Beware the Summer Saver
Do you remember the Enron years and experimentation with deregulated utilities, buying electricity over state lines that resulted in county wide brown outs ten years ago. I remember whole sections of communities losing power in the middle of the day. I remember traffic lights not working in the middle of the day. We had lots of service calls over air conditioners not working due to blown fuses those couple of years.
Fast forward to the 21st century and SDGE has a little program called the Summer Saver. The Summer Saver is designed to control energy usage during the summer during hot days. If you sign up for the saver, then SDGE comes out and installs a little box on the side of your air conditioner which will cut voltage to your air conditioner when they deem energy usage has hit its peak, so as not to have brown outs etc. They offer and undisclosed credit to your bill at the end of the year.
Be wary of this for a couple of reasons. First of all, if you have any processes that are critical to keep under a certain temperature like your server or some experiment that you may be doing, then I would refrain from this offer. Secondly, if your business is critical to keeping customers in the store or the conference room or wherever, you do not have any control as to when SDGE turns your air off. You may save a few bucks on your utility bill but you could lose a bunch more by customers remembering how warm your store is.
We’ve already had a customer call in and place a service call for their air not working. Our technician went out and found that the unit was off due to SDGE and the customer had to pay our service fee. If you’re a tenant in a multi-tenant building, then you may want to inquire of your landlord whether the units are on the summer saver before you call for service. The last thing you want to do is to be hot and bothered by spending money you didn’t need to.
We’re here to help. Give us a call on any of your hvac/r needs.
858-581-6868
The Thermostatic Equation
The world of thermostats has gotten so complex over the years that you need to hire a research scientist just to read the ninety page manual and understand all of the features. There are so many thermostats on the market today that it’s hard for us a/c guys in the industry to keep up with all the different kinds. Let me try to boil it down for you.
There are basically three levels of thermostats. You probably never see the old mercury style non programmable thermostats anymore because they have been outlawed due to the mercury bulb inside of them.
Most of these style thermostats were non-programmable as seen below.
The good news is that just because all thermostats now have a liquid crystal display doesn’t mean they are programmable. Lots of homeowners and small business do not like programmable stats. They just want to walk up and turn it on or off and adjust the temperature up and down with no headaches. There are many thermostats like this on the market and the lcd display is easy to read, easy to adjust and more accurate than a mercury bulb thermostat.
Your next level of thermostat gives you some programming options. These options are usually what is called a 5/2 programming function where you can program one set of on/off times and temperatures for Monday thru Friday and another set for the weekend. These are also great for homeowners and businesses. If your office is open only during the week, then you can program the stat to come on at 8:00am to 5:00 pm Monday thru Friday and not have it come on during the weekend. This way you don’t have to remember to turn the stat off when you leave the office on Fridays.
Your next level comes with all the bells and whistles. You can monitor outside air temp and humidity and wire remote sensors to it. You can program multiple start and stop times for any day of the week. You can even program in holidays and daylight savings time. These thermostats work great for customers that really rely on this type of information for their products and customers and energy efficiency.
Even better yet for any thermostat is you don’t have to worry about where the darn manual is filed. Most thermostat manufacturer’s have the programming manuals on their websites, so if you can’t find your manual at least you can look it up, download it and keep it handy on your hard drive. If you can look it up on the web, it might save you a $100 service call having a technician come out and reprogram it for you.
Happy programming! Be sure to rat out the guy that’s always hitting the buttons on the thermostat. Every building has one:)
Call today for your maintenance check up and a new thermostat!
858-581-6868
Condensation Emancipation
I know you’re thinking more air conditioning lingo and what the heck is he talking about this time? I’m talking about your condensate drain pan and piping. The air in your house, office or business is recirculated through the air conditioner. When the air conditioner is running, the recirculated air passes through the evaporator coil. The recirculated air is usually between seventy and eighty degrees and in a perfect world the temperature of your evaporator coil should be thirty five degrees. When the warm air hits the evaporator coil, the moisture in the air condenses into liquid water on the coil surface. This water is called condensate. The condensate water drips down into a pan, out the air conditioner and is piped away.
The only time you learn about this is when your condensate drain is clogged and its either getting the ceiling or carpet wet. A condensate overflow always leaves an unsightly stain that is difficult to remove.
There have been many attempts to alleviate this problem by air conditioning technicians in the past. The old school way is to install a pan underneath your air conditioner in order to collect any water from a clogged drain. This does not work well. The pan just keeps filling up with water until it gets stagnant and stinky and then you have a whole host of other problems to deal with.
Take a look at the picture below. You’ve probably seen a pipe like this sticking down from the ceiling or out the side of a building. This is called a secondary or overflow drain pipe and reroutes the water in case your drain gets clogged. The idea is that if and when someone sees water dripping that they will investigate and eventually call for service. This is also not the most reliable solution.
I recommend the condensate overflow switch. A lot of the newer units come with this as an option or as a main feature. If not, we can easily install one in the field. The condensate overflow switch is a sensor that mounts to the top of the drain pan inside your air conditioner. If water touches the sensor, it shuts the unit down. Your office becomes hot and stuffy and you call for service. This way there are no ceiling stains or carpet stains or buckets on the ground. It’s simple and easy to install. Depending on the application, the cost to install one of these is as low as $300.
You should also be having your air conditioner regularly maintained. During maintenance check ups, we always “clear the drain line” to make sure you won’t be having this problem
Call today for your maintenance check up and condensate overflow sensor! Keep those nasty stains and smelly water away!
858-581-6868
Belt Maintenance Saves You Money
Lighting is the number one energy user in commercial buildings. Unbeknownst to many, HVAC motors are the second biggest energy user in commercial buildings. Let’s take a typical air handler with a 20 horsepower motor running at full load at $.10/KWh. This little unit that is stuck in the guts of the building that no one seems to know where it is or what it does costs approximately $14,000 a year to operate. Did that get your attention? Now, you want to know where it is and what it does and why its costing so much money.
Without reinventing the wheel(couldn’t help myself), what kinds of things can we do to mitigate these costs? For starters, we’re going to assume the engineers designed the system properly. Secondly, we’re going to pass on upgrading the motors to hi-efficiency because that’s expensive right now. We’re going to look at the fan belts, sheaves and blower wheels.
When it comes to the fan belts, we’re going to replace any wrapped v-belts with raw edge v-belts. This simple change out will gain you 3-5% in efficiency. The belt needs to have the proper tension. You need to have 1/4″ play per foot length of belt between the motor sheave and blower pulley. Improper belt tensioning will lose you anywhere from 10 to 15% in efficiency. If you under tension belts, you will be replacing belts more frequently than necessary. If you overtighten belts, you damage the shaft and bearings. SOS service technicians are skilled and trained at adjusting the belt to the proper tension.
Believe it or not, the sheaves, which are made of steel, will wear down over time from the friction and heat from the fan belt. Worn and grooved sheaves do not hold the belt in place properly, contribute to uneven loading and slippage which translates into inefficiency and reduced horsepower. Regular maintenance inspections can help spot these problem areas where you can plan and shcedule repairs and replacements.
Lastly, there is the blower wheel itself. Blower wheels are prime areas for build up of dirt and dust. A simple cleaning of the blower will increase air flows back up to original design standards.
As you can see, simple regular maintenance can save you money overtime. Call today and get signed up for a maintenance contract!
858-581-6868
Dirty Filters
Take a look at this photograph. How many times have you been in someones office and looked up to see a dirty air conditioning grille or diffuser. It blackens the grilles, ceiling tiles, lights and worst of all this is what you’re breathing. It is an unsightly mess that you’ve got to get cleaned up. You’re not doing any maintenance at all. Why is that?
For a lot of people, it’s that they just don’t think of it. Most air conditioning equipment is out of sight and out of mind. You only notice the air conditioning when it’s not working, but by then it’s usually too late.
Let’s do a simple example and say that you’re a retail store open seven days a week from morning and into the evening. Having the store cool and comfortable is important because it helps keep customers in your business. You received a quote from the local a/c company on regular maintenance. Four filter changes a year came to a total of $500 and the service included a number of other maintenance items. You decided to forgo the maintenance because it was an unnecessary expense. I’ll just change the filter myself, you thought. However, in the past year the filter has not been changed by you or anyone else and the dust starts pouring into the store through your diffusers.
It’s memorial day weekend and you’ve sent out lots of advertising. You’ve got a big sale going on and it’s going to be a money maker. At 1:00pm in the afternoon, the air conditioning goes down and the store goes to 85 degrees in the next half hour. Customers are not staying in the store because it’s too hot. You put in an emergency call to your service company and they say it going to be about three hours before a tech can arrive. The tech arrives and has to do the maintenance on the unit before he can even diagnose the problem. You are now paying for low cost maintenance at emergency overtime rates. The tech reports to you that he had to change the filters, wash the coils, clear the drain. Since the unit was so dirty, the compressor was running at high amps and looks like it may have overheated a couple of times. We’ll see how it goes, but it might end up needing to be replaced due to internal damage. The bill the tech gives you is for $832 and the compressor if it fails will be about $1500 or so your told.
I have seen this situation many times over the years. Is it avoidable? Sure. I liken it to changing the oil on your car. You definitely don’t want to fry your engine, so you make sure those oil changes get done. The same goes for your air conditioning systems. They need periodic maintenance also.
Let us help you out. Call and make an appointment today. 858-581-6868
Maintenance at The Lofts
Systems Operation Services was awarded the HVAC maintenance contract at The Lofts 777 6th Avenue in San Diego, CA. The contract is being managed by NN Jaeschke of San Diego.
SOS To Do HVAC Work at Hometown Realty
Systems Operation Services was awarded the air conditioning work at the tenant improvement being done by White Construction for Hometown Realty in San Marcos, CA. This will be our first project with White Construction and we’re looking forward to working with them.
Good News!
We have been put on the preferred vendor’s list for The Home Depot. HD will be replacing all of the equipment at fourteen stores throughout California and we will be bidding on all of them. Hopefully, we’ll win a few.
Retrocommissioning, what is it?
SOS is here to help you with this great program offered by SDGE. Read on about great ways to save energy and lower your utility bill.
• Retrocommissioning (RCx) is a cost-effective process for optimizing building performance. Studies show that RCx typically saves owners 5 – 20% of total building energy costs.
• Improvements are usually inexpensive to install and have a simple payback from energy savings alone averaging 2 years or less. Most improvements can be achieved from controls changes alone, with no need for expensive equipment retrofits.
• The benefits from RCx translate into increased profitability by reducing operating expenses, increasing net operating income (NOI) and providing quicker returns
on investment, which can all lead to a higher appraised building value.
• By participating in the San Diego RCx Program, you can improve your bottom line and your building’s operations without spending time or money to search out just the right firm. The Program’s experienced engineers specialize in detecting and correcting inefficient building operations.
What does the San Diego RCx program offer?
• A no-cost building screening study to determine if the building is a good candidate for RCx.
• Financial assistance for:
- An in-depth RCx investigation that identifies specific O&M improvements
to mechanical equipment, lighting, refrigeration, and related controls.
- Implementing measures that save you energy and money.
• Training building operators in maintaining improved building operations and
utilizing updated system documentation.
• A pre- and post-project energy benchmark will be established using the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Performance Rating system available through the ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager program.
Want to know if your building qualifies?
S.O.S. Completes Work at Vons Coronado
S.O.S. recently completed all of the air conditioning work at the Vons grocery store in Coronado, CA. The store was originally built in the 1960’s and had never been remodeled. The citizens of Coronado had been waiting for this to happen for years. Finally, their dreams come true with a great deli and bakery added to the store. We replaced a fifteen ton Trane gas electric air conditioner. We added two ductless split system air conditioners. We installed new kitchen hoods and ventilation to the new deli and bakery.
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