Small But Important Tips for Choosing the Best Commercial Air Conditioner

The air conditioner you choose for your commercial facility is very important; not only do you need to ensure your staff is comfortable during the long, hot summer months, but you also need to create a comfortable environment for customers, so that they don't leave your establishment too soon. Allowing heat and humidity to build up inside a building can also result in damage to computers and other electronics, your production equipment, the motor of forklifts, and the like. Note a few seemingly small but very important tips for choosing the best commercial air conditioner for your facility.

Zone versus single thermostat

A single thermostat air conditioner allows you to set just one temperature for the entire building; this can be good for businesses like hair salons, small shops, a coffee bar, and so on. Zone thermostats let you set different temperatures for different areas of the building. This can be good for larger buildings or a business where certain areas may get warmer than others, such as full-service restaurants with a hot kitchen or a production facility with heavy equipment that gets hot as it operates. You can bring extra cooling into those areas as needed, without making other areas of the building too cool.

A zone thermostat is also good for extra cooling in the office, where everyone is dressed up, with less cooling in the warehouse, where shipping and receiving doors are always being opened and closed. Being able to set different temperatures is also good in rooms that are rarely visited by personnel, such as storage areas.

Location of compressor

The compressor is what compresses refrigerant and makes it cool; air is circulated over this and then blown into your facility. An indoor compressor will take up several square feet or meters of space, and the noise might be bothersome to workers or visitors.

An outdoor compressor will sit outside the building, either in the parking lot or on the roof. One that sits next to the building may be easier to access if you want to make repairs yourself, but consider if it would be safe from damage, such as from errant forklift drivers.

A roof compressor can be good if you need a very large air conditioning unit, as this compressor won't get in the way of traffic. However, this does make it less accessible for everyday maintenance, and you would also need to ensure it's properly protected from harsh sunlight and other weather elements.