Most commercial air conditioning systems are located on the roof of buildings, which makes it easy for people in the business to take the system for granted. If you can’t see the AC itself, it’s hard to tell if the system is getting decrepit and old the way you can with the condenser unit sitting outside a house.
It’s important to know when it’s time to schedule commercial AC service in Cibolo, TX to replace aging air conditioning units. You don’t want to keep the system running until it completely fails: that not only risks causing downtime for your business, it can contribute to much higher energy bills and unnecessary repair calls.
We’re going to look at ways you can get ahead of a failed commercial cooling system and schedule a timely air conditioning replacement with our technicians.
System age
The standard rooftop AC has a life expectancy of 15 to 20 years, although if a unit doesn’t have regular maintenance it may fail years earlier. But if you’ve kept up with routine maintenance, you can probably expect your commercial air conditioner to last more than 15 years.
What if you don’t know the age of the system? It may have already been in place when your business moved in. If you have access to the system cabinet, you’ll find either the manufacture date on the plate on the cabinet or a serial number that encodes it (call the manufacturer to find out the age). If you can’t access the air conditioner (don’t go on the roof if it isn’t safe), look up paperwork to see if you can find the serial number.
High energy costs
When a commercial air conditioner reaches the last one or two years of its service life, it will start to experience a severe drop in its energy efficiency. This will cause energy costs to rise. Don’t ignore a sudden bump in your electrical usage during periods when you often use the AC—these can point toward a system that’s heading for a failure in the near future, especially if it’s more than 15 years old.
Uneven cooling
If your commercial facility is large enough to have multiple vents in different rooms, uneven cooling from the AC is often warning that the system is losing cooling capacity. Central areas may still receive sufficient cooling, but more distant rooms will be warmer. If you have workers, customers, clients, etc. complaining about stuffy and hot areas, it’s worthwhile to have technicians check on the AC to see if it needs to be replaced or if it can be repaired.
Loud operation
If the air conditioning unit is close enough to your business that you can hear it when it runs, you can listen for louder sounds coming from it as a warning it’s starting to fail. You may even be able to hear these sounds coming down through the vents.
Have technicians inspect the unit
The best way to get solid answers about when to retire an old AC is to have experts examine it. Our technicians will look over your commercial cooling equipment and give honest answers about how many more effective years you can expect from it.
At Thayer Air Conditioning, your comfort is our #1 priority! Schedule your commercial cooling needs with us today.
