5 HVAC Tips for Restaurants Before the Holiday Rush

It’s almost time for the holiday season, meaning restaurants have to go all-in with offering the best food and drinks while keeping their atmosphere pleasant and their establishment clean and safe. With so many customers booking reservations and hosting parties this time of the year, it can be all too easy for you and your staff to forget about your restaurant’s HVAC as you swing into the holiday season.

This article will help you prepare before things get too crazy and hectic.

1: Be Prepared Now, for Later

Get an inspection on your restaurant’s HVAC and refrigeration now as opposed to later. Early detection can prevent the following emergencies from happening at the worst possible time:

• Sudden breakdown during rush hours
• Clogged ice machines
• Power fluctuations
• Constant restarts and then shutdowns
• Weak airflow from ventilation
• Spoiling food and food products

Your technician team will be able to diagnose potential problem areas and then perform maintenance where required.

2: Programmable Thermostats

These are not just for residential use! Most commercial HVAC now comes with built-in programmable thermostats so that restaurants can customize the temperature in different zones. You may want to keep one in the kitchen to keep things cool, while another keeps the customers warm while they’re staying out of the cold outside. When the restaurant is closed for the night, you can ensure the thermostat is programmed to bring the temperature to a proper level—one that won’t compromise your monthly expenses.

3: Don’t Forget the Restroom

Some restaurants forget that the restroom, like the kitchen, needs to be properly ventilated (there’s a reason for the V in HVAC, after all!). Typically ventilation in the restroom tends to run all of the time, so saving energy in that regard matters. Consider the make-up air that flows from outside in, and keep the bathrooms clean to prevent lowering the air quality.

4: If It’s Not Used, Shut it Down

This may not apply to refrigeration, since you need to keep the cool air going to prevent food from spoiling. However, you don’t need HVAC turned on 24/7 because this will prove costly in the long-term. This is especially true if there are heating components in the kitchen being used when they don’t have to be. These will only generate heat that your commercial HVAC will have to neutralize. This is why it’s smarter to have a start-up and shutdown program on your thermostat (or thermostats, if you use more than one) to make sure your most valuable equipment doesn’t work overtime.

You need the money for a lot of things in your restaurant—don’t waste the energy it needs if there’s no one to use it.

5: Don’t Skip the Refrigerator Inspection

We’ve already mentioned that a lack of inspection for HVAC can result in things like food spoilage, but those can also contribute to some very unpleasant consequences of their own. If you have less product to sell, you’re going to see some very unhappy customers and thus a loss of business as a result.

Another reason to not skip a fridge inspection is that you can get service done on worn parts during the inspection. This costs less than it would to repair the part after major damage has been done. Again, sudden breakdowns are not something you want to deal with when you’ve got hungry customers present at the time it happens.

A dirty fridge will work harder to sustain the set temperature as well, which can also add up (especially if there’s more than one dirty fridge!) This is why we always recommend regular cleaning and maintenance long before any holiday rush kicks in. You don’t want to pay extra for such negligence.

Take action now on these HVAC tips! If you need an inspection service for your restaurant, call us now before the holiday rush kicks in. Doing so can prevent fridge breakdowns and other HVAC emergencies at the worst moment from happening. At Rep-Air Heating And Cooling we provide our customers with many options that will best suit your needs from heating and cooling to refrigeration. Contact us today for your complimentary quote: 1-778-728-1476 or contact@repairheatingandcooling.com and don’t forget to take a look at our website: https://repairheatingandcooling.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for free giveaways!