The last thing that a business wants to do is call a repair technician for an issue they may have been able to handle to themselves. As a business owner or manager, you want to make sure that you can either fix the issue yourself, or that you can locate the issue and help cut down the time the repair technician is onsite. With that in mind, if your commercial air conditioning system is having an issue, you may want to troubleshoot the ductwork first to rule that out before calling a repair technician. Here are a few troubleshooting tips for commercial air conditioning ductwork.

Airflow Blockages

If you are noticing an issue with airflow, the issue may be due to a blockage in the ductwork. The problem with this is trying to locate the blockage easily without expending a large amount of time. The tip for this kind of troubleshooting is to go to each air vent in the building. This takes between a few minutes and an hour depending on the size of your business.

Simply have the air conditioning on and place your hand over the vent. If you don't feel air, or you feel a weak airflow, then that will help you narrow down the area with the blockage. You can then remove the vent and try to clear the blockage or contact a technician to have the blockage removed professionally.

Ductwork Path

In some cases, the issues with airflow may be with the path of the ductwork. For example, you may have had the ductwork redone or it may have been upgraded before you purchased the building. This can leave you with the paths that were not blocked off properly or more ductwork that is necessary for the building. Either of these issues will cause the airflow to weaken and temperature fluctuations throughout the building.

The way to troubleshoot this is to see if there are weak air flow areas in the building, determine there is no blockage, and to follow the ductwork. You may notice that the ductwork doesn't seem to follow the layout of the building or that you have ductwork that does not connect to the entire system. If this is the case, you may need to have a technician block off the unused areas professionally to prevent air flow to those areas.

Check for Leaks

The basic way to troubleshoot your ductwork is to check for leaks. Though you may think the only way to do this is to follow the entire ductwork system, there is another way to check. You can troubleshoot the commercial air conditioning ductwork by checking the seams. Sometimes the connecting seams  of the ductwork or welded areas are where the leaks are happening. Look for poorly welded areas or areas that have old welding areas. You may find that a small leak is causing a majority of the issues.

By moving through these three ductwork troubleshooting tips, you may be able to narrow down the issue with your commercial air conditioning system. At the very least, you may be able to rule out ductwork as the issue. If you still find a problem, contact your repair technician for an evaluation and assistance should repairs become necessary. For more information, contact companies like MTA Australasia.