RTU’s need regular system maintenance to function at peak efficiency. The roof exposes your unit to extreme weather. It is colder and/or hotter up there depending on the weather. Unlike other types of heating and air conditioning systems that are either inside the building or outside on the ground, the RTU is exposed to much more extreme temperatures and more pollutants. Ambient temperatures on the roof of a building can reach 120 degrees on hot summer days. Pollutants collect on the components of the unit causing it to lose efficiency and even degrade. Excessive heat causes the unit to work harder to produce comfortable conditions in your building.

Regular system inspections prevent inconvenient system breakdowns, increase the life of your system and will reduce utility bills. HVAC systems have over 100 components and many common component issues increase energy usage. You can see more on this chart of the Building efficiency initiative that describes in detail the greatest energy impacts with the various components.

“Portland Energy Conservation Inc. found that building operation and maintenance programs specifically designed to enhance the operating efficiency of HVAC and lighting systems decreased energy bills 5 to 20 percent in commercial buildings, without significant capital investment.^“

Controlled Air, Inc. offers custom service and maintenance packages. Below is a list of items typically done during a maintenance appointment.

• Changing filters to keep dirt and debris out of the ductwork and the system components
• Checking blowers for proper airflow
• Checking the electrical system, fuses, thermostats, and contactors
• Checking belts and replacing if necessary
• Cleaning dirt, soot and mold from the condenser coil, including measuring before and after temperatures to verify effectiveness
• Inspecting evaporator coils and clean as needed
• Checking refrigerant charge and fix any leaks
• Checking cabinet integrity for air leaks caused by cracks, missing screws, loose latches and faulty gaskets

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Service contracts can be overlooked if they do not seem to be immediately necessary, but the savings they can have for your business can be truly beneficial. Very large facilities and manufacturers often have service contract for their heating and cooling, because any down time could be truly detrimental to their business. But what about for smaller businesses? Downtime in your heating and cooling can also make an impact on your business. If you have any type of customer base such as in a retail store, having no heat or cooling and quickly lead to customers venturing else where. Even if you have no customers, uncomfortable employees leads to less productions. Service contracts can help reduce this downtime by providing scheduled maintenance, computer monitoring, and quicker response times. Different types of contracts can offer different forms of services.

Planned Maintenance contracts provide all of the preventive maintenance needed for the your HVAC and temperature control equipment. Repairs are billed on a time and material basis. The biggest advantage is that rates are lower and you have priority to those without a contract.

A Labor Maintenance Agreement is the same as the PM contract except it includes and labor needed to make repairs. You will only be billed for the parts that you receive.

A Full Maintenance contract provides, preventive maintenance, and labor and materials needed for repairs.

Depending on your business one contract may be more beneficial over another. Each contract is further tailored to your individual needs so you are never getting charged for work that you do not need.

It may not seem as if your small business needs a service contract but when you weigh in the reduced rates and priority service, leaving less down time, there is simply no reason why not to have one. For more information about Controlled Air

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