From Guest Blogger Anya Aggarwal: Eight Ways to Reduce Energy Consumption and Optimize Commercial Air Conditioning Through Systems Monitoring and Diagnostic Technology
Commercial air conditioning optimization technology to reduce energy consumption is the coolest new trend in sustainability practices, literally since the technology provides the most efficient building cooling systems, while easing the load on the environment and your wallet.
40% of US energy and air conditioning is accounted by buildings, making them the largest consumer, using about 479 billion kilowatt hours per year. That is a lot of wasted energy, wasted money, and wasted optimization and energy efficiency potential! Systems monitoring and diagnostic technology provide the hottest new clean technology solution to optimize commercial air conditioning, reduce energy consumption, and save the environment! Just saving 10% of annual consumption through the use of systems monitoring and diagnostic technology yields $4.8 billion with a two-year payback revenue potential of $10 billion.
What better reason is there to consider systems monitoring and diagnostic technology as a solution to optimize commercial air conditioning?
Here are 8 simple ways to reduce energy consumption and optimize air conditioning technology:
- Monitoring
One of the best and easiest ways to maximize commercial air conditioning potential and reduce energy consumption is through efficient systems monitoring. While many buildings already contain an internal Building Management System (BMS) or Building Automation System (BAS), security protocols and the Internet of Things (IOT) makes external systems monitoring technology cost-effective in ensuring maximum commercial air conditioning efficiency.
For more:
https://energyintelligencecenter.com/optikw/monitoring/
https://www.lennoxcommercial.com/products/commercial-controls
http://www.allied-commercial.com/technology/bacnet-compatibility.asp
- Test with Diagnostic Technology
Often, commercial air conditioning inefficiency and untapped potential to reduce energy consumption go unnoticed in terms of retrofitting to employ more sustainable practices, draining the environment and bank accounts. Diagnostic technology conducts a deep-dive test on commercial air conditioning systems to identify ways to optimize and reduce energy consumption not always visible to the eye. Preliminary and subsequent checks of cooling systems using diagnostic technology allows systems monitoring and functioning to occur at maximum potential.
For more:
https://energyintelligencecenter.com/optikw/diagnostics/
https://www.lennoxcommercial.com/products/commercial-controls/building-automation-solutions/icon
- Seek consulting
Consulting professionals can often lead to productive discussions in optimizing commercial air conditioning systems and identification of room for further potential to reduce energy consumption and costs through “tuning” or upgrading equipment. This is a cost-effective “investment” that helps maximize the potential of existing hardware systems, leading to improved systems monitoring and efficiency in the future.
- Use software and algorithms
In the new so-called “digital age”, software and algorithms that model a building’s energy consumption and enhance systems monitoring are an asset that companies should take advantage of. Multiple HVAC and mechanical engineering firms offer modeling software that explicitly shows energy waste and potential for reduction. Smart algorithms with machine learning capabilities constantly monitor and integrate information about the surrounding environment to ensure an optimized air conditioning system without requiring continuous human effort or attention.
For more:
https://www.wbdg.org/resources/high-performance-hvac
- Catch future failures early
As in the healthcare field, prevention is preferred to treatment because prevention lowers the chance that an unfavorable event even occurs, while treatment simply tries to mitigate an already disastrous event, often to no avail. In the same way, when trying to reduce energy consumption and optimize commercial air conditioning, it is prudent to take precautions that work to prevent failures that waste power and energy early, rather than trying to contain the effects once system fails. New systems monitoring technology can assess each component and stage of an HVAC system to minimize future failure, making the system more sustainable and eco-friendly.
- Consider building automation
Building automation is another modern solution in energy management efficiency. Building automation allows for improved systems monitoring by using “smart” technology to integrate and control the whole building’s mechanical system (including HVAC, lights, etc.) on one platform. This system optimizes commercial air conditioning and reduces energy consumption by allowing the managers to make collective and intuitive decisions armed with all the information required to program the building’s system to its maximum potential at all times.
For more:
https://energyintelligencecenter.com/algorithm/
- Focus on a single integrated system
Often, building managers and mechanics focus on optimizing individual parts of a commercial air conditioning system, rather than looking at the system as a whole. This narrow view reduces the optimization level of the unit and can sometimes even damage other individual parts, doing more harm than good. The more intuitive way to approach the goal to optimize commercial air conditioning is to treat the whole unit as more than the sum of its parts, working to optimize the overall function of the system, rather than its individual components.
For more:
https://www.daikin.com/csr/environment/climatechange/air_conditioner.html
- Install/Upgrade to energy efficient technology
With the increased focus on methods to optimize commercial air conditioning and reduce energy consumption, in some cases, simply employing systems monitoring technology as in the past seven tips may not be enough. Technology has revolutionized the way the world functions, and to remain energy efficient, you may have to completely change or update existing commercial air conditioning systems. Newer systems offer built in energy efficiency and optimization through innovations such as retrofitted inverter tech and low global warming refrigerants. As the world changes, commercial air conditioning systems must adapt too.
For more:
https://www.daikin.com/products/ac/index.html
