This is a most conversable topic in the current scenario where the entire world is talking about Climate changes, carbon footprint, carbon emission/individual, and its effects and so on. The regulations are moving in the way HVAC technology is made to meet these upgraded efficiency demands.
The purpose of the new standard is to improve efficiency and cut energy usage and waste. It is anticipated that these changes will save property owners a lot of money in the long run— but, of course, the 2023 mandates present some challenges for stakeholders across the HVAC industry.
Let’s look at some of the areas where the HVAC industry will feel the impact of the changes:
The DOE will issue the new standards in two phases:
Phase One focuses on energy- Efficiency increases in all air conditioning Units by 10 percent as of January 1, 2018.
Phase Two, slated for 2023, will jack the increases up to 30 percent.
The DOE estimates that raising the bar on efficiency will reduce commercial heating and cooling usage by 1.7 trillion kWh over the next three decades. The massive reduction in energy use will be put (between $4,200 to $10,000) back into the average building owner’s pockets over the expected lifespan of a standard rooftop air conditioner.
The Department of Energy has set its focus on Integrated Energy Efficiency Ratio (IEER) when assessing energy efficiency. Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) grades a unit’s energy performance based on the hottest or coldest days of the year, while IEER assesses the unit’s efficiency based on how it performs over an entire season. This helps the DOE to get a more accurate reading and label a unit with a more accurate rating. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) are also adjusting its standards according to the new DOE regulations. The last changes in ASHRAE came in 2015.
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Source: Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS)
Megatrends& Response from HVAC Industries – Click here for table
| Trends | Industry Response |
|---|---|
| 1. Efficiency | Efficiency Retro Fits-OEMs have come up with retrofits to increase the existing systems efficiency |
| 2. Comfort & Air Quality | Air management – Latent vs. sensible – Indoor air quality (IAQ) |
| 3. Building Automation | Modulation technologies – Compression and controls |
It all starts with the most efficient components as small as a valve or a compressor component by using lighter material which increases the overall performance of the compressor itself.
The above point will result in building a better efficient system/unit in the HVAC industry.
The results of the above Trends and responses for the OEMs have resulted incomplete Building Solutions that bring on the Promise of:
Source: http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1365924O/unep-fact-sheet-kigali-amendment-to-mp.pdf
Global agreement reached by 197 countries in Kigali, Rwanda, in Oct. 2016
One of the key challenges that HVAC Engineering companies face today is a huge gap in talent to address the understanding of the above requirements, trends and experience in dealing with the Engineering changes required in the existing systems. Since 2003, the team in Enventure has assisted HVAC OEMs in fulfilling their regulatory & environmental compliance requirements within stipulated timelines, and with elevated levels of cost efficiency. Our customers include HVAC OE Manufacturers, Component Manufacturers, Pump Companies, Compressor Manufacturers.
There is always pressure on cost margins of the units to be sold, reduction in the cost of the product to be sold. The above points may crop up when the product is re-engineered. Enventure has also pioneered in areas of Value Engineering, Teardown Analysis of the existing Units with a unique value proposition of Risk-Reward model which helps the OEMs to ship their products & Enventure will propose the cost reduction ideas which will result in the dollar value saved in the Engineered product.
For the Engineered product to be released into the market it needs to have a quality marketing material for publishing it in a public domain, Enventure has pioneered the art of BIM modeling using Revit software of the units modelled with photo realistic rendering which will create an appeal to the prospective customers.
