the surrounding areas of your heaters and coolers. However, majority of preventive maintenance is highly technical work and only licensed technicians are fully capable of carrying out all aspects of the job.

Some preventive maintenance procedures include, and are not limited to:

• full system evaluation to assess areas for repair
• air pressure testing to catch and fix unwanted leaks
• checking refrigerant levels
• recycling refrigerants (if not compliant)
• temperature check on air coming out of the vents
• pressure level check
• gas systems check
• electrical wiring and connections check
• repair or replacement of coils and filters
• cleaning of drain lines and other passages
• application of lubricants
• top off fluids
• checking all moving parts

Only an industrial contractor can perform top-level preventive maintenance with utmost efficiency and reliability. If your building or company is looking for a professional HVAC team that can perform a wide range of maintenance services, look no further than Level One HVAC. Our team is fully licensed and trained, and we are completely equipped to carry out the maintenance your building needs just in time for the winter season. Call us at 248-486-6500 to know more about what we can do for you!

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