There are a few ways you can reduce the strain on your HVAC system, which will help you save money and protect your system from damage. Consider using these tips to make your system more economical: 

Integrate Your Exhaust Systems

Integrating your exhaust systems may not seem like something that you'd want to do, but it can help keep down your costs. When you are building an HVAC system into your business, you can integrate the exhaust and make it part of the forced air tunnels. At that point, you won't need additional exhaust systems, helping you essentially reuse your HVAC fans to keep dangerous fumes out of your restaurant or other type of company. 

Purchase Programmable Thermostats 

Another way to keep down your HVAC costs is to use programmable thermostats. These thermostats have setting options that let you plan in advance, so you can keep down costs when people aren't in the building and make sure you're not overrunning the system when they are. 

With a programmable thermostat, you can:

• Set times when heating or cooling will come on. 
• Close your business for vacation and program the HVAC system to only keep temperatures moderate instead of at the level employees would want to work in.

With this system, you determine the necessary heating and cooling levels in advance, so you can generally know what to expect on your heating and cooling bills. If those jump suddenly, then you'll be better able to tell that there may be something wrong with your system and have someone come out to perform maintenance. 

Encourage Energy-Efficient Behavior from Workers

One of the best ways to make your heating and cooling bills drop is to make sure everyone who works with you knows the importance of energy efficiency and energy-efficient behaviors. Wasted energy is wasted money, so training employees to help keep energy usage down is beneficial to your budget. 

Instead of changing the temperatures you've preset, consider providing employees with desktop fans, solar screen shades, or shades for windows to keep temperatures comfortable in the summer. In the winter, make sure you prevent drafts and ask workers to keep windows and doors shut to prevent energy waste. 

Using these techniques, you should find that your bills drop over time. On top of that, your HVAC system won't have to work as hard, and this can prevent damage that requires maintenance or a replacement system. To learn more, contact a company like Scott's Heating & Air Conditioning Services with any questions you have.