by Brycen Spencer
Winter is here, and it’s important that building and facility managers think about ways to ensure a safe, warm, and easy winter. Below are a few tips for building and facility managers to keep in mind as we head into these colder months:
- Cooling towers and chillers. Your winter heating systems are online and operating by now, but winterizing your cooling systems may not have made it to the top of the list yet. Facility managers should be thinking about the cooling systems that are not in use over the winter and preparing them for the next season; for example, cooling towers and traps should be drained. Chillers that won’t be needed this winter should be taken offline and scheduled for maintenance.
- Freeze protection. Make sure that all piping is well insulated, temperature set points for unit heaters are sufficient for freeze protection at exterior locations, and life safety infrastructure, like sprinkler systems, are not at risk of freezing. A frozen sprinkler isn’t just a life safety concern, it also presents a property damage risk.
- Air handlers checks. Throughout the fall, many facilities use outdoor air to provide free cooling to buildings. Now is a good time to inspect and test your outdoor air dampers and air handler sensors to prevent an unexpected frozen coil as the temperatures drop.
- Schedules and set points. Take time to evaluate your building automation system schedules and comfort set points. As we enter winter, you may have different occupancy schedules and a different set of temperature set points that will not only improve comfort, but will also improve energy efficiency.
- Power outages. Reliable power is essential for many facilities and, for facilities such as hospitals, it presents a life safety risk. If power interruption or prolonged power outage plans aren’t in place, we encourage facility managers to develop their plans. Facility owners should evaluate and test the resiliency of their main power coming from the utility as well as backup power they rely on, such as uninterruptable power supply/batteries, back-up generators, or generator fuel storage.
Brycen Spencer
Brycen Spencer is the service sales manager at Siemens Building Technologies of Canton, Mass.
