Do Your HVAC Automation Devices Have a 5-Year Warranty for Specs?

The Power of HVAC Automation Devices

Building automation brings with it a myriad of different benefits, all at the exact same time.

In addition to creating a better and safer indoor environment, it is also a process that is known for bringing with it reduced utility costs. By integrating assets like lights, chillers, boilers, and more into the same system, you understand where opportunities for improvement rest - thus unlocking quite a bit of potential savings along the way.

From proactive maintenance leading to reduced equipment costs and the elimination of costly periods of unplanned downtime, it's easy to see why so many organizations have embraced building automation systems like this over the years.

But at the same time, HVAC automation devices, in particular, need to be protected to help make sure they function just as well years from now as they are when they are initially installed. This is why it is always so crucial to verify that your HVAC automation devices have a 5-year warranty for specs.

Why a Warranty is Critical

To understand why this type of warranty is critical, it's important to understand the larger context that these devices operate in.

Think for a moment about all the various building automation sensors that are needed to bring this type of infrastructure to life. Even a modestly-sized deployment will have a wide range of "moving parts," including but not limited to ones like:

• Pressure sensors. These help proactively identify everything from leaks to potential pump failures.
• Humidity sensors. These don't just assist with the regulation of comfort, but they can also protect humidity-sensitive environments as well.
• Temperature sensors, which can be used to better manage the conditions of both inside and outside air.
• Current sensors, which are used to track the run status of all fan and pump motors.
• Power sensors, which are used by assets like chillers and boilers to manage load shredding agreements and to detect potential mechanical problems.
• Flow sensors, which are often used in boilers, chillers, and cooling towers to track energy usage, identifying important trends and patterns that otherwise would have gone undiscovered.

The success of any HVAC automation environment requires all of these sensors and similar types of devices to work together as one. Each of them is constantly creating, storing, and sharing data on a daily basis. Not only do they have to be able to communicate with one another, but they also have to make sure that the organizational leaders who need access to this real-time information always have it. It's the best way to make sure that they have what is necessary to make the most informed decisions possible, no matter what.

Sensor Breakdowns and Malfunctions

Now, imagine what would happen if any one of these building automation sensors were to break down. Not only do leaders no longer have a "complete picture" to work from when it comes to the larger environment, but it can create a negative ripple effect in the worst possible way, too.

If a CO2 sensor were to stop functioning, the automation system can no longer cycle in fresh air as needed. If a room IAQ sensor were to break down, you can no longer properly monitor things like VOC outputs. If an occupancy sensor were to suddenly lose contact with the larger network, suddenly you don't have accurate data models of the usage of a space to make decisions based on.

Warranties Protect Your Equipment and Your Business

This is why making sure that your HVAC automation devices have at least a 5-year warranty for specs is not a recommendation but a requirement. These sensors need to be able to come together to form something more powerful as a collective than any one of them could be on their own. They all function as a whole, offering seamless building management across the board.

There is an old saying that reminds us that "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link." Any device that isn't covered by such a warranty officially becomes that weak link - and at that point, it is only a matter of time before the chain itself breaks.

Finding the right products that are adequately protected (and the right partner to supply them) goes a long way towards making sure that this is not the type of thing your organization has to worry about.

If you have any additional questions about whether your HVAC automation devices have a 5-year warranty for specs, or if you'd just like to speak to someone about your own needs in a bit more detail, please don't delay - contact us today.