Inefficient Pumps can Increase HVAC Costs
Announcement posted by Pump Solutions Australasia 10 Nov 2016
Importer of pumps in Australia reveals how to raise efficiency and lower costs for HVAC in industrial and commercial buildings.
Perth, WA, November 10, 2016 - Pumps are not seen as a factor in raising or lowering HVAC costs by the general public, but pumps can account for 10-15% of the power consumed by HVAC. HVAC consumes, on an average, 40% of the power consumed in any building across a diverse range of businesses and applications.
Australia and New Zealand currently use a system called NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System) to assess how buildings perform in relation to the environment. Energy used for HVAC can account for as much as 70% of the assessment.
While these numbers may seem unrelated, they demonstrate that HVAC costs are important to both the bottom line and environmental performance of a building and the business it houses.
Controls, Pumps and Efficiency
The efficiency of controls determines the efficiency of a pumping system. In an HVAC system, inefficient controls can add between 50-90% to the net energy usage. The importance of controls for HVAC is heightened in a temperate climate, which envelops most of Australia’s cities.
In a temperate climate, both heat and AC are necessary. The amount of heat produces a heavy load on the AC component, but there are still times when heat is necessary and times when the load is minimal. Consequently, the system must be able to turn down the cooling component to adjust to minimal loads. If it can’t do this efficiently, the efficiency of the system itself is greatly affected.
In the North part of Australia, in cities like Darwin, controls aren’t as essential because the AC load is always heavy and no heating is necessary.
For the typical HVAC system in the typical Australian building that is not in the North, there are three factors that affect pump efficiency: robustness of controls, conflicting uses and turndowns.
Keeping Costs Down
Plant and business operators have plenty of options available to help increase pump efficiency.
Time of use: Decreasing time of use can reduce costs and increase efficiency greatly. For example, when a plant doesn’t need to run, it should be shut down.
Turndown: Correct calibration of turndown decreases power usage and increases efficiency. This ideally involves the use of VSD’s or Variable Speed Drives to match the pumps and fans with the loads. VSD’s greatly increase the efficiency of pumps and fans when running at lower speeds.
Conflicting Uses: The main example of conflicting use is the heating and the AC running at the same time. This is an obvious drain on resources and waste of energy.
The End Result
When VSD’s are added to a high quality pumping system, the end result is increased efficiency and lowered costs of operation. However, if the quality of the pumping system is not high enough, the increase in efficiency is negligible at best. It only works on high-quality pumps.
Pump Solutions Australasia imports pumps into Australia from all over the world. They only carry pumps and controls from manufacturers who have international reputations as the best manufacturers in their market segments. They provide the most reliable and efficient pumps and controls in the world to help Australian businesses save money and avoid downtime. To learn more, call 1300 793 418 or visit their website: www.pumpsolutions.com.au/.
Australia and New Zealand currently use a system called NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System) to assess how buildings perform in relation to the environment. Energy used for HVAC can account for as much as 70% of the assessment.
While these numbers may seem unrelated, they demonstrate that HVAC costs are important to both the bottom line and environmental performance of a building and the business it houses.
Controls, Pumps and Efficiency
The efficiency of controls determines the efficiency of a pumping system. In an HVAC system, inefficient controls can add between 50-90% to the net energy usage. The importance of controls for HVAC is heightened in a temperate climate, which envelops most of Australia’s cities.
In a temperate climate, both heat and AC are necessary. The amount of heat produces a heavy load on the AC component, but there are still times when heat is necessary and times when the load is minimal. Consequently, the system must be able to turn down the cooling component to adjust to minimal loads. If it can’t do this efficiently, the efficiency of the system itself is greatly affected.
In the North part of Australia, in cities like Darwin, controls aren’t as essential because the AC load is always heavy and no heating is necessary.
For the typical HVAC system in the typical Australian building that is not in the North, there are three factors that affect pump efficiency: robustness of controls, conflicting uses and turndowns.
Keeping Costs Down
Plant and business operators have plenty of options available to help increase pump efficiency.
Time of use: Decreasing time of use can reduce costs and increase efficiency greatly. For example, when a plant doesn’t need to run, it should be shut down.
Turndown: Correct calibration of turndown decreases power usage and increases efficiency. This ideally involves the use of VSD’s or Variable Speed Drives to match the pumps and fans with the loads. VSD’s greatly increase the efficiency of pumps and fans when running at lower speeds.
Conflicting Uses: The main example of conflicting use is the heating and the AC running at the same time. This is an obvious drain on resources and waste of energy.
The End Result
When VSD’s are added to a high quality pumping system, the end result is increased efficiency and lowered costs of operation. However, if the quality of the pumping system is not high enough, the increase in efficiency is negligible at best. It only works on high-quality pumps.
Pump Solutions Australasia imports pumps into Australia from all over the world. They only carry pumps and controls from manufacturers who have international reputations as the best manufacturers in their market segments. They provide the most reliable and efficient pumps and controls in the world to help Australian businesses save money and avoid downtime. To learn more, call 1300 793 418 or visit their website: www.pumpsolutions.com.au/.