If you own a business in Roseville, taking good care of your commercial property is a critical part of protecting and improving your bottom line. Easily among your building’s most important features, your HVAC system regulates your indoor temperature, extracts excess humidity, and improves the quality of your indoor air. In addition to routine heater and AC tune-ups, regular duct cleaning is a vital part of your ongoing building maintenance. Read on to discover 10 reasons why.
1. Maintain an Acceptably High Indoor Air Quality
Your HVAC air ducts distribute all of the heated and cooled air that your furnace and AC produce. If they’re filled with dust, dander, hair, or textile and carpet fibers, your indoor air quality (IAQ) will invariably decline. Although your air filter removes airborne particulates during normal HVAC operation, many small-sized allergens and contaminants pass right through its mesh.
If you have loose, leaky, or unsealed ducts, they’ll take in debris from other areas such as basements, crawlspaces, and utility rooms. When your building maintenance team waits too long to replace your air filter, your air ducts could be filled with loose bits of blown-off filter debris. No matter how this debris enters your ducting, it will eventually form tough, tacky coatings that gradually break free as air passes through. This is why poorly maintained HVAC systems often have thick accumulations of lint-like material on and just behind their air vent covers.
The Effects of Poor IAQ
Poor indoor air quality is problematic in any environment. However, in commercial buildings, it can negatively impact workers, customers, and sensitive equipment. High concentrations of airborne contaminants can lead to unpleasant symptoms like:
- Sniffling
- Sneezing
- Itchy or watery eyes
- Headaches
- Fatigue
With more people and physical assets to protect, commercial building owners have greater motivation to keep their air ducts clean.
2. Protect Your Electronics
When the trapped debris in HVAC air ducts is picked up and distributed throughout buildings, servers, computers, printers, and other electronics suffer. Poor indoor air quality and the fine particulates responsible for it can cause electronics to overheat and malfunction. As this debris settles on and in various gadgets, it can block exhaust fans and cause overheating or premature equipment failure.
3. Extend the Lifespan of Your Heating and Cooling Equipment
Poor indoor air quality also has a significant impact on the health, functionality, and efficiency of heaters, heat pumps, and air conditioners. Circulating debris from dirty air ducts can block furnace intake valves, coat evaporator coils, and settle on other sensitive components. These build-ups impede airflow and disrupt the heat transfer process. As a result, HVAC systems have longer heating and cooling cycles and more of them. This extra wear and the related stress can both shorten their lifespans and increase the frequency of major repair issues.
4. Avoid Humidity Problems
When dirty air ducts affect HVAC airflow, air conditioners, heat pumps, and condensing furnaces have a harder time extracting excess humidity. This can leave the interior of your business feeling damp and muggy. On the hottest and most humid days of the year, excess humidity can make your indoor air feel downright oppressive.
Having indoor humidity rise above 60% also creates the ideal conditions for mold and mildew. Worse still, business owners cannot get these problems in check until they resolve their humidity concerns.
5. Prevent Pervasive and Unpleasant Odors
Dirty air ducts paired with rising humidity leads to foul and pervasive odors. If your business smells rank and moldy when your AC or heater is on, in-duct build-ups are a likely reason why. When companies have in-duct pest infestations, issues with duct odors become all the more noticeable. The trapped exoskeletons, feces, wings, carcasses, food, and other detritus that pests commonly leave behind can be especially odorous.
6. Make the Right Impressions on Your Guests
Maintaining a high-functioning and efficient HVAC system makes it easier to attract and retain clients. When people walk into your doors, they should feel both safe and comfortable. If your building interior smells foul, feels muggy, or leaves visitors coughing and wheezing, they’re unlikely to remain in or return to your establishment.
Unpleasant indoor conditions won’t bode well for your commercial reputation or brand. People are more likely to patronize and recommend businesses that offer a healthy environment overall. If you operate in the food service industry, maintaining conditions like these can also be key to remaining compliant with all relevant health and safety standards.
7. Support Effective Pest Prevention and Pest Control
Not only does HVAC air duct cleaning get rid of the funky, pathogen-rich detritus that insects and animals leave behind, but it can also be effective for extracting pests themselves. When air duct cleaning techniques like mechanical agitation, vacuum suction, and negative air pressure are paired with disinfection and sanitization, duct cleaning can additionally prevent pest problems from returning. Disinfection and sanitization remove the oil residues and pheromones that rats and other rodents excrete in air ducts. If these attractants aren’t cleaned off, they will eventually bring new problems in.
8. Boost Employee Morale and Productivity
Scheduling regular duct cleaning is a great way to show your employees that you care about their comfort and health. While you might be able to attract the top talent in your field with impressive compensation packages, you could have a hard time maintaining your new hires if your work environment is unhealthy and unpleasant. A high indoor air quality creates comfortable conditions that are easier to work in. With duct cleaning, you could see a rise in both employee morale and productivity.
9. Lower Your HVAC-Related Energy Costs
Clean ductwork supports efficient, high-functioning heating and cooling equipment. With optimum airflow and effective humidity regulation, you might see a marked decrease in your HVAC-related energy costs.
10. Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
According to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA), commercial heating and cooling accounts for about 14% of total electricity consumption throughout the United States. Moreover, ventilation alone accounts for another 18%. Although electric HVAC appliances don’t directly produce greenhouse gases (GHGs), the production of electricity often does. Frequently referred to as grey emissions, these hidden GHGs matter, too. Thus, even if you use all electric appliances for heating and cooling, your HVAC system is still contributing to global warming. By keeping your air ducts clean and minimizing your energy use, you can reduce your company’s environmental impact.
While the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends scheduling HVAC air duct cleaning on an as-needed basis, the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) suggests scheduling these services every three to five years. Routine cleaning promotes optimum HVAC performance, provides ongoing IAQ benefits, and helps building owners enjoy consistently high heater and AC efficiency.
Your Reliable HVAC Specialists
We’re proud to serve companies in Roseville, MI and the surrounding cities. We offer top-notch heating, cooling, and indoor air quality services. We also provide smart thermostats, duct replacement and repairs, and professional air duct cleaning. To find out more or schedule an appointment, get in touch with C & C Heating and Air Conditioning today.