Fall Vermont HVAC Checklist for Commercial Buildings

Is your heating equipment—and overall HVAC system—ready for the cold weather to roll in? Even if you had no trouble last year, give your system a once-over to plan this year’s tune-up. Fall is the perfect opportunity to assess the efficiency of your system, do any necessary cleaning, and make adjustments to settings. Here are three major areas you should focus on when reviewing your HVAC system this fall.

Assess Damage

Damage doesn’t necessarily just refer to broken equipment. A system that’s dirty or filled with debris won’t perform at peak efficiency, but since it may not affect the actual operation of the system, you may not even realize there’s a problem. Take some time to assess your vents and ductwork as well as clean your filters. You should also inspect the building’s envelope for air leaks where heat could escape.

Before it’s time to turn on the heat for the season, go through the system carefully and check the basics: look for gas or water leaks and make sure all the nuts and bolts are tightened. You should also check that the equipment functions properly, including shutting off and powering down properly when it’s meant to.

Finally, if your piping is at risk for freezing, you should also ensure that the insulation hasn’t been damaged and use this opportunity to repair or add insulation as needed.

Adjust Control Settings

Right before the heating season is a good time to confirm operating schedules with different departments and/or building occupants. Make sure that needs haven’t changed, and determine whether there are any opportunities for additional energy saving. For example, you may find out that on one weekday afternoon where you thought people were working, the building is actually unoccupied. Then you could adjust your controls as needed to not only improve building comfort, but save money and energy. Making these adjustments before the heating season truly begins will help you save even more.

Eliminate Inefficiencies

Check for any operational inefficiencies in your HVAC system and make the necessary repairs. These inefficiencies could include inconsistent temperatures, building pressurization, condensate loss, and more. Optimizing your system is about more than meeting a budget. It’s about getting the most value out of your system that you possibly can.

Getting your Vermont HVAC system up and running takes more than one go-around. Optimization and inspection tasks should be added to your preventative maintenance plan if they’re not there already. This fall, before time for heating sneaks up on us, take some time to get your HVAC system in order. You’ll see the benefits when the cold weather hits.

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