The economy is re-opening after the coronavirus lockdown. Many buildings that have been shuttered or operating a skeleton service will go back to full operations. In modern buildings and at this time of year, cooling is often as important as heating. The amount of IT equipment on site produces large amounts of waste heat. What’s more, building design often means that windows can’t be opened, and airflow must be controlled by technology. As a result, it’s increasingly common to talk about heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) as a single system. In this blog, we’ll look maintaining HVAC to cope with seasonal demand – and making sure your building has control systems in place.
Maintaining every element of an HVAC system
For many businesses, the different elements of HVAC can operate in opposition to each other, rather than working coherently. For instance, some areas in a building may be being heated while others are cooled, without proper zoning between the various areas. Of course, we can design, test and install HVAC systems for any building, whether it’s brand new or is an older design. But we also recognise that right now, most organisations are not thinking about installing new equipment. We can devise a planned preventive maintenance schedule to keep all the equipment operating at peak condition.
Take for instance the air handling unit (AHU), the central element which regulates and circulates air. The AHU takes in outside air, reconditions it and supplies it as fresh air to the air-conditioned room. It does so by filtering, and either heating or cooling it. Even if we haven’t designed your entire HVAC system, we can install, test and commission an AHU should you need one. And our maintenance engineers will keep the unit working by putting together a maintenance schedule.
Facilities management for the 21st century with state-of-the-art control systems
There are many organisations where different parts of a building should ideally be at different temperatures. For instance, in an office block, corridors and reception areas should be kept cooler than workspaces. Similarly, in a hotel, recommended temperatures are 19-21 degrees C for guest bedrooms, and 26-27 degrees C for guest bathrooms. And this needs to be done in a way that that responds to the building’s occupancy throughout the week, both on weekdays and weekends.
However, temperature is only one aspect of control systems; organisations are increasingly adopting more comprehensive building management system (BMS) for their buildings. With modern technology, it’s possible to monitor and manage the mechanical, electrical and electromechanical services across a facility. Such services can include power, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, physical access control, pumping stations, lifts and lights. The data for these controls is consolidated onto a single system to improve reporting, information management and decision-making. And it allows facility-wide insight for better performance by controlling all underlying systems from a single workstation.
Maintaining energy efficiency whatever the seasonal demand for HVAC
Again, implementing a full-blown BMS system may be out of reach for many organisations in current circumstances. But there are other control systems which will deliver medium- to long-term energy usage reductions. For smaller premises, a compensator automatically regulates heating temperature based on outside conditions, while an optimum start controller learns how quickly the building reaches the desired temperature. These would work well in a hotel or an office block respectively. For even smaller operations, a simple timer switch can help maintain the right temperature. For instance, in a small retail business, it can cover times when staff members are replenishing stock outside regular opening hours.
We take great pride in our maintenance services, which are just as essential as designing, installing and commissioning a system. We can help save organisations money; poorly configured HVAC control systems can account for a significant proportion of building energy usage. Our maintenance team can ensure that the system continues to work at its peak efficiency throughout its life cycle. We will work with you to ensure that the system is configured for your building. And ultimately, we’ll improve your energy efficiency and help you achieve long-term carbon reduction goals.
Talk to one of the team today if you have questions about maintaining HVAC and setting control systems to cope with seasonal demand.
Call: 0161 790 4411
About Hodgkinson Bennis seasonal demand for HVAC and control systems
Hodgkinson Bennis designs, installs and maintains the most fuel-efficient commercial and industrial boilers. Headquartered in Manchester, we work across the UK, particularly in the North West, North East and throughout the Midlands. Contact us today to discuss how we can deliver advanced commercial and industrial boilers, and our range of other services.
At Hodgkinson Bennis, we have worked with commercial and industrial boilers since 1872. This history gives us an enviable amount of experience as pioneers in the industry. We place an enormous emphasis on ensuring the health and safety of all team members, suppliers, contractors, and the public. We provide the most fuel-efficient boiler solutions for industrial and commercial applications.