Summary
Before choosing a maintenance strategy, it’s essential to understand the benefits that flow from investing in HVAC&R maintenance. A well-designed program drives compliance, comfort, uptime, efficiency, and asset value—while reducing risk and total cost of ownership. This article frames the benefits, the risks of under-maintenance, and the metrics owners should track.
Applies to
Building owners, facility managers, and asset managers responsible for HVAC&R systems in residential, commercial, and industrial sites
The benefits of good maintenance
1) Compliance & assurance
Demonstrates systems are safe, available, and compliant with regulatory duties.
Creates an auditable framework—records, checklists, and test results—to verify obligations are met.
Reduces exposure to penalties, insurance issues, and reputational risk.
2) Service levels: comfort, availability, productivity
Maintained plant starts, runs, and recovers predictably.
Delivers consistent temperature, humidity, airflow, and noise levels that support occupant wellbeing and productivity.
Minimises unplanned outages with proactive component replacement.
3) Lowest life-cycle cost (LCC)
Keeps equipment operating efficiently (lower energy and water use).
Extends useful life, aligning replacement with capital plans instead of crisis.
Prevents “failure cascades” that turn small faults into major repairs.
4) Risk reduction
Cuts the likelihood of critical failures that disrupt operations or damage adjacent plant.
Improves electrical and refrigerant safety, condensate management, and hygiene.
Supports business continuity, contract performance, and tenant satisfaction.
5) Indoor air quality (IAQ) & hygiene
Maintains filter performance, outdoor air volumes, and coil cleanliness.
Reduces noise/vibration and microbial risk; preserves the performance of energy and water-saving features.
6) Asset value & ESG outcomes
Protects asset valuation by sustaining NABERS/Green Star-type performance.
Creates verifiable data for sustainability reporting (energy, water, leakage, waste reduction).
Enhances marketability to tenants and investors.
What happens without maintenance (the cost of doing nothing)
Higher utility consumption (electricity, water, refrigerant).
Frequent breakdowns at the worst possible times; longer outages and higher repair bills.
Premature failure of components and systems; accelerated capital expenditure.
Loss of functionality (comfort complaints, process interruptions).
Reduced asset value and market position.
Compliance exposure—inability to evidence that duties were met.
Owner KPIs to track (tie investment to outcomes)
Uptime / Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)
Energy Intensity (kWh/m² or kWh/occupied hour) and water use
Reactive vs Planned maintenance ratio (target >70% planned)
Work order closure time and first-time fix rate
Refrigerant leakage rate and environmental incidents
IAQ indicators (filter pressure drop, outdoor air rates, coil ΔT, temperature/humidity compliance)
Building a right-sized maintenance program
Define service levels
Comfort and availability targets (e.g., 99.5% uptime; temperature bands by space type).
Select the maintenance model
Time-based (manufacturer intervals), condition-based (sensors/analytics), or hybrid.
Align scope to risk: critical spaces (data rooms, healthcare, process areas) need enhanced inspection and redundancy checks.
Set the routine scope (examples)
Filters, coils, drains, belts, bearings; safety interlocks; electrical terminations; firmware and BMS trends; outdoor air calibration; vibration/noise checks; refrigerant leak checks.
Plan statutory tasks
Pressure vessel, electrical, fire interface, emergency drainage, safe isolation, and refrigerant handling requirements.
Document & verify
Digital service reports with photos, trend graphs, and recommendations.
Quarterly performance reviews against KPIs; annual strategy tune-up.
Quick owner checklist
Clear maintenance scope aligned to risk and compliance duties
Defined KPIs and reporting cadence
Asset register with critical spares and lifecycle plan
Documented IAQ/IEQ checks and hygiene procedures
Emergency response and escalation path agreed
Evidence pack: service records, test sheets, trend logs, and certificates
Bottom line
A good maintenance program ensures the investment translates into performance—stable comfort, lower running costs, extended asset life, and reduced risk. Poor maintenance does the opposite: inefficiency, frequent failures, compliance exposure, and diminished asset value. Investing in maintenance is not a sunk cost; it’s an operational strategy with measurable returns.