How many times have you heard, smelled or seen something while performing an equipment tour in your facility that just didn’t seem right? Did you stop to think of the impact it would have on long-term energy savings or tenant comfort? Did it ever occur to you that the small drip, buzzing sound or hot motor could manifest itself into a major equipment repair at the most inopportune time?
HVAC Inspection Tips: Opening Your Senses Makes Sense
The warning signs of wasted energy and costly repairs are all around us if we just open our eyes and ears to the savings. By paying attention to all your senses when checking HVAC and mechanical equipment can help to prevent emergency repairs and equipment downtime.
Here are some common items that can you see, hear, touch and smell to alert you to potential problems.
Sight: Visual assessments can help prevent issues down the road.
- A leak is a precursor to a ruptured pipe.
- A constant oil leak is your next wiped bearing.
- Improperly calibrated level sensors or ball floats mean money going down the overflow drain.
Some things to look for:
- Oil leaks
- Water leaks
- Belt wear
- Dirty coils
- Filter blockage
Sound: Listening for sounds that can help you detect equipment issues.
- A buzzing or chattering contactor could be your next visit with the fire marshal.
- A hissing sound near ductwork could mean a conditioned space on the other end of the ductwork will experience temperature problems from lack of airflow.
Potential equipment issues and what to listen for:
- Equipment cycling – continually turning on and off in a short amount of time
- Alignment issues – squeaky belts or grinding sound
- Bearing failure – grinding sound
- Water hammer – hammer hitting pipes sound
- Air bound piping – gurgling, swooshing sound
- Chiller surging – gurgling, swooshing sound
- Chiller purging – hissing sound
- Contact chatter – buzzing sound
- Ballast buzz – buzzing sound
- Air leakage – hissing sound
- Air entrapment in piping – gurgling sound
- Air pressure differential – wind howling sound
Smell: Your nose can alert you to equipment malfunctions.
- Trap odor – sewage odor
- Electrical overheating – burnt electronic odor
- Exhaust fan malfunction – bathroom odor
- Gas leak – methane odor
- Mildew and mold – moldy odor
Touch: Use your sense of touch to make equipment adjustments.
- Humidity – wet and sticky: too much humidity; dry and itchy nose: too low humidity
- Overheating – too hot
By being more in tune with your senses when you check for proper equipment operation, you’ll not only save energy and expenses, but help to ensure your mechanical equipment operates at peak efficiency and your tenants are comfortable.
Crockett Facilities Services’ experienced service technicians use all their senses to accurately diagnose and solve issues. Call 202.600.2787 to learn how we help property managers and business owners reduce utility costs and enhance property values. For a quick service quote, please email sales@crockett-facilities.com or complete our online form. Crockett Facilities Services Inc., a top ten mechanical contractor, provides 24/7 commercial HVAC and mechanical services throughout Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.