One of the most commonly overlooked aspects in the HVACR industry is the routine maintenance of refrigeration units. This is often overshadowed by talk of the importance of maintaining A/C units. The prevalent perception that is held towards cleaning dirty coils is that “nobody does it” and is therefore a waste of time andignored. We have seen opinion pieces that have suggested that anywhere between 70% – 80% of technicians resonate with this sentiment. Furthermore, it has been estimated by the Texas Independent School Trade Association that 87% of HVAC units are not cleaned or maintained properly. What this amounts to is an exponential waste of energy, which not only has an environment impact but an economic one as well.
According to the Energy Information Administration, there were approximately 27 million refrigeration units in commercial businesses in the United States in 2015. Dirty coils can cause anywhere from $220/unit/year to $625/unit/year in electrical energy waste depending on the unit’s age, size and other characteristics, according to data from the Food Service Technology Center presented at various annual industry conventions held in 2015.
While there is no way to calculate the true cost, it is reasonable to assume that the average cost is approximately $400/unit/year. It is also reasonable to assume that closer to 90% of HVAC units are not properly maintained, as stated before, since A/C units receive more attention when it comes to maintenance.
Therefore, if we calculated 27 million units x 0.90 x $400/unit/year, that equals $9.7 billion in electrical energy waste. That is 9,700,000,000 reasons why cleaning dirty coils is critical in the effort to reduce the environmental impact on Earth, as well as the bottom line for the commercial entities that utilize these units in the day-to-day operation of their business. Contact Us and ask about our regular HVACR maintenance services.