Blog

What's Trendingat Ahern?

​Ahern’s experts possess a wide range of knowledge that extends beyond system design, build, and maintenance. Our blog features a number of technical articles written by Ahern employees that range in topics from industry trends, maintenance tools and tips, to service information, and more.

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JF Ahern Vehicle

Drain Jetters Send Clogs Flying

Clogged sewer pipes and backed-up drains will certainly cause a mess, but can also result in property damage, and are potentially dangerous to a facility’s employees and customers. Fortunately, there are powerful machines available called “jetters” that enable plumbing contractors to...
JF Ahern Employee

Planned Maintenance Q&A

Q: How does performing regular, proactive planned maintenance affect an HVAC system’s operation? A: Planned maintenance will reduce a system’s energy consumption and extend its useful life. Well maintained equipment also improves indoor air quality and reduces tenant/employee comfort...
JF Ahern Project

Combustible Dust – Digging Through the Confusion to Manage the Risks

Bringing Some Clarity to the Situation If you have dealt with a Combustible Dust hazard in your facility, you are aware of the many National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes involved in your attempt to find the proper resolution to Reducing Your Risks. Currently, when you dive...
JF Ahern Project

Project GRILL 2015 Unveiling

Again this year, Ahern took part in Project GRILL , a program started by the Fond du Lac Association of Commerce. Project GRILL pairs local manufacturers with area high school tech ed students in a yearlong project to design and build a working charcoal grill from scratch.
VLF JF Ahern Project

Your Facility's HVAC System: Go With the Flow

Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) or Variable Refrigerant Volume (VRV) is a type of HVAC system that uses refrigerant as a means to transport heat between the outdoor condensing units to various indoor units throughout the building to condition the space.
dirty pipe

What is MIC? – Common Questions Answered

What is microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC)? Microbiologically influenced corrosion or MIC, is an electrochemical process which involves bacteria that can accelerate previously occurring corrosion in both wet- and dry-pipe fire sprinkler systems. MIC always involves bacteria...
JF Ahern's Energy Storage Solutions

Store Up Energy

Written by an Engineer at Ahern Thermal energy storage is a beneficial system that allows you to reduce your total electricity demand charges. In general, this is simply done by operating your cooling equipment during off-peak hours (weekends and nights) and storing the energy to be...
Static Regain System Instillation

Is a Static Regain System Right for You?

Written by an Engineer at Ahern A static regain system is a design change that switches from the typical rectangular supply main to multiple spiral duct branches. Each branch has uniform static pressures and requires little to no balancing. There are many advantages of using this type...
6820 Shingle Creek JF Ahern Project

Five Year Check Valve Inspections

Your building’s fire sprinkler system is a vital part of a life safety system. But just like all mechanical equipment, these systems must be maintained in order to provide maximum protection to structures and occupants.
Colohub Server Room JF Ahern Project

Fire Suppression and the “Internet of Things”

Where is the most important data space in your manufacturing facility? Most likely, it isn’t the front office anymore. Today, as the world of manufacturing has transitioned to a process environment where a reduced labor force can operate the facility, almost every piece of process and...
JF Ahern Rooftop Unit Instillation

Cooling For (Nearly) Free?! It’s Possible with an Economizer

Free cooling in your facility sounds too good to be true, right? Well, economizing may not be free, but it is certainly less expensive than mechanical cooling. During what are referred to as the “shoulder months” for cooling, when energy demands are the lowest – March, April, May, Sep
VA Hospital JF Ahern Project

Plumbing Preventive Maintenance: Out of Sight, Out of Mind?

Commercial building plumbing systems are often installed and promptly forgotten about -- until they start leaking or fail.
JF Ahern Building Out of Commission

Is Your Building Out of Commission?

Written by an Energy Solutions Specialist at Ahern While we would like them to be, how building systems are designed is not always how they are installed and operated. For a new building, the process of confirming that a system is installed and operated according to design and project...
JF Ahern Exhausting Savings Solutions

Exhausting Your Energy Savings

Written by an Energy Solutions Specialist at Ahern Code requirements for buildings typically mandate exhaust systems for certain applications to control indoor air quality (IAQ), odors, and pressurization. Exhausting air can translate to blowing conditioned air directly out of the...
JF Ahern Project

Are You at Risk from Combustible Dusts? Part 2

Part 2 of 2: Five Steps to Reducing the Risk? By Business Development Representative, Ahern Fire Protection-Special Hazards In the last issue , we worked through the first three steps involved in understanding your combustible dust hazards. For a quick review, here are the steps we...
downtown chicago

Sprinkler Systems in Mixed-Use Buildings

Downtown metro space is becoming more and more valuable. Because of this, many buildings are built for more than one purpose, making them non-traditional when it comes to design.
CFSI JF Ahern Project

Counterfeit, Fraudulent, and Suspect Items (CFSI)

In the last few years, the industry has become aware of an influx of counterfeit items in the American market. Counterfeiting is a problem in numerous areas. The automotive industry has seen problems with fake parts, and the aviation industry is struggling with an increasing arrival...
Thermometer

Prepare your Facility for the Winter Season

It happens every year - the temperatures seem to drop faster and much sooner than they did the year before. Perhaps you made it through the first frozen days or nights without so much as a drip from your wet sprinkler system. You are either lucky or well prepared.
Filter

A Plug on Filters

Written by an Ahern Energy Solutions Engineer When it comes to taking care of a facility, it is easy to overlook the importance of filter care, maintenance , and replacement. Filters are an important part of air-side HVAC because they maintain indoor air quality and reduce fouling of...
Coils

HVAC: If It Isn’t Broken…Fix It?

Written by an Ahern Energy Solutions Engineer Are you worried about having to replace mechanical equipment, but think it may still have some life left? In some instances, large capital expenses associated with equipment replacement can be avoided through tuning,