Proper air conditioning is a prerequisite for business places to convey a proper ambiance and comfort to the customers. With the increasing concept of modesty and luxuries, people prefer air-conditioned places and environments for the conduct of business with ease and comfort, and this concept is not restricted to any specific weather conditions.
The goal of air conditioning is not confined to cooling down the buildings but also to take up the moisture during the evaporation phase thereby reducing the humidity and creating a pleasant environment for employees, customers, and clients.
However, commercial air conditioning is very different from residential air conditioning as the former needs special consideration for its installation, repairs as well as maintenance. Besides, there exist other major differences between commercial air conditioning and residential air conditioning.
Listed below are the five major differences between commercial air conditioning and residential air conditioning:
Sizing
The size of the system is the major difference between the commercial and residential air conditioning. Many business places operate in small spaces but they also require commercial air conditioning to provide high-efficiency air conditioning so that the indoors can be kept cool and comfortable. The reason is that there are many people at a business place, and the human body releases a certain amount of heat energy which raises the inside temperature and that is why a high-efficiency air conditioning system is required.
In order to get a commercial air conditioning system installed, the sizing evaluation for installation is conducted. Besides, for the system installation, the services of skilled and professional technicians are needed.
Moreover, the space of the workstation also needs consideration and as per the space of the workstation, multiple AC systems are to be installed.
As for the residential air conditioning system, there is a requirement of a regular system unit to reduce the indoor temperature and to keep the indoor cool in summer. In the case of central air conditioning for residential spaces, the central units are mostly hooked up to ducts, the condensers of the system are placed outside and the evaporators are installed inside mostly in garages or basements.
Power
Commercial places are mostly spread over a large area which means more square footage. Besides, these places accommodate a greater number of people that is why commercial places require more powerful HVAC systems as compared to residential places. However, the process of sizing both types of places i.e., residential and commercial, is similar since the same variables are deployed for measuring size like the number of occupants, square footage, efficiency, and hours when the usage is at its peak.
But these variables equate to higher values for sizing of commercial places, thus a higher tonnage output is required to produce adequate cooling and heating. Moreover, as a matter of fact, the power output for commercial units is larger but slightly more precise like commercial units from ActronAir. Whereas on the contrary, the goal behind residential HVAC systems is to give accurate sizing for greater cost efficiency.
Placement
Mostly, the commercial heating and cooling systems are placed on rooftops. The main concern behind placing HVAC units over rooftops is to deal with the space taken by the HVAC system. For residential places, a more practical approach is to place HVAC components that are small behind or beside a home since both the dimensional space and structural features render rooftop installation less desirable.
As for commercial HVAC systems’ rooftop placement, there is an association of reasons, some of which are listed below:
Space Saving:
Space is the major factor to be considered for commercial settings and that is why business owners prefer to utilize unused rooftop space.
Greater Security:
Apart from being bigger in size, commercial HVAC systems also need extensive security from tampering or vandalism. Besides, rooftop installation facilitates controlled access to commercial systems to a greater extent.
Noise Disruption:
The heavier systems produce heavier operational noise which is very disruptive. Thence rooftop placement enables noise isolation.
Maintenance Access:
The rooftop placement also provides the space to conduct system maintenance without causing any disturbance to normal business operations.
Complexity and Equipment
There is a major difference in the structure and components of commercial HVAC systems than residential systems. The commercial HVAC system possesses more complex designs and structural components.
Whereas, the residential systems possess simple designs and structural components comparatively. There are eight common, straightforward, and standard components in residential HVAC systems and these components possess less complex usage of the components.
However, commercial systems are usually more adaptable to the type of building or level of service being provided by these. Besides, the commercial HVAC systems also require additional components to limit or restrict the treated air from entering specified zones of the building.
The reason being the use of various zone occupancy and activities which are being carried out during different times of the day or night. Besides, advanced systems are also required for exhaust alleviation, which is not the case with most residential installations.
As for the equipment, the residential units are equipped with two components, i.e., an outdoor compressor and an indoor evaporator (split unit). However, the commercial units are equipped with thermostats, dampers, blowers, and other systems to affect different zones of the building during different hours of the day and night. The reason for the deployment of additional pieces in commercial HVAC units is that the entire functioning is contained in a single unit rather than in a split unit.
Maintenance Cost
It is very simple to maintain residential HVAC systems but maintenance of commercial HVAC systems is a big deal that requires more dedication and effort as the system has varying levels of complexity. Besides, the commercial units also need additional monitoring. All of these factors are the reasons that commercial HVAC systems are more expensive.
The Bottom Line
Commercial air conditioning is very different from residential air conditioning due to the complexity of its structure, components, size, installation, and maintenance, and costing. Besides, the commercial HVAC systems in business places require more effort in maintenance!
