Commercial Rooftop Unit Services in Galveston, TX

If your rooftop unit sits on a commercial building anywhere near the Gulf Coast, it is taking more punishment than it was designed for. Standard RTUs installed on Galveston and Texas City buildings corrode in 3 to 5 years without protection. The same unit installed 50 miles inland lasts 15 to 20 years. That gap is entirely caused by salt air, UV exposure, wind-driven rain, and the relentless humidity that defines this part of Texas.

The Five Things That Kill Rooftop Units on the Coast

1. Salt spray. Wind carries salt particles inland from the Gulf. Rooftop units sit fully exposed with no windbreaks. Salt lands on coils, cabinets, electrical panels, and fasteners. It starts corroding aluminum coils within weeks of installation if they aren't coated.

2. Humidity. Galveston County humidity stays above 75% most of the year. Moisture condenses on every cool metal surface inside the unit. Combined with salt deposits, this creates a corrosive film that works around the clock. Condensate drains overflow more frequently because they're handling more water than the system was designed to process.

3. UV radiation. Rooftop units bake in direct Texas sun for 12+ hours a day. UV degrades rubber gaskets, plastic components, wire insulation, and refrigerant line jackets. Cracked insulation leads to electrical shorts. Degraded gaskets let rain into panels and compartments.

4. Wind. Sustained coastal winds stress cabinet panels, loosen fasteners, and drive rain horizontally into openings that would stay dry on a ground-level unit. During tropical storms, wind speeds push past what most RTU cabinets are rated for. Panels blow off, exposing internal components to the elements.

5. Storm debris. Branches, gravel, building materials — anything loose on or near the roof becomes a projectile during high winds. Impact damage to coils, fan blades, and refrigerant lines is common after storms.

Signs Your RTU Needs Attention Now

Don't wait for a complete breakdown to call. These signs mean your rooftop unit is already in trouble:

- White powdery residue on coils or cabinet surfaces (active corrosion)
- Rusty water stains on the roof deck around the unit base
- Unusual noises — grinding, rattling, or high-pitched whining from fan motors
- Short cycling — the unit starts and stops frequently without reaching set temperature
- Hot or cold spots in the building despite the thermostat reading correctly
- Visible rust on cabinet panels, curb adapters, or support structures
- Ice forming on refrigerant lines (low charge from a corrosion-caused leak)
- Higher than normal CenterPoint Energy bills with no change in usage patterns

If you're seeing two or more of these, the unit needs professional evaluation before a minor issue becomes a major replacement.

Our RTU Service Approach

We service all major commercial rooftop unit brands — Carrier, Trane, Lennox, York, Rheem, Daikin, and others. Our techs are trained on units ranging from 3-ton single-zone models to 25-ton multi-zone commercial packages. Here's what our service covers.

Diagnostic and repair — We start with a full system evaluation: electrical, mechanical, refrigerant, airflow, and structural. Coastal units have failure patterns that differ from inland equipment, and our techs know what to look for. Common Gulf Coast RTU repairs include coil leak repair or replacement, contactor and relay replacement due to corrosion, condensate drain rebuilds, fan motor and blade replacement, economizer repair, and control board replacement from surge damage.

Corrosion remediation — For units that are mechanically sound but showing corrosion damage, we can apply field-applied coil coatings, replace corroded cabinet panels with marine-grade alternatives, install sacrificial anodes on steel components, and seal electrical compartments against moisture intrusion. This extends the life of an existing unit by years at a fraction of the replacement cost.

Replacement and new installation — When an RTU is beyond economical repair, we spec replacements built for the coast. That means factory-coated coils, stainless or coated cabinets, elevated curb adapters with proper drainage, marine-rated electrical components, and surge protection. We size the replacement to the actual load, not just what was there before. Many commercial buildings have changed occupancy or layout since the original unit was installed.

Hurricane Preparation and Recovery

We provide 24/7 emergency service because storms don't wait for business hours. Our hurricane protocol for commercial RTU clients includes a pre-season checklist and post-storm priority service.

Pre-season prep covers securing all access panels and fasteners to rated torque specs, clearing roof drains and RTU condensate drains, testing and verifying surge protection, documenting unit condition with photos for insurance records, and installing temporary protective covers on vulnerable components when a storm is approaching.

After a storm, we inspect for impact damage, check refrigerant charges for storm-caused leaks, test all electrical systems for surge damage, clear debris from coils and fan assemblies, and verify condensate drainage after heavy rain.

Contract clients get priority scheduling after storms. When every HVAC company in Galveston County is booked solid, our contract customers move to the front of the line.

Proactive RTU Management

The smartest approach for Gulf Coast commercial buildings is a maintenance contract that includes quarterly service with coastal corrosion monitoring, priority emergency response around the clock, storm prep and post-storm inspection, and long-term equipment condition tracking so you can budget for replacements before they become emergencies.

If your rooftop unit is struggling or you're not sure what condition it's in after years of coastal exposure, call us for an evaluation. We'll get on the roof, assess the damage, and give you honest options — repair, protect, or replace.