Commercial refrigeration systems can be large, complicated, intricate, demanding to maintain, and complex to service and repair. That’s why your heating and air conditioning company has to pay special attention to all of the most common issues that can arise with these units. Not only do commercial refrigeration systems keep the necessary products at steady and adequate temperatures, but they also affect energy bills and productivity levels of your client’s business.
This makes them even more important for the bottom line of your customers, and consequently more important for your company. The mere fact that these systems operate continually means they’re susceptible to more wear and tear than other heating and air conditioning systems. The complexity of these units and a range of issues that can occur doesn’t help. However, there are some problems that happen more frequently than others.
What Are The Most Common Issues With Commercial Refrigeration?
As mentioned, commercial refrigeration systems run nonstop for extended periods of time, which means that problems can occur even if you regularly provide preventive maintenance services. While maintenance will certainly enhance the efficiency and operational effectiveness of these units, failures are quite something else.
To ensure your company keeps providing continuously exceptional services, it’s up to you to prepare for the most common issues with commercial refrigeration. Knowing the problems will help you and your technicians react quickly and efficiently to resolve them and to get your client’s system up and running again. Let’s see what these problems can be:
Ice Buildup
Ice buildup is probably the most common issue with commercial refrigeration you have to keep in mind. As warm air from the outside finds its way into the system, it condenses on various surfaces and creates a buildup of ice you have to remove in order to preserve the operational efficiency and performance of your client’s refrigeration system.
On the other hand, finding frost or ice in refrigerated sections of the system can be an indication of other problems, including too frequent door opening, poor ventilation, faulty gaskets, and others. If you notice ice or frost building up inside your client’s refrigeration system, inspect it thoroughly to determine the cause.
Varying Temperature Levels
There are numerous reasons why your customer’s commercial refrigeration unit isn’t able to adequately maintain the required temperature levels. The most common culprits are:
- Refrigerant leaks
- Improperly sealing gaskets
- Poor air flow and ventilation
- Dirty fans
- Bad temperature settings
- Malfunctioning thermostat
- Faulty compressor
- Dirty evaporator coils
- Dirty condenser
The biggest fluctuations in temperature are sometimes caused by a malfunctioning compressor. What’s more, this will also negatively affect the energy efficiency of the entire system, causing additional losses to your customer. A faulty compressor has to work a lot harder to achieve the desired temperatures, resulting in it often failing to do just that.
If left unchecked and unrepaired, the compressor will inevitably overheat and completely break down, causing a significant financial impact for your client due to the costs of replacement. That’s why it’s essential to react quickly and immediately determine the cause of temperature fluctuations and repair it.
Unusual Noises
Finally, there may be strange noises emanating from your client’s refrigeration system. There are different sources of various noises within such a system, from motors and fans to the compressor and condenser fan. A strange and unfamiliar noise from this unit can result from many different reasons, such as misaligned fan motor to failing compressor.
As soon as your clients start hearing unusual noises, it’s imperative you react promptly and thoroughly inspect their system. Otherwise, the underlying cause can worsen and lead to more serious and costly problems down the road.
