Most of us are aware that if we don’t change the oil in our car regularly, somewhere down the road we will end up with a very expensive repair bill at the auto mechanic’s shop. However, many of us may be less aware of similar issues concerning the heating and cooling equipment in our home or place of work. Whether an air filter needs to be changed or the coil needs to be cleaned, there are items that need regular maintenance—or the system will likely fatigue, causing increased energy bills, and require a sooner-than-necessary replacement expense.
For the past three years we have been working for a customer that manages the HVAC maintenance for about 100 retail stores across the country. We service one of these stores, which is located here in southern Oregon. We carry out a very customized, and aggressive, maintenance plan for the heating and cooling equipment in this store. It differs from our standard maintenance programs in the number of check-ups we complete in a year, and in the types of procedures we perform.
This type of tailor fit plan is paying off significantly for our customer—throughout all the stores they manage. In the first year of implementing this plan they were able to show an overall decrease of 39 percent in repair maintenance costs, and another 27 percent decrease the following year. Other benefits of this maintenance plan include increased system efficiency and reliability, along with improved employee productivity—due to the better health and comfort of the air quality.
So, while many of us might normally think a customized product would necessitate additional expense, there is actually some great saving potential to be had with a tailored HVAC maintenance plan. And, we bet that it would reward your budget considerably more than any tailor-made suit could.