Extra Care for Extremely Cold Weather

We want to help you prepare your operations for the extremely cold weather that is standard for Minnesota winters. It is our highest priority to meet your needs for reliable hot water service. Combining District Energy’s reliable service with your well-maintained building systems will allow your building to navigate through the coldest days while keeping your employees, patrons, and tenants warm and safe.

We recommend reviewing the District Energy Preventive Maintenance Checklist to make sure that your mechanical systems are in good working condition. Extreme cold can worsen existing issues in your mechanical system. In our experience, we have learned that:

  • Equipment exposed to outside air is at increased risk.
  • Chilled water coils that are freeze prone should be drained and dried out with warm air for 10 days, not just a short burst of compressed air.
  • Buildings that are programmed for work-week occupancy should be monitored over long or extremely cold weekends.

Taking extra care during extreme weather events is critical to keeping your operations running smoothly. Our team has identified a few clues that could indicate that the building system may be having an issue:

  • Complaints of cold conditions from occupants in the building
  • Inability to properly heat the entire building
  • New or irregular noises coming from the pumps or piping system
  • Loss of pressure in the building’s hot water loop
  • Large swings in forecast temperatures causing potentially rapid freeze/thaw cycles

We recommend that buildings have an emergency plan in place, including contact information for HVAC contractors that may need to be deployed for emergency assistance. Your plan should also include the District Energy 24 hour emergency contact information in case you experience loss of heat and/or water 651.297.8955.

Please contact the District Energy team if you have any questions at 651.297.8955 or email info@districtenergy.com.