Your guide to commercial heating engineers
If you’ve been experiencing heating or cooling problems at your business premises, struggling with poor ventilation or are thinking of completely overhauling your central heating or air conditioning system to become more environmentally friendly, you’re going to require the services of a professional and experienced commercial heating engineer.
However, finding the right company with the right skills and accreditations isn’t always as straightforward as it might seem, with dozens of so-called ‘HVAC experts’ touting their services online.
It’s important to find reputable, reliable and professional HVAC services in your area, understand the services they offer and exactly what sets them apart from a standard plumber.
Commercial heating engineers vs. plumbers: What’s the difference?
If you’ve got a commercial heating or air conditioning need, you might be tempted to pick up the phone and call the closest plumber to come out and sort the problem.
Unfortunately, plumbers aren’t always able to help when it comes to commercial heating and cooling. Plumbers tend to be tradesmen trained to work on dry and wet pipes so they will have limited experience of the complexities of large heating and cooling systems. This isn’t a great deal of use if your air-con units are on the blink in your store or you need to heat to a large commercial space.
Commercial heating engineers, however, are experts in the heating and cooling of a building. They have a specialist skillset which they call on to maintain and install the pipe work, fixtures and fittings necessary to heat or cool a building of any size.
This specialist knowledge and range of skills allows them to offer a range of services that plumbers don’t, so read on before you pick up the phone!
What services do HVAC engineers offer?
As we’ve just noted, commercial heating and HVAC engineers offer a niche range of services to both residential and business customers.
For commercial heating, including radiant heating, renewable heating systems, office heating and commercial boiler servicing, these engineers are used to working on larger scale projects and have the technical knowledge to overcome any commercial heating challenge.
Likewise, HVAC engineers are also fully qualified to offer air conditioning services, including installation of leading brands including Panasonic and Fujitsu, plus complete service packages to ensure that your workplace is maintained at a cool and comfortable temperature.
They also hold a range of specialist skills such as air conditioning UV disinfection, ventilation services, including fume extraction and make up air systems, plus all of the commercial electrical and plumbing skills you need. This makes a commercial heating engineer firm your one-stop-shop for any cooling or heating requirement.
How to find a reputable team of commercial heating engineers
Now that you’ve got a thorough understanding of the role a HVAC engineer plays and the services they offer, you now need to track down a reputable and reliable service provider to help with your commercial heating or cooling requirements.
With so many businesses to choose from, it can be a challenge finding a suitably qualified and trustworthy service provider for the job. Here are a few pointers to ensure that you engage a professional, qualified and reliable commercial heating engineer:
- Ask for accreditations
Any commercial heating engineer should be Gas Safe-registered and carry a card to prove their registration. If your job requires work on a commercial boiler or heating system, be sure to ask for proof before you allow them to start work.
You can also check their membership online using this simple search tool, so don’t be tempted to take their word for it if you haven’t had prior dealings with the company.
- Relevant experience
Before you get into further discussions, you’ll want to hear that the commercial heating engineer you’re thinking of awarding the job to has plenty of relevant experience.
Specific experience working with HVAC in your industry is a definite plus point as they’ll have an understanding of how your system may be set up or be clued up on common challenges and problems. Don’t be afraid to ask for references from recent jobs carried out in similar buildings.
- Detailed quotes are a must
Although you can’t always anticipate additional problems that might occur with heating or air conditioning systems that may bump up an estimate, asking for detailed quotations to give you a good idea of overall costs is never a waste of time.
Any reputable commercial heating engineer will happily provide you with a detailed quote and schedule of works so you can see what their price entails (and what it doesn’t). This will allow you to compare their quote with others to see who offers the best value for money.
- Warranties and guarantees
A reputable and time served HVAC engineer will be willing to back up their services with a guarantee, so be sure to ask what their policy is should anything go wrong with a repair or new installation.
If no warranty period or guarantee is offered without good reason, move on to another commercial heating engineer as alarm bells should be ringing!
- Don’t always trust online reviews
Online reviews might be good if you’re buying a pair of shoes or choosing a restaurant for dinner, but when it comes to something as important as your commercial air conditioning or heating systems, you should make sure that online reviews match up with real world feedback from previous clients.
Sadly, some less than reputable commercial heating engineers can try to seem better at their jobs than they actually are by paying people to post positive reviews. So, instead of taking online comments at face value, ask for recent references that you can follow up before work commences. This gives you an opportunity to verify the quality of workmanship before you part with any money. It can also help to safeguard your business against shoddy or unsafe repairs or installations that could have a detrimental impact on your bottom line.
