Sector · Car dealerships

Glass showroom and a workshop next door: what is looked at in the ducts of a car dealership

A dealership sells from a glass showroom, and a few meters from the new vehicle there is usually a workshop with its own rhythm.

By Limpieza de Ductos PanamáReviewed October 21, 20263 min readShare

Short answer

Duct cleaning in a car dealership is the camera inspection and cleaning of the air conditioning ducts serving the showroom, the sales offices and the delivery areas, with attention to the points where the system gets close to the workshop. It is scheduled outside the busiest visiting hours.

What sets car dealerships apart

Glass, light and heatShowrooms with glass fronts and spotlights take a heavy heat load, and their unit usually runs for long hours. The camera shows the condition of the duct and the filter after that demand.

A workshop that shares the buildingIf the workshop and the showroom have nearby air paths, it is checked where the systems separate. Exhaust gases and workshop extraction are a different matter and are handled separately.

Delivery and visiting daysDeliveries, fairs and weekends concentrate visits. The work is agreed so the showroom units are not out of service when customers are there.

Facts that help decide in car dealerships

In Panama: INEC publishes, with data from the Panama Automobile Distributors Association and the ATTT, that 54,384 new cars were registered in 2024 (preliminary figure), against 48,919 in 2023. SUVs were the largest segment, with 28,685 units. (INEC, table 18, new cars registered 2020-24)
In Panama: The INEC Business and Establishment Directory (reference year 2022) records 209 companies in retail sale of motor vehicles, with 3,404 people employed. (INEC, Business and Establishment Directory 2022, table 12)
Technical fact: The EPA and NIOSH building air quality guide cites, among the sources of combustion gases, rooms near or connected by pathways to a loading dock or a service garage. Among the solutions it mentions sealing the pollutant pathway and installing well-sealed doors with automatic closers between the source and the occupied space. (EPA and NIOSH, Building Air Quality, section 7)

Types of place within car dealerships

Type of place	What changes in the work plan
Car dealerships	The showroom unit is checked, along with where it separates from the workshop air
Enclosed parking garages	The garage’s own ventilation ducts and their relation to any sales offices above
Manufacturing workshops	A workshop with an office: the office duct is told apart from the rest of the premises
Department stores	Large floors with strong lighting: a plan by zone of the store
Appliance stores	A showroom with many powered devices adding heat to the room
Free trade zones	It is identified which buildings in the compound share a system and which have their own

How the work is organized in car dealerships

Locate the workshop in relation to the showroom. The camera runs through the showroom duct and it is noted where it gets close to the workshop areas.
Agree on the day with management. Offices and delivery areas first, and the main showroom in the slot management indicates.
Hand over the condition of each site. If there are several sites, each one receives its own report, because the building and the workshop change.

An example of what the report brings

An illustrative example of what a dealership report brings: a photo of the duct serving the showroom with its insulation in good condition, a photo of the return closest to the glass front with dust on the grille, and a note locating the section where the system gets close to the workshop.

What you are left with at the end

A plan by dealership section, agreed with management
Photos of the showroom duct and of the points near the workshop
The record of the sections without access
One report per site when the dealer has several

Reference sources

EPA: Should You Have the Air Ducts in Your Home Cleaned? (guide written for homes)
EPA: Building Air Quality, a Guide for Building Owners and Facility Managers (guide for building managers)
ANSI/ASHRAE/ACCA Standard 180: inspección y mantenimiento de sistemas HVAC comerciales (industry reference)
Technical references of this site, with all 45 sources

On this site

All sectorsWhat changes in each type of place
Camera inspectionThe real condition before deciding
Service areasWhere work is done

Climatiza and Radar Panamá

Commercial, industrial and residential HVAC services (in Spanish)Climatiza
Air conditioning maintenance in Panama (in Spanish)Climatiza
Installing air conditioning in a commercial space: seven stagesRadar Panamá
Air conditioning electricity use of a businessRadar Panamá

Frequently asked questions

Does it include the workshop?

The inspection covers air conditioning. Gas extraction and workshop equipment are the premises’ responsibility and are not assessed here.

Can the work be done with the showroom open?

It is agreed by sections. Offices and delivery areas first, and the main showroom in the slot management indicates.

What is looked at first in a showroom with a glass front?

The unit serving the showroom, its filter and the returns closest to the front. The camera shows what residue there is and whether the duct keeps its insulation.

Does it work for a dealer with several sites?

Each site is looked at separately, because the building, the workshop and the system change from one to another. Each site’s report is delivered apart.

How often does it make sense to check the ducts in car dealerships?

There is no fixed frequency. It makes sense to look when the showroom has odors or uneven hot spots, after expanding the workshop or the display area, or before a busier sales season.

What does the report include for car dealerships?

It brings photographs of the inside of the ducts. It is delivered per site and notes where the showroom duct gets close to the workshop.

Keep exploring

All sectorsThe 31 sectors and 119 types of place.Open →Stores and supermarketsA store receives people and goods all day, and its air conditioning works against doors that keep opening.Open →Shopping centers and mallsA shopping center has a central system for the corridors and its own system in many stores.Open →

Related toolDuct inspection plannerEstimate the level of attention your system needs based on use and warning signs.Open planner →

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Do you want to know what your place needs?

Tell us what type of place it is and which area it is in. A camera inspection shows the inside of the ducts before anything is decided.