How to Choose a Commercial HVAC Contractor

Selecting the right company to install, retrofit or maintain your company’s heating and cooling systems is as important as any number of other choices your business leadership can make.

The right choice will:

• Save money over the long haul — Efficient and responsive HVAC will pay for itself over time.
• Keep your employees focused — Poor air circulation can make for a nightmare drop in productivity as workers spend time thinking about discomfort rather than the task at hand. And if you are an educational institute then the same goes doubly for students.
• Impress clients — This is one that customers may not necessarily notice when they enter your building; comfort is a baseline expectation. But if you have poor circulation with hot/cold spots they will certainly notice it and, fairly or not, make judgements based on it.

With that in mind, you need to look for a number of factors when weighing up and selecting commercial HVAC contractors. Here’s a quick checklist to help you on your way:

A wide range of experience

The best commercial HVAC contractors are those that accumulated a wealth of knowledge across the spectrum of heating and cooling. Certainly not every business is the same. Just like the buildings they inhabit, their needs can differ wildly, and you want a contractor that has performed a number of jobs on different sites. That includes some commercial opportunities that are not even business, i.e. educational institutions. These operations require some very unique and also some common factors in order to maintain a successful air flow, and those contractors that have handled schools — secondary and collegiate — will be able to diagnose a number of needs and desires.

Satisfactory recommendations

This goes hand in hand with experience. Those commercial HVAC contractors with experience will have left a long list of customers, and those customers will always be willing to tell you about their experience. Ask around your peers in your community. Here in north Georgia there are dozens of HVAC companies with commercial experience, and there are plenty of stories about those experiences. Trust your co-workers and peers. It may also be a good idea to look for contractors that have built their reputation with some well-known projects.

Technological understanding/efficiency

If you’re building a massive structure it does you no good to try and heat/cool it like a small building does it? So why would you employ commercial HVAC contractors that are still using technology originally designed for smaller spaces? The same goes for a small building and a contractor that normally handles massive structures. Technology in the HVAC field is constantly evolving and you want someone that is up on the latest advances. That includes methods such as VRF (variable refrigerant flow) technology for large structures or something as small as a split unit for tighter, isolated spaces.

Relationships with local energy providers

This is something that can provide a boost to your bottom line, as commercial HVAC contractors that understand this can facilitate equipment rebates and energy efficiency audits with companies such as Georgia Power and local electric membership corporations (EMCs).

There are several more factors to take into account when searching for the right commercial HVAC contractor, such as personal relationships, customer service approach and total cost. Combining those more obvious traits with the more peripheral facets above, however, will help give you a well-rounded picture of the contractor in question.