Best Commercial HVAC Repair Companies [AirTrack Inc] – WHY?

Air Track Inc. has established itself as a top commercial/industrial HVAC repair firm, notably in Mississauga and the Greater Toronto Area. Founded in 1999, they provide a wide range of services, including commercial heating repair, industrial process heating or cooling repair, and heating system maintenance. The firm is well-known for its technical knowledge and dedication to openness. Their professionals provide detailed explanations of difficulties and avoid advocating needless replacements, which appeals to consumers looking for honest, practical answers.

In addition to their technological expertise, Air Track Inc is known for its dependable and timely service. Reviews emphasize the company’s courteous customer service, prompt response times, and general professionalism. The company’s ability to build long-term connections with clients, along with reasonable pricing, strengthens its position in the HVAC business. Whether for periodic maintenance, commercial heating repair or any difficult repairs, AirTrack is commonly suggested for both commercial and industrial applications because to its constant, high-quality workmanship.

How To Find Office Air Conditioning Servicing For Your Company?

For optimal comfort and productivity of your employees, it is crucial to select the appropriate air conditioning servicing for your office. Commence by evaluating your system’s requirements, encompassing maintenance, repair, or replacement needs. Take into account the age, type, and dimensions of your office area to identify providers specializing in your specific HVAC system necessities.

Prior to embarking on the search for a Commercial AC Repair service provider for your office air conditioning system, evaluating its individual needs is essential. Determine if your system necessitates routine maintenance, repairs, or a complete overhaul. Identify the age and category of your current system (e.g., central, ductless, split-system). Additionally, understand the size of your office space as various providers cater to specific sizes or types of HVAC systems. By comprehending your system’s demands, you can effectively communicate with potential service providers and obtain quotes tailored to your specifications.

The most effective method of locating a reliable Commercial AC Repair service provider is by soliciting recommendations through word-of-mouth or conducting online searches on Google, which can provide valuable insights and recommendations derived from firsthand experiences. It is imperative to acknowledge that commercial and industrial air conditioning service providers typically have fewer reviews compared to residential contractors due to practices within corporate sectors where businesses may abstain from endorsing or reviewing other entities, thus resulting in limited feedback. Moreover, exploring their website can furnish actual photos (job site) rather than generic images. Evaluating the duration a company has been operational can offer deeper insights into their services and overall reputation.

In evaluating an Commercial AC Repair service provider, prioritize the aspect of customer service for long-term satisfaction. Place emphasis on established companies with a track record exceeding 15 years, demonstrating proven responsiveness, professionalism, and transparency. Seek out knowledgeable and cooperative entities, particularly when confronted with urgent situations. Typically, smaller companies with one or two employees may not be readily available for emergency situations or critical needs.

Look for Commercial AC Repair service providers specializing in energy-efficient solutions to minimize costs and attain sustainability objectives. Seek providers offering energy-efficient upgrades, green building certifications, and expertise in designing systems for optimal airflow and temperature regulation. These enhancements reduce energy consumption, lower utility expenses, and diminish carbon emissions.

Before finalizing your Commercial AC Repair choice, inquire about the warranties and assurances accompanying the service. This encompasses scrutinizing the warranty duration for new components or systems installed in the company’s protocol for addressing issues post-repair or services.

Establish a long-term partnership with your air conditioning service provider to leverage their understanding of your system and receive expedited problem diagnosis and customized solutions with time.

Black Friday Savings Tips! Save on Your HVAC Maintenance Process Delays

You have done your due diligence, had a walk through of the facility with your HVAC contractor, finalized schedules and responsibilities. Here are some tips on how property managers, facility managers and building owners can be proactive on the HVAC Maintenance, repair or service schedules and avoid waiting chargers, losing on their precious time and eventually have a smooth operational process.

1. Safe and Proper Building Access

Proper and safe access to the work area provided by the building user, including the temporary interruption of a security system (where applicable) should be cleared properly before your contractor can begin the scope of work.

2. For Outdoor/Roof-mounted units:

Designated safe access to the roof-top units, including the unlocking of respective access doors, ladders and hatches.
Designated safe method of waste or garbage removal from the roof to the waste bin.
Notify your operations accordingly about the service and possible temporary interruptions while the HVAC contractor is doing the preventative maintenance checks and simulations.

3. For Overhead Unit Heaters, and Process-Related Ventilators (Working At Heights)

Access to an operational scissor-lift at your facility. Working with ladders has been prone to accidents/incidents due to the limitations of the service technician to ensure 3-Point Contact while servicing overhead equipment – OHSA Clause 25(2); 27(1, 2); 28(1,2); OHSA Reg 213/91; Reg 851(73)
Safe access to the service work area. Facilitate the removal of materials that may affect or block the service work area.
Proper communication of the activities with your internal departments about the service being performed or scheduled.

4. Proper and adequate Lockout/Tagout Provisions for individual equipment.

All Energy Sources like Electrical, Gas, Pneumatic, Hydraulic should have proper isolation/disconnect/lockout procedure performed prior to servicing particular equipment.

Daylight Saving – Its Time to Set Your Clock! Its Also Time to Evaluate Your HVAC Preventive Maintenance Contractor

The gradual temperature drop that we are experiencing everyday, is hinting us to brace ourselves for what is coming in the following months. As we do that, let us also ask a few questions about the HVAC contractor we are going to hire for the Preventive Maintenance and winter breakdown calls.

So, let us begin with the following questions:

How long has your HVAC contractor been in Business?

It is always a good metric to know how many years has your contractor been serving their clients, how many different kinds of industries they cater to, and what expertise they have in the commercial and industrial HVAC sector. Commercial HVAC equipment, unlike the residential furnaces, have sophisticated controls and specific troubleshooting and maintenance standards. The air-cooled and water-cooled chillers, industrial boilers, process cooling equipment, process gas ovens, heat pumps, roof top packaged units, precision air conditioning for server rooms need an experienced pair of hands to be worked upon.

The Technology Web

You may not look at your HVAC contractor as a tech company but in today’s world it is almost a necessity to have web notifications of all tasks, services, reminders, pending approvals at a touch of a button. A customer online portal ensures that you don’t always have to unlock your phone and dial a number for a breakdown issue. You may be in an important meeting and still do the same online.

What is the Organisational Structure?

A properly organised operations and business team, with adequate number of field technicians can ensure proper prioritization of the services offered. Make sure you have more options from the same HVAC contractor in case of multiple breakdowns at different locations. Your valuable business can be at stake if it is dependent on a one-man show and they get too busy on another job.

Contractor Referrals

Your contractor can also play an important role in growing your organisation by supporting your building facility’s operations and making sure things get attended to and fix as soon as they come up. Just like before hiring a new employee, ask for referrals from your HVAC contractor and talk to them about the service experience.

Indoor Air Quality – Comfort & Health

In our recent blogs we talked about Pre-Winter Maintenance, HVAC & Back to school and some common maintenance issues. This time lets get into deciphering the Comfort and Health aspect of indoor air by focussing on the indoor air quality. We live in a world now, where ensuring healthy environment for our employees, family and friends alike is the top most priority.

The Physiology of Comfort

It isn’t rocket science to understand that the heat generated and dissipated by the human body will vary based on factors like age, gender, activity level, clothing and size. But at the same time, it is a complex problem to solve or estimate the individual comfort needs. The fundamental factors that would determine a person’s comfort level are the temperature, humidity levels and the velocity of surrounding air. And while considering the processes within the human body, an individual’s metabolism rate, blood circulation and even hydration levels would be the determining factors to assess the right temperature & humidity settings.

Indoor Air Quality

ASHRAE standard “Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality” outlines the minimum ventilation rates and other measures required to ensure that there are no known contaminants at harmful concentrations in the space so that not only the occupants are comfortable but the environment is free from hazardous and discomforting odours from contaminants.

Common Contaminants

Carbon dioxide (CO_₂) and Carbon monoxide (CO) are the two most common contaminants found in occupied spaces. CO₂ levels increase when spaces are overcrowded as humans and animals exhale CO₂ and carbon monoxide levels tend to generally arise when there is incomplete combustion of hydrocarbon from fuel and also smoking by occupants.

Adding an industrial set up to the above scenario will considerably alter the air quality by adding more harmful gases to the air and may lead to headaches and nausea as common symptoms.

VOCs, Mold and Particulate Matter are the next set of contaminants which can increase in concentration by a number of factors like use of building materials and finishes, cleaning agents, fungi growth, soot, smoke and decay of organic material like vegetables.

In totality, proper indoor air quality not only helps productivity in a work place by avoiding the sick building syndrome, a condition where the occupants feel physical problems because of the environment they are in, but also organizations also stay away from untoward situations like lawsuits, strikes and non retention of workers.

Adequate ventilation in the space helps the air quality by increasing the air changes and replacing the stale air by outside fresh air in the contained space.

Controlling Contaminants

For maintaining good Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) ideally the following strategy might be very effective. Source elimination or modification to meet the desired goal, use of more outdoor fresh air to increase ventilation rates, space air distribution and schedules maintenance of the HVAC equipment.

HVAC Preventive Maintenance Programs

Preventive maintenance programs can enormously reduce or keep the checks on ensuring the HVAC equipment are running at optimum capacity. The number of checks needed in a building and the equipment installed can be so many that it may be a cumbersome job for property managers and building owners to allocate enough time to. In these scenarios it is very efficient to get a dedication, professional and skilled HVAC contractor to maintain and repair your HVAC equipment.

At Air Track Inc, we offer Energy Saving Preventive Maintenance Programs to suit your needs. Maintenance programs help in controlling the operating costs over the life of an equipment. Call us at 905 330 4056 for all your industrial and commercial HVAC needs.

We specialize in installation and maintenance of HVAC equipment including but not limited to: Gas Heating, Electric Heating, Heat Recovery Wheels & ERV, Boilers, Air Conditioning, Chillers, Heat Pumps, Dehumidification, Humidification, filtration systems & Full line of controls and electrical.

Common HVAC maintenance Issues

Timely preventive maintenance of HVAC equipment avoids major, expensive and catastrophic damages to it and keeps the property owner proactive rather than being reactive towards this important cause.

Listed below are the most common HVAC repair issues that occur and may show up during maintenance. At Air Track HVAC Solutions, we specialize in installation and maintenance of HVAC equipment including but not limited to: Gas Heating, Electric Heating, Heat Recovery Wheels & ERV, Boilers, Air Conditioning, Chillers, Heat Pumps, Dehumidification, Humidification, filtration systems & Full line of controls and electrical.

In addition to this HVAC systems are responsible for more than 40 percent of total energy use, so keeping it running properly and problem free is the first step in achieving peak efficiency.

Dirty Cooling Coils (Evaporator & Condenser Coils)

Missing, defective or insufficient air filters are the main cause of dirty cooling coils. This results in restricted cooling, plugged motor passages, dirty blower wheels, loss of airflow and refrigerant flooding in most cases. Compressor and bearing failure, motor failure, increased energy consumption and insufficient air flow are the possible outcomes of leaving this untreated.

Defective Drive Belts

Improper tightening of belts and not replacing worn out belts results in loss of airflow, sheave wear and refrigerant flooding. Major Pulley replacement, motor failures, noise and compressor damage may occur because of the defective drive belts.

Refrigerant Leaks

Improper charging of the system, improper leak detection, no action on detected leaks, leaking seals and gaskets and loose expansion joints are some of the causes of refrigerant leaking outside the system into the conditioned space or the environment. This results in short cycling of the compressor, system freeze up, lack of cooling effect and loss of lubrication in the system. Refrigerant leak into the environment may lead to potential EPA violations, compressor failure and substantial additional costs and energy consumption.

Ignition Problems

Ignition issues could arise from various factors like dirty burners, flame sensors or pilots.

Clogged Drains

Improper inspection of drain pans, dirty cooling coils and lack of cleaning of drain pans may lead to clogged drains. The water builds up in the unit may lead to localized flooding in occupied areas and also creates a potential for mold. The damage to other equipment in the occupied space, ruining of ceiling tiles and lack of indoor air quality are the possible outcomes of this very common problem.

All these common problems can be avoided or are minimized whenever you have a maintenance plan in place. At Air Track Inc, we offer Energy Saving Preventive Maintenance Programs to suit your needs. Maintenance programs help in controlling the operating costs over the life of an equipment. Call us at 905 330 4056 for all your industrial and commercial HVAC needs.

Winter Is Coming! Think About HVAC Maintenance for Winter

We can already feel the mercury dropping, especially at nighttime, as we are back in schools and companies are planning to call people back in offices from the long work from home culture. No matter how long the transition takes, it is always better to be prepared and give your employees, students, customers & other civilians the best comfort conditions and your HVAC system plays an important role in this.

Since Canada is known for its crazy weather, there might be a weekend coming very soon where we realize we need heat from the hibernating Air handling units, boilers, heat pumps, roof top units or furnaces and the system is just not ready. This is without a doubt the best time to schedule the winter – prep HVAC maintenance.

It is always better to be proactive than reactive when it comes to the harsh winter weather. Also, considering the global supply chain crisis, every industry is scrambling to get the required parts and raw materials for their projects, the lead times can vary a lot when the need is urgent. Commercial and industrial HVAC industry is no different to this squeeze in supply of HVAC equipment.

Importance of Winter Maintenance for your HVAC system

The annual tune ups and calibration of your HVAC system is the most important thing in your “to-do” list in order to avoid any untoward situations later on.

The benefits are as follows:

Life of the HVAC equipment or Heater. All manufacturers consider the scheduled recommended preventive maintenance services into account when forecasting the life of the Heater, VRF, chillers, boilers or any other equipment which provides comfortable conditions for a facility. The heater is unlikely to make it that far without maintenance. You get the longest possible effective life for your heater with regular care.
Avoid warranty being void. Sometimes it might just be the unfortunate factory or manufacturing defect and a major costly part of the equipment can fail. When you apply for warranty claims you need to provide the manufacturer reports of timely maintenance of the equipment in order to get the parts replaced.
Maximum energy-efficiency. The regular tune ups of the HVAC system ensure the units are running at maximum efficiencies and thus reaching designed temperatures in minimum amount of time. This will bring down the operating costs to minimum and ensure longer life of the equipment as well.
Fewer repair calls. Being proactive with the scheduled maintenance most of the time results in fewer breakdowns and thus fewer repair calls.
Safer operation. Now that you have made the right choice of getting the equipment tested for pre winter maintenance, this ensures the chances for any major catastrophic event goes down and it is safer to operate.

HVAC and BACK to SCHOOL

Being in the HVAC industry for more than 20 years, we at Air Track consider it our duty to help & support all private and public industries, businesses and facilities to ensure a safe & speedy reopening based on the services we offer.

With our 24/7 response system, skilled & certified team members, we want to ensure that our customers get the best services in order for them to be at par with the recommended HVAC guidelines as per ASHRAE (American Society for Heating Refrigeration & Air Conditioning) & provincial Public Health Agencies (Public Health Ontario).

RECOMMENDATIONS:

As per Public Health Ontario the following are some key points about focus on HVAC Systems in buildings amidst COVID -19

Enhancing outdoor air ventilation and/or enhancing filtration where possible, and a well-functioning HVAC system should complement other public health measures by removing and diluting virus from indoor air, thereby lowering exposure to COVID-19.
Increase outdoor air ventilation (minimize recirculation)
Increase filter efficiency

Filtration is another strategy to remove virus and other particles from indoor air. Filters require appropriate maintenance and may also be upgraded where the system allows to maximize effectiveness. The effectiveness of a filter is rated by the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV, ranging from 1 to 16), based on the fraction of particles removed from air passing through it under standard conditions.ASHRAE’s COVID-19 guidance suggests using MERV 13 or higher rated filters based on their ability to filter out virus-sized particles.

ASHRAE recommends operating the HVAC system in occupied mode when people are present in the building including periods when the building is occupied by a small portion of the allowable capacity.ASHRAE also recommends continuing to run the HVAC system in occupied mode for additional time pre- and post-occupancy before switching to unoccupied mode
Routine inspections and maintenance as appropriate for the system are necessary.

Access the complete report with the following URL link

Source: https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/documents/ncov/ipac/2020/09/covid-19-hvac-systems-in-buildings.pdf?la=en

Considering most of the HVAC equipment will be running longer than usual, wear and tear & breakdowns are a definite possibility and being proactive can help both the facility & the HVAC contractor strategize the best way forward. Air Track’s Preventive Maintenance Programs are well suited to provide timely scheduled inspections, service delivery on breakdown calls & recommendations on replacement of old equipment.
Call us @ 905 330 4056 so we can evaluate your site.

ASHRAE Releases New Guidelines – Plasma.

Safety standards worldwide are advancing due to this pandemic and as a result, ASHRAE is constantly revolutionizing their HVAC safety guidelines and recommendations with their new Epidemic Task Force for reopening schools and universities. And the next big thing on the list, Plasma (BiPolar Ionization).

As mentioned in the lastly updated ASHRAE presentation for the Epidemic Task Force, Plasma is the newly regarded safety method for schools and universities. This method utilizes special tubes that entrap oxygen molecules from the air and converts them into charged atoms that surround microparticles and deactivate harmful substances such as airborne mold, bacteria, allergens and viruses.

If a safety method by North America’s leading HVAC association is recommended for schools, doesn’t this pertain to offices and all similar settings as well?

This brand new technology has been through quite a tremendous amount of testing before ASHRAE recommended it specifically for schools. By entrusting this method with the care of children, we at Air Track believe this method can be implemented in similar settings as well (offices, entertainment venues, clinics, etc).

Various methods have already been highly regarded by industry specialists in the fight against COVID-19 and in pandemic situations as well, with the most popular methods being UV Light and HEPA Filters. What is the difference between UV Light and Plasma?

In most commercial spaces, schools, offices, and more, are at 6 air changes / hour. The only applications where the HVAC is truly designed to wash the air that goes back into the ventilation system is in hospitals, isolation rooms, labs, etc. This ground breaking method allows there to be a completely active disinfection system that is constantly discharging these ion particles, to ensure infectious airborne particles are covered at all times, no matter the type of space.

In addition to Plasma, there are various additional filtration system options that are being implemented throughout various businesses worldwide, such as UV lights, HEPPA filtration systems, etc. At Air Track, we are well ahead and already working side by side with ASHRAE and Public health updated guidelines to deliver industry leading filtration solutions through various applications, no matter the setting.

One of our most prominent clients, a private school, requested to have Plasma systems installed on all HVAC equipment. This has been extremely successful as with the aid of this system and the safety guidelines implemented at this school, there have been no reported COVID-19 cases thus far. This makes us confident that these systems truly do deliver what they are manufactured to do.

This is a hard time for all businesses without a doubt, to take that extra measure and protect your workplace environment from this virus is priceless. After all, without the employee there wouldn’t be a business at all!

Contact us today for a free site assessment and learn how we can provide your workplace with the best plausible solution to protect against this horrid solution today!

What Are the Parameters for Selecting Industrial air conditioner?

The selection of air conditioners for industrial use has a number of features compared to the selection of household air conditioners. It is often about large areas, large dimensions of equipment, complex installation, the ability to install individual settings for a large number of rooms. The cost of an error here will be quite high – from the failure of an expensive air conditioner to damage to material values and the health of people.

Industrial air conditioners are developed to service areas of more than 300 square meters. They are often installed in buildings where an individual micro climate is required for each room – in hotels, shopping centers, banks. What industrial air conditioner will solve your problems?

Industrial air conditioning systems. Device, features and types

Despite the fact that industrial air conditioners have been produced for more than 100 years, at present only five types of them can be distinguished.

Multi zone VRF and VRV air conditioning systems

VRV and VRF are two names for the same industrial systems. This multi-zone air conditioning system includes up to 64 indoor units and from one to three external. The maximum total length of inter block communications is 300 m. The maximum height difference is 50 m. For each indoor unit, you can set your own indoor temperature and provide an individual micro climate.

The error of the set temperature is only 0.5 o C.

Chiller-Fan Coil System

The system “chiller-fan koil” is characterized in that inside the building is used not coolant, but water or antifreeze. The central chiller is called the chiller, and the heat ex changers in the rooms are fan coil units. The system compares favorably with the fact that the maximum distance between the chiller and the fan coil is practically unlimited, water flows through ordinary pipes.

Central and roof conditioners

Central air conditioners are multi functional. They can be used as air conditioners, ventilation systems, air purifiers and humidifiers. They are called central because the air is processed in the central module and then distributed through the ducts to the rooms. The central air conditioner can serve several rooms or one large one – a theater hall, an indoor stadium, a production hall. Installation of industrial air conditioners of this type and laying of communications for them are characterized by increased complexity. If possible, it is better to choose a simpler to install roof air conditioner. Unlike the central air conditioner, which requires an external source of cold, the roof air conditioner is a mono block.

Cabinet air conditioners

This type of industrial air conditioners is designed to maintain a constant temperature over large areas for a long time. Cupboard air conditioners are mono block and with a remote condenser.

Precision air conditioners

Precision air conditioners are characterized by high accuracy of maintaining the desired temperature and humidity. They consist of outdoor and indoor units. Work in wide limits of power – from 5 to 100 kW.

Comparison of industrial air conditioning systems

When selecting industrial air conditioners, many parameters need to be taken into account, including the type and configuration of air conditioning zones, the nature and change of heat load, etc.

Power consumption

The minimum level of power consumption in multi zone VRV and VRF-systems. However, the various components of the industrial air conditioning system, for example, a chiller or a separate fan coil, can be selected taking into account the minimum energy consumption. Although high power consumption traditionally distinguished central and roof air conditioners.

Ventilation option

The industrial system differs in that you can set any configuration depending on the task: you can also integrate a central air conditioner into the chiller-fan coil system and you will get a system with ventilation. The multi zone system and the chiller-fan coil system can be additionally equipped with central air conditioning or ventilation systems. This will provide full and adequate ventilation.

Cost of

You can buy an industrial air conditioner fairly inexpensively, but you should take into account the complexity of installation, which, in turn, depends on the complexity of the technical task and equipment configuration. Rooftop air conditioners are the most low-cost, but installing them can take a lot of time and money. It should also be borne in mind that large industrial air conditioning systems require maintenance personnel.

Features

In the central and roof conditioners it is not possible to adjust the set parameters for each room individually.

To fully understand the problems of selecting expensive industrial equipment for air conditioning and ventilation, engineering education and experience in this field are required. However, pre-orient in the terminology and principles of operation of air conditioners, as well as anyone can ask competent questions to a specialist.