Moving is always an exciting—and stressful—time.
This can be even more so when you’re moving your business into a larger office or retail space.
There are so many things to consider to insure you’re in the right location with the right amenities.
Hopefully, your commercial real estate agent will help you with most of those areas, but what about the A/C unit? Have you thought about cooling your new location?
Standalone or Neighbors?
There are pros and cons to having a standalone commercial location versus being connected to neighbors. When it comes to cooling, you could be looking at an impact to your unit’s efficiency and costs.
As with apartment living, office neighbors can provide additional insulation to reduce costs, but with little control over ventilation, costs could skyrocket.
If your retail location is in a mall or plaza, you will be sharing the air with the mall itself and other neighbors, which could affect your costs. If the mall is kept warmer than you want your location to be, for example, your unit will be working harder to cool your store as well as the warmer air coming in.
Commercial Air Conditioning Works Harder
At your house the likelihood of you opening and closing your front door multiple times per day as people come in and go out isn’t high. Also, you don’t have as much space or as many people there.
In your office or retail space, you’ll have more area to cool, as well as more activity. Public places are usually kept a bit cooler than your home would be, so there’s that consideration as well.
In a large location, you may have more than one unit to cool the space. What impact will that have on your cooling costs?
What Does the Lease Say?
One of the reasons it’s smart to work with a commercial real estate agent is because he or she will review the lease on your behalf. But are they looking for all the things that matter to you?
In some commercial lease situations, the tenant (that’s you) is responsible for maintenance of the heating and cooling units. That can get costly if you’re moving into an older building with older units.
And since most commercial spaces don’t go through the inspection process that a home would before it’s purchased, you may well be biting off more than you can chew.
Insist on a Professional Inspection
Before you sign the lease on your new office or retail location, insist that you be allowed to bring in an HVAC professional to inspect the heating and cooling system.
A technician from your Forrest Anderson Commercial Services will complete a thorough visual inspection of the interior and exterior components of the A/C unit to ensure it is in working condition.
We’ll also let you know if we foresee any challenges in the next year or so, such as if it’s an older unit that will be ready for replacement soon.
Protect yourself, your business, and your investment. When you’re ready for a new commercial location, use a real estate agent.
And have the location inspected by Forrest Anderson. We’ll ensure you’re making the right choice.
Contact Forrest Anderson Today!