ENERGY SAVING EQUIPMENT
Taking control of HVAC energy efficiency
Tom Hall, direct channel manager at Hitachi Air Conditioning Europe explains why setting up controllers correctly is part of the answer to increased energy efficiency across the cooling and heating industry.
B
ack in Q4 2019, the World Green Building Council reported that building and construction together were responsible for 39% of all global carbon emissions, with operational emissions from energy used to heat, cool and light buildings accounting for a total of 28%. The UKGBC found that 69% of operational emissions from the built environment were used in heating buildings which accounts for 10% of the total UK carbon emissions.
The 2021 COP26 summit in Glasgow shone a spotlight on the climate crisis and how difficult it will be to implement the measures needed to cap global warming with a temperature rise of no more than 1.5°C. It demonstrated how tough it will be to decarbonise sectors like construction and heavy industry and what's needed to reduce their carbon emissions.
With this as our backdrop, it is clear the HVAC industry has a big part to play in driving down operational carbon emissions. All the major manufacturers have been designing and launching highly energy-efficient equipment into the market for years, but the key to equipment energy efficiency lies not just in the equipment itself but how it is set up, controlled and maintained.
Controls are key
If we look at commissioning and set up, it's important that building owners, operators or occupiers are involved in the control scheduling decisions so that equipment operations are tied to the business needs and the building's requirement for heating, cooling and hot water delivery, accounting for the variations for seasonal conditions.
So often overlooked, controls are the key component to ensure a system's efficiency, provide a comfortable room environment and prevent wasted energy. For medium and large installations, a centralised control system like Hitachi’s CS-NET Manager can
24 January 2022 •
www.acr-news.com
connect all heating, cooling and ventilation systems onto one touchscreen controller, enabling both onsite or remote control, monitoring and scheduling. Utilising the abilities of a centralised controller will provide more data to enable system improvements and optimisation. THE CS-NET Manager can provide power consumption data and operational status information either per system or per indoor fan coil. This level of detail will highlight where systems are underperforming, overworking when not required or operating as designed. This data allows changes to be made to ensure the optimal efficiency of the system. Alternatively, a full BMS system could enable the management of additional plant for even greater control and energy efficiency.
Enabling this technology and commissioning in the right way will lead to a better deployment of engineers and lower operating costs from a reduction in the operating carbon and reduced equipment downtime. It can also improve the installation; for example, the CSNET Manager can change outdoor condenser noise levels without the need for third- party timers or interfaces. In this way, building owners and operators can comply with local noise requirements easily and with very little hassle.
Even simple wired and wireless controllers will have daily or weekly scheduling to enable optimised energy efficiency while meeting heating and cooling requirements across the year. Not only will controls ensure the systems are turned off when not needed, but also turn them on to create a comfortable internal environment as the weather demands. Maximising the control strategy will lead to both energy saving and a better, healthier environment for the occupants. The benefit of BMS for engineers is having web-enabled access to any system via a simple smartphone app, for remote monitoring and improved visibility across multiple sites (and clients) alongside the capacity to prioritise site
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