Ac maintenance

 

Earlier in my career I was an Ac maintenance manager. I had the privilege of leading a world-class maintenance organization at one facility and starting a system up from scratch at another (and a few that were in between). I was in the Navy Nuclear Power Program so I have a pretty good idea of what good maintenance is.

Energy Efficiency needs to be a key part of the Ac maintenance repertoire but unfortunately seldom is that ever the case. Maintenance technicians could easily understand the technical and business ramifications of energy efficiency but they are usually not part of the conversation. That needs to change, because no group can affect energy efficiency (both good and bad) as much as the maintenance department can.

 

What happens when maintenance is not part of the discussion? Here are a few examples:
• A new Ac maintenance System is installed. After a few months no noticeable reduction in energy consumption has occurred. Investigation shows the majority of the system has been jumped out by the maintenance department. The reason for this is that maintenance received zero training on the system and its benefits. Maintenance still had to make customers happy and was uncomfortable with the automation, so they went back to the manual system they knew. This can happen for years if no one is monitoring the systems.
• Low efficiency motors are repaired instead of replaced when failures occur.
• V groove instead of notched belts are used simply because "they were in stock"
• Equipment that fails is replaced with the exact same equipment, with no thought to newer technology
• Specification was written 2 decades ago, but it still must be good, right?
• This is my personal favorite. Equipment is left running 24/7 because there is fear that if it is turned off it will not turn back on. Unfortunately, this mindset comes into play often on the largest of loads such as chillers, pumps, boilers etc...

Yes, I know that you think when you hire these guys, they should already know everything, but things change. Tribal knowledge (word of mouth or the old "stay with so and so for a while until you know what you are doing") just is not a consistent method and sometimes poisons the whole department because the "go-to-guy" may not be the best trainer (or may have some bad habits).

Sharing real world examples of how Ac maintenance affects energy usage can go a long way in getting buy in from the maintenance department. There is often an energy cost associated with decisions that the maintenance department makes. There are situations, at times when management and support staffs are not available, that the on-site maintenance personnel have purchasing authority. By being informed regarding energy efficiency, they can make the right business decision and defend it. A good example would be a simple Ac maintenance motor. Maintenance technicians need to know about the much higher long-term costs associated with purchasing the cheapest possible motor. Knowing that the initial cost of a motor is only 5% of its' total operating cost, definitely helps in making the right decision. Understanding the annual costs associated with operating motors should show how important it is to shut them off when they are not needed.