Thermostats and Controls for Your Commercial or Industrial Building

Technology is constantly evolving – how do thermostats and controls work to improve operations in commercial or industrial spaces?
First, let’s review why you should care. If you run a business, work as facilities or operations manager or own a commercial property, thermostats and controls might change your life. It sounds dramatic but true.
Everyone wants to cut costs and this is an easy way to do it. Let’s review why the opportunity exists, how commercial HVAC thermostats and controls can help and benefits you can expect.

What’s the Big Deal with Thermostats and Controls

What if we told you an average of 30 percent of the energy in a commercial building is wasted? It’s like your mom or dad saying, “shut the door – we’re not paying to air condition the outdoors,” on a much, much, MUCH larger scale.
Commercial buildings are diverse in how they look and are used — they include everything from the corner hair salon to college campuses and hospitals to huge data centers or skyscrapers.
According to Energy.gov, “there is more than 81 billion square feet of commercial floor space in the U.S. Laid out on one level, these buildings would cover Rhode Island two and a half times.
Commercial buildings account for 36 percent of all U.S. electricity consumption and cost more than $190 billion in energy every year.” That’s a lot of heating, air conditioning and ventilation.

The Difference Thermostats and Controls Make

Although rapidly growing in popularity for homeowners, a smaller percentage of commercial property owners use so-called “smart” thermostats and controls.

Quick Review: What’s a “Smart” Thermostat?

Most people grew up with a manual or dial thermostat in their home. It basically had an on/off switch and dial to turn to the desired temperature. These started going away around the same time as the Americans with Disabilities Act passed because the dial is difficult for many people with disabilities or chronic conditions like arthritis, to adjust.
Digital thermostats may be programmable. The early stages of this version included multiple modes: weekday, weekend and vacation.
Next came programmable thermostats with WiFi connectivity. Users could access the thermostat controls from an internet-connected device, such as a smartphone or tablet, through an app.
“Smart” thermostats take it another step. After a couple of weeks of manual adjustments, a smart thermostat memorizes household routines and can adjust on its own. Some feature user alerts, to things like the system needs a filter change or to unusual activity, which suggests it needs service or a repair.

Smart Thermostats and Controls in Commercial Settings

So, in a commercial building, advanced thermostats and controls bring greater information to the operations or facilities manager, for example. Depending on the size of the space, there are multiple and specific needs.
Integrated with your commercial HVAC system, thermostats and controls keep track of all the equipment, from rooftop units to chillers, zone dampers, fan coils, heat pumps and more.
Some offer occupancy monitors, so it knows when rooms are used and when they’re not to adjust heating and cooling. Some call attention to situations such as fluctuations in airflow. This information might indicate needs to clean the air ducts or replace air filters. Commercial HVAC systems require a hefty amount of power to run, too.
With modernized thermostats and controls, you have a better idea of when and how systems are using energy. This informs you to adjustment opportunities, which allow you to save money on energy bills.
Imagine you had a running toilet in a basement bathroom in your home no one ever used. Wouldn’t you like to know about it before the outrageous water bill arrived? This is similar.
These thermostats alert you to situations requiring intervention sooner, rather than later. Ultimately, this saves you money too, in repair costs and even damage to the equipment.

Trust Energy Savers Commercial with Your Thermostats and Controls

For more than forty years, Energy Savers has served home and business owners with heating and cooling service, repair and installation. The commercial division provides even more services including commercial ventilation, commercial chiller repair and replacement, planned commercial HVAC service agreements and packaged HVAC products.  
We service and repair all brands of HVAC equipment and provide air quality solutions for commercial, industrial and residential sites.
Modernizing your HVAC system reduces your expenses and improves reliability, so it’s worth your time to take us up on a free estimate!
Energy Savers provides quality customer service and energy-efficient products in and around Columbus, Georgia and Opelika, Alabama. For better comfort and healthy air, call us for heating and cooling help today.