Summer is a beautiful time of year. People are more willing to be out, which is good for small businesses. One way to attract customers is to have a cool space for people to escape the heat and shop. Learn how to keep your business cool in the summer and avoid high energy costs.
How to Keep Your Business Cool in the Summer
Learning how to keep your business cool in the summer is important for many reasons, but the main reason is to save on energy costs. Many people think the best place to start is with the HVAC unit, and they’d be partially correct. We will want to make sure the HVAC unit is working properly. However, check for air leaks before working on the HVAC unit.
Air leaks can happen around doors, windows, and utility entry points. There is no point in upgrading HVAC until you know the cool air will stay inside and the hot air will stay outside. That will mean finding any air leaks and repairing them. We can then move on to HVAC once we know there won’t be any constant air leaks.
Maintaining and Upgrading HVAC for Businesses
Learning how to keep your business cool in the summer isn’t just about making upgrades. However, it’s important to inspect AC units for various reasons, including potential upgrades. Ensuring our units are energy efficient is key. Regular maintenance, such as cleaning and replacing air filters, is crucial.
A clean air filter allows the AC unit to function properly, maintaining its energy efficiency. Debris and dirt can cause the unit to work harder, leading to higher energy costs.
Weatherize the Building
There are plenty of ways to weatherize a building; some are more costly than others. However, it is important to note that even the more expensive options will pay for themselves over time. Replacing the windows and roof can help, but they are big undertakings that should be done before the summer starts.
Smaller weatherizing options include adding weather stripping to doorways and windows. To create shade, you can also plant trees around the building’s windows and doors. This will help ensure any efforts to cool the building will last longer.
Heat-Generating Devices
Every little bit helps when trying to manage the climate inside a building. Unfortunately, a lot of work these days relies on electronic devices. These devices produce heat, even if not enough to notice immediately. We can’t change every device, but we can change some. For example, all the lighting should be changed to LED lighting, which produces far less heat than incandescent bulbs.
We can also move bigger electronic devices to back rooms so they don’t add heat to customer spaces.
Monitor Thermostat Settings
One of the easiest things to adjust is the thermostat. Learning how to keep your business cool in the summer means monitoring your thermostat. There is no need to keep the thermostat at a set temp all day and night. Instead, turn the thermostat off when closed and only turn it on when employees or customers are in the space.
Smart thermostats are perfect for this reason. You can set a smart thermostat to change itself depending on the time of day. This way, you never have to arrive home and wonder if you have turned off the AC.