As a business owner, responsible management of your business cost is of the utmost importance. One of the key ways you can look to improve the efficiency of your business’ overhead is to examine how effectively you are spending cash on heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Below are a few tips for how you can better improve your HVAC costs.
Maintenance Inspections
Maintenance inspections are a great way to effectively manage your business’ HVAC costs. By using preventative maintenance, you can reduce costly repairs, have less downtime on your HVAC units and ensure your systems are running as efficiently as possible.
By completing regular maintenance inspections this will allow for clear and smart budgeting of how much your heating and air conditioning will cost each year.
Replacing Old Units
Furnaces, boilers and air conditioning all have a life span. Continuing to use the same unit that you have been using for the past number of years can mean you are using an inefficient unit to heat or cool your place of work. While the installation of a newer unit can be a high cost, the savings you can make because of the high efficiency of the latest models ensures that your business can make savings over the medium to long term.
Program Your Thermostats
The settings on the thermostats used in your place of work can be the difference between an efficient and inefficient heating system. There are a few things you can do to ensure you are correctly using your thermostat(s). Firstly, educate your staff on best practice when it comes to setting the thermostat. By showing staff members how each thermostat works and how to program the thermostat correctly if they need to change the temperature, this reduces the possibility of your HVAC unit running when there are no people in your work place.
Make sure the thermostat is programed so that it shuts down the heating/ air conditioning when the office is shut after hours or on the weekends. This is particularly pertinent for offices that are generally open Monday- Friday from 9 -5 as leaving them on outside of these hours will add up to a sizable cost for your business.
Installing smart thermostats that can automatically regulate the temperature will also help your business reduce money spent keeping your office too warm or too cold.
Replace your air filters
If your filters are dirty, your HVAC unit will have to work harder to circulate the cold or warm air throughout the office. Regularly checking and replacing your air filter as soon as they become dirty helps stop your unit from becoming inefficient. You can also give this responsibility to a staff member and ask them to check the filter once a month and then change the filter as needed.
Air filters are relatively cheap and are easy to replace.
Energy Ratings
When researching new HVAC products, always look for the ENERGY STAR® rating symbol. This identifies products that are qualified as high efficiency. At Milani we always strive to use the most efficient boilers and furnaces possible to ensure you get the most value for your business.