Chiller Service in Largo, FL

Reviewing a chiller replacement in Largo

The City of Largo's building services permit FAQ says: “Commercial permit reviews include Building, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, and Fire reviews when applicable.” (source). The same FAQ says: “Commercial plans are routed electronically for concurrent review by Building, Fire, and other applicable departments (Planning/Zoning, Engineering, Environmental Services, etc.) depending on the project scope” (source).

Those are the City's descriptions of its process, so use them as the questions to put to the City. Ask which of those reviews a chiller replacement will go through, whether equipment data sheets or drawings are needed, and which person on the contractor's side is named on the application. Ask for the answers in writing before the contract is signed, and keep them with the equipment file.

Hospitals, civic buildings and business parks in Largo

Each quote in this section is what the owner says about its own site, and this page makes no claim about who services the equipment in any of them.

HCA Florida Largo Hospital's About Us page says: “Our hospital is affiliated with HCA Healthcare and the University of South Florida (USF) Morsani College of Medicine GME Programs.” (source). Ask the manager of any hospital-scale plant which loads share one chilled water loop, which of them cannot lose cooling, and when the backup arrangements were last tested.

The City of Largo's redevelopment page says: “The City maintains two CRDs, both focused on areas within or adjacent to Downtown Largo” (source). Ask the owner of a building near downtown how its chillers were chosen, what the maintenance record shows, and who holds the controls documentation.

The Pinellas County page for the STAR Center says: “There are more than 21 businesses operating at the STAR Center and 1,700 employees working at the site.” (source). Ask a landlord with multiple tenants on one plant who is told before a chiller is shut down, and who pays when a shared machine is repaired.

Ask the owner of an industrial or office building what the cooling load is today, since a load that changed after the machine was bought changes the answer to every other question.

Retrofits, efficiency and the age of the plant

In Largo, Florida, the City's energy and buildings page says: “The City of Largo is exploring ways to reduce energy consumption and increase efficiencies through technology, building upgrades and retrofits.” (source).

Ask the owner of an older plant what the chiller's age and repair history are, and ask for the case for a retrofit and the case for a replacement to be put side by side. Ask what would be measured before and after a change, so that any claimed improvement can be checked against readings and not against a guess.

Flood questions: what to ask about the plant room

The City of Largo's flood hazard page says: “Obey evacuation orders from officials, which are issued for imminent storm surge flooding, not wind.” (source).

Ask where each chiller, pump and panel sits, and whether anyone has checked the building's flood zone with the City's floodplain office. Ask who can shut the plant down safely, who can start it again, and what is written down about both.

How a chiller service call goes

A call goes more smoothly when the paperwork is ready. Photograph the nameplate and note the controller before anyone arrives. Ask who will be on site and which readings they take.

Ask to see the findings before the technician leaves, grouped by urgency. A visit should leave you with a dated record you can hand to the next person who works on the plant. See chiller maintenance service for what a routine visit covers, and the commercial chiller hub for links to the brand, service and city pages. See chiller repair for a machine with a fault, and emergency chiller service for a plant that has stopped.

Weighing a replacement

Ask for the options side by side: repair, repair with a plan to replace later, and replace now. Ask what each option costs to own over the next several years, and who is paying for the work on the water side of the plant.

Blume prices a replacement option alongside repair, especially when a machine is close to its expected life. See capital planning for how to schedule the cost, refrigerant transition for the refrigerant questions, and chiller vs VRF for the system-type question. See chiller replacement for the full list of replacement questions, and temporary chiller rental for cooling while a machine is out.

Chiller brands in Largo

Blume works on commercial chillers in Largo, in Pinellas County. Blume doesn't necessarily push one brand or another, and Blume has commercial accounts with Carrier, Trane and Daikin Applied. Each page below covers one manufacturer.

• See Carrier chiller service in Tampa Bay.
• See Trane chiller service in Tampa Bay.
• See Daikin chiller service in Tampa Bay.
• See York chiller service in Tampa Bay.
• See McQuay chiller service in Tampa Bay.

See commercial HVAC in Largo for the wider commercial picture.

Where to start

Call 727-330-9131 with the nameplate details and a short description of what the machine serves. If the chiller has no recent report, say so, and start from the nameplate.

Unit converter