Going to the doctor for your annual check-up is smart because even if you feel well, the examination can catch problems before they become serious. One certainly would like to know and take small steps to control high blood pressure or cholesterol which you may not “feel”. Similarly, your operational systems, and specifically those involved in energy may appear to be operating well. You press the ON button, and the equipment works. However, energy systems degenerate over time and they need regular check-ups to not only continue reliable operation, but also to know when to replace them.
Why you need to check on your energy system regularly:
Hard work and time. Your systems that use energy, like your boilers, chillers, etc., work hard, over long periods of time. And in most cases, under far from ideal situations, such as high temperatures. Assume that even though they are operating proficiently (delivering to you the heating, cooling, light, mechanical power you need), that they lose efficiency and effectiveness over time. Therefore, it is a good idea to give your systems an annual checkup every year by a professional in the field. Ensure that the components of the equipment are still in good operating shape and there is minimal degradation. Besides the individual components looking and operating properly, look into the system as a whole. Is it working together effectively? This includes controls. Your equipment should be operating well together with one another. Again, the annual check should include runs of your entire system with proper monitoring readings to ensure that not only is the ultimate job done by the equipment (i.e., heat or cool a space, etc.), but that the individual components are regulating matters properly. Therefore, for a boiler system, one needs to monitor temperature, air and fuel feed rates, O2 and CO2 levels to ensure all is in order.
Your changing needs. You purchased that equipment for certain anticipated needs. Are these assumptions still true? Did the growth that, perhaps, you planned for come through? Perhaps you even contracted (certainly true for many in the age of COVID). And of course, changes in operation must be implemented suddenly (also, in many cases, because of COVID). So therefore, it may be necessary to change the way you operate equipment to adjust for changes. Is your equipment ready to change its operation to adjust to necessary changes? This is another reason to have a “checkup”.
Why wait for a checkup? Monitor key activities. Nobody wants to be poked with needles to take blood and all. But are there devices to monitor key factors to indicate potential problems even before a checkup? Consider installing technologies to monitor factors, such as fuel usage and energy generation continually throughout the year to assess the effectiveness of your equipment. This can enable you to perform repairs or replacements of certain equipment before they “go down”, which always seem to happen when we least can afford it, right? This is another example of an investment to reduce the risk of problems and failures down the road like regular health checkups achieve, as well.
So as the heating season is wrapping up, consider giving your equipment a “checkup” shortly and take a holistic view of that system one takes for granted, the equipment that uses energy to supply, heating, cooling, light, movement, etc.
CCES has the experts to help you manage your energy systems, whether it is auditing to determine ways to save energy usage and cost or the upkeep of your equipment. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.