The words on a maintenance record, defined.

A packaged HVAC unit on a building’s roof that holds the compressor, coils, fans and controls in one cabinet and sends conditioned air down through ducts to the floors below.

In Frigalto every rooftop unit is a unit on the record, with its own system inspection and its own history.

Also called Packaged unit, RTU

See the unit registry

An air-conditioning system with an outdoor unit, holding the compressor and condenser, and one or more indoor units, joined by refrigerant pipework.

Also called Mini-split, ductless split

Variable refrigerant flow: one outdoor unit or bank serving many indoor units on a single refrigerant network, with the flow to each zone varied to match its demand.

Also called VRV (a trade name)

A machine that cools water, or a water-glycol mix, through a refrigeration cycle; the chilled water is pumped to air handling units and fan coils around the building. Air-cooled chillers sit outside; water-cooled chillers sit in a plant room and reject their heat through a cooling tower.

A large cabinet of fans, filters, coils and dampers that conditions air and moves it through a building’s ductwork.

Also called AHU, air handler

Equipment that rejects heat from a water-cooled system to the outside air by evaporating a small part of the water that runs over its fill.

A unit that uses the refrigeration cycle to move heat into a building to warm it; most can reverse to cool it as well.

The finned coil where the refrigerant gives up the heat it has collected. On a rooftop unit or outdoor unit, dust and debris across the coil make the whole system work harder.

See a finding closed

A defined mechanical zone of a building: a roof, a plant room, a mechanical floor, a riser or a supermarket’s machine room.

In Frigalto plant areas sit between the building and its units, so every unit is found where it really is.

Also called Plant room, mechanical room

See the unit registry

A scheduled visit to a building that works through its units in order, inspecting each one against its protocol.

Also called PM visit, PPM visit (UK)

See a maintenance round

A protocol-driven check of one unit’s components, recorded component by component — on a rooftop unit typically the compressor, coils, fans and belts, filters, electrical and controls.

In Frigalto each unit type carries its own protocol; you set the components and their order.

See the protocols

The recurring contract between an HVAC firm and its client that sets which units are maintained, how often and on what terms.

Also called Maintenance agreement, planned maintenance contract, PPM contract (UK)

See the Maintenance Calendar

The work at the turn of a season that readies a building’s plant for the months ahead: cooling-season start-up in spring, the switch to heating in autumn.

Also called Spring start-up, winterization

See the Maintenance Calendar

An unplanned visit in answer to a fault or breakdown, outside the scheduled rounds — the rooftop unit that trips on a hot afternoon.

Also called Service call, emergency call

The list of units a building should have, by type: the reference its unit registry is checked against, so a unit that was removed, replaced or never added shows up as a gap.

In Frigalto a building below its specification is flagged before your client finds the gap.

See the building specification

Something an engineer records during an inspection because it needs noting or action, with a photo and a severity.

See a finding closed

The lowest severity of a finding: an observation that needs nothing beyond normal maintenance.

The middle severity: something that needs action soon — a fouled coil, a worn belt — but is not yet a fault.

The highest severity: a fault or condition that needs repair. A deficiency stays open, with its photos, until it is fixed and closed.

See a finding closed

The dated photos of one unit or component kept in order, so the condition it was found in and the condition it was left in sit side by side.

See a finding closed

The report an HVAC firm gives its client on the units it maintains: the rounds completed, what the inspections found, the deficiencies opened and closed, the refrigerant entries and each unit’s status.

Frigalto is built to compile the Uptime Report from the record and draft a summary you edit; it reaches your client only once you decide to send it. It is not a certificate.

Also called Maintenance report, service report

See the Uptime Report

The record of one finished job: each step with its time, before and after photos, parts and materials, time on site and the engineer’s note — kept on file and sent to the client on request or when you choose.

See the Work Record

One closed loop of refrigerant pipework inside a unit, with its own compressor or compressors and its own charge; larger units have two or more circuits.

Also called Circuit

See the Refrigerant Record

The quantity of refrigerant in a circuit, by weight — pounds in the US, kilograms elsewhere. The unit’s nameplate gives the charge it left the factory with.

Removing the refrigerant from a system into a recovery cylinder before the system is opened, instead of releasing it to the air.

Also called Recovery, reclaim (when the refrigerant is reprocessed)

An inspection of a circuit for refrigerant leaks, by direct or indirect methods, recorded with its date, the person who did it and the result.

Also called Leak test, leak inspection

See the Refrigerant Record

Refrigerant added to a circuit to bring its charge back up. Charge doesn’t get used up, so a top-up usually means a leak worth finding.

Also called Recharge

See the Refrigerant Record

A refrigerant is identified by its R-number — R-410A, R-32, R-134a, R-404A, R-744 (carbon dioxide). GWP, global warming potential, measures a refrigerant’s warming effect against carbon dioxide; many countries are phasing down the high-GWP ones.

The log of a circuit’s refrigerant: its type, its charge, and every recovery, leak check and top-up, with who did the work and when.

Frigalto is built to keep the Refrigerant Record per circuit, per unit, logged on site and exportable for one unit, one building or a whole service agreement.

Also called Refrigerant log, F-gas records

See the Refrigerant Record

Section 608 of the US Clean Air Act and the EPA rules made under it, which govern how refrigerants in stationary refrigeration and air conditioning are handled — technician certification, recovery and leak repair among them.

Frigalto records support refrigerant and maintenance record-keeping obligations. Frigalto does not issue EPA-608 or F-Gas certifications and does not verify operator-entered credentials.

EPA: Section 608 (primary source)

The EU F-Gas Regulation and the UK’s own F-gas rules, which cover fluorinated refrigerants: leak checks, records, certified personnel and the phase-down of high-GWP gases.

Frigalto records support refrigerant and maintenance record-keeping obligations. Frigalto does not issue EPA-608 or F-Gas certifications and does not verify operator-entered credentials.

Also called F-Gas Regulation

European Commission: fluorinated gases (primary source)