Your building’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is among its most important features. A high-quality, properly functioning HVAC system keeps employees, guests, and customers comfortable inside your walls while promoting healthier indoor air and saving money on energy costs. Today, an optimized HVAC system is more important than ever as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, your HVAC system can play a role in your air disinfection for coronavirus efforts. Here are five tips for maintaining your HVAC system, so it remains functional, efficient, and safe.

1. Monitor Your Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Paying attention to the air quality inside your facility is key for HVAC maintenance and building maintenance at large. Placing personal air quality meters around your building will allow you to track key IAQ metrics like levels of pollution and carbon dioxide present inside your walls. Using these tools, you can get an immediate read on how well (or poorly) your HVAC system is operating. If you notice negative changes in these readings, you must then inspect your HVAC system to identify the root problem(s).

2. Clean and Change Out Your Filters

Whether your HVAC system is equipped with an electrostatic air filter, HEPA filter, fiberglass filter, or another type, these filters all require regular change-outs (or cleaning in some cases) to maintain efficiency and ensure continuous clean air. The frequency with which this replacement should occur will depend on the manufacturer’s recommendations and other factors. Generally speaking, though, air filters should be changed every 30-90 days and checked about once a month for blockages and other issues. Failing to replace your air filters can end up damaging HVAC system components and reducing IAQ.

3. Periodically Clean Vents, Coils, Drains, and Other HVAC Components

Your air filters aren’t the only HVAC components that require attention. Air vents, ducts, coils, drains, and drain pans, and other features should be cleaned periodically. Those drains and drain pans must receive close attention, as wherever there’s moisture, there’s the chance for mold and mildew to form. Moreover, a faulty drain line can lead to interior water leaks. Your janitorial cleaning services may or may not be able to clean various HVAC system features. If not, you’ll want to hire an HVAC specialist to handle these maintenance tasks for you annually or more often.

4. Optimize Your Climate Control

Another way to keep your HVAC system functional and efficient is to optimize its energy output, so it’s not under so much undue stress. Installing an automated thermostat will make it easier to keep your various indoor areas comfortable when in use without needing to be switched on all the time. Automated climate control will also make your other facility maintenance tasks easier year-round, preventing rooms from getting too dry or too humid when the weather changes outside. Best of all, an automated thermostat will make your building more energy-efficient, helping out your bottom line.

5. Invest in Professional Inspections

While there’s plenty you and your in-house team can do to take care of your HVAC system and its components, there’s no replacement for an expert’s eye. Indeed, receiving yearly (or quarterly, twice yearly, etc.) inspections from HVAC professionals is key in making sure everything is working as it should and any minor issues are resolved before they augment into more severe and expensive repairs. Seasoned HVAC specialists can recalibrate your thermostat, fix any faulty wiring, unclog drains, check exhaust outlets and fuel lines, lubricate moving parts, change filters, clean components, and so much more.

At The Budd Group, our HVAC pros have become essential partners for so many facilities across industries. Let us help you maintain and optimize your HVAC system so your people can breathe easier this year and beyond. To learn more about our services and everything else that we do for our clients, give us a call today at 800-221-8158!