When you have interior space limitations within the business premises, a flat commercial roof can offer you great convenience. Many commercial buildings prefer flat roofs when they first open their business doors.
One more reason is that you could place the HVAC unit more conveniently. Quite possibly, your building is so designed that placing a certain heavy HVAC unit near a window or some other location may pose many structural risks.
Con-form can deliver an HVAC plant platforms system, which is a sleek and simple design and can be much ahead of generations of conventional structural steel platforms. The unique design of these Conform platfroms can easily distribute all your loads evenly and greatly reduce the structural needs of the roof. All the components used will carry a warranty of 25 years!
Also, this arrangement can be perfect for a different range of industrial applications including:
- Housing condensers and many other HVAC and plant machinery
- Long spanning refrigeration, air-conditioning, and ventilation machinery
- Retrofitting mechanical equipment to your existing roofs
- Upgrades to your smoke exhaust systems
Let us discuss a few pros and cons of placing your HVAC units on the flat roofs of your commercial property.
PROS:
Eliminating the sound of your HVAC unit
You can avoid obstructions by placing the HVAC system up on the flat roof. Mostly, all the loud sounds often emanating from all these units will be placed where they will not be too disturbing. Regular turning on and off of the unit will not be heard at all.
Maintenance can happen out of sight
Now all routine maintenance of an HVAC can be performed in open. This is another benefit as there will not be much of obstructions during the maintenance. Now your maintenance crew can easily work without worrying about blocking the way of customers or any car traffic.
Any condensation from your HVAC unit will not go out on the street
There will be plenty of condensation once you start using the heating or cooling unit that needs regular draining. When you have got an HVAC unit all around the sides of the building, it may leak onto a walkway and may create a messy sight.
Placing it on the roof can drain off your roof into the gutters.
CONS:
You may often damage your roofing membrane
Unfortunately, placing it there may cause damage to your roof’s existing membrane or your other roofing material. When you have enough foot traffic near the HVAC unit, the membrane may soon start wearing down.
Improper installation may create low spots
Quite possible that you must have installed your HVAC system in hurry on the roof before your grand opening deadline. If you installed it a decade back, the rushed installation must have caused certain low spots on your roof surface.
Puddling water may create roof deterioration
Often you may fail to do regular maintenance on the flat roof and the condensation line from the HVAC unit can malfunction, leaving water puddles on the roof. Like ponding water coming from rains, standing water can also start making roofing materials rot.