Preventative maintenance increases reliability and peak efficiency, and DP Air offers an array of services under contracts at designated intervals throughout the year. Regularly scheduled preventative maintenance will reduce repair costs and downtime, and we’ve reached out to Chris Poole from our Tucson branch for questions and details.
Why is preventative maintenance important, and why should you have a PM contract?
- Preventative maintenance is important for numerous reasons, most importantly because it will save a business money. An HVAC system receiving regular preventative service will cost less to operate, think of a dirty filter blocking airflow through the ducts. It will also save money in terms of lost revenue due to issues which would be discovered on a PM visit, such as cooling failure in a computer room due to a compressor contactor with burnt points.
- A PM contract can be thought of as peace of mind, or insurance. You will have a licensed contractor checking over your equipment on a regular basis. The HVAC technician is trained to spot problems and potential points of future failures, thus “preventative” maintenance. This can help to mitigate any possible loss of business or productivity due to cooling/heating failures.
What are some things you can do in between your PM visits to keep everything running as smoothly as possible?
- Just be vigilant. If you have any type of alarm, don’t ignore it. Call your service provider if you have any questions at all, as many times issues can be resolved over the phone.
If you don’t have a PM contract, what should you do for upkeep?
- The number one most important thing that you can do as a user is to change your air filter. Beyond that, cleaning your refrigerant coils, if accessible and safe, with water is a good means of maintenance. If you have access to the condensate drain piping through a vent tee for instance, you could pour a little bleach in to kill off any algae forming during the summer. Most HVAC systems no longer have any type of lubrication points for the motors, blowers, etc., as these are generally permanently sealed.
What things often get overlooked or pushed aside that shouldn’t in terms of PM?
- Some of the things that I see being missed on a PM service are checking and cleaning the evaporator and condensing coils if necessary. Condensate pans and drains also seem to be a constant issue during the wet part of the summer. Run capacitors for motors and compressors should also be checked as these can become weak due to the ambient heat.
Preventative maintenance is an important and cost-effective aspect of HVAC upkeep. With licensed technicians and over 30 years of work in commercial HVAC, DP Air Corporation has locations in Arizona, Nevada, and California for all of your HVAC needs! For more information check out Commercial HVAC service page and our locations page.
