Summer season is here rather we call it “The season of Air conditioners”. We across North region are well aware of the scorching heat & high temperatures that sometimes touches 45 deg at its peak during day. In Office environment, AC plays a vital role not only in making the work environment comfortable but also in keeping employees morale high. Almost everywhere the offices initiate their “Pre seasonal AC servicing” process well before the start of Summer season to ensure its smooth functioning.
We all have seen & read about the various Preventive & Corrective measures that we take to ensure smooth functioning of our AC during Summers but the first & foremost action step that triggers is its “Proper installation of AC i.e. its Outdoor unit (ODU) & Indoor unit (IDU)”except window AC being standalone unit. If the installation is not proper and correct then we continue dealing with service issues on an ongoing basis even if we buy good quality AC units. We tend to become casual on this very important aspect & land in a discomfort zone.
WHAT DO WE DO BEFORE WE INITIATE THE OUTDOOR UNIT INSTALLATION ACTIVITY?
First ASK yourself ?
- Have you identified a serviceable location for installation of your (ODU) Outdoor units?
- Has the (ODU) Outdoor unit been installed at a reachable height for proper servicing?
- Is the distance between (IDU) Indoor & (ODU) Outdoor unit optimal?
- Is there enough gap in front of the (ODU) Outdoor unit to let the hot air pass/flow properly?
- Is there any main electrical pole/ office electrical meter/DB (distribution board)/DG (Diesel generator)/wires passing by, exposed to or touching the (ODU) Outdoor unit?
- Are the installation team & the servicing team in sync w.r.t installation of AC units?
- Is positioning of the ODU correct & leveled?
Then ACT upon ?
- Pre check with your (LL) Landlord or (BM) Building management agency and install the (ODU) Outdoor units at such a place from where the servicing team can easily perform the servicing tasks without which the servicing cycle cannot be completed properly for effective cooling
- Understand the servicing norms of your AC service provider w.r.t to their EHS policy (Employee health & safety) of their servicing staff & ensure that the (ODU) Outdoor units are serviceable i.e. they can climb up safely till the (ODU) Outdoor units in case they are fixed on wall & have proper stand made either of concrete/ Iron where they can stand & perform their tasks safely
- Keep the distance between ODU & IDU as per the prescribed AC norms. Here the positioning of the ODU plays a vital role
- Ensure enough gap in front of the ODU unit, do not put any material in front of the ODU units to let the hot air flow properly else it might attract the return hot air back into the ODU & make your compressors head high & leads to frequent breakdown due to excess heat. In such case majorly the ODU’s fan motor gets faulty again & again.
- Electrical pole/wires may hinder your wet servicing schedule & may leads to electrical breakdown
- Ensure that they both are in sync at the time of installation else blame game starts at the time of AC servicing. There has to be some exchange of written confirmation from the service team confirming about its proper installation else you would end up debating on it with your service team during after sale service activity
- Correct positioning of the ODU’s boils down to seamless flow of air & effective cooling
Likewise, we need to consider the proper installation of (IDU) Indoor units as well to ensure smooth flow of air & effective cooling.
DO’s & DONT’s:
- Laying of drain line is correct & does not have any elevation i.e. its route should be clear for smooth water flow. Must to take: Drawing of Drain line route to repair/change it easily in case of any blockage without incurring any expense of breaking the wall & identifying its route.
- Do not get the IDU’s installed over the electrical panel/DB (distribution box)/ATM machines or any other electrical equipments to enable their service team to carry out seamless WET SERVICE
- The IDU’s should not be installed upon the UPS/ its battery bank in the SERVER ROOMS. In case the UPS/its battery bank gets installed before the IDU installation during Project FO ( Fit Out) stage then get the positioning changed of the UPS/its battery bank strategically to avoid any hindrance in wet servicing
- Ductable unit IDU should be installed strategically as sometimes it creates heavy noise which may disturb your internal staff
- Get the IDU’s installed at a serviceable locations
- Always identify a strong base for its installation. Clamp it strongly in case it needs to be hanged in true ceiling
- Do not allow open area exposure else there will be issues in getting “Return Air” & leads to ineffective cooling. This even increases your energy consumption.
- If there is any glass façade interaction then you may get the sun control film protection done on the glass façade. You may also get the “Heat Load Calculations” done.
Ask your service team to pass on the below instructions to their technicians while carrying out servicing of AC units other than their core servicing tasks:
- Wear gloves (thin plastic/rubber) before touching the IDU panel & Trap door else they will leave the dirty marks on the front panel & Trap door which gives a very shabby look to your IDU display panel & mismatch the color of Trap door with false ceilings/walls
- Affix clear scotch tape on the IDU display panel in case any side clip gets damaged as sometimes they use electrical/brown tape in hurry that again looks very shabby.
- Seek help in clearing debris in front of ODU’s which might have been kept by your support staff accidentally.
- Remove & clear paper particles/tree dry leaves or any other particle from ODU’s inside base/fan grill as they might catch fire in case of any short circuit in ODU
It is advisable to award a yearly AMC (Annual maintenance contract) with quarterly service schedule of your AC into safe hands mandatorily with one wet service schedule.
Happy reading……..!!
Team@S.K.I.P
