What do you consider most important about your air conditioning system? That probably depends on your perspective. If you happen to work for the EPA, it’s energy use. If you’re a facilities manager, it’s reliability. Business owners usually care most about the cost. Employees and customers care about comfort.

In the past, these concerns have sometimes been mutually exclusive. To get the most energy-efficient units, you had to shell out a lot of cash, and in some cases you had to sacrifice some cooling power to get the energy savings. And buying a more expensive system did not necessarily guarantee reliability.

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If you own a business in New York City, you probably sometimes wonder how your business contributes to the brown haze hanging over the city. You certainly can’t help noticing how much energy you’re using and how much it’s costing you every month.

Did you know that up to half of that energy is being consumed by your HVAC system? According to reports by the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Energy Information Administration, commercial HVAC systems account for between 40 and 50 percent of fuel consumption.Read more 

Pollen counts are at record levels. If you are among the more than 50 million Americans affected by allergies, you already know this! Even people without allergies can experience symptoms when there is a significant amount of pollen in the air. Symptoms can include not only the typical runny nose, sneezing and itchy eyes, but also headaches, fatigue, coughing and asthma.

It stands to reason that avoiding the allergens can reduce symptoms. However, pollen spores are among the most difficult allergens to avoid. Most of us need to go outside sometime, and even indoors it can be challenging to remove pollen particles because many of them are so tiny in size. They also may be lurking in places you haven’t considered, like your building’s ventilation system.Read more 

As the demand for energy continues to rise, utility companies are offering rebates to customers as a way to reduce usage and avoid having to spend millions to construct new plants. If you are a homeowner, you may have taken advantage of some of these rebates. What you may not know is that utility companies also offer rebates to businesses that choose energy-efficient options for construction, equipment purchases and facilities operation.

It’s no surprise that utility rates on the rise again: electricity rates are expected to increase by more than 4 percent this year, and gas prices could go up by as much as 10 percent. If your HVAC equipment is getting up there in years, now may be a good time to consider replacing older units with newer models that use much less energy than older models. You can offset the rate increases by reducing your energy usage, and you can also earn you cash rebates from your utility company.Read more 

How to Save Money on Energy Bills

Apparently New York City is about to get hit with a double-whammy: a hot summer and rising electricity rates. According to the 2014 Farmer’s Almanac, NYC is in for an exceptionally hot and humid summer. On top of that, you’ll see a rise in electricity prices. According to Con Edison, a typical business customer can expect average summer bills to rise between 4 and 5 percent.

There’s not much you can do about the weather (except maybe a rain dance) but there’s an easy thing you can do about your energy bill: USE LESS. It stands to reason that decreased consumption lowers your cost. But you may not realize that trimming usage also helps lower rates. It’s simple economics: higher demand means higher rates, and lowering demand by decreasing usage results in lower rates.

Here are 15 top tips that can result in real energy savings this summer:Read more 

In recognition of World Facilities Management Day, Arista would like to take this opportunity toWORLD FM DAY LOGO 2014 translations thank all of the Facilities Managers in the New York City area that we have had the privilege of working with over the years, as well as those we hope to work with in the future. They make our jobs easier every day. Here’s why:Read more 

If you’re a business owner in NYC, you’re probably like most others in that you don’t give a lot of thought to what it takes to keep your air conditioning working. You may not fully appreciate everything that your dedicated HVAC service tech has to go through to make that happen. New York City may be the greatest city in the world, but it can be a circus and a challenging place to work on HVAC systems. So if you’re evaluating vendors, than considering a service provider’s history and experience with the challenges of providing excellent service in New York City is a must.Read more 

It seems like every day we wake up to find that another natural disaster or emergency has wreaked havoc on cities, businesses and countless lives. It’s enough to keep a business owner up at night, wondering if your business could survive such a situation. What would you do if it happened to you?

It’s no secret that having a disaster recovery plan can make the difference between getting back up and running after a catastrophe and losing your business permanently. You probably have plans in place for evacuation, communication with employees and customers, power supply and data access. But there is an equally important aspect of emergency planning that many fail to consider: are your service providers prepared for disasters, and will they be able to respond when you need them most?Read more 

If you could delegate half of your job, which half would it be? If you manage a large enterprise facility, it’s probably the hours you spend on the phone scheduling service calls, ordering parts, and handling stacks of invoices.

Believe it or not, you can delegate this half of your job while also saving your company money and improving the performance and lifespan of your equipment. But how? Hiring someone is out of the question, and unfortunately cloning yourself is not possible quite yet.

This is a job for a facilities management software system.Read more 

As a business owner or facilities manager, you’re juggling a wide variety of priorities every day. Even if you are a jack of all trades, you may not be a master of all of them, including your HVAC system. When you need an HVAC service provider, how do you find a vendor you can trust to handle maintenance and emergency repair quickly, efficiently, accurately and with minimal contact?

Going with the company your neighbor uses or the one with the most years in business will not guarantee the results you need. Instead, differentiate the HVAC industry leaders by the tools these companies use to maximize efficiency, ensure accuracy and improve customer service.Read more 

We recently posted a series of articles on the impact of an HVAC System to your bottom line, including the importance of a comfortable temperature for customer retention. Not long ago, in an attempt to maintain the kind of comfort that encourages folks to stay in stores on frigid winter days, Target authorized its HVAC vendor to monitor temperature, troubleshoot system issues and chances are, if you own a computer, or a television, or a radio, or a newspaper you know the rest of the story.Read more 

How regularly do you consider your physical work environment? The way it affects your sense of personal satisfaction? Work ethic? Productivity?

Let’s try it. Stop whatever you’re doing (except reading this post, of course). What is the very first thing you notice? Is it the noise level? The brightness of the fluorescents above your work station?

Well, according to the IFMA, it’s probably the temperature.Read more 

If you’ve been reading our blog, you’ve probably noticed we try not to talk too much about ourselves. Generally, we prefer to be a resource rather than a bullhorn. But in honor of Valentine’s Day we thought we’d get a little personal, heat things up a bit.

Ok, ok. We know what you’re thinking: this business isn’t particularly sexy, certainly not romantic. You’re right. Hugh Grant has never made a movie about HVAC. E.L. James didn’t write 50 Degrees of Grey. and in fact, we know we’ve done the job right when no one notices us at all.Read more 

As a facilities manager or building owner, you’ve probably heard your share of complaints regarding office temperature. Not only does a less-than-ideal temperature aggravate employees, but it’s also directly linked to lower productivity — contributing to a lack of focus that can interrupt workflow.Read more 

Trying to manage the issue of temperature variance? That’s not surprising — according to the International Facility Management Association, complaints about temperature control and extremes are the #1 grievance expressed by office workers. Thankfully, there may be a simple solution for building managers and facility owners.Read more 

According to recent studies, comfortable indoor temperatures have a direct affect on the health and productivity of a building’s employees, tenants or customers. In fact, the right environment can improve workforce output and enhance customer experience directly resulting in savings for your business, property or tenants. It may surprise you how simple fixes to your HVAC system can help to better meet the comfort needs of the tenants, workers or customers in your building. And chances are, it won’t break your budget.Read more 

As a building owner or property manager, you know that an HVAC equipment failure can result in significant backlash from the people who rely on you to maintain a comfortable environment. With your reputation and bottom line at stake, it’s wise to monitor these systems closely for maintenance and repair needs. This quick checklist is designed to help you avoid costly repairs and shut-downs by staying on top of your equipment’s most critical components.

1. The major mechanical components of your heating and refrigeration system need to be examined at regular intervals. Check the boilers, as the combustion air should be operating at a rate of one square inch free area for every 2,000 BTUs. The cooling tower should be free of any slime or algae, so you need to address fluid leaks or debris. If you see any mold growth, make sure your biocide treatment is working properly.
2. Inspect your air handling unit as well, especially the outdoor air intake. You should check the area around the module to see if there are any sources of contaminants that can flow through to the interior of the building. Have a look at the fan, including the blade and motor condition. If you see areas of deterioration, replace these parts as necessary.
3. Your HVAC preventative maintenance checklist should include checking your HVAC distribution system. It’s important that air flow throughout the building is unobstructed, from the supply air to the return ventilation. Review any drain pans to ensure there are no leaks or indication of mold growth. You’ll need to replace or clean air filters as well. It might be helpful to keep a maintenance calendar so you’ll know when new filters were installed and when they need to be replaced.
4. Thermostat controls are also important to your HVAC preventative maintenance checklist. In summer and winter, adjust the set points to make sure you’re getting the best efficiency from your heating and air conditioning system. Make notes to indicate the location of each device, as well as the operations it controls. If you’re ever unavailable or off-site, the teams repairing your system will have easy access to this key information.
5. Outdoor units are susceptible to debris from grime, dirt, tree branches, and bird feathers. Check the space around this HVAC equipment, as there should be about a two foot clearance around the intake area of both heat pumps and A/C units. You should check these outdoor components more frequently than other parts of your system, even as often as once a week. Also, make sure to do a walk through after heavy storms, as debris falling during heavy winds can get stuck near the air intake.

This checklist should help empower you to ask smart, relevant questions and hold your service provider accountable for what’s in your preventative maintenance agreement. Don’t have a maintenance agreement? Remember that while much of this troubleshooting can be done on your own, ultimately repairs and maintenance should only be done by your HVAC vendor as most manufacturer warranties won’t cover equipment that serviced by anyone other than a licensed HVAC technician.

To find out more about the value of a preventative maintenance agreement, download a free copy of our guide to understanding HVAC service agreements, HVAC Preventative Maintenance Contracts: How to Find the Right One for Your Infrastructure.

Entering into an agreement to have your HVAC systems maintained by professionals is a wise business decision–no matter what your industry may be. Common knowledge would dictate that when you have reliable experts undertaking repairs and handling preventative, you’re less likely to experience problems that can affect your company’s bottom line. However, as with any important contract, there are a few points to consider regarding HVAC maintenance agreements.Read more 

As a business owner, monitoring hard costs is a vital part of maintaining your livelihood and the consequences of not accounting for them can be dire. You’re constantly keeping an eye on expenses like payroll, rent or mortgage, and let’s not forget energy costs. Your HVAC system is one of the most expensive and integral parts of your infrastructure, and yet it’s not likely that you’ve even thought about it lately.Read more 

This year, after all the stuffing had been stuffed, and the tryptophan finally wore off, millions of Americans headed back to the gym. But what would have happened if when they arrived the the place was an icebox, or worse, a sauna?

As the building owner or manager of a health club, you know that members expect high levels of service when they join your facility. Those expectations extend to an environment that facilitates their fitness goals rather than hindering them.Read more 

As a building owner or property manager, you may associate HVAC expenses with equipment purchases, monthly energy bills or maintenance and repair expenses. But what about the less visible — but no less expensive — costs to your business due to an out-of-spec system or equipment failure?

For hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory care centers and other healthcare facilities, temperature fluctuations can mean much more than simply an inconvenience. They could make the difference between life and death for at-risk or elderly patients, the loss of your facility’s professional license, the threat of expensive litigation or even criminal charges.Read more 

Considering how much restaurants invest in creating the ideal dining atmosphere, it’s surprising how few treat heating and cooling equipment maintenance as equally important. It’s not just the mood music or the right lighting that can have an impact on customer behavior. The optimal temperature is a key part of a restaurant’s overall experience — and a positive overall experience is what keeps diners returning for another meal.Read more 

Did you know that the temperature in an office building could have a profound effect on the efficiency of its workers? As the temperature varies, so does their level of productivity — and it’s your business that may ultimately take a hit. If you oversee the heating and cooling of an office building, there is reason for concern, because a properly maintained and temperature-regulated HVAC system is critical to the success of your tenants.Read more