AIR CONDITIONING
h ave high expectations that need to be managed. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) has moved higher up the agenda. It is well documented that good IAQ can boost concentration in the classroom and increases productivity in the workplace. The UK has one of the worst asthma rates in Europe, which further adds to the pressure t o invest in IAQ measures for buildings, with a particular focus on schools. BREEAM has also updated its New Construction standards, placing greater emphasis on IAQ.
A s well as more sustainable solutions, lower o perational costs are high on the priority list. The d ays of over-specifying are long gone and there i s a greater focus on right-size HVAC systems; larger systems are not always necessary for areas that need minimal heating or cooling.
Revolution
We are in the midst of a technology revolution and it is infl uencing the air conditioning industry to re-think how to better heat and cool buildings. We have remote diagnostics f or service and maintenance, fully integrated Building Management Systems, buildings s imulators and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) services that help us to understand air
flows and design optimised heating and cooling solutions. There are many more developments, some still on the drawing board, but we are already taking advantage of magnetic levitation chillers, compressor-less cooling, particularly in data centre environments, variable speed drives, ultiple scroll compressors, VRF systems and EC otors.
m m
Free cooling technology, although not new, is being applied more widely to reap the energy saving benefi ts. Modularity already used in AHU d esign is being applied to chillers and chilled beams are enjoying a resurgence thanks to their energy effi iencies, fl exibility and ease of maintenance. Renewable energy sources, dual fuel heat pumps, geothermal pumps, motion- activated air conditioning and thermally driven chillers (Australia) are all possible, as are 3-D p rinted air conditioners.
ffic Internet of Things
Manufacturers are also taking advantage of new technologies to design ‘smarter’ products, and are looking at cloud-based systems and wireless technology to meet the demand for m ore integrated solutions. The Internet of Things ( IOT) is going to dramatically shape our industry,
just as it has with a host of other sectors. The C anadian-based Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA) estimates that by the end of 2025 there will be approximately 70 billion IOT-connected devices. As IOT gains momentum, service engineers may fi nd themselves taking care of more computerised equipment rather t han just mechanical components. Moreover, p redictive maintenance via IOT systems w ill help to minimise equipment failure and f acilities managers will be able to really analyse p erformance data across their entire plant, which has the potential to save time and money. The University of Birmingham has recently published A Cool World report in which Professor Toby Peters, Professor in Cold Economy and lead author, points to a growing population and a changing climate that will cause an increase in the global demand for cooling. He calls for a system-led approach to achieve sustainable cooling with minimal global warming or environmental impact and “better harnessing a portfolio of energy resources and adopting efficient clean novel technologies quickly.” T he air conditioning industry faces many challenges ahead; it needs to be bold to tackle them.
First Choice
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