Preventive Maintenance, the #1 Building Energy Efficiency Measure

Preventive maintenance (PM) is the regular and routine maintenance of equipment and assets in order to keep them running and prevent any costly unplanned downtime from unexpected equipment failure. A successful PM strategy requires planning and scheduling maintenance of equipment before a problem occurs. A good preventive maintenance plan also involves keeping records of past inspections and the servicing of equipment.

Why is PM usually overlooked by building owners, tenants, and service contractors? The value is poorly understood and poorly communicated. Recent research by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) 2/3 of NY businesses are reactive, 16% schedule something, but only 18% deploy Preventive Maintenance.

For your vehicles, how many of you adhere to the manufacturers’ recommended maintenance schedule? How many of you at least do the basics to maintain your car? Your HVAC systems run far longer and more often than your car! So why don’t people maintain their HVAC similarly? We all need to ask these questions.

The fact is that if building owners and tenants do not deploy PM, they will not achieve the equipment manufacturer’s energy efficiency specifications. Without PM, efficiency decreases 5-7% per year. With PM, efficiency decreases ONLY ~1% to 2% per year. On average, performance typically deteriorates by 35% over the life of the equipment which, for most systems, is considered to be ~17 years. Furthermore, PM is frequently a prerequisite for building systems retrofit solutions to improve energy efficiency.

Learn more from our insight on The High Cost of Doing Nothing.

COOLNOMIX is a retrofit solution built to improve energy efficiency. It functions as a compressor controller by managing the compressor and shutting it off when it is working excessively, using less energy. By embracing preventive maintenance and leveraging innovative technologies like COOLNOMIX, building stakeholders can ensure the long-term efficiency and reliability of their cooling systems while reducing energy consumption and environmental impact.