HVAC Awareness: Is Your HVAC System Energy Efficient?
Posted on 13. Jul, 2010 by keith in Environmental Impact
It’s easy to question the energy efficiency of technologies that you regularly see: interior lighting, exterior lighting, exit signs, etc. But what about the energy efficiency of technologies that you can’t see, such as the components of your HVAC system? For many buildings owners, HVAC systems are out of sight, and therefore out of mind concerning energy efficiency. But they shouldn’t be. In most commercial buildings, the components of an HVAC system account for the majority of annual utility costs, and it’s easy to see how: an HVAC system handles heating and cooling, using air handling and water handling subsystems to deliver heated and cooled air and water from a boiler system and a chiller system.
According to energy efficiency research, one of the biggest problems with traditional HVAC systems is that their air distribution fans and chillers are oversized, using more energy than necessary to produce the optimal effect. A second problem with traditional HVAC systems is that their boilers (oil, electric and gas) have a poor electricity to heat conversion ratio of roughly 65 percent. Both of these problems lead to a building incurring thousands of unnecessary dollars in annual utility costs. But the solution to inefficient HVAC systems is simpler than one might think.
In most cases, a traditional HVAC system doesn’t need to be replaced in order to achieve energy efficiency. Instead, it can be retrofitted for energy efficiency, replacing an inefficient boiler with a boiler that achieves a 90 percent electricity to heat conversion ration, and replacing oversized air distribution fans and chillers with smaller versions. Chances are that your HVAC system isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you question your building’s energy efficiency. But it could be the biggest reason why your building isn’t energy efficient, as well as the biggest reason behind your high utility costs.
