HVAC, Plumbing, & Electrical Blog Hillside, IL

Commercial Heating & Maintaining Good Indoor Air Quality

March 20th, 2023

Whatever type of heating system you use for your commercial facility (rooftop units, radiant heating systems, boilers, gas furnaces, etc.), you must also pay attention to your facility’s indoor air quality (IAQ). Unfortunately, indoor air quality is often low for commercial properties, especially during times when the heating system needs to run. To ensure the best efficiency for a commercial heating system, the facility needs to stay sealed from the outside, and this contributes to poor ventilation and lack of fresh air.

Poor indoor air quality creates multiple problems: health issues for occupants, lowered productivity for employees, damage to equipment (particularly electronics) and building materials, and even a drop in the value of the property.

What can you do to ensure the best IAQ for your commercial property while heating it? We’ll look at several actions you can take.

Answering Basic Questions About EV Charging Stations

March 6th, 2023

The number of electrical vehicles on the road in Chicagoland is increasing all the time. You’ve likely seen signs for EV charging stations popping up all over Chicagoland, and perhaps you know of businesses that have decided to invest in installing charging stations on their property.

With such rapid developments in this new industry, people have many questions. We’ll address some of the more common ones business owners have about EV charging stations.

An Overview of the Types of Commercial Boilers

February 20th, 2023

When you need to choose a new commercial boiler for your facility, you’ll have several different options. The type you choose depends a great deal on the type of business you run and the purpose of the boiler.

For example, if the boiler is designed to provide heating to the tenants of a large building, you’ll need a boiler much different from a boiler used to maintain the heat needed for processing in a manufacturing plant.

We handle many types of commercial boilers in Chicago, IL, and you can trust that we’ll steer you toward the right type to serve your needs and then have it installed correctly. We’ll focus on finding units that will save energy and lower the chance of downtime.

When Is It Time to Call for Service for Your Commercial Heating System?

February 6th, 2023

In the middle of a Chicago winter, you depend heavily on the heating system for your commercial property. Even a small interruption in the heater’s operation can mean significant revenue loss from downtime. Acting fast is the key to mitigating these problems, so let’s look at how you can tell it’s time to schedule professional service for your commercial heating system.

Indoor Air Quality Problems That Can Affect Offices

January 23rd, 2023

Indoor air quality for offices is a major concern today because of the ongoing pandemic and its effects on businesses around the world. Although the worst of the pandemic appears to be behind us, it has altered the way people think of air quality inside offices and brought more focus to the general ways to identify and combat low commercial indoor air quality.

We work extensively with commercial indoor air quality in Bolingbrook, IL and throughout Chicagoland, and we’ve been doing so since 1962. We handle indoor air quality (IAQ) for all types of commercial and industrial facilities. Office spaces are frequently overlooked when it comes to IAQ. We’re going to look at how the IAQ in your office can drop and the different sources behind it.

The Benefits of Commercial Humidification Control

January 9th, 2023

People have a general sense that high humidity is “bad,” but often don’t consider the consequences of low humidity, which can be just as extreme. The ideal humidity level is balanced between the two. For example, when it comes to comfort, the ideal relative humidity level is 45%. Above 60% is too humid, and below 30% is too dry.

However, we’re specifically addressing the needs of commercial buildings when it comes to humidification. These can be complicated, and we strongly recommend any commercial facility have a commercial humidification system to balance indoor relative humidity. We offer commercial humidification and air cleaning systems in Chicago, IL that can solve your troubles with imbalanced moisture levels in your facility.

There are many benefits to commercial humidification control. Some will affect your business more than others, but almost any business will find humidification control advantageous.

The Advantages of Camera and Video Drain Inspections

December 26th, 2022

Your commercial facility has extensive plumbing in it, no matter what type of business you operate. Whether this plumbing is essential for process or is necessary for basic sanitation and water supply, you’ll want to ensure it’s kept in the best shape possible.

This is where commercial camera and video drain inspections in Chicago, IL is immensely helpful. Thanks to advances in technology, our commercial plumbers do not need to disrupt your business to handle jobs like pipe and sewer line inspections, drain and sewer cleaning, and diagnosing plumbing problems. This technology also makes it faster and easier to locate issues in commercial plumbing and devise solutions that remove time-consuming guesswork and physical disruption to the workspace.

Pipe Lining Can Solve Your Commercial Plumbing Worries

December 12th, 2022

Plumbing problems for a commercial facility can be standard annoyances, such as clogged drains or problems with low water pressure (often a problem in high-rises). You’ll need professional commercial plumbers to handle these repairs, but they’re straightforward and you won’t have to worry about disruption or damage to your property.

But what about dealing with issues like leaking pipes within the concrete structure of your facility, or having to replace worn-down older underground pipes? The repairs can require extensive excavation and the breaking up of concrete slabs. This kind of work is extremely disruptive to a commercial operation, not to mention expensive and messy.

There is a way to solve this dilemma, which is pipe and drain lining. Not all commercial plumbers can offer this more efficient and cost-effective approach, but Althoff is proud to offer pipe and drain lining in Chicago, IL and throughout Chicagoland. We help you solve problems, not create new ones!

The Different Levels of EV Charging Stations and What They Mean

November 28th, 2022

The SAE International, the automotive engineering organization, identifies three levels of EV charging. Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. Many factors will influence your decisions regarding what type of EV charging solution is best for you or your business.

If you are installing for your business or retail location, you should consider several factors in deciding which Level of Chargers or Combinations work best for you:

How far do your average employees commute?
How far does a typical customer commute?
What is typical time spent in your establishment or location?
How many customers/employees will use the stations.

The Challenges of Commercial Kitchen Ventilation

November 14th, 2022

Any commercial building or space requires the right type of ventilation. For some spaces, this can be as simple as ensuring fresh air can enter and stale air escape so the interior retains the proper air pressure. But when it comes to commercial kitchens, ventilation becomes more complicated as well as more vital.

Althoff Industries works with commercial kitchen exhaust systems in Elk Grove Village, IL and throughout Chicagoland, and we understand all about the special challenges that come with proper ventilation for this space. It takes much more than a conventional HVAC system. There are several specific challenges involved in proper kitchen ventilation: