An ounce of preventative maintenance is worth a pound of your money
As members of the human race, we seem to be programmed to put off problems until they become glaring issues. Some call it procrastination. A problem just never seems too pressing until it reaches catastrophic status. While some problems are easily ignored with little consequence, others have serious ramifications if taken too lightly. Think of the engine degradation that occurs when you ignore an oil change. This degradation may lead to engine failure, resulting in a costly replacement that could have been avoided with much cheaper oil changes.
This issue is a central one in the world of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). Technologies in this industry see wear and tear similar to any car you find in the street. Parts start to malfunction, fail, and require replacement. When parts fail, systems fail. When systems fail, profits fall. The cascade starts with things as insignificant as an aging part. Thus, proactive, preventative maintenance is the best path to saving your company or household time, money, energy, and worry by keeping their HVAC systems happy and functional.
Here are five ways that preventative maintenance services can save you money.
- Avoid costly repairs
Entire HVAC systems can be extremely expensive to replace. As parts wear down, their effect on the overall system may be negligible at first. However, as errors and failures pile up, the severity of their consequences scale up exponentially. Soon enough, key parts will break in a way that results in catastrophic breakdown of your HVAC system.By having regular, scheduled maintenance on your HVAC technologies, you stop the minor problems before they can snowball into those devastating combinations of problems. Thus, cheaper, proactive, and preventative maintenance repairs save you money in the long run by keeping your machines in proper condition in light of normal aging and wear and tear.
- Prevent costly downtime for your company
Of course, sometimes things will still break down despite maintenance. While regular maintenance won’t definitively stop everything, the constant care of your HVAC technologies will ensure that the frequency of these adverse effects is minimized. As a consequence of preventative maintenance, machines stay active for longer periods of time enabling everyday duties and jobs to continue unimpeded.An HVAC shutdown at the wrong time has the potential to create dangerous environments for your workers and equipment. Such unplanned shutdowns can also lead to losses in profit and productivity. Your savings come in the prevention of profit-dropping events.
- Promoting worker safety
Because HVAC systems deal with regulating temperature through the application of gas fueled heat and electrical current, malfunctioning systems may pose a potential fire or electrical hazard that can take your workers out of commission or force a costly shutdown. Proper, preventative maintenance of your systems’ primary safety components is an essential part of keeping your workers safe. Often, these workers work near to HVAC equipment, giving them an increased risk of injury.Worker injuries cause detrimental losses in productivity since your skilled employees are unable to be productive. Injuries on the job also contribute to losses in workplace morale that have far-reaching effects on productivity as well. Additionally, worker injuries may cause legal problems for your company. By keeping dangerous electrical and fire hazards in check, you’ll save money by keeping your workers safe and in service.
- Optimizing the energy efficiency of your equipment
As HVAC equipment gets older, so does the integrity of its parts. Wear and tear on these parts causes decreased efficiency, meaning that an HVAC machine must use more energy to produce the same heating and cooling effect.Preventative maintenance allows you to be aware of these deteriorating parts and replace them when necessary. A well-maintained machine uses the minimum amount of energy, saving you money in lower energy bills.
- Maintenance Schedules Provide Increased Control
By taking a proactive approach to maintenance, you gain a degree of control over your HVAC system that those who ignore maintenance simply do not have. Routine maintenance may require your HVAC system to be taken off-line for the work to be done, but nowhere near the amount of time required to rectify a catastrophic repair.The proactive company schedules their maintenance when HVAC system demand is low, for example in spring and fall.
Maintenance doesn’t have to be a painful experience. With proper management, maintenance has the potential to make your workplace or home safer, more productive, and cost-efficient than those who are less proactive. Preventative maintenance will allow your HVAC systems to keep running smoothly when times get busy. Contact us for more information.