With the winter storm and potential disaster the season brings, burst pipes are unfortunately a commonality. Though they happen in residential areas, a burst pipe can be especially dangerous for commercial buildings and businesses. Here’s what you need to know about preventing and combating such in a commercial setting.
Never Turn the Heat Off
A burst pipe is the bane of most people’s existence. They cause untold amounts of damage, they’re expensive to repair, and they can be dangerous if not handled properly. In a commercial setting, burst pipes can quickly become a major problem that could cost you thousands of dollars or even put your business out of commission for days on end.
If you’re trying to circumvent burst pipes, there’s one common sense solution to prevent this to begin with: never turning the heat off.
Picture this: it’s 14 degrees out and you turn the heat off in your building, assuming it’d be a great way to save money on energy costs. You come back the next day to find leaks around the building. Walls are filled with pockets of water, and worst of all, your pipes burst. This is because as temperatures drop outside, the water inside your building freezes and expands, putting pressure on your pipes’ walls — ultimately leading to burst pipes.
Circumvent this by keeping the heat on — you won’t regret it!
Set Heat to Freeze Protection Temperatures
To help prevent your pipes from bursting, you should set the heat to a temperature that will keep them from freezing. The exact temperature depends on what type of pipe you have and where it is located.
Insulate Pipes
If your pipes are exposed to the cold, it’s a good idea to insulate them. Note that this doesn’t necessarily apply to pipes located on the interior of the building, but rather pipes that are externally visible. You can use pipe insulation and heat tape for this purpose.
Furthermore, consider the R-value of the insulation you are using. If you are in a colder location or your pipes in a generally cold space in the building, you may opt for insulation that has a higher R-value. R-value refers to thermal resistance and measures how effective the insulation will be.
Heat Trace Helps with Combating Burst Pipes
Heat trace is a flexible heating cable that can be installed in pipes to prevent freezing and thawing. This means it’s also great at preventing burst pipes! Heat tracing is installed along the length of your pipes so that, when it’s cold out, there are no spots where the water inside freezes up.
This prevents any sudden bursts from occurring when pumping begins again after winter has ended. Heat tracing ultimately helps keep your building safe from damage caused by burst pipes while also saving money on repairs because they won’t need replacing as often.
Combating Burst Pipes with Air Ideal
These are a few of the things you can do to avoid burst pipes. If you believe that your commercial property has been damaged by one, it’s important to get in touch with experienced professionals who can quickly remediate the issue.
At Air Ideal, our expert technicians are ready, willing, and able to perform any maintenance you may need. If you need service for burst pipes or are in need of general maintenance, please visit our website and contact us today — we’ll be happy to help!