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Energy Efficiency in Commercial Buildings is a challenge for the coming decades, particularly improving energy efficiency in existing buildings. Responsible building operators push improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings to the top of their agenda. Reducing energy consumption in commercial buildings starts with common sense, and a lot of work can be done by your own team before calling in the support of a specialized consultant. By focusing on energy efficiency in commercial buildings, you can make a significant impact on overall performance.
Implementing energy efficiency in commercial buildings requires a thorough understanding of various factors that contribute to consumption. Each strategy should be tailored to maximize energy efficiency in commercial buildings effectively.
Start the decarbonization of your building with a critical analysis of possible energy-saving measures. Two separate main workstreams, focusing on the building side respectively the cooling plant side, can generate easy-to-implement ideas to make an immediate difference. ENERGY SAVING IN COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS
When the building heats up, we need cooling.
How can we minimize the build-up of heat (minimize the need for cooling)?
How do we maximize the efficiency of heat removal from the building through the chiller plant room (Chillers and Cooling Towers)?
The decarbonization workstream teams develop ideas and strategies for energy-saving solutions and rank them based on their
Moreover, the success of these strategies relies on the commitment of all stakeholders to promote energy efficiency across commercial buildings.
WATCO has partnered with ClimaCheck to deliver an innovative solution for energy optimization and predictive maintenance in chiller plant rooms. Combining Eqocheck’s cost-efficient hardware with ClimaCheck’s proprietary analytics software, this unique and easy-to-implement system helps you reduce overall energy consumption by optimizing the building’s largest electricity users — the chillers.
Engaging with technologies that enhance energy efficiency in commercial buildings can lead to substantial cost savings and environmental benefits.
In a (sub) tropical environment electricity consumption largely takes place in the chiller plant room: the chillers may take over 50% of the total electricity consumption in the building. 95% of commercial chillers waste between 5-30% of their energy due to inefficiencies that can easily be avoided.
To achieve optimal energy efficiency in commercial buildings, it is essential to focus on the major energy-consuming systems — particularly the chillers. When aiming to reduce overall energy consumption, the most logical first step is to identify and address chiller inefficiencies.
The chiller is an expensive and complex piece of equipment and chiller optimization and adjustment should be an ongoing process when reducing HVAC energy consumption in buildings.
Implementing best practices in chiller management is crucial for boosting energy efficiency in commercial buildings.
Understanding the role of chillers in energy consumption is vital for improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings.
Think of your chiller as a Formula 1 race car.
F1 team captains (building managers) and drivers (operators) rely on continuous performance data to stay ahead of the competition. No team ever wins a championship without making full use of the data at hand.
Why is chiller monitoring so crucial?
Watch the video “The Importance of Monitoring Your Chiller” below to find out.
Ultimately, effective chiller monitoring is the key to achieving energy efficiency in commercial buildings — turning your plant room into a finely tuned F1 machine that keeps energy performance high and operating costs firmly in pole position.
Contrary to what you may expect, your BMS (Building Management System) normally does not provide data on the efficiency realized per individual chiller. Chiller COP is not suitable to use as KPI as the COP highly depends on the running conditions of your equipment. Energy-saving functionalities in the BMS allow for optimal planning and use of various equipment in the chiller plant (sequencing of chillers, pumps, and cooling towers) but do not take data on the energy efficiency of the (sub) systems in the chiller.
The ClimaCheck chiller monitor provides the data for an ongoing improvement process to achieve Energy Efficiency in Commercial Buildings through:
The ClimaCheck system takes data via the internal method (measurement of the refrigeration cycle), and breaks down the overall efficiency to efficiencies of the 4 subsystems of the chiller.
The uniformly applicable System Efficiency Index (SEI) is calculated as realized COP as % of ideal COP (at prevailing running conditions). SEI lets you compare all chillers at any time interval and is the ideal tool for KPI settings for your operator and maintenance teams.
A 2-circuit water-cooled chiller (300 RT) was monitored. Although performing well in terms of cooling delivered, analysis brought up problems with:
A series of simple adjustments on the Chiller sequencing in combination with smart usage of the chilled water storage and the introduction of a condenser cleaning regime allow for 30% energy saving on the chiller.
The monetary value of the avoidable waste:
A 30-minute monitoring session on a chiller pointed out problems with compressor efficiency and oil cooling that dropped the System Efficiency 16% below its expected value. The owner called on the chiller manufacturer and the problems got remedied Free of Charge.
The monetary value of the avoidable waste:
Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
