HVAC facility managers (FMs), have you ever felt better outside of your office rather than inside the office? Ever thought why? HVAC besides carrying cool air also carries contamination. End users are unaware about quality of air being breathe. Does it contain pollutants, contamination, viruses, and bacteria like deadly Legionella apart from other air borne contaminations?
FMs need to take an extremely serious stance on HVAC cleaning and maintenance, viz. Professional Coil cleaning, Hygiene, Energy consumption etc. One work of DEEP Cleaning will bring all this additional benefits, without any extra cost. Energy savings of 2 to 5% can recover extra costing.
HVAC is more prone to failure, bio-growth, and high energy consumptions. FMs interested to make employees work efficiently in buildings, or let mall customers have cool time while shopping in harsh summers and also have management ‘pat’ for energy savings with longer equipment life are welcome aboard.
Above site is nothing less than a nightmare to professional FMs, and their building occupants are more prone to health risks.(This is not a government site photo, but a true professional, leading company site.) What lead to this coil situation? Simple Blatant cost cutting, boiled down to this stage. This leading housekeeping company is one of the best, they might be thoroughly ‘combing’ their working premises (floor) 8 to10 times a day, with the help of an efficient housekeeping company, impressing their International + Indian clients’ day in & out. But, AHUs are a ‘Black Hole,’ which has not been deeply cleaned for years, nor properly supervised after cleaning. Meager amount is paid for coil cleaning to bogey HVAC contractor, cleaning without efficiency and accountability should be a crime against entire organization and business visitors. Beware; such situation can occur, anywhere and everywhere, right under your nose.
Our rishis (saints) talked about ‘Panch Maha Bhuat (Tatvas)’: Air, Wind, Water, Earth, Fire and Space, these basics, are equally important in our present day to day life, as it was in those Vedic times. Look at the present situation: we have polluted them to the brim, in just few decades. Now, we can’t find solutions to clean them.
Air in HVAC is also one of the basic carriers, which not only carries the coolness from one place to another, but also carries pollutions and pollutants with it. If we do not filter, clean and treat them at regular intervals efficiently, Fig1 is the only ultimate situation, where we will be heading.
HVAC starts with great sale race, follows with project completion time, and in haste such sites are created that maintenance staff cannot work effectively.
I have walked through so many sites with leading MNC, Industries, IT, Pharma, Chemical, Food Industries, 5 star hotels, Hospitals etc. Rarely found proper set up, maintenance schedule and trained staff with effective equipments and chemicals. Such sites are ‘dumped’ to be maintained.
Effectively planned HVAC service offers client several benefits
- Non-choke coils, less work pressure on chillers / CT / condensers
• Reduction of cooling complaints
• Better IAQ, makes healthy employee!
• Reduction in Energy bills
• Cleanliness awareness leads to hygiene
• Better equipment life, say bye to corrosion, rusting, bio-growth colonies, Legionella etc
• ROI, every one loves it.
Better buildings maintenance challenge
It is the need of the hour between all the HVAC contractors, building managers, facility managers, employee-occupants. They need to sit down an chalk a plan for changing work place to a better managed one with energy savings, IAQ as additional benefits as well:
- Better preventive maintenance, is a MUST, if audited by a concerned person/s, as said above, makes the task easier for FMs. Attention to minute details brings major efficiency + savings, ROI! Deploy modern practices and achieve unbelievable results.
• All HVAC equipments should be jointly inspected; checked and compared with the efficiency standards of others versus the new units. Professional DEEP efficient cleaning + Hygiene has to be carried out by trusted contractors, who have credentials with modern equipments + world class effective chemical to achieve better results, Involve an neutral 3rd party to give certification, such cost can be recovered in short period against benefits achieved! Or else, we are in same time wrap of complains, inefficiency, high cost, low equipments life etc.
• Employee involvement, as said earlier, is a major force to reckon with, since they are occupying space for more then 1/3rd part of the day. They can keep an eye on the facility being run & keep the contractor as well as the Facility Managers on their toes, by not allowing inefficiency to creep in. Plan inspection routine, catch problems in infancy, and solve them immediately, so damages can be brought under control at earliest. Regular training, upgrading of knowledge of such task forces can create wonder for companies in achieving best results.
Installation of performance sensors / programs at various key HVAC points can keep FM & core staff updated on their desk top, mobile, etc., regarding, tracking inspections, maintenance, checklists and schedules. Being always connected, helps get right data all the time for betterment of Facility Space Management of HVAC, Light, etc. A good Facility Manager helps CEOs or CFOs achieve their financial goals more easily.
As a contractor, I have visited best industries & facilities all over country, hardly few can be counted on 1 or 2 fingers, except few people, others are worth forgetting for their practices, behaviours, attitudes etc. Agreed FMs or concerned managers are over burdened with jobs, but not being leader, innovator, demander, thinker, they cannot extract work from the staff, and conditions prevail as they were or even worsens. Simple demand of any cleaning process photographs before and after cleaning can put pressure on ground level persons.
It is rightly said, picture is worth 1000 words. Just checking inlet vs outlet temperature difference, before and after cleaning says the entire story. Demanding / using effective chemical and modern cleaning equipments can make a difference of Day Vs Night.
If you do not ask, the contractor is going to spend money on flashy mobiles, cars, homes etc., making his life richer at your cost.
DEEP cleaning benefits
Lets us come back to Figure 1. This AHU is the right example of inefficient cleaning over long duration of time, which now is 100% choked and spreading mold in cleaning area. Imagine havoc it can create if the cooling area is a PHARMA R&D area, Food Facility, IT area with high density occupation.
There is no doubt that if proper cleaning practices are not adopted, cleaning personnel’s and rest all are going to land themselves in more serious health problems. Who were working / sitting on this cleaning program, was AMC ever questioned? Results checked, verified, IAQ tested?
Figure 2: Cleaned Bio-Growth contamination residue in tray at another site. Avoid contamination spread, follow safety rules strictly…
Such AHUs lead to unhealthy air being circulated in the cooling area, effecting occupants health, production of food, medicines, etc is deeply affected.
· Dirty coil is burden on HVAC system effecting efficiency and increasing energy cost.
· Dust, dirt grime etc, hardens over period of time, making it difficult to remove and increases bio-growth chances, ultimately reducing equipment life.
· IAQ is very badly compromised increasing respiratory diseases among the occupants.
· Deep Coil cleaning not only makes unit efficient but can save energy from 2 to 50C, you can postpone investment in energy efficient equipments or new AHUs.
Deep cleaning process
- a) Start the process with a Professional Contractor having Professional Pressure pump with range of accessories to work in ‘tight place’; choose pump effectively of required Pressure and Water flow. For DEEP row coils Aerosol type mist spray with more water flow is recommended. Mist spray should not damage the fins, even under high pressure of 100-130 bar pressure. Start from small area test, if OK, then first do plain water cleaning, if possible, start with Vacuum cleaning, so dry dust does not enter coil.
b) You need to use various mix of safe + highly effective, Eco-friendly, Metal Safe, Non-Toxic, coil cleaners of Acid, Alkaline, Degreasers, Bio-Growth coil cleaners in various rounds, one after another and final long stretch of water cleaning, for clean coil.
c) Observe from coil bottom area water draining out; if contamination is still coming out, in such case repeat cleaning process. Start with Alkaline chemical, followed with water cleaning, then use Degreasers with water cleaning, followed with Acidic round and final Mold cleaner, use as per label direction for dilution, contact time, cleaning process, safety parameters should not be overlooked.
d) Cleaning personnel should use HIGH quality Medical mask, while cleaning, or else it gives vomiting nausea. Dry, dead Mold becomes dangerous, once again if it comes in contact with water and drifts in air like pollen particle.
e) Ensure drain is not choked and all contamination is properly disposed off.
f) Mold being transparent, allows light to pass through its body, so do not get enthused, if you are able to see light through the coil, in starting or between the operation.
g) Best indication of clean coils is i) Water passing through entire coil, easily. And ii) No contamination being carried out by water passing from coil bottom.
h) After cleaning the coil, clean drain, coil bottom area, header, U-bends, blower etc properly with an safe non-corrosive biocide.
i) AHU room should also be fully sanitized, as you will find Mold traces on walls (Black spots), leaking valves, sensors, filters, by jelly type growth.
j) Entire operation time depends on coil size, number of rows in coils, area affected, etc. Coil cleaning time should differ from coil to coil, depending on contamination present. Minimum 12 hours for smallest coil to 3 days, hectic activities are regular schedule for intense cleaning.
k) Such coils should be kept under strict observations, for next 12 months.
l) If possible, clean the coils after 1 month, 2 month and 3 months periods, ensuring bio-growth does not re-surface.
m) It is recommended that all facility managers take a more serious stance on cleaning their all AHUs regularly.
NOTE
Fins coating after this stage with special NANO particle base chemicals and process, turns old/new coils to ‘self cleaning coils’, without effecting Delta T, reducing coil cleaning process, as condensate water does not allow contamination build-up and cooling efficiency is maintained with near zero choking rate, above multiple gains can be extended for longer period and future coil cleaning operations will be ‘chemical free’ with plain water only.
Conclusion
Deep coil cleaning may be done after, every 3 to 5 years for thick, hard working, dense coils, which are running continuously, should be cleaned intensely, or else it will start guzzling more power, spreading illness and giving cooling complain headaches.
FM can clean 100% choked coils on spot (Figure 3, collectively), with Professional Deep cleaning, bringing cool healthy cheers to occupiers and Management can reap benefits of power savings, Hygiene, Improvement of IAQ, fulfill Green Building goals and ROI (Return on Investment) to pocket ‘extra profits’ in this era of competition.
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