HVAC, Plumbing, & Electrical Blog Hillside, IL

Critical Restaurant Plumbing Services You May Need

September 5th, 2022

When it comes to commercial plumbing in Chicago, IL, Althoff Industries is one of the most trusted names. We’ve served businesses in the area since 1962—we’ve literally seen it all and we’ve handled it all.

Among our most important commercial plumbing clients are restaurants. Any food service company requires the best in licensed plumbing work to keep it up to local codes. Mistakes from inexperienced or unlicensed contractors can end up shuttering a business. It’s our job to help your food service establishment not only stay up to code, but have a plumbing system—freshwater and wastewater—that works smoothly and creates few troubles for you.

Below are some of the vital services we can provide to help your restaurant with its plumbing.

The Importance of Professional Sizing for Commercial AC Installations

August 22nd, 2022

When it comes to the installation of commercial air conditioning for your facility, you don’t want anyone but the best professionals to handle the job. Our team has decades of experience installing air conditioning systems for a wide range of companies and buildings, and we never take shortcuts—we know there are no shortcuts when it comes to quality work.

One of the most important steps for proper commercial air conditioning installation is sizing the new unit. We’ll explain what this process is and why ensuring it’s done correctly is critical for a commercial HVAC system to operate effectively and efficiently.

The Importance of Backflow Prevention and Certification

August 8th, 2022

A critical part of the plumbing for commercial properties is the prevention of backflow. Many people are unfamiliar with backflow prevention and backflow preventers because they are uncommon for homes. For commercial businesses and facilities, however, they are critical for preventing potential freshwater contamination that can affect not only the business, but the general water supply.

Althoff Industries offers essential backflow prevention and certification in Chicago, IL and throughout Chicagoland. We are licensed to test and certify backflow prevention devices to allow businesses to keep up to code, and we can also handle backflow prevention repairs and replacements.

High Humidity and Your Business

July 25th, 2022

We offer humidification and air cleaning systems in Chicago, IL to help our customers combat the air quality troubles that can harm their businesses. Humidity is a major problem that often gets overlooked in commercial environments. Humidity is more than just something that makes people feel hotter on warm days. It can have extreme effects on a commercial facility that can lead to expensive repairs and refurbishing, and harm to the health of people indoors.

Ways Ductless HVAC Systems Can Help a Business

July 11th, 2022

Sometimes it’s difficult for business owners to imagine running any type of company, facility, or establishment in a building without ductwork. In fact, exposed ducts have become one of the standard design looks for many types of commercial buildings.

The development of advanced, energy-efficient ductless HVAC systems (also known as ductless mini split systems or ductless mini split heat pumps) has created a new paradigm for commercial heating and cooling. A ductless system still has parts in common with standard commercial heat pumps and ACs, such as an outdoor compressor (often housed up on the roof of the building). But instead of using a massive blower to push air from the compressor into the building’s ductwork, the compressor attaches to a series of smaller air handlers placed in zones around the facility, each capable of conditioning the air with the refrigerant sent from the compressor and blowing it directly into the zones.

How can this type of system benefit a business? Much of it depends on the business, and not all will find ductless HVAC beneficial. We’ll go over the main advantages of commercial ductless systems to help you understand how you might use one for your commercial heating and commercial air conditioning in Elk Grove Village, IL.

We Offer Full Apartment and Condo Plumbing Services

June 27th, 2022

Althoff provides a wide range of plumbing services for businesses, and this includes extensive plumbing services for condominiums and apartment buildings. If you own an apartment or condominium complex, our team can help you make vital upgrades to the plumbing system, including new water heaters and replacing risers, to make your building more attractive to potential tenants and help with current tenant retention. We will not only keep your building up to the current codes, we can increase its energy efficiency and may even qualify you for LEED certification, which is even more attractive to potential tenants.

Ventilation and Negative Air Pressure

June 13th, 2022

Proper ventilation is an essential part of commercial and industrial facilities. It’s often easy for facility managers and business owners to overlook high-quality ventilation installation in Chicago, IL for their businesses: often they’re focused on the heating and air conditioning parts of “HVAC.” But proper ventilation systems not only ensure circulation of air to effectively distribute heating and cooling and the removal of harmful contaminants to the outside, they also help prevent a major air quality problem many buildings face: negative air pressure.

Benefits of Commercial VRF Air Conditioning

May 16th, 2022

If you aren’t familiar with commercial air conditioning or commercial HVAC in general, it’s easy to think of air conditioning systems as basically all the same. The difference is in power, and as long as you have a commercial AC installation in Chicago, IL that matches the load requirements of your facility, you’ll have the AC equipment you need.

But AC technology constantly changes and improves, and what you need for basic day-to-day operations may not be the best you can have. This is why we want to talk about commercial VRF systems, which we install and service in Chicagoland.

Top Benefits of Solar Installations

May 2nd, 2022

At Althoff, we take pride in offering an enormous range of commercial and industrial services to our customers. We take on all challenges and offer genuine solutions, not simple fixes. One of our specialties is handling solar installation in Chicago, IL for commercial businesses interested in the enormous benefits of using renewable energy sources.

If you’re looking into a solar energy installation for your business in Chicagoland, we’d love to speak to you and examine your options. If you have some hesitancy about going with solar power, we understand—it can be a big leap. The potential benefits, however, are enormous. Below are the top benefits you may enjoy from a high-quality solar energy installation from our professionals.

Maintain Your Commercial Solar Energy System

April 18th, 2022

Solar energy systems are growing more popular now with businesses than ever before. Illinois has pursued an aggressive solar program with tax credits, leading many businesses to arrange to outfit their buildings with solar.

This rush to install solar energy has caused several difficulties, however, as many businesses owners who are new to using solar power are running into problems due to poor installation and lack of maintenance. We encourage you to look into solar as an option for your business, but we want you to understand the importance of professional service and regular maintenance—it’s the best way to see that you receive the full benefits of solar energy while keeping your facility safe.