Optimization Tips for Air Conditioning Systems

As the project manager of a commercial building, it is your responsibility to ensure energy efficiency of air conditioning systems. The reason is that HVAC systems account for about 18% of the total energy usage in commercial buildings. To make sure that you enjoy the cost benefits of installing an HVAC system in a building, you have to deploy individual optimization programs. Such programs provide an opportunity to keep overhead costs at a minimum while managing the expectations of tenants. This article highlights tips for optimizing your AC system for energy efficiency.

HVAC is a System -- Thinking of HVAC as a system that is composed of different sections working together to deliver comfort in rooms is the first step towards enjoying the unit's benefits. For instance, in a big warehouse, air conditioning systems must be operated with overhead fans for energy efficiency. If you do not use overhead fans, air delivered by the HVAC system will get dissipated in the space between the warehouse's roof and floor. Installing overhead fans ensures that air supplied from the AC unit is pushed down much faster by the fans. Therefore, less energy is used to cool a room. If you want to spend less on energy, you must ensure that the AC unit, vents, ductwork, thermostat, and sensors are working in the best way possible.

Simple Alterations -- As stated earlier, you do not need significant upgrades in an attempt to make a building more comfortable. For instance, long ducts are less energy efficient because cold air has to travel along the route before reaching the vents. By the time cold air is delivered to the room, it has already lost its cooling capabilities. Therefore, the HVAC system has to work extra hard to push air along the pipework. Use shorter ducts to save on energy.

Use Sensors -- Commercial buildings are busy, but different sections in these building experience varying levels of busy. Therefore, it does not make sense for an air conditioning system to use the same amount of energy to different sections of a premise. As a result, you should invest in sensors that can detect the amount of body heat in a particular room then trigger on the air conditioning system based on demand. This way, you will cut costs by ensuring that ACs only operate in areas where they are needed the most. On the other hand, manual ACs depend on human intervention for operability, which can lead to energy wastage.

For more information, contact companies like MTA Australasia.

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