Energy Efficient HVAC Systems for Commercial Buildings
Commercial buildings can go through a lot of energy in the heating and cooling process. For a company that runs a large building, the monthly bill can be enormous during the hottest times of the year in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, making it even harder to turn a profit. While you can’t eliminate this expense, you can work to reduce it by selecting an energy efficient HVAC system for commercial buildings that is going to offer excellent efficiency.
This article will highlight some of the efficient options commercial building owners have available to them for HVAC systems. Not all of these options will be suitable for the building you have in mind, of course, so contact Walker Air • Plumbing • Electric at your convenience to talk more specifically about your requirements. We would be proud to serve you!
3 Options for Energy Efficient HVAC Systems for Commercial Buildings
We cannot cover the myriad commercial HVAC options here in this one post, but we can list some of the best choices when energy efficiency is near the top of your priority list.
- Multi-split system. This type of system distributes the cooling power from one compressor to multiple evaporators. While there is a lot of setup work involved to run the lines to the various locations inside the building, the benefit of that work is a system that can nicely control its output based on the demands of the various spaces that it serves. Also, since one outdoor unit can work with a number of indoor units, space can be saved outside the building, which might be important in some situations.
- Variable refrigerant flow. This is an advanced approach to commercial HVAC, which has become popular in recent years. The setup here is the same as above, where over one indoor unit will connect to a single outdoor unit, but the system is typically more powerful and can perform well in large buildings. This technology will serve spaces that need different settings for different parts of the building. Going with a VRF system is a matter of investing money upfront that can be saved down the road. These types of systems are quite costly to install, but they deliver energy efficiency that can save the business money for years to come.
- Variable air volume. As the name would suggest, this type of commercial HVAC system can alter the amount of air that is directed to parts of the building in order to optimize its performance. This is a great pick in a commercial building that has a lot of small rooms to heat or cool. Rather than blasting the same amount of air throughout the building and hoping that the temperature comes out relatively even, a VAV system can manage airflow and dial in more accurate, consistent results.
You may have noticed a pattern within the three types of commercial HVAC systems we highlighted above – each is able to offer control over the heating and cooling of spaces within a building, rather than treating the building all as one. This level of customization is essential when looking for energy efficiency, as less-sophisticated systems will inevitably work to heat or cool air that isn’t needed, and that energy will be wasted as a result.
The Importance of Energy Efficiency in Commercial Application
Energy efficiency is always a good thing when talking about HVAC systems, whether they are commercial or residential in nature. However, it’s arguably more important for commercial systems, since the scale of the heating and cooling is so much larger.
For example, imagine a small home that has an inefficient HVAC system in place. As a result, that home will use a little more energy than it would with a better system, and maybe the homeowner will pay $20 or $30 more per month on their utility bill. Sure, that’s not ideal, but it’s not a huge deal. For a commercial building, however, the stakes are higher and the dollar amounts are much greater. When heating or cooling a large commercial space, it’s possible that an inefficient system could be costing the company thousands of dollars in extra utility spending. That’s a big deal, and it’s more than worth your attention to figure out how to optimize this part of your operations.
Investing in a new commercial HVAC system is one of those cases of spending money in order to save money. If you have been running an old system for years and have just accepted your high energy bills as part of doing business, you might be shocked to discover how much you could save after modern HVAC equipment is installed. Contact Walker Air • Plumbing • Electric to learn more.
