If a building is to be comfortable and provide a healthy environment for its occupants, it needs more than just strong architecture and quality construction. It also needs to have an HVAC system that keeps the air inside properly heated or cooled under the appropriate conditions. From temperature control to ventilation and the health benefits that come with it, there are several advantages to a building with a quality HVAC system. If you’re a building contractor, you may find it beneficial to choose a qualified HVAC company and work with them on a long-term basis. Read on to learn how HVAC partnerships benefit building contractors, and how you can find a service to partner with for your next project.
What do HVAC Professionals do that You Can’t do by Yourself?
Lots, Actually. The most compelling argument for partnering with an HVAC specialist is to consider how challenging your work would be without one. Imagine for a moment that you’re set on providing an HVAC system for the occupants of your building, but don’t have a specialist on hand to carry out the necessary work. It would then fall to you to take care of things such as sizing the unit, installing it properly, and caring for it over the course of its lifetime. If that doesn’t sound like much work to you, you might not understand the factors involved. Let’s take a quick look at what goes into these processes.
Sizing an HVAC System: A Simple Name for a Not-so-Simple Task
Sizing an air conditioner is a complicated process. The basic idea sounds simple enough: you simply choose a system with a Btu rating appropriate for your building. However, determining what constitutes an appropriate Btu rating for any given space is a thoroughly involved task involving a considerable amount of math. There’s even a formula for sizing called the Manual J load calculation—which is so complex that most HVAC contractors don’t make its details public, out of fear that customers will try it themselves and make errors that could cost them thousands.
Installation, Maintenance and More: The Value of an HVAC Service Technician
Sizing isn’t the only hard part of an HVAC technician’s work, either. The installation process itself requires specific skills that take years to acquire and hone for professional use. HVAC technicians have to know how to lay ductwork or adapt existing duct infrastructure to a new system in specific cases. They need to know how to work with refrigerant, keep ventilation areas clear, and much more. Their work isn’t simple, and should never be taken for granted.
Alternatives to Formal Partnerships (and Why They Don’t Always Work)
Maybe you don’t doubt the importance of using a quality HVAC technician for your work, but you’re wondering why a partnership is important. After all, couldn’t you just use your own team of in-house HVAC service professionals? While this is certainly an option you could pursue, it’s worth asking yourself how likely it is to be cost-effective. Having your own in-house HVAC staff might seem at first like the most straightforward way to cover all your bases, but the likelihood that you could make enough use of them to cover the expense of employing them on a constant basis are slim.
What if, instead of hiring a full-time staff of HVAC service technicians, you simply called a service company whenever you needed one? Maybe the idea of a partnership makes you feel uncomfortable because you’re worried that it will saddle you with high-maintenance responsibilities, and you prefer a “pay-as-you-go” kind of approach. The logic behind this attitude is understandable, but the logistics of implementing it prove problematic.
The Advantages of Partnering with a Company You Trust
A partnership guarantees that the company you choose will always be available when you need them. That means they’ll remember each of your projects and their unique needs from visit to visit, providing you with a more consistent level of service during the course of your relationship. Without the security that a partnership provides, you may have to choose different service providers whenever you need assistance—and the time they spend learning the intricacies of your system is time you probably don’t want to waste.
When you partner with an HVAC specialist, you get the best of both worlds. You can avoid paying someone full time for work you’ll only need occasionally, but you can retain the help of professionals who build on their relationship with you over time and use it to make their work more effective. In this way, HVAC partnerships benefit building contractors by saving them money and time. Find a licensed contractor in your area who is willing to partner with your business, and you’ll be able to count on better air quality and climate control in your buildings.