AC System Performance

Does the FM industry in particular and end-users in general have realistic expectations from air conditioning equipment?

- JAD NACHABE

What do we expect from our AC systems? Should be simple, right? Depending on when and where you’re asking this question, your answer could be cooling in the summer, heating in the winter. Yes? – but let’s dig deeper.

Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning systems – HVAC for short – have come a long way since 1902 when Carrier invented the modern air con. These machines have made the impossible possible, quite literally. Unbearable summer heat has long been a thing of the past. Mercury-raising temperatures and glass-fogging humidity are merely an inconvenience to overcome nowadays with ever more efficient and greener AC equipment. It’s a race to the top for living comfort, air quality, and environmental sustainability with AC manufacturers worldwide. But do these climate making machines perform as we need them to? Are we using them properly? And does the facilities management industry in particular and end-users in general have realistic expectations from air conditioning equipment?

‘My AC isn’t working’ is a typical overused and misleading complaint in any facilities or property management help desk. It says so much with so few words, doesn’t it?

This request could be solved with basic over-the-phone series of questions: the tenant didn’t set the thermostat properly, causing the unit to blow uncooled air, for example. It could be a bit more technical and require a quick troubleshooting visit from the AC maintenance team, and problem solved within a few hours at most.