Heating and ventilation in residential versus commercial buildings

8/26/2021 (Permalink)

Another big difference between residential and commercial buildings is heating and ventilation. Homes usually have a furnace and/or AC unit and transmit the heat and cooling with ducts. Commercial buildings often “dump” the conditioned air into areas above the ceilings and use ceiling grids and fans to cool or heat in each zone or room. This can create a problem when a small fire (smoke), or mold issue is spread throughout the building by the HVAC system.  Commercial buildings often have sprinkler systems, computer rooms and networks as well as multiple zones controlling the heat and air conditioning.

Other areas of concern involve the placement of fresh air intakes for the outside air makeup systems. These are often placed on hot roofs which are off gassing chemicals, or near idling diesel trucks which can compromise the air quality being sucked into the building. Filters on the fresh air system are another issue that must be dealt with during a water, fire, or mold event. When dealing with a commercial loss you need to call the experts at SERVPRO of Manistee, Ludington, and Cadillac at 850-350-4872 to help you figure it out.