HVACBossPro Blog — Property Managers & Commercial

Rooftop Package Units: Equipment Records for the Commercial HVAC Work on the Roof

Walk up onto the roof of almost any strip center, small office building or restaurant and you find a row of package units. They look alike from the parking lot. Up close, they are different ages, different brands and different sizes, and they serve different tenants. The tech who keeps them straight is the tech the building owner calls back.

Why Rooftop Units Need Better Records

The broader picture of light commercial work is in Light Commercial HVAC Service: Offices, Retail, Restaurants, Churches and Small Warehouses. Rooftop units deserve their own attention because the stakes of a mix-up are higher.

On a house, there is one condenser and nobody wonders which one to work on. On a roof with six units, “the unit for Suite 4” means nothing unless someone wrote down which one that is. Techs waste time tracing ductwork and checking which space goes warm when a unit shuts off. Worse, they service the wrong unit and bill the wrong tenant.

Rooftop units are also out of sight. Nobody notices a clogged filter or a slipping belt on the roof until the space below gets uncomfortable. Good records and a regular visit schedule are what keep them running.

One Address per Unit or Suite

In HVACBossPro, each client can have many addresses. For a building with several rooftop units, add each suite or each unit as its own address under the owner: “450 Main St Suite 1,” “450 Main St Suite 2,” and so on. If one tenant has two units, name them so the tech can tell them apart, like “Suite 3 North RTU” and “Suite 3 South RTU.”

Each address then gets its own equipment record, its own history and its own line on the monthly statement. When the strip center owner asks what was done to the unit serving the nail salon, you can answer.

What to Record on Each Unit

Every rooftop unit's address should hold:

• System type: Package Unit.
• Brand, model number and serial number, copied from the data plate on the first visit.
• Year installed and tonnage.
• Filter size and count, since many package units take several filters at once.
• Unit location: Roof.
• Access notes: where the hatch or ladder is, who has the key, and any safety notes.

A photo of the data plate saved with the first job is a good backup. On the tech's phone the card reads like “Package Unit · Carrier · 5 ton · installed 2011 · filter 20x25x2 (x4)” with the serial below. More on the record itself in Equipment Records per Unit and per Building for Commercial HVAC Accounts.

Roof Access Notes

Getting to the roof is often the slowest part of the visit. The access note should answer every question the tech will have:

• “Roof hatch in back storage of Suite 2. Ask manager for key.”
• “No interior access. Bring extension ladder, set at the back wall by the dumpster.”
• “Must check in at front desk and sign the vendor log.”
• “Do not go up before 7am, alarm is set.”

Put the rule on the address once, and every tech on every visit sees it. Nobody calls the office from the parking lot asking how to get up.

Quarterly Visits on the Roof

Rooftop units work hard and get dirty. Many owners do well with quarterly visits: filters, belts, a look at the coils, clearing the condensate drain, checking capacitors and contactors. Set each unit's address to 90 days between visits, and they come due on the Waiting List together. The office puts the whole roof on one van on one morning.

Because every unit is its own address, the tech can complete them one at a time. If one unit cannot be reached because a tenant has not opened up yet, the tech skips it with a note and the rest still count as done. Visit planning is covered more in Quarterly PM Visits for Commercial HVAC Customers.

Photos From the Roof

Building owners rarely climb up to look. That makes before and after photos the best proof you have. A shot of the old filters, the cleaned coil or the cracked belt you replaced is saved with that unit's job. If you spot something that needs a quote, like a corroded disconnect or a failing blower motor, the photo goes on the estimate and makes the approval easy.

Bill the Right Tenant

On multi-tenant buildings, who pays for which unit can vary. Some owners pay for everything. Some pass costs to tenants. Either way, the monthly statement lists each line with its address and suite, so the owner can split costs correctly without asking you to redo the invoice.

For how rooftop units fit with the rest of the commercial side, see the HVACBossPro commercial HVAC software page.