Preparing Your Restaurant HVAC System for Winter

October 11, 2019

HVAC issues in your restaurant or commercial kitchen can really cause issues. However, challenges aren’t only encountered in the summer - in many cases, winter can bring new challenges for your system as well. At Fast Fix LLC, we specialize in all things about maintaining commercial kitchens in Mid-Missouri. This obviously includes your stove, refrigerator, and steamers, but it especially includes your HVAC units. Here is a few common problems restaurants experience in the winter, and how Fast Fix LLC can help.

Frozen Pipes

Many areas of Missouri have already experienced really cool temperatures, and it won’t be long until that is the norm. When it comes to the biggest enemy of your restaurant, fire is first, but water is second. Unwelcome water doesn’t come as humidity or a leaky roof during this time of year. Instead, water problems occur in the form of solid icy pipes.

We can’t tell you how many building owners who will try to cut their costs by not heating their buildings all of the time. However, the above ceiling and sub-floor spaces can fall below zero in the extreme cold weather - the downside is that THIS is where your pipes are. These spaces house your water pipes and can cause un-flushable toilets, compromised showers, inaccessible tap water, and incredibly high repair costs.

If you want to avoid this, you can set your thermostat to at least 65 ºF throughout the day AND NIGHT to keep the water flowing. You also want to know where the areas of your facility are they remain unheated. This will include garages, loading docks, and basement storage rooms, insulating the pipes and walls will help you out tremendously.

Uneven Airflow and Temperatures

This is depending on the season, but the air is circulated throughout your building in different ways. Cold air falls, which is why in the summer months, closing floor vents to allow more air to diffuse from ceiling vents is more effective in cooling a space. However, in the winter months, the opposite is true - warm air is best circulated from floor diffusers and baseboard radiators. This seems trivial, but knowing the details about your air temperature can help you optimize how your building is heated or cooled.

Dirty Furnace Filters

Dirty or clogged filters are not unique to the winter months, it’s one of the most common occurrences during the summer with air conditioning as well. The air filter removes particles from the pre-conditioned air, and that allows the clean air to be distributed and conditioned. If your filter is clogged, airflow will be reduced, which means that the terminal units will have to run longer just to accomplish the desired temperatures. Your space will have dry air during the colder months, which dehydrates the skin. Did you know that dead skin cells make up 70-80 percent of dust content? Now it shouldn’t come as a surprise when you find that filters become dirty faster in the winter. This is a cheap and easy way to make sure that your HVAC systems are functioning properly.

Still Having Issues?

That’s where Fast Fix LLC comes in - we can help you repair commercial HVAC systems in Mid-Missouri. Visit our website to learn more about our company and our services, or give us a call! We offer emergency services, and one call does it all. While we’re at it, we can also take a peek at your appliances and see if you need to repair commercial kitchen equipment in Mid-Missouri, because we’ve got that covered, too!