For facilities managers, the change in season also ushers in the need for maintenance on HVAC units as businesses shift from cooling to heating. Regular maintenance is a key part of making sure an HVAC system is running optimally, but merely performing seasonal check-ins won’t protect your equipment against catastrophic failure. That’s a job for connected equipment, which has the power to transform equipment and energy management.
Rooftops are brutal environments, which makes depending on seasonal maintenance alone a game of roulette. Will a technician be available exactly when you need them, especially during the busy fall-to-winter transition? Will they be able to solve the problem before customers are uncomfortable or complaining? Pair this uncertainty with the possibility of unexpected downtime, and this situation can cause a lot of unnecessary stress. Connected equipment solutions, like Open Kitchen and SiteSage, eliminate these issues in a few ways.
Connected equipment constantly monitors the energy usage and temperatures of HVAC units to help guide maintenance technicians to make preventative repairs while they’re already onsite for seasonal checkups. By leveraging proactive text and email messages to your staff when there are equipment issues, you’re alerted to problems before they become catastrophic failures. These insights eliminate the need for costly repeat visits and prevent units from malfunctioning at inopportune times to ensure there’s no unwanted surprises. In addition, connected equipment can include not only control of HVAC systems, but control over lighting and other equipment, which leads to lower energy expenses, maintenance costs, and overall equipment downtime.
Solutions like Open Kitchen and SiteSage also offer an HVAC ‘fix list’, which prioritizes the most urgent issues that contribute to comfort problems for customers. Red alerts highlight the issues that need to be addressed now, while yellow alerts provide long-term visibility into issues that may not require immediate attention. Facilities operators are able to spot problems before they cause failure and, in turn, have the power to choose the most convenient time to fix those lower-priority snafus before they turn into complaints.
Connected equipment eliminates the stress and unwanted surprises that often pop up during seasonal equipment maintenance. With proactive monitoring, you save time and money, plus keep employees and customers comfortable. Interested in how connected equipment can improve the way your business operates? Connect with one of our experts to learn more.