Tougher times requires effective actions!

The recent changes in the world affects everyone, a lot of things are postponed and some are accelerated. Changes that were “on the horizon” a year ago is now critical to do in months rather than years. Combine this with tougher economical times it is crucial to ensure that actions have the expected value and effect. Both to avoid greenwash as well as to get the maximum value from your investments.

Based on thousands of analysed systems, we know that it is possible to save 10-30% in most air Conditioning, refrigeration, and heat pump (HVACR) system. Making it one of the lowest hanging fruits for energy savings in many buildings.

How can the HVACR system that consumes between 40-60% of a buildings total electricity still have a saving potential between 10-30%. There are a couple of reasons.

1. Performance is taken for granted, if the desired temperature is reached everything is expected to work as intended (efficient)
2. The HVACR system isn’t separated from the total building electricity
3. When electricity is cheap few bothers to check the consumption
4. When electricity is “green” it is not as critical to reduce consumption
5. Problems that should be clear indicators of inefficient operation is accepted as a “part of the system” which can’t be fixed.
6. It’s hard to calculate savings before performance is analysed

How to save 10-30% and avoid breakdowns.

We can conclude that point 3 and 4 is a mentality that will slow down the “sustainability” processes in many organisations. However, it is present, we can only hope that more companies move away from that mentality (lack of efficient actions) when the focus on sustainability increases. Point 1, 2, 5 and 6 are connected in many ways. Nevertheless, lets break them down.

1. Performance is taken for granted, if the desired temperature is reached everything is expected to work as intended

This is a major misconception, air Conditioning, refrigeration, and heat pumps can in many cases deliver the desired temperature inefficient over long periods of time. The power consumption is often increased with 10-30% and the risk of a breakdown is higher. Performance analysis and a good structure to take care of the information is the most efficient way to solve both these problems. You can contact us directly or read our guide to get started.

2. The HVACR system isn’t separated from the total building electricity & 6. It’s hard to calculate savings before performance is analysed

Return on investment (“ROI”), is crucial in many business decisions. However, it is hard to calculate before all the information is available. In many cases this means that parts of the investment need to be taken before the ROI can be fully calculated. Therefore, it is crucial to separate different systems and monitor performance and consumption to ensure energy efficiency.

5. Problems that should be clear indicators of inefficient operation is accepted as a “part of the system” which can’t be fixed.

Today common praxis does not include performance analysis, even if a lot of data is collected it is rarely analysed. This results in many unnecessary failures (especially during heatwaves or cold spells), even when temperature and/or pressure is monitored…

 What actions can be done?

In a recent discussion I got the comment

“You have been talking about “to measure is to know” a long time now. Don’t you have anything new.”

Yes, we are preaching the importance of measure and analyse HVACR systems to get actionable information. Since there still are unconnected system, and the common savings are 10-30% we will keep pushing to include HVACR systems in an efficient way.  In the examples you could see that many of the problems is based in the lack efficient actions based on measuring.

However, the opportunities that is enabled (predictive maintenance, energy optimisation, detailed energy reports, indirect leak detection +++) when system performance is a game changer and frankly it is crucial to keep up with today’s increasing sustainability standards.

The first step to ensure energy efficiency is to have the right information and a good structure to use it. ClimaCheck have helped hundreds of companies during the years, to start their journey towards significant energy savings. In many cases on systems that was thought to run efficient. One of the first actions to be energy efficient is to include the larges energy consumer, in a building. You can contact us by filling out the form here, or book a demo to start your journey