Remote compressors for commercial air conditioning or refrigeration units are pricey, making them prime targets for theft. An aluminum fence can help protect your business’s assets.
Many businesses thrive on the use of cooling units.
Aluminum fences can help protect those investments.
Businesses with Vital Cooling Needs
Most companies today operate better with adequate air conditioning. Several types thrive on them though. The first is restaurants. Ice cream shops might lose their entire inventory without cooling units for their freezers, ice cream machines, and whole shop, but they are not alone.
Every restaurant has some kind of cooling unit to keep frozen food frozen and refrigerated food cool. Without these operating constantly, the food becomes very susceptible to contamination and must be either cooked immediately or thrown away. Without adequate cooling units, restaurants are put out of business.
Much of the hospitality business thrives on access to air conditioning as well. While they do not have the same kind of legal standards for their rooms as restaurants do for their kitchens, most people simply will not stay at a hotel that does not have air conditioning or heat.
A third important group is retail stores. While most people do not shop in stores because of their temperature, many people will refuse to shop in one because it is too hot. If you want to stay in business, you need to keep your air conditioner units operating.
How can aluminum fences help you keep your cooling units running?
Criminal Activity
One of the dangers of having outdoor cooling compressors is that they are vulnerable to criminals who can either vandalize, steal, or sabotage them. Vandalism is a risk for any unit near places where young people may gather. The vandalism you may suffer could go beyond spray paint. It might involve structural damage to the unit itself, and perhaps costing you thousands of dollars to repair.
One of the more recent trends for the many areas the suffer from heavy drug use and trafficking has been people stealing parts from compressor units and selling them. It is no secret that these parts are not cheap to buy, and unfortunately, people who want to make quick cash have discovered how to get in and remove them, without even turning the unit off.
Finally, you may have angry ex-employees or people working for your competition that could get in and sabotage your cooling units, just to hurt your business. Whatever their reasons, you are at risk if your cooling units are exposed and accessible to the public. What can you do about this problem? Fence those units in with an aluminum fence.
Where to Install Fences
If you have a small unit, probably nestled up against your building, it is a simple task to install a small fence around them. If you put 4-5 feet of space around the units and a gate that allows access inside the fence, your HVAC technicians should have adequate access to work on them. If you have any question about how much space to allow, contact your local HVAC technician and get their professional opinion.
If you have an external unit that sits away from your building, you would be wise to box it in with a small fence.
Again 4-5 feet around the unit should provide enough wiggle room for those who need to be there to get in and work. Again, the key is to have a
locked gate that restricts access to your unit. This can be done quickly and without spending a lot of money.
What about commercial buildings with A/C units located on their roofs. These can also be fenced in, just like external units or nestled units if they are near a wall. Many businesses use them, even when roof access is limited. If people get desperate enough for money, they will find ways onto your roof.
There is one complication with installing fences on existing buildings. All of these fences require
posts that are dug into the ground and have concrete poured around them. This prevents the fences from being lifted right up out of the ground or perhaps pulled out with a vehicle and towing chain.
It is still possible with the concrete, but the process will be noticeable and take a while. For roof fences, there is no soil to dig into and set your posts. Roof fence posts must be bolted down. However, you do not want to drill into your roof because that will cause potential leaks.
If you are putting a fence on an existing roof, you need to build a small deck under or around your units and drill and bolt the fence posts into that deck pad. You can attach that deck pad to whatever part of the building allows you roof access, or else you may need to be creative to avoid drilling holes into your roof to keep that deck in place. The end result will be a fence that cannot be lifted up without taking the whole deck with it. It is not as secure as soil-and-concrete-rooted posts, but it is better than roof bolts.
If you are constructing a new building and know you will have compressor units on the roof, it would be an excellent idea to include fencing in the initial construction so you can plant it in concrete on the roof itself.
Make sure your essential A/C units are protected for your business by fencing them in with aluminum fences.
