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Summer air conditioning checks

Air conditioning, Energy saving, HVAC

The sun might not be shinning as bright as it was last weekend or indeed Monday (when one of our engineers recorded a temperature of 27°C on the roof of a building in Dublin 7), but high levels of humidity in the air are due to last right up until the weekend.

If you have or know someone who has an air-conditioning unit, you should check your drains for operation. In times of sustained warmth, when there is an increased need for artificial cooling (i.e. from air-conditioning units), pressure is placed on drainage system, due to relative humidity.

Why?

Fan symbol

 The air-conditioning unit is switched on to provide comfort and cool the surrounding area.
Air conditioning chill symbol The air-conditioning unit does this by collecting the room’s air, reducing its temperature, removing the moisture that is naturally contained in that air and blowing out cooled air.
Water droplet As a result of the cooling, the moisture collected creates water droplets within the unit.
Pipe symbol These water droplets are collected in a drip tray and then piped away in the drainage system.
Exclamation mark symbol We have calculated that an average air-conditioning unit in an office can generate 10 litres of water in an 8 hour period. Roughly 1 bucket of water a day.

 

When checks aren’t performed (please view in entirety)

It is important to have

  1. Periodic maintenance performed on your air-conditioning units.
  2. Check drains at this time of year (summer).
  3. Ensure nothing placed underneath the air-conditioning unit, especially in a comms room, as any leak could irreparable damage computer equipment.

Important tip

Moon symbol Ensure you remember to turn off comfort air-conditioning units at night time (or when you aren’t in the building), as you may forget if the unit has a manual configuration. An issue could occur and coming in the next day or after the weekend to find water has gotten into the electrics or computer equipment. This will save on energy wastage too.

Note this doesn’t apply to data centres or comms room equipment.

Example One of our engineers entered a plant room recently and found it flooded. An instant reaction or conclusion to draw was that there had been a burst pipe. However on closer inspection, a drain had become blocked which didn’t allow the run-off water from the air-conditioning units to escape the building. As a result there was a backup of water and flooding within the building.

View further information on air conditioning and HVAC maintenance.