What is the Difference Between Commercial and Residential HVAC?

When you’re looking for a reliable company to take care of your commercial HVAC system, don’t trust just anyone. Although your business’ HVAC system serves the same purpose as your heating and cooling system at home, there are some key commercial and residential HVAC differences that you should be aware of. While it may be easy to call a number you see on an HVAC company’s truck, doing your research first makes sure they will service commercial HVAC systems as well as residential ones.

The team at Novak Heating, Air, and Duct Cleaning explains the differences between residential and commercial HVAC systems and why it’s important to only trust qualified pros on your business’ heating and cooling systems.

6 Differences Between Commercial and Residential HVAC Systems

HVAC is not a one-size-fits-all kind of industry. Systems are often built custom with a team of mechanical engineers to create the optimal comfort experience. Your home may have a different HVAC system than your neighbor’s house, just like one business might have different HVAC needs than another business down the street. If you are looking for a commercial HVAC systems company, make sure they are experienced in dealing with these types of systems because there are many differences between residential and commercial systems.

1 – Location

When you have a business, you want to make as much use of the floor space as possible, and using a room to house a furnace can be a costly expense. Most commercial HVAC systems are mounted on rooftops. This is also because larger commercial HVAC systems are noisier than residential models. By placing these systems on the roof, you eliminate noise pollution and save floor space.

2 – Size

The size of your home’s HVAC system is based proportionally to the home’s size. However, commercial HVAC systems are so large, they require more space. It’s not just the units themselves that are larger. Commercial HVAC systems have much larger components that demand more space. If you wanted to make a large hardware store comfortable, it would take dozens of small residential HVAC systems to match the power of one commercial unit.

3 – Complexity

Although they might be the same size, a factory might have different climate control needs than a big box store. A commercial building that manufactures materials will have different needs than a warehouse storing perishable foods. That is, businesses need to run at a cooler or hotter temperature inside to preserve the materials or to make a room colder to prevent the factory equipment from overheating. Many commercial properties require different temperature zones. There are many complex factors that go into designing commercial HVAC systems.

4 – Drainage

A residential HVAC system contains one drainage pan to eliminate condensation. Commercial HVAC systems contain multiple pipes and pans to create a drainage system to ensure complete evaporation and eliminate the possibility of overflowing. These large and complex drainage systems require planning and careful installation.

5 – Manufacturing

Residential units are usually a split system, with one inside and the other outside. You cannot expand or add to your home’s heating and cooling systems, you can only replace them. A commercial HVAC unit is designed to be modular. Both systems are often housed in one unit and can be easily added upon. Commercial properties often adapt and conform to the business operating within them. One year a building might be a grocery store and the next year it might be a gym. The HVAC system requirements for these different kinds of businesses affect how the building should be heated and cooled, so the HVAC system needs to be easily changed.

6 – Maintenance Requirements

Because a commercial system is much larger and much more intricate, it’s more likely parts will break and things will need to be repaired. You may find that you need maintenance and repairs more frequently on a commercial system than on a residential system and that these repairs can cost much more. It’s important to hire certified technicians that are familiar with the complex nature of your commercial HVAC system. Experienced commercial technicians use state of the art equipment to troubleshoot the problems. Highly trained professional technicians make sure your system is running as efficiently as possible and can make repairs quickly.

Trust Novak With Your Cedar Rapids Commercial HVAC Systems

Both businesses and residential properties can trust their commercial properties in Cedar Rapids to Novak Heating, Air, and Duct Cleaning. We have experienced technicians and the right certifications to handle both kinds of systems. We provide quality installation, maintenance, and repairs to make sure that your commercial HVAC system runs smoothly and keeps your employees and customers comfortable. Contact us today to learn more about our commercial HVAC system services.

5 Benefits of Switching to a Smart Thermostat

You may have heard about smart thermostat systems and are wondering if they’re really worth the hype. The team at Novak Heating, Air, and Duct Cleaning lists some of our favorite benefits of switching to a smart thermostat. You won’t just see reductions in your energy bills, these devices also add convenience, control, and energy efficiency to your home.

How Do Smart Thermostats Compare to Older Models?

Programmable thermostats have been considered a helpful tool for energy conservation in American homes for many years. An estimated 25 million U.S. households have a programmable thermostat installed. However, just having a programmable thermostat in your home isn’t enough. In order to reap the financial benefits, you need to learn how to create schedules and program your thermostat to work for you.

According to the Energy Information Administration’s most recent Residential Energy Consumption Survey in 2015, approximately 76.8 million U.S. households use central air conditioning systems, but only 48.4 million of those homes have programmable thermostats. Furthermore, only 14.1 million of these households program their thermostat. Of these households, studies indicate varying use of thermostat settings and energy-saving strategies. Frankly, most homeowners don’t know how to effectively program their thermostats.

For this reason, recent technological developments have improved upon programmable thermostats to provide additional benefits. Wi-Fi thermostats allow for remote temperature adjustments so users can change temperatures without physically being at their thermostats, if the settings aren’t effective, savings do not result. Smart thermostats make adjusting the temperature settings much easier and more innovative so you don’t need to find your thermostat manual to figure out how to set a schedule.

Smart Thermostat Benefits

Besides being easy to control, smart thermostats come with a variety of other benefits that make sense. When you make the switch, you’ll notice a number of smart thermostat benefits, such as:

1 – Increased Energy Savings

Smart thermostats are much easier to program than other thermostats. Most smart thermostats come with an easy-to-use app that allows you to set schedules throughout the day from your phone or tablet. If you’re at work, your home’s temperature doesn’t need to be as warm, otherwise, you’re paying to heat an empty house. If you love coming home to a nice warm house, you can set up a schedule for the heating system to start raising the temperature during your commute. By lowering your temperature while you are away you’ll notice the energy savings right away on your utility bill.

2 – Easy To Monitor Energy Usage

Smart thermostats record data regarding household energy consumption. This information can be viewed by logging into the corresponding mobile app or online portal. The data provided by switching to smart thermostat models can help you visualize the positive impacts of energy conservation and help you identify areas where improvements can be made.

3 – Geofencing

Instead of programming a schedule yourself, many smart thermostats offer geofencing technology to ensure your home is always at the perfect temperature when you arrive. Using your mobile phone’s location and making observations of your schedule, the thermostat can identify when you are headed home and make temperature adjustments just before arrival to return your rooms to a comfortable temperature when you walk in.

4 – Maintenance Reminders

Switching to a smart thermostat model helps you stay on top of maintenance and repairs. Your smart thermostat constantly monitors HVAC system energy use and can detect changes in consumption. Through the thermostat face or mobile app, it can alert you to the need for maintenance such as filter changes, or notify you when energy consumption has increased, which can indicate a malfunction that requires HVAC repair.

5 – Remote Access

Do you have teenagers that stay home alone and adjust the thermostat without permission? With remote access, you can get mobile alerts to see when your thermostat’s temperature settings have been changed. Then, from your phone, you can change them back. If you go on vacation and forget to adjust the thermostat before you leave, with your phone, you can lower the temperature on your smart thermostat to help you save energy while you’re away.

Smart Thermostats from Novak Heating & Cooling

If you’re thinking of installing a smart thermostat in your Hiawatha area home to save money by reducing energy costs, give Novak Heating & Cooling a call! We offer a great selection of new smart thermostats to ensure compatibility with your home’s HVAC system and provide the comfort control and convenience you desire. Contact us today to learn more about how a smart thermostat can help lower your home’s energy usage.