Commercial HVAC Systems: Choosing the Best Cooling & Heating Equipment for Your Building

Commercial HVAC systems are a crucial aspect of any building. Temperature maintenance, humidity, air quality, and so much more is dependent on a well-functioning HVAC system. If it fails, you can face an unfortunate loss in income, repairs, and clientele. This makes it extremely important to keep these systems well-maintained and swinging throughout the year.

Due to their large scale, commercial heating and cooling systems can be complex and difficult to understand. Here is an easy breakdown of everything you need to know to keep commercial air conditioners in excellent condition!

Key Components of Commercial HVAC Systems

There are several different types of commercial heating and cooling systems, but all of them have the following essential components:

1. Air Conditioning Unit : This part of a commercial HVAC system is responsible for lowering or raising the temperature inside a building by working with other subsystems.
2. Air Handler : The air handler blows out chilled or warmed air in the building and then returns the air back into the system. It has evaporator coils containing refrigerant and a blower.
3. Compressor : This is a very important part of an HVAC system. It changes the volume, density, and temperature of the refrigerant.
4. Condenser : The condenser receives the refrigerant from the compressor and turns it into liquid. This serves as the heat exchanger of the HVAC system. When cooling, it expels heat from your building, and when heating, it collects heat from the outdoors.
5. Thermal Expansion Valve : This cools down the liquid refrigerant to be pumped back into the coils.
6. Terminal Units : These units control the amount of air entering each zone through ducts. They also have air filters to keep air dirt and debris free.
7. Thermostat : It signals your HVAC system to produce cool or hot air based on the set temperature range. Commercial buildings may have several thermostats installed in various rooms.
8. Ductwork : Most commercial ducted units have a ductwork system that helps distribute conditioned air throughout the building.
9. Chillers : These are the cooling elements of a large commercial HVAC unit. Chillers remove heat from the liquid running through pipes in a building. Some HVAC units have air-cooled chillers, while others have water-cooled chillers.