As a building owner, one of the bigger decisions you will face involves how to address issues with your HVAC system. Should you repair it or replace it?
You may be tempted at first to replace the system with something newer, shinier, and more efficient. People do it every day in other areas of their lives – mobile phones, clothes, applianc...
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Let’s imagine you set your office computer or printer to “sleep mode” before leaving work for the day. Yes, it’s still plugged in, but you’re saving energy, right?
Not necessarily.
Electronic devices worldwide waste about $80 billion annually, largely because of the blind faith users place in their devices’...
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It’s no secret that it takes a significant amount of time, money and effort to maintain a commercial building. When budgets tighten, facility managers must do more with less, performing what must feel like miracles to keep systems operating properly.
In these instances, facility managers look for ways to reduce spending, and that sometimes...
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Building Automation Systems have existed for years, maintaining indoor temperatures, managing schedules and manipulating lighting. They are good at what they do.
We entered a new era of technology in the last decade, and with that, BAS capabilities have increased exponentially. Now is a great time to revisit your system to see if you are utilizi...
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Another hot and humid Kansas summer has passed, and now you've set your sights on cooler weather. Preparing your commercial buildings and facilities for the cold differs from spring and summer programs in many ways. Follow these basic maintenance tips to ensure that your building is ready for seasonal changes.
Inspect Heating Systems
Main...
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A building automation system (BAS) consists of sensors and controllers connected by a centralized network that allows commercial facilities to both monitor and control their systems, including mechanical, security and environmental. A BAS is a great solution for managing your building’s energy use year-round, and during the hot Kansas summers...
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With college students returning to campuses this month, facility leaders can expect to see a significant increase in energy consumption.
How much? While every college and university differs, we know that lighting, HVAC and water heating account for 84 percent of energy consumption on campuses in the U.S., according to National Grid, an investor-...
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Summer heat packs a powerful punch. It stresses living things from people to pets to plants. What we don’t often think about, though, are the effects that the heat has on buildings and the way they consume energy.
Consider this: commercial buildings can consume up to 35 percent more energy in the hottest summer months compared to oth...
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When you need to hire a commercial contractor to work on your business or industrial facility’s heating and cooling system, the price isn’t the only factor that should be considered. In fact, it shouldn’t even be number one.
Experience
Residential heating and cooling jobs are much different from commercial ones, so choose a co...
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Everyone knows that a visit to the operating room can cost you big bucks. But the thing we don’t think about is the cost for hospitals to operate their ORs.
Part of the blame falls on temperature and humidity.
Temperature and humidity levels in operating rooms must be exact, otherwise patient safety, the comfort of surgical an...
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Facility leaders must manage their building’s HVAC energy spend in addition to their many other responsibilities. It’s no small task balancing occupant health and comfort while regulating the energy demands heating and cooling equipment makes.
What’s more, these days it seems that everyone is an expert on the topic of energy sa...
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A mass departure is well underway that will continue for the next decade and more. It will affect job categories from retail to federal and educational to construction. How we handle these changes will significantly influence not only our nation’s economy but also its savings, retirement, and healthcare programs.
And who’s th...
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While colder weather is a great time for deer hunting or ice fishing in Kansas, it can be challenging for maintenance and service teams responsible for the upkeep of commercial buildings and facilities.
As a result, preparing for winter becomes all the more critical.
In this post, we will highlight 13 maintenance tips you can do to prepare your...
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You probably have heard the term the “Internet of Things” by now. It means physical objects everywhere will be connected - people, places and things all communicating with each other. This technological advancement will change significantly the way we interact with the things around us.
And it stands to have an enormous influ...
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It’s early October, meaning most schools have been in session now for at least a month.
And as students and staff settled into a routine those first two weeks, it cost schools big bucks.
It does every year. And it’s all about maintenance.
An estimated $330 million was spent nationally this year to fix maintenance iss...
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Your building wastes energy.
Probably more than you think. A lot more.
But don’t worry, you’re not alone.
The average commercial building in the United States – more than five million in all - wastes 30 percent of the energy it consumes due to inefficiencies, according to the EPA. Improve by just 10 percent the energy...
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This summer's outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in New York City and the most recent cases in Illinois and California - all leading to the death of 16 people and the sickening of many more – reminds us that better understanding the illness and inhibiting its ability to harm remains critical.
In this blog we will define Legion...
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Saving energy has long been the focus of decision makers in commercial and industrial buildings nationwide, leaving water efficiency as a less interesting side note. That thought process is changing, however, as water becomes scarcer and the potential financial benefits of increased water efficiency are better understood. What’s more, today...
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Twenty percent of the American population spends its days inside elementary and secondary schools, so it’s little wonder that indoor air quality ranks among the most critical factors affecting students’ ability to learn in classrooms across the U.S. And while it’s easy for administrators to assume that poor indoor air quality on...
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Have you ever considered how much you rely on cooling in your building? If your facility’s cooling system quit working suddenly, how would it adversely affect your data centers, patient rooms, surgery suites, classrooms or manufacturing processes? How much would it cost you in a day, a week or a month?
Emergencies can come from mechanica...
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