Your business can’t make it through the heat of summer unless it has a powerful and dependable air conditioning system. This applies to almost all types of facilities, from restaurants and retail stores to office buildings and manufacturing plants. Air conditioning comes at a cost, and you expect to see a rise in electrical bills when you need the AC in your establishment working regularly. But if those costs seem much higher than usual, there may be an issue with your commercial HVAC in Mandeville, LA.
Below we’ll look at some of the possible reasons you’re seeing a rise in the cost to keep cool in your business.
Faulty thermostat or building controls
Depending on the size of your facility, you may have one thermostat or multiple thermostats, or you have a building automation system (BAS) that monitors temperature throughout the building. If any of the thermostats malfunction and start to sense incorrect temperatures because of miscalibrations, it will lead to the AC running too long and running at the wrong times. Faulty building controls can lead to a host of inefficiency troubles.
Leaking refrigerant
One of the most common issues with rooftop air conditioning units is when they start to lose refrigerant through leaks in the refrigerant lines. Although you may not notice a change in comfort levels at first because of this, low refrigerant will place extra strain on components and cause the AC to drain more power than necessary. The AC unit will need professionals to seal the leaks and then add in the amount of refrigerant that was lost.
Bad ductwork
Most businesses use ductwork to distribute cool air around the building. But when ductwork becomes leaky, the cool air will start to escape and cause a significant rise in cooling costs as much of the cool air that’s already been paid for goes to waste. Ductwork like this either needs to be repaired or replaced.
Lack of maintenance
We hope you keep current with professional HVAC maintenance during the year. A business requires AC maintenance at least once a year, preferably during spring, and depending on the size of the facility and the type of equipment it may need maintenance more often. Allowing maintenance to lapse will lead to AC systems aging quickly, their filters becoming clogged, and this will cause a steady rise in cooling bills.
Aging equipment
In the last 1–2 years of a commercial AC’s life, energy efficiency will drop because of wear and tear. Even a well-maintained air conditioning system will start to suffer from age-related inefficiencies. If you have AC units that are more than 15 years old, a rise in cooling costs is often a big warning that it’s time to make upgrades with replacement units.
You can count on our commercial HVAC professionals to help you find solutions to troubles with high cooling costs. We’re experts at finding out-of-the-box solutions for improving comfort and cutting down on energy expenditures. Arrange for a free estimate with us today.
Gowland’s Heating & A/C believes in “Relationship over revenue!” Schedule commercial HVAC service in New Orleans and the surrounding areas with us today.