Commercial HVAC Maintenance & Inspections in Southern California and Arizona

What does a commercial HVAC maintenance program include?

A commercial HVAC maintenance program is a scheduled, documented set of inspections and service tasks written for each site's equipment. REE Mechanical Inc. builds every program to ANSI/ASHRAE/ACCA Standard 180.

Each program includes only the tasks a facility actually needs.

Standard 180 is the National Standard Practice for the Inspection & Maintenance of Commercial HVAC Systems. It sets what gets inspected, how often, and what gets written down. That written record is the difference between a maintenance program and a filter route.

Our programs cover the equipment multi-site portfolios actually run: packaged rooftop units up to 100 tons, split systems up to 60 tons, heat pumps and water source heat pumps, VAV boxes, economizers, make-up air and exhaust, unit heaters, air curtains, and controls. Chillers are outside our scope.

Why does planned maintenance cost less than waiting for failures?

Because most failures can be avoided. By our own count, roughly 80% of the service calls we receive could have been prevented with proper maintenance.

Each of those calls is a repair bill, a disrupted trading day, and a unit wearing out ahead of schedule.

Energy is the other half of the case. HVAC&R systems account for about 60 percent of a site’s electrical energy use, so dirty coils, slipping belts, and a stuck economizer reach the utility bill long before anyone files a comfort complaint.

“When systems are not maintained, indoor air quality, occupant comfort and energy efficiency all suffer.” — Robert Baker, Chair of the committee that wrote Standard 180

	Running call to call	Running a planned program
When work happens	After a unit fails, often in the middle of a trading day	On a calendar set around each site’s hours
What you know about the fleet	Whatever the last service ticket says	A record for every unit, updated at every visit
Replacement	Bought as an emergency	Forecast from condition findings and budgeted ahead
Energy use	Drifts upward as coils foul and economizers fail	Held closer to design by routine coil, filter, and controls work

Which sites should go on a program first?

Start with the sites that already cost you the most: repeat breakdowns, missing equipment history, rising utility bills with no change in use, or inland and desert stores heading into summer without a spring visit.

• The same rooftop units generate service calls every summer.
• Sites came to you through an acquisition or a contractor change, and the records stayed behind.
• Drain pans overflow onto the sales floor, or units trip on high pressure on hot afternoons.
• A capital plan is due and nobody can say how old the fleet is.

How is a maintenance program built for each site?

We customize each plan to the site’s schedule, installed systems, and budget. Tasks vary from site to site, and nothing goes on the list that the equipment does not need.

That matters in a region with this many climates. A coastal store in Oxnard and an inland store in Riverside can run the same rooftop unit and still need different task weights and different intervals. Structuring a program correctly takes knowledge of those local climates, and that regional experience is what we bring.

1. Site file. Address, trading hours, roof access path, and site contacts for every location.
2. Equipment survey. Each unit identified and logged through HVAC asset inspection and testing.
3. Scope. Tasks and frequency set from the installed equipment and local conditions, and documented through ASHRAE 180 inspection and testing.
4. Visits. Booked around trading hours to minimize disruption on the sales floor.
5. Findings. Reported into your systems, including your IVR where you use one, so repairs and replacements get approved without chasing paperwork.

The people on your roofs are our own technicians, not a subcontracted network, and every one of them is EPA certified. Mike Herbranson, our Training and Safety Director, has been with REE for more than 15 years and trains our technicians on how PM visits are performed.

Our preventative maintenance scope of work

Every program is tailored to the equipment installed at each site, but this is the task library our technicians work from on a standard commercial HVAC maintenance visit. Inspection tasking is also performed during annual services.

Inspections

• Install MERV 10 pleated air filters
• Check program and thermostats
• Start up of equipment for inspection
• Visual check for refrigerant leaks
• Wire brush condenser & evaporator coils
• Check tension and condition of belts & pulleys
• Brush return registers (as needed)
• Check supply & return temperatures
• Inspect blower components
• Inspect electrical components
• Clean electrical compartment free from dirt and debris
• Inspect economizer & operation
• Check all compressors for vibration, noise, and over-amperage
• Check all motors for vibration, noise, and over-amperage
• Inspect all VFDs for proper operation (if applicable)
• Add algaecide treatment to the drain pan to prevent water leaks
• Inspect condensate pump operation (if applicable)

Cooling service

• Chemically clean condenser and evaporator coils
• Water rinse and blow out coated condenser coils
• Clean condensate pan & drain lines
• Grease all motors & bearings (if applicable)
• Change all belts
• Clean condensate pumps (if applicable)
• Remove and clean outside air filter
• Blow out all VFDs with high-pressure air
• Vacuum supply & return cabinet

Heating services

• Start up of equipment for inspection
• Check defrost cycle (heat pump)
• Check electrical wiring to heating elements (heat pump)
• Inspect heat exchanger for cracks or rust
• Check accessible gas piping for leaks and condition
• Clean and inspect the burner assembly, inducer draft fan assembly, and heating compartment

VAV tasks performed

• Verify thermostat program & operation
• Verify dampers open and close properly
• Check supply temperature is within proper range
• Visual inspection of accessible ductwork
• Check electrical controls and connections
• Check temperatures at each supply register
• Brush supply and return registers

Who manages REE Mechanical’s maintenance program schedule?

Cindy Buzzelli, our PM Operations Lead, keeps every scheduled maintenance visit on the calendar and every site’s program on track. She is your point of contact for setting up or adjusting a preventative maintenance program — meet Cindy.

Where does REE run maintenance programs, and under which licenses?

We run programs across Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego counties and throughout Arizona: 21 counties in two states, managed from our headquarters at 42245 Remington Ave B10.

California work is performed under CSLB C20 licenses #940700 and #526944, with Jonathan Evancik as qualifying individual. Arizona is an active and growing market for us, served under our new Arizona ROC license #365042. REE Mechanical Inc. is licensed, bonded and insured, and has been family-owned since 1987.

Each county has its own maintenance profile: Ventura County, Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County, and San Diego County. Full coverage is on our service areas page.

What happens if a unit fails between scheduled visits?

We are on call 24/7, and the site file a program builds is what makes an urgent visit work.

Priority accounts get a technician on site within 4 hours once site documentation and roof access are in place (actual arrival varies with location and conditions). Our technicians are based across Southern California and Arizona instead of dispatched from a single yard. Breakdowns between visits are handled under HVAC repair and emergency service, and findings from those calls go back into the same equipment record.

How do we start a maintenance program for your sites?

Send us the site list. We scope the program against it one site at a time, and Cindy puts the first visits on the calendar.

Call (800) 742-0910 or reach our office. The services inside a program include preventive maintenance and tune-ups, filter and belt maintenance and tune-up, and coil and condenser maintenance and tune-up.