Facility Management touches several fields in which expert consultation is recommended and in many ways required. Electricians, Plumbers, and HVAC technicians are just a few fields that the common Facility Manager will come across when handling operations of a commercial building.

When it comes to acclimating building through climate control it is critical to balance out several realities present in the decision of how to acclimate a building. First, it is important to understand that the HVAC systems installed and managed need to be functional year round. Whether in a seasons that requires heating or cool it is important to know that your units are going to withstand seasonal changes year round.

Preventive Maintenance, or PM Agreements, with legitimate HVAC companies is a requirement for every commercial building unless dealing with several hundred thousands square feet of real estate where a licensed HVAC technician on staff may be required. Quoting three or more local companies is ideal when choosing the best candidate to serve your given building or campus.

If the units are functional, and the building engineers have signed off that the amount of units installed are adequate for climate control, then the next step is finding a thermostat that is going to work with the cycles of business operations. Nowadays, wifi capable thermostats are the go to when shopping. Another note is to ensure that whichever thermostat is available is also readily able to be purchased in large quantities. Purchasing a brand new top of thermostat, or a brand new model of thermostat can be risky because there may be underlying issues not worked out by the manufacturer.

The best thermostats are the ones that are both wifi capable (meaning that they can be viewed remotely) and also five plus years on the market, so there can be a better guarantee that bugs or annoying nuances have been worked out. Also, similar to video game consoles, by waiting two plus year it allows the cost to balance out to avoid being a part of the first wave of purchasers who are essentially allowing the company to break even on the investment for producing the new model.

Touch screen thermostats and lockable thermostats are also a major benefit when it comes to deterring unwanted users from accessing and changing the settings of thermostats designed to acclimate certain environments. Setting up training and offering lessons to those interested is a great practice to prevent gatekeeping from these technologies and operations. The overall flow of day to day operations will be much more seamless if several trained persons are capable of accessing and programming thermostats dependent on needs.

Now, when it comes to understanding the function of HVAC systems try to imagine that the units providing climate control are the lungs of the building. Just as all people breath in and breath out, so should the HVAC systems properly acclimate and circulate airflow to prevent stagnant air, overworking certain units, and most importantly reducing utility bills.

Comfort is absolutely the priority for any Facility Manager responsible for climate control inside a workplace, but there are limits and reasonable windows are temperature that go beyond comfort. Traditionally 68 degrees Fahrenheit to 76 degrees Fahrenheit are the recommended temperatures for a commercial space. If cutting maintenance costs it could be widened to 65 degrees Fahrenheit to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Thirteen degrees is a big window, but depending on where the building is geographically it is still a major win for science to be able to climate control any indoor space. Long gone are the days of wood burning heaters to stay warm and burrowing in self made holes to keep cool.

68 degrees to 76 degrees is the most reasonable for comfort, but even some commercial businesses prefer an even tighter window. Aside from grocery stores, or industrial plant need that require freezers and precise humidity control, the average commercial office space relies on industry standard Roof Top Units or Split Systems to do the job. If the preferred cooling temperature is 68 degrees to 72 degrees it can be managed through consistent and constant acclimation, but it should be budgeted accordingly because ultimately it will cost.

When it comes to programming a thermostat, try to keep entire floors, wings, and if possible the whole building within the same range of temperatures. This will prevent unwanted airflow, drafting, and air pressure issues from arising in mysterious ways. The best practice is to decide which range of comfort is best suited for your particular tenants or staff and then to acclimate the entire building to that setting.

Reducing maintenance costs and upkeep will be present year by year as long as a credible HVAC company is performing required quarterly or biannual maintenance, and doors/windows are not left open for long periods of time regularly. Obviously, consult a professional prior to setting or programming all of the thermostats so utility bills can be measured accordingly year by year.

The life cycle of each unit is dependent on the routine preventive maintenance, and the only way to try and guarantee year round functionality is to have the system monitored by a Facility Manager on a weekly, monthly, and at a minimum quarterly basis. The goal should be for the Facility Manager to catch an issue before a tenant, or guest. Part of sustaining and maintaining irresistible environments is sustaining and maintaining distraction free environments. Temperature discomfort can be a major distraction for the modern person.

The biggest cost for a commercial building is when the building has to be heated ten plus degrees or cooled down ten plus degrees. Some people believe that the best practice is to have an occupied schedule and then an unoccupied schedule. If living in an area that does not experience major temperature changes, then this is a reasonable approach, but if the building is located in a place that experience major temperature and or humidity changes, then the most cost efficient approach is to keep the entire building acclimated within a range of seven or more degrees.

The most cost efficient method to reduce utility bills is to not use the units at all. Keep the units off, permanently. Since this is a sure way to create potential humidity issues, odor issues, and discomfort, it does not seem that this is a viable option. With that, keeping the building acclimated is the best way to create consistency year to year along with formatting extremely accurate numbers for budgeting which will ultimately make the accounting department and the stakeholders of the business very happy.

Another major benefit of keeping the commercial space acclimated with consistency across the board is that it will prevent the psychological trick of thinking one is too hot or too cold. There are countless stories of people moving from one room to another and just a degree difference can lead to a slew of complaining. Having the entire building acclimated to the same window of degrees will reduce these complaints.

Also, another major benefit of keeping the commercial space acclimated is that it allow the Facility Manager to act efficiently and quickly when it comes to troubleshooting a potential issue. If a room is not within the range, then the building may be able to support adjacent rooms more efficiently by slowly drafting towards the unacclimated area. If a thermostat within a room is showing out of range, then it can be quickly assessed that there is either an issue with the thermostat itself or the unit.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars are lost across any given state that makes outcalls to HVAC companies to resolve issues that are not truly issues. Programming thermostats incorrectly, batteries not being changed out, coin cell batteries not being replaced, thermostats competing to acclimate adjacent areas, post refurbishment or renovation issues etc can all result in countless business calling in expensive technicians to resolve problems that a college kid could figure out as long as there is consistency in the system.

In summary, a wifi controlled thermostat, preferably touch screen, set to an agreed upon window of degrees from the businesses’ leadership to best fit the environment of the business, and then scheduling the entire building to be acclimated to that window of degrees is the best way to maintain and sustain irresistible environments. Being able to monitor consistency year by year will allow for subtle corrections to be made depending on budget or unforeseen requirements implemented beyond the control of the Facility Manager.

Once again, consult a professional to figure out which window of degrees is best for your business. Also, if electronics or electrical equipment is present and in plentiful supply, then a lower set of degrees may be required to prevent overheating, but a licensed engineer would need to be consulted if involving that type of setup.

As Always, God Bless,

James Arthur Ferguson