Lower fixed costs and reduced risk are two important goals for every business.
Shareholders love both because reductions in these areas will boost profitability.
Bosses and workers love them, too, because expense reductions make every employee look good!
And insurers especially appreciate anything your business can do to lower risks that can later lead to expensive insurance claims payouts.
But what does either have to do with commercial furnace maintenance? Find out now!
How Commercial Furnace Maintenance Lowers Overhead Expenses
At first glance, scheduling corporate furnace maintenance might seem to lead to increased overhead expenses.
After all, your HVAC technician isn’t going to come out and perform this service for free.
So how can paying for a furnace safety inspection and tune-up cause your overhead expenses to be lower?
For the purposes of our example here, we will use the standard annual energy expenses for the typical Canadian household as an example (since no similar statistic currently exists for Canadian business).
Most homes consume around $2,358 worth of energy annually. Sixty-four percent of that, or around $1,500, is for heating (61 percent) and cooling (3 percent).
So this is where we will start looking at your potential cost savings from scheduling annual furnace maintenance.
1. Maintenance tune-ups lower heating bills
Would you like to boost furnace efficiency by 15 percent? (Who wouldn’t, right?)
According to Energy Star, just ordering your furnace tune-up and maintenance service can do it because this service includes blower motor maintenance. Cleaning and servicing the blower motor is tied to an instant 15 percent efficiency boost for both heating and cooling.
Going back to our example above, using the $1,500 spent annually on temperature control, we can calculate that 15 percent of $1,500 is $150. So you just saved $150 by getting your blower motor serviced.
You can plug in your own numbers to see what your business might save by boosting energy efficiency by 15 percent.
2. Maintenance tune-ups lower repair bills
If there is one thing no manager likes to see come across their desk is a whopping furnace repair bill.
But the majority of major problems that need repair don’t start out that way. They start out as small fixable issues.
Take the blower motor example above. A replacement blower motor can easily run you $500-plus, an extra expense that timely maintenance may prevent.
The average repair bill starts at around $150, which is what most furnace repair technicians will charge for service calls. Then labour and parts costs may run anywhere from $75 (flame sensor) to $2,000 (evaporator coil) depending on what needs replacing.
3. Maintenance tune-ups lower health insurance claims bills
Employees who call in sick automatically raise overhead. They reduce productivity in their workgroup and across your company. They typically also generate health insurance claims.
And often they pass along their germs to other workers, raising costs across the workgroup.
Many winter illnesses can be traced back to simple allergens like dust and dust mites, bacteria, fungi like mould and mildew, and airborne viruses.
Having your furnace (and filter) cleaned and serviced can remove the majority of trapped matter that transmits illness and raises next year’s health insurance premiums.
How Commercial Furnace Maintenance Reduces Risk
There is no doubt it feels good to report on your annual performance review all the ways you saved the company money. This is golden promotion material – no doubt about it.
But there is a darker side to consider as well.
You may not be able to state with assurance that you personally prevented your building from catching fire by scheduling commercial furnace maintenance, but it is definitely implied in the statistics.
Nationwide, the Ministry of the Solicitor General of Ontario tells us that as many as 27 percent of all fires can be traced back to these causes: electrical/mechanical, heating/cooling, and appliances.
Some of these fires caused fatalities. Many caused extreme structural damage at high financial cost. Something as simple as a clogged and dirty furnace filter can readily ignite in the presence of an overheated blower motor, loose electrical connection or malfunctioning pilot light.
Here in Canada, running the furnace in winter is a non-negotiable necessity. Not only is it part of providing your employees with a safe and habitable work environment, but it also improves morale, productivity and (to a degree) health.
But overworking an under-serviced furnace is directly linked to an increased risk of a structural fire. There is no level of “acceptable risk” when it comes to fire.
What to Expect During Commercial Furnace Maintenance Service
Here at Shipton’s Heating & Cooling, we are proud to offer our commercial and residential customers time- and money-saving protection plans that add value to taking a preventive approach to furnace maintenance and operating safety.
During our preventive safety inspection and tune-up service, our technicians will give your commercial furnace a thorough inspection, cleaning and tune-up. We will
- thoroughly clean and inspect the exterior and interior of all HVAC components
- evaluate the condition of ductwork and integrated features
- clean, tighten, lubricate and service (as needed and applicable) all major parts (blower motor, coils, connections, drains, heat exchanger, pilot light, etc.)
- clean and/or change the furnace air filter
- check all fuel points (electrical wiring, plugs, burners, pilot lights, fuel connections, refrigerant levels, heat exchanger)
- recommend minor repairs as may be needed (nothing will be done without your sign-off)
- run a thermostat cycle test to check temperature accuracy and recalibrate as needed
- check the operation of all controls
- make recommendations for additional efficiency gains and energy savings
Get in Touch
Is your commercial furnace overdue for an annual safety inspection and preventive maintenance service? We can help!
Remember, we also offer our popular 24/7 emergency repair service. To schedule immediate after-hours, nights, weekends and holiday service, visit us here.
Contact us online or give us a call at 289-670-1728.
