Unit Ventilator Cleaning is not only good for the health of the students and teachers as noted in the previous blogs, it has many other benefits for the School District as well.
Two very important benefits include:
- Energy Savings
- Reduced equipment downtime and repair costs
Energy Savings – It is amazing how even a small amount of dirt buildup on the fan and cooling/heating coils can negatively impact the efficiency of the unit ventilator.
The Middle School Project that our company just completed in Chester County had units that ranged from moderate to heavily contamination and dirt buildup. Many of the units were so impacted that the air flow could barely be felt, even with your hand directly on top of the discharge diffuser!!
These unit ventilators with moderate to heavy dirt buildup had an estimated 50% to 75% reduction in operating efficiency.
As noted previously, dirty equipment causes poor air flow and significantly reduces heat transfer of the coil which can equate to huge energy losses in the Unit Ventilator operation.
Then multiplying this “per unit” energy loss by 30, 40, 50 units in each school and the costs become much more significant.Let’s take it one step further…Now multiply by 5, 10, 15 schools in a school district and it can add up to an alarming amount of energy loss!
The Director of Maintenance Operations at the Chester County School project commented that they have already seen dramatic energy savings in an Elementary School we completed last year. Based on the condition of the Middle School units, the School District should see an even more significant cost savings than the Elementary School.
Another very important benefit of cleaning unit ventilators regularly – Reduced down time and equipment repairs.
A service call can typically cost $200 to $500 for a simple repair. Replacing burned out motors, fan bearings, compressors, and electrical components can run into the thousands. Keeping the unit ventilators running clean is imperative to minimizing service calls and repair costs.
Dirty units also lead to condensation problems, which if not corrected can lead to mold growth. Mold remediation is not typically part of a maintenance budget. So, from a budget standpoint, taking cost effective cleaning steps to prevent mold growth is very sound investment.
Bottom Line – Clean equipment runs better, lasts longer, and has less equipment failures. Repairs are expensive and drain money from maintenance budgets. Properly cleaning units and keeping them clean can literally save thousands of dollars. Money that can be put to much better use !
The next blog will discuss the “dreaded” Public Relations issues that are caused by very preventable Indoor Air Quality Issues.
