HVAC Infrastructure Can Be Recession Proof

I’ve been an advocate for HVAC contractors, whether sheet metal or piping contractors, to stop and assess the opportunities that they could have if they put together a business plan focused on building infrastructure.  

For years now, building owners have replaced equipment that had reached its “end of useful service life.” Facility managers have contracted services to retrofit these central air systems, exhaust air systems, hot and chilled water heating systems to conserve energy and reduce costs.

Experience has shown me that when the economy is booming, building owners are putting their money into new building programs. But, when the economy is down, operating costs take the lead and building programs get put off until better times. That said, mechanical systems break down, failing to operate in good times and bad times. It’s “all the above” that helps make building HVAC infrastructure “recession proof.”

For years I was part of design-build niche business plan to complement our HVAC subcontractor services to general contractors and construction managers. The prime reason for this niche business was that we weren’t competing against other trade contractors. Our competition was a building owner or facility manager’s annual operating budget. Our closing ratio was approximately 75%, with the other 25% going to projects not fitting into the owner’s return-on-investment guidelines.

Hindsight is 20-20, so when there is an infrastructure need, e.g., central air equipment failure, boiler failure, or cooling equipment failure, why not step back and assess how well was this equipment performing before it failed? 

Often, this third-party system assessment, as well as equipment failure, will generate an opportunity to repair or replace the culprit and also improve the system performance in space comfort, energy conservation, and/or reduction in utility cost. In addition, sometimes there are utility company, state, or federal funds available to apply for the work to qualify.

For example, a double duct system where the unit coil(s) fail, or the fan shaft fails, offers a second look before simply making the repairs. This would be the time to retrofit the system from double duct to dual fan/duct – where the return on investment can be in the 4-year range. This work can usually be completed without leaving the equipment room thus avoiding disruption to the occupants during the workday.

There can be energy conservation and utility cost savings when resolving a water pumping problem while improving system performance. Here, a “picture is worth 1,000 words” to show the facility manager that the water pumping system is operating with “one foot on the gas and the other foot on the break.”

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 80(10), Sec. 19.4. 1.1 recommends fire dampers be inspected every 4 years, and every 6 years for hospitals. While this isn’t a code, many states reference the compliance with NFPA requirements as part of their State Code criteria. This is an infrastructure opportunity with the benefit of follow up work should the inspection raise awareness to deficiencies with certain fire dampers in the building owner’s facility. 

A one-day infrastructure assessment, at a nominal cost to the building owner, can identify several HVAC improvement opportunities. Why, “at a nominal cost?”   The trade contractor will be investing an abbreviated tour of the facility and “there is no carrot at the end of the stick.” It is only fair to the contractor to complete this walk through and identify infrastructure opportunities to the facility manager. More often than not, observations of these “looking for the elephant in the room” opportunities that address overdesigned heating or cooling pumping systems will reduce over-pumping pressures. This in turn leads to reduced electrical consumption, and raises awareness to the particular system’s potential to accommodate additional gallons per minute (GPM) potential should this system be expanded to accommodate more terminal equipment.