As a commercial building owner or facility manager, you have a duty to make the building as functioning as possible for the business there. Electric power enables or powers many commercial activities, therefore maintaining the electrical system is a critical responsibility.
However, a professional electrician is the best person to do major electrical maintenance jobs. For this, you can contact an electrical company near Denver if in Denver, CO, or Arvada, CO.
You must ensure the building’s electrical system is maintained daily. This post gives you tips on how to fulfill that duty.
Why Electrical Maintenance is Necessary
Mishaps because of a poorly maintained electrical system can be disastrous, resulting in business loss, equipment, and property damage.
Here are other reasons to keep on top of your electrical maintenance schedule:
· Electrical safety – your primary duty is to keep the people and property in your building safe from the harmful effects of a poorly maintained electrical system. These effects include injury and death, and damage to property from electrocutions and fires
· Optimize energy efficiency – a well-maintained electrical system helps conserve power and cut down on electric bills, which is very important for a business.
· Prevent the costs of downtime and overdue repairs – a well-maintained electrical system needs fewer expensive repairs, if at all, as well as cuts on downtime.
· Build reliability – if you maintain a regular maintenance schedule, you create trust in the reliability of the power supply in your building. Reliability makes the property attractive to tenants as they can extend it to their customers.
Types of Electrical Maintenance in Commercial Buildings
There are many types of electrical maintenance. However, all can be classified into these three types of maintenance:
1. Corrective electrical maintenance
Corrective maintenance is commonly known as repairs and involves identifying, isolating, and correcting a problem point. Typically, corrective maintenance occurs once an issue has manifested itself.
According to Electrical LLC, the premise of corrective electrical maintenance is that isolating the problem and dealing with it at the earliest opportunity is cheaper than overhauling the system.
2. Preventive electrical maintenance
Preventive maintenance aims to prevent faults by reviewing and servicing the electrical system. The maintenance is scheduled at regular intervals based on the time the system has worked, whether a problem has manifested or not.
Though there are costs to servicing a fully functional electrical system, it is cheaper than waiting for it to break down before you make repairs.
3. Predictive electrical maintenance
Predictive electrical maintenance is also performed before the fault becomes apparent. However, it is not done on a regular schedule. Instead, you base it on anticipated failure.
You base the need for predictive electrical maintenance on the data you have collected on the system, which indicates the components that are likely to fail. Predicting a problem before it occurs and dealing with it also keeps the electrical system running smoothly.
Tips for Electrical Maintenance of Commercial Buildings
Here are some top tips to help you keep on top of your electrical maintenance duties:
1. Perform regular inspections
Inspections are a regular element of electrical maintenance as they help uncover faults and damages. To keep the electric system working well, conduct inspections both when scheduled and when potential issues are noticed.
Conduct electrical inspections after events such as storms and fires that will likely compromise the electrical system’s integrity.
Qualified electricians should handle detailed inspections. However, you and the other system users should be keen enough to catch any changes in performance.
Watch out for observable signs of damage like sparks, heating, crackling, or delay when you switch on equipment. Call a qualified Arvada electrician to assess further when you notice any damage signs.
2. Repair damages promptly
Many faults worsen the longer you leave them unattended and require more extensive repairs. Take prompt corrective measures as soon as you discover a fault.
The worse the fault gets, the greater the risk it poses to people and property, and as a person in charge of a building, the longer you leave a fault unattended, the likelier it is that you are responsible for any damages that result.
Electric breaker panel replacement should be done before they fail to avoid more catastrophic risks, and promptly repairing faults reduces unnecessary downtimes, enabling your business to continue without interruption.
3. Use qualified electricians for inspection, maintenance, and repairs
Electrical codes in Denver, CO, and Arvada, CO, prohibit an unlicensed person from conducting electrical installations, reviews, and repairs on commercial buildings, especially if they are to let.
In any case, a commercial building is likely to be on a larger scale than a residential building and with a more complex electrical system, and a DIY may lack the knowledge and experience to perform electrical work on such a system.
Proper maintenance of an electrical system in a commercial building demands that you entrust professional work to professionals. Electricall electricians in Arvada, CO, offer professional maintenance services for commercial buildings.
4. Train staff
Your staff, other users, and you are the first line in running a well-maintained electrical system. This means you need the necessary knowledge to maintain the system competently.
Training should empower the staff and users to recognize the warning signs of a fault and to report it. Many electrical faults happen because of improper use, so staff and users should also be trained in electrical safety measures and how to react in the case of an emergency.
5. Prevent overloading the circuits and outlets
Overloading the system’s circuit may cause damage. Usually, the overload will trip the circuit breaker and shut the power off safely. However, if the circuit breaker has failed, the wires in the system will overheat and cause a fire.
Other than the circuit breaker tripping and power going off, here is how to tell that you are overloading the circuit:
· The lights dim when you plug in electrical equipment
· The outlet heats up. Over time you can notice scorch marks around the holes
· There is a hum from the outlet
To avoid overloading the circuit, it should be designed with the end users in mind. Also, do not try to have separate circuits for different uses. For instance, do not place an appliance and a fixture on the same circuit.
6. Monitor energy consumption
A critical part of maintaining the efficiency of your building’s electrical system is monitoring how the electric energy is used. Without monitoring energy use, it is difficult to know if there have been changes, and even more challenging to influence efficient energy use.
Monitoring electric energy can provide insights into where to reduce usage so that less is spent on electricity bills.
Monitoring energy use also allows us to build energy-efficient systems that can help us reduce our carbon footprint. For instance, resorting to LED lights, opting for energy efficiency-rated appliances, and changing how we use energy helps to maintain an efficient electrical system.
We can monitor energy consumption in a commercial building using energy meters, mobile apps, and smart plugs that regulate power use.
7. Keep records of maintenance logs
Keeping records of maintenance, inspection, and repair logs helps you track the electrical system’s maintenance history, saving time and money during future inspections. A maintenance log is also one of the ways you can use to decide when to schedule a predictive inspection.
You can also track costs using the maintenance log to see what the electrical system has cost you in repairs and maintenance and what components are particularly problematic.
You may discover that repairs are becoming too frequent and costing more around a particular component. This may inform your decision to overhaul the system rather than continue the repairs.
8. Maintain adequate ventilation around the electrical control panel
The electrical control panel controls all the circuits in your building and the current that flows through them.
Because of their work, control panels tend to overheat, which may damage them. Therefore, it is essential to ventilate the panel well to remove heat from the thermal load as well as remove dust.
You can ventilate the control panel by removing obstructions to unrestricted airflow through and around the system. You can buy and install ventilation systems with the control panel.
9. Install power backups
However well you maintain the electrical system of your commercial building, you cannot rule out that the building will lose power occasionally. Indeed, offline maintenance and repair work may require the power to be turned off.
A power backup keeps your building powered even when your electrical system is down or undergoing maintenance. Backup generators come in different sizes, using diesel or gasoline.
Alternatively, you can install solar panels for backup energy, though this may be inadequate for heavy power users.
Conclusion
Proper electrical system maintenance is essential in ensuring that the system meets the energy needs efficiently and affordably. The tips outlined here help you maintain the electrical system in your building better.
Request an Arvada electrician to help perform the tasks that require a professional. If in Arvada or Denver, go online and search ‘best electrician near me’ or ‘electricians around me’ to find an electrician willing to come and review your building.