COMMERCIAL HVAC IN SALT LAKE CITY

Salt Lake City has the densest commercial HVAC stock in the state — restaurants and bars in Sugar House and downtown, multi-tenant retail along 9th & 9th, apartment buildings throughout the Avenues and Marmalade, medical and dental offices on the East Bench, hospitality and event venues in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Each building type has its own HVAC profile, and downtime costs different operators very different amounts. A 10-ton rooftop unit failing at a 200-seat restaurant on a Friday night is a $4,000-$10,000 closed-revenue night plus the gas bill they're still paying. A boiler failing at a 24-unit Avenues apartment building in a January cold snap is a tenant safety issue plus a refund and possible legal exposure. Commercial HVAC customers buy speed and reliability as much as they buy the equipment.

We run a separate commercial crew for exactly this reason. Different truck inventory (commercial-sized motors, capacitors, contactors, belt-drive parts, larger combustion analyzers), commercial HVAC certifications, forklift and rooftop-safety rated, and a dedicated commercial dispatch line that prioritizes commercial no-cool/no-heat over residential during business hours. PM contract customers skip the queue on hard-freeze and heat-wave weeks — which is exactly when every commercial operator needs service.

Commercial equipment we service across SLC

Rooftop package units (RTUs) — the workhorse of commercial HVAC. Gas/electric or electric-only, 3 to 25 tons, combined heating and cooling in one rooftop cabinet. Trane, Carrier, York, Lennox, Rheem, Daikin, Bryant, ICP. Most of our SLC commercial work is RTUs on Sugar House strip retail, downtown office buildings, and multi-tenant 9th & 9th properties.

Commercial boilers — apartment buildings, schools, medical offices, and the older multi-tenant buildings throughout SLC that still run hydronic. Gas-fired cast iron or high-efficiency condensing, 200,000 to 2,000,000 BTU. The Avenues and Marmalade apartment market is full of these. Staffed by our hydronic specialists who already work residential boilers across the city.

Make-up air units (MAU) — critical for restaurants, commercial kitchens, and basement bars. Balance exhaust hoods by bringing in tempered outside air. SLC has a dense bar and restaurant scene with a lot of basement venues that depend on properly working MAUs. Frequently overlooked on PM contracts; first thing to fail on a busy summer night when ambient and exhaust conflict.

Split commercial systems — outdoor condenser and indoor air handler, larger than residential. Common in office buildings, professional suites, and older commercial retrofits in converted Avenues mansion-to-office properties.

VRF / VRV systems — Mitsubishi City Multi, Daikin VRV, LG Multi V. High-end zoned systems for newer commercial builds and high-end Avenues remodel-to-office conversions. Specialized service — requires factory certification.

Building automation systems (BAS) — thermostat and control integration for larger buildings. Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Tridium. We integrate with existing BAS; full BAS installs partner with specialized controls contractors.

Restaurant and bar HVAC — SLC's downtown specialty

Bars and restaurants are the trickiest commercial HVAC profile we work. High occupancy means high cooling loads. Commercial kitchens with hood exhaust and make-up air create constant air balance challenges. Basement venues (common in downtown, 9th & 9th, and Sugar House) need fully ducted MAU systems and exhaust integration that's rarely simple. We've worked enough of these properties to know the patterns: the MAU that's been off-spec since opening, the rooftop unit that short-cycles when the patio is full, the bar walk-in cooler that dies first thing on a hot Saturday. PM contracts on bar/restaurant accounts run $1,250 to $3,500 per year depending on equipment count, and they pay for themselves the first time we catch a failing condenser fan motor on a Tuesday instead of a Friday.

Apartment building boilers in the Avenues and Marmalade

Multi-tenant apartment buildings throughout SLC's older neighborhoods often heat with central commercial boilers — one unit, one big system, dozens of tenants. The boilers are commonly 25 to 40 years old, marginally maintained, and one bad winter from a city-wide tenant complaint cycle. We do annual PM service on these, including combustion analysis, low-water cutoff testing, expansion tank service, and circulator pump replacement when bearings wear. Replacement projects run $25,000 to $85,000 depending on building size — large enough that financing and the right project timeline matter as much as the equipment.

Preventive maintenance contracts

Commercial PM is the highest-value HVAC decision most building owners make. Twice-a-year service (pre-summer and pre-winter), filters, belt inspections, combustion analysis on gas-heat units, refrigerant checks, electrical testing, written reports. Catches roughly 80% of failures before they become emergency calls. Priority dispatch when something does fail. PM customer rates on repairs are typically 10-15% lower than non-contract emergency pricing. Our SLC commercial PM customers include several large downtown restaurants, multiple Sugar House retail strips, and apartment portfolios across the Avenues and Marmalade. Quality Service Club HVAC available for small commercial too.

Common commercial repair calls

• No cooling on RTU — compressor, contactor, capacitor, or refrigerant. $485-$1,850 typical
• No heat on gas/electric RTU — igniter, gas valve, flame sensor, control board. $385-$925
• Belt-drive blower failure — belt, bearings, or motor. $485-$1,250
• Economizer stuck or failed — outside-air damper actuator. $385-$685
• Variable frequency drive (VFD) failure — $1,250-$3,500 depending on unit
• RTU refrigerant leak — detection, repair, recharge. $685-$2,850
• Commercial boiler low water cutoff — safety device, must pass code. $485-$985
• Make-up air unit burner — $685-$1,850 depending on cause