AIR CONDITIONING
Why the new normal demands a different approach
With extreme summer temperatures predicted to become the new normal, it is more vital than ever to get air conditioning right. Klima-Therm’s Tim Mitchell reflects on the important lessons for the industry and building developers.
T
he heat wave of 2018 tested air conditioning systems in offices, shops and commercial buildings across the country. Many systems (perhaps under-specified due to budgetary pressures), that may have coped with an average British summer, struggled and sometimes buckled in the face of the record temperatures.
The exceptional conditions highlighted the serious consequences of some all-too-common practices in the construction and building services industry that can undermine what we are all striving to do: deliver comfortable, productive buildings that are good for people and the environment.
At its best, modern, energy efficient air conditioning is a blessing. As temperatures rise, being cool and calm at work or while at leisure makes the critical difference. It makes civilised life possible. If you have worked in a stifling office when it’s 30 degrees plus outside and not far off inside, you will know what working in these conditions can do to your productivity and personal well-being.
In these conditions, wrongly applied, badly maintained or underspecified air conditioning can be worse than no air conditioning at all. Buildings without air conditioning are at least likely to have opening windows. Today’s hermetically sealed glass towers are effectively high-rise greenhouses. They may look beautiful soaring on the skyline, but if the air conditioning fails or does not work as intended, it can result in intolerable conditions for occupants.
42 September 2018
The problem often is that air conditioning installed as comfort cooling is compromised due to budget, with the big money spent on building aesthetics and the tight time constraints at the end of a project squeezing the narrow window for commissioning.
It is an all-too-common discussion on projects: “The budget is tight - how much can we save on the air con?” This short-sighted approach can have major consequences for the building and its occupants in the years ahead, and end up costing far more than if a suitable system was installed in the first place.
It reminds me of the well-known John Ruskin quote (paraphrased): “It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that’s all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought is incapable of doing what it was meant to do.”
Bringing it full circle, Ruskin concludes: “The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run. And, if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better”. In our own industry, the practical consequences of this approach can be dire. Recent US research provided hard evidence to support what we all instinctively know, that trying to work in sweltering conditions affects our ability to think straight.
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