When you run a business, unnecessary expenses cut into your bottom line, and that can include excessively high heating and cooling bills. By improving your HVAC system and implementing a few strategies to support the efficiency of your heating and cooling efforts, you can boost your business’s bottom line.
To save money, check out the following tips and look at a few of the other ways better HVAC can help.
Higher SEER Ratings
When you invest in a new air conditioner, pay attention to the Seasonal Energy Efficient Ratio (SEER) rating. In the past, a 10 SEER rating indicated a high level of efficiency, but every year, air conditioners get more efficient. Now, you can find models with SEER ratings of 18 or above. If high energy bills are cutting into your bottom line, you may need to upgrade to a new AC with a higher SEER rating.
Inefficiency Elimination
Even if you’re not ready to upgrade to a new heating or cooling system, you should still take some time to eliminate inefficiencies in your system. Clean or replace HVAC filters on a regular basis and upgrade to more efficient filters if that’s an option for your system. Also, keep the areas in front of vents as clear and unobstructed as possible.
With a ducted commercial HVAC system, you can reduce inefficiencies by insulating your ductwork, repairing gaps between ducts, and getting the ducts cleaned if they have lots of dust or debris. If you’re replacing your existing HVAC system, you may want to bypass the ductwork and put in a ductless system. That change can significantly reduce your business’s energy bills.
Increasing Comfort
By keeping your HVAC system properly maintained, you improve the comfort of your commercial space. Being too cold or hot can be distracting, and when employees are comfortable, they tend to work harder.
Additionally, if your customers feel comfortable, they may also stick around your facility longer and potentially spend more money. For instance, if you own a restaurant and your customers are too hot or too cold, they’re a lot more likely to leave right after they finish eating. In contrast, if they’re comfortable, they may linger and buy another bottle of wine or have dessert which increases revenue and helps your bottom line.
Depending on the age and condition of your HVAC system, you may need more than routine maintenance to increase the comfort levels in your commercial building. If you have a lot of hot and cold spots, you may need to install new ductwork or switch to a ductless system which offers zone controls and more consistent heating and cooling.
Programmable Thermostats
If you’re trying to improve your bottom line through better HVAC, don’t just focus on your heating and cooling equipment. You also must think about the controls for your system. Ideally, you should adjust your thermostat so that you reduce heating and cooling when no one is in the building.
With a traditional thermostat, you must remember to make the adjustments manually, but if you switch to a programmable thermostat, you can set up the system to adjust the temperatures based on your business’s schedule. A cloud-based thermostat also allows you to control your thermostat remotely so you can make changes from almost anywhere.
Improved Indoor Air Quality
You HVAC system doesn’t just control your heating and cooling. It also affects ventilation and plays a critical role in the quality of your business’s indoor air. You can improve indoor air quality by cleaning and changing filters regularly and by keeping ductwork as clean as possible.
Poor air quality can degrade worker performance and increase mistakes, which has a negative effect on your bottom line. In contrast, good indoor air quality can improve wellness and reduce sick days which safeguards productivity and saves you money on payroll costs.
Strategic Scheduling
To improve how you use your commercial HVAC system, you may also want to schedule certain activities strategically so that you can reduce the heating and cooling burden on your equipment. For instance, if you run an office in a hot climate, you may want to consider an earlier workday. If your employees start their day during the relative cool of the early morning, you don’t have to run your air conditioner as much.
Similarly, if you run a bakery, you may want to get the baking out the way late in the evening or early in the morning. Then, you don’t have to worry about ovens generating a lot of heat during the hottest part of the day and forcing your air conditioner to work extra hard to keep your space comfortable.
Routine Maintenance
If you have a commercial HVAC system, you need to schedule routine maintenance. An HVAC professional can assess your system and troubleshoot potential issues before they get out of control. That helps you to avoid unexpected repairs and to ensure your system runs efficiently as possible.
Unobstructed Vents
Commercial HVAC systems deliver hot or cool air through vents or indoor air handling units. Obstructed vents force your HVAC system to work hard which drives up your bill. Additionally, if your vents are blocked, hot or cold air won’t be able to circulate around your space. Make sure to keep boxes, equipment, desks, and other items away from your vents and air handling units.
Supporting Your Commercial HVAC System
To save money, you should also find ways to support the efforts of your commercial HVAC system. For instance, running ceiling fans in the summer helps to keep workers cool so that you can increase your thermostat and reduce your air conditioning bills. In the winter, running fans in the opposite direction can help to save money on heating. Additionally, make sure your commercial building is well insulated and regularly check for drafts or air leaks.
The right practices combined with energy efficient HVAC equipment can help to improve your business’s bottom line. At N.E.T.R., Inc., we are committed to helping our commercial clients save money on HVAC costs through timely maintenance, quality repairs, and the installation of efficient ductless HVAC systems. To learn more or to set up an appointment, contact us today.
