Commercial air conditioner fires are rare, but they can happen. After the fire in the unit has been successfully extinguished, you will need to contact your repair technician at a place like Dependable Heating & Cooling. Then, your repair technician completes a list of commercial air conditioning services that address fire-damaged equipment and your building's HVAC systems.
Your HVAC Technician's Post-Fire Tasks
When the AC unit is on fire, your HVAC technician cannot help you. It would be too dangerous for him/her to fix the problem with the fire going. After the fire is out, you can call the technician for damage estimates and repair or replacement costs. The technician should also be able to determine what started and/or caused the AC fire in the first place.
The technician can schedule a day and time to begin repairs. If the unit is a complete loss (i.e., so badly damaged by the fire that it is beyond repair), then the technician will need to order a brand-new AC unit to replace this one. That may take a week or more, since these units are massive and quite heavy.
Additionally, your technician will need to check ALL of the duct work that travels from the AC unit outside to the inside of your building. There is a very good chance that there will at least be some smoke damage in the ventilation system. Smoke damage will need cleanup services via the technician and/or water and smoke restoration contractor.
Why the Technician Checks the Ventilation Ducts
Because an air conditioner circulates throughout your building, it sends with it particulates. In the case of a fire, it sends more than particulates; it sends ash, debris, and potential toxins. Your technician, in the process of repairing and replacing your commercial air conditioner, checks and cleans the ventilation ducts so that no debris, particulates or toxins remain. This ensures that when you turn on the new commercial AC unit, you will get only clean, healthy air to breathe indoors.
Installing and Connecting the New Commercial Air Conditioner
When the new AC unit finally arrives, you can expect the technician to take up to a day to remove the old unit, install the new unit, and connect the new unit to the building's duct work. He or she may have a few extra helpers on duty that day, since it takes a lot to remove the old and install the new. Your technician is also likely to recommend moving the new unit to a location away from the building to prevent damages from fires in the future, should any ever happen again (even though they should not).
Making This Job Easier and Faster for Your Repair Technician
If the damaged AC unit was close to some of the building's windows, there will be lots of shattered glass. That is due to the fact that the flames from the fire will eventually grow so hot that the glass in the windows will shatter. This poses a safety risk for your technician when he/she tries to investigate the burnt AC unit. To reduce the risk of injury, clean up any shattered glass (if applicable) surrounding your burnt unit. Doing so will allow your technician to get much closer to the damaged equipment without getting all cut up in the process.
Be Sure to File a Claim with Your Business and Building Insurance
Replacing a burnt commercial air conditioner does not come cheap. Thankfully, your business and/or building insurance should cover some of the costs. After your HVAC technician has given you the estimate, file a copy of that with your insurance company, or give them a copy of the bill for reimbursement purposes. From the moment you see flames in the AC unit until the new unit is installed, that is what you need to do.
Share26 March 2018
Every summer, I agonized over energy bills that would shoot into the stratosphere as a result of my efforts to keep cool in the heat. Every time I turned the temperature down, my bills increased. This summer, I decided to take some of the control over my energy bill back. I installed reflective film on my windows that reduced the amount of light and heat coming into the house. I started serving more cold meals or asking my husband to barbecue outside, so that my air conditioner didn't have to compete with the hot stove, and I started doing laundry at night to reduce appliance heat in the house at peak times. I also had ceiling fans installed. So far, the difference in my bill has been tremendous. This blog is a way for me to explore other ways to reduce energy drain during the summer months.