[Flood Damage and Insurance Claims] Commercial buildings and stores are flooded and all electrical and mechanical equipment is destroyed? Specifications for damage assessment, restoration valuation sheet issuance and depreciation calculation of Greater Taipei Hydropower and Electrical Equipment

Heavy damage to assets after floods: Hidden CapEx burden of moisture on electromechanical and electrical equipment

In commercial buildings, hypermarkets and street stores in the greater Taipei area, their high and low voltage substations, power receiving boxes, fire pump control panels and emergency generator sets are almost all located in basements (first or second underground floor) based on space planning. When a regional flood occurs or the building's flood control fails, these high-value mechanical and electrical equipment will be destroyed instantly. After flooding, the internal circuit boards and mechanical parts of transformer insulation coils, switch protection relays, and generator engines will be severely corroded by acidic wastewater and sediment. Damage to this type of equipment often cannot be restored by simply wiping and drying it, and often requires complete scrapping and replacement. This huge "Electrical and Mechanical Restoration Expenses (CapEx)" is the heaviest financial blow to property owners and business center operators. How to successfully obtain insurance claims is the key to asset survival.

Step 1: Preservation of current damage status "Plumbing Project Damage Assessment Schedule" issuance specifications

Before the "Property Notary (Loss Adjuster)" appointed by the insurance company comes to the site for inspection, the homeowner or management committee must entrust a compliant professional Grade A water and electricity electromechanical contractor to conduct a current status preservation inspection. Plumbing technicians will check the insulation resistance, coil resistance and electronic board burnout marks of each generator and switchboard branch one by one, and issue a "Damage Assessment Report" stamped with the company seal and a detailed "Repair and Replacement Estimate". The items in the estimate must list in detail the equipment model, rated capacity (such as KVA transformer capacity), wire diameter specifications, excavation wages, waste removal costs, and the certification fee of the Mechanical and Electrical Technicians Association. Do not issue a vague estimate with a "one-size-fits-all" total price, otherwise it is very easy for the notary to reduce the claim amount on the grounds that the unit price cannot be verified.

Step 2: The core mine of claims accounting is the calculation practice of "equipment depreciation rate"

In insurance claims negotiations, the most controversial issue is often the "depreciation" deduction. According to the Income Tax Law of the Republic of China and insurance claims practices, the statutory service life of building generators, switchboards and other electromechanical equipment is usually 5 to 8 years. If the building's equipment has exceeded its useful life, the notary will usually advocate compensation for only the "residual value" of the equipment after deducting depreciation (sometimes the depreciation rate is as high as 80%). As a result, the compensation received by the homeowner is not enough to purchase new equipment. Water and electricity experts pointed out that a qualified valuation strategy is to quote "installation wages, pipeline configuration labor costs, and transportation costs" and "equipment hardware and material costs" separately in the repair estimate sheet. Because "labor wages" do not calculate depreciation in legal practice, only by significantly increasing the proportion of labor services such as wages and line laying can the claim amount be effectively preserved.

Commercial Acquisition Risk Control: CapEx Equipment Damage Assessment and Value Preservation Negotiation

For commercial property buyers (Commercial Property Buyers) who specialize in looking for "NPL properties" in Shuangbei or acquire old disaster-stricken commercial buildings at low prices for renovation and renovation, the reconstruction of mechanical and electrical rooms after floods is a hidden expense that cannot be ignored. By calculating the replacement cost (CapEx) of basement electricity, fire protection and air-conditioning water lines before acquisition, and directly including this budget and insurance claim difference into the transaction negotiation, the asset can be obtained at a very low price, and after completing the high-standard water and electricity renovation, it can be re-rented and obtain a very high asset appreciation (Property Appreciation) rate of return.

New knowledge on air conditioning power consumption and Taiwan climate maintenance regulations in recent years (2025-2026 current situation)

With the high temperatures in summer breaking historical records and the adjustment of electricity price structure in recent years, the latest statistics from the Energy Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs show that air-conditioning equipment accounts for more than 47% of residential electricity consumption in summer. Many people mistakenly believe that if the air conditioner is not cold, they only need to "replenish the refrigerant." However, in fact, refrigerant is not naturally consumed during normal operation in a closed circuit. If the refrigerant is insufficient, it means that there are micro leaks in the copper pipes or joints. Simply replenishing the air conditioner will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. Refrigerant leakage will aggravate the high temperature overload of the compressor and shorten its service life.

According to Taiwan's standard operating specifications for air-conditioning projects, it is recommended that professional technicians with a refrigeration and air-conditioning decoration technician license perform "full machine high-pressure water washing and evaporator deep sterilization" every 1 to 2 years for detached air-conditioning indoor units. Especially in the humid summer in the Shuangbei Basin, the air drum and water collection tray are easy to breed black mold and jelly-like biofilm. This is also the main reason for the sour smell in the air-conditioning outlet and the backflow of the drainage pipe. Regular maintenance can maintain CSPF (Air Conditioning Seasonal Performance Factor) level one energy efficiency level, which can save an average household 15% to 20% of air conditioning electricity bills every year.

Autonomous simple maintenance vs professional maintenance safety red line

• Homeowners can do by themselves: Remove and clean the nylon filter regularly every 2 to 3 weeks (rinse with clean water and dry in a cool place, do not expose it to the sun to avoid deformation and embrittlement); clean the air outlet blades of the indoor unit with a dry cloth; check whether there is any accumulation of debris within 50 cm around the outdoor unit that hinders heat dissipation.
• Professional technicians must be entrusted according to regulations: Refrigerant pressure testing and leakage repair welding, high-pressure cleaning of indoor unit air drums and aluminum fins with liquid chemicals, reset of the drainage slope of hidden cold water pipes in the ceiling, and 220V dedicated power circuit configuration and leakage circuit breaker replacement.