Spring Preventive Maintenance: Cleaning Condenser Coils

March 20th marked the official first day of Spring! After enduring a tough winter in numerous parts of North America, many of us welcome the change in seasons. However, warmer weather often correlates to higher utility costs to maintain a comfortable temperature in your building. 

There are solutions to bring down these costs and reduce your overall energy consumption. One important component of annual spring preventative maintenance is cleaning the condenser coils on your facility's HVAC units. During warmer months, the condenser coils move a significant amount of air. Over time dust and dirt accumulate on the coils and if the coil is dirty, the fan in the coil can't move as much air as required for good performance and efficiency. This leads to increased electricity costs and may shorten the life of the outdoor condensing unit. 

Cleaning the condenser coils will help the unit cool more efficiently and reduce power consumption while extending the life of the unit. It is important to clean the coils early in the year, before the AC unit is needed for the summer. Contact  Stroh Corporation for more information before the temperatures heat up.  

Tips On Preparing Your Building For The Cooler Weather

You survived the grueling hot summer, but are you ready for the winter?  As the fall colors begin to show, now is the time to prepare your buildings for the impending colder weather.  A few areas to think about as we head into winter would include the following:

• Perform a mechanical inspection on the heating equipment.  Is your equipment ready to safely and efficiently run throughout the winter?
• Adjust or install timers or sensors to meet the changing daylight times.  Make certain outside lights are set up for the shorter periods of daylight in order to provide safety lighting for your employees and customers.
• Check all outside wall hydrants and fixtures that need to be shut down or adjusted in order to avoid freezing that could lead to broken pipes and damage to your building. This includes removing all garden hoses from the fixtures.
• Install snow and ice melting equipment. There were numerous companies affected by snow and ice damage last year.  Avoid costly repairs by updating rooftops, downspouts and gutters before the problems begin.

Winter will be here before you know it.  Now is the time to contact Stroh Corporation to prepare your facility for winter. Call to set up an inspection today at 800-243-8177.

Kick Your Building Into Shape By Reducing Energy Consumption

As the EPA kicks off the 2011 Energy Star National Buildings Competition, now is the perfect time to kick your building into shape. One of the largest areas you can reduce waste and save money is on energy consumption.

Before you get started, it is important to understand how your building is currently using energy. There are three things you should know about your building's energy use:

1.       How much energy does your building consume in a year and how much does it cost you?

2.       How does this compare to other similar buildings?

3.       What opportunity is there to improve the energy efficiency of your building and save you money?

Stroh Corporation has the ability to perform an Energy Benchmark on your facility.  We take a look at your past energy consumption and compare this to similar buildings across the nation.  This process takes into consideration the outdoor climate, the use of your building, and a number of other factors to calculate your Energy Benchmark Score.

We can use this information to determine how much opportunity your building has to save energy and save money.

For more information on Energy Benchmarks, contact Stroh Corporation at 800-243-8177.