Overview of Maintenance
Refrigeration and HVAC systems are critical to your business, and proper maintenance is key to protecting this investment. If a system goes down or operates improperly, costs can skyrocket through unnecessary energy consumption, food or product damage/loss, customer dissatisfaction, and safety risks. Whether it is scheduled preventative maintenance, break-fix, or emergency maintenance.Our extensive service offerings for refrigeration and HVAC include:
Maintenance Topics:
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Customized Service Maintenance Agreement
Agreements are typically renegotiated annually or bi-annually, and contracts typically cover multiple locations. Work on items not specifically defined/covered in the agreement is negotiated with the customer under our Time & Material service offering.
Time & Material Repairs and Maintenance
Much of our Service & Maintenance work is performed on a time & material (T&M) basis, meaning customers pay for the time it takes to complete a job and the related material. T&M repair work is typically time sensitive and complex; it is a “managed by event” relationship with a customer that allows them to direct and pay for only the desired services they elect to have performed.
Whenever we perform T&M work for any customer we strive to:
- Match the technician to the specific customer problem.
- Fix it right the first time (minimize call backs and follow ups).
Dehumidification
Managing humidity levels has long been a challenge for grocery stores and other businesses where customer comfort or product integrity depends on proper internal climate. This is especially true in high-humidity conditions. The common practice of adjusting a building’s air temperature to try to maintain an acceptable humidity level dramatically increases energy use and costs, and can negatively affect customer comfort. Additionally, too much humidity can cause condensation on the refrigerator coils, further increasing energy usage. In a grocery retail setting, frost and ice can form on case doors and the product itself, leading to product deterioration and an undesirable appearance.
The most reliable and cost-effective way to manage the humidity challenge is to install a dehumidification system through a retrofit or remodel or as part of the initial system installation on new construction projects. This valuable investment has been shown to save grocery stores and other businesses tens of thousands of dollars a year in energy savings and operating costs while also dramatically improving the shopping environment for customers and the work environment for employees.
Thermal Stor is ready to service and maintain your dehumidification system investment with scheduled preventative maintenance programs and service. Any unplanned/emergency system or product issues can also be handled in a timely, professional manner.
Leak Detection
With the soaring cost of R-22 refrigerant and rumors of continued price escalations, detecting and fixing refrigerant leaks and performing frequent leak checks is more critical now than ever before! Our service technicians are fully trained to detect, fix and perform leak checks to help you protect your valuable investment in refrigerant. Also, if you do not have a leak detection system installed, contact Thermal Stor for a quote and start protecting your refrigerant investment today!
Equipment/Asset Tagging and Tracking
Part of our process when taking over service responsibility at a store or facility for the first time is to “tag” each of your major piece of equipment and components and record your system information. Each time a service technician services a “tagged” piece of equipment he records the maintenance or service performed. This allows us to monitor repair/maintenance costs on specific pieces of equipment; information that can be very useful to our customers for repair-or-buy decision-making purposes, and to show the high-cost culprits in your system!
Case Cleaning
Keeping your refrigerated cases clean is a simple, inexpensive way to help ensure their optimal performance and appearance. This simple maintenance routine is often forgotten or overlooked which can lead to problems or system inefficiencies down the road. Contact Thermal Stor and let us perform our comprehensive Case Cleaning service for you, which includes the following steps:
- Disassemble coil housing.
- Blow out drains with CO2 as needed.
- De-ice with hot water and brush (no chemicals).
- Replace or repair any damaged fan motors/blades.
- Perform comprehensive leak checks on cases being cleaned, and conduct overall store walk to identify any other refrigerant leaks.
- Document and notify customer of any and all leaks identified.
- Restart case and verify operation.
- Log any service issues.
- Document temperatures and provide a recap of all work to a store representative.
LED Lighting
Lighting in grocery stores represents about 13% of the electricity consumption, not including the impact on cooling loads. Lighting retrofits to LED lights can save 30 to 60 percent on lighting energy as well as 10 to 20 percent of cooling energy when compared to traditional, fluorescent lighting.
In addition to energy savings, today’s LED lighting plays an important role in creating an inviting shopping experience and increasing sales through better product illumination. Advances in LED lighting technology now offer grocery stores an option to fluorescent lighting that produces better lighting, especially in refrigerated display cases because LED lights perform very well in cold temperatures. In fact, research has shown that customers find LED lighting in freezers to be “brighter, more even, more appealing and more comfortable”. Packaging and food colors are brighter and more attractive to shippers. Additionally, LED Tube lights will only need to be replaced once every 10 years reducing maintenance and recycling costs.
Our service technicians can provide the service and maintenance you need for your LED lighting.
Refrigeration
A broken reach in cooler or reach in freezer can spell havoc for a restaurant or commercial food service business. Thermal Stor provides excellent service and parts replacement for our restaurant clients, and because we understand how vital a freezer unit or salad prep table can be to business, we respond quickly.
Air Conditioning/Heating (HVAC)
Just like commercial refrigeration services or commercial kitchen equipment, a malfunctioning or broken air conditioning or heating system (HVAC) can impact your business. Thermal Stor’s techs can be on site within hours of your phone call. They’ll arrive in trucks that are stocked with replacement parts. Once they diagnose the problem, our techs will get to work
Kitchen Equipment
Food service equipment and accessories have to stand up to a great amount of wear and tear. When they break down, there’s no time to waste. Thermal Stor performs repairs and maintenance on refrigerated types of restaurant equipment, also including hot side equipment like hot wells, broilers, warmers, and proofers.