What’s hot, what’s not, and what the future holds
In today’s energy-fixated retail climate, the pressure is on for HVAC manufacturers. As building owners strive to achieve lofty energy goals, the HVAC industry must continually adapt and evolve. This, combined with looming Department of Energy regulations, is driving cutting-edge innovations in heating and air.
A Holistic Approach
One of the most prevalent HVAC trends is manufacturers and owners shifting to a holistic approach for building systems. “It’s about looking at all the building systems, including HVAC, as a system, not as individual components,” said Greg DuChane, Retail & Restaurant Vertical Sales Market Leader with Trane®, a leading global provider of indoor comfort solutions and services and a brand of Ingersoll Rand. “Owners have to ask, what does the building look like holistically, and how does air conditioning fit?”
DuChane said owners should consider the whole operation when planning new construction, as well as retrofit and renovation projects. “Many retailers and restauranteurs today are retrofitting just as many, if not more, facilities than they’re building,” he said. “As they retrofit lighting, they also need to bring their portfolio up to speed with the latest HVAC innovations.”
In today’s energy-focused retail environment, DuChane said an increasing number of FMs are tapping into building energy management strategies. “Building energy management is catching on, and it’s becoming more of the norm instead of the exception today,” he pointed out. This process, he explained, involves close monitoring and management of building energy, including lights, HVAC and other energy outputs.
“For example, many owners are doing LED upgrades in their stores,” DuChane said. “Their lighting costs go down most of the time by half or more. The neat thing is that LED impacts the air conditioning load in a good way – it lowers it.”
After a store undergoes an LED lighting upgrade, DuChane said the facilities manager should have an engineer or a partner manufacturer take a look at the HVAC load. “Maybe a 15-ton HVAC unit that was on the store could be switched to a 12.5-ton unit,” DuChane suggested.
In other words, FMs cannot look at building systems as separate silos. “You can’t just think, I’m going to change my lights or I’m going to change my air conditioning,” he explained. “You have to look at how it works together. These days, there are ways to look at the return on investment holistically. If you change the lights and the air conditioning, what does the joint return on investment look like? It’s usually much more favorable than when you put them into independent silos. And, lighting and HVAC are just a natural marriage.”
On the other hand, in restaurants HVAC is closely connected to ventilation. “It’s important to take a look at the hoods and make sure the outside air exhaust is optimized,” he said. “For every 200 or 300 CFM of outside air you reduce, you reduce a ton of air conditioning. It’s incredible. So, it’s very important to look at how these systems work together holistically. They’re not independent; they’re connected.”
Choosing the Right Efficiency
In another interesting HVAC trend, some restaurant owners are considering new HVAC efficiency options. “It’s very important to select the right efficiency for your operation.”
This is particularly true for Quick-Service Restaurant (QSRs), which are some of the most energy-intensive buildings in the U.S. “QSRs are second only to hospitals for energy use per square foot,” DuChane pointed out. “Air conditioning can be 30, 40 or 50 percent of that load, so it is a big factor when you’re looking at energy. This market typically uses standard rooftop units – it’s a good fit and it’s a good product from a maintenance and ease perspective. Over the last few years, many advancements have been made and new options introduced, which offer a lot of great choices for customers.”
Better Buildings Initiative
Although DuChane said most of his clients are not attempting to achieve net zero energy, they definitely have specific energy and sustainability related goals. For instance, many restaurants and retail stores are taking on the Better Buildings Challenge. This U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiative was established to drive leadership in energy innovation in the nation’s homes, commercial and public buildings.
According to the DOE Better Buildings website, the initiative “aims to make commercial, public, industrial, and residential buildings 20 percent more energy efficient over the next decade.” This could result in billions of dollars saved on energy bills, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create thousands of new jobs. “Many of our customers are signing up for the Challenge and reaching and exceeding their goals,” DuChane said.
On the Horizon
What lies ahead for HVAC? DuChane said retailers can expect to see quite a few developments in the next five to 10 years from major HVAC manufacturers.
“DOE regulations effective January 1, 2018 and then again on January 1, 2023 will drive manufacturers to part load efficiency of our units,” DuChane predicted. “The industry is working on upgrading the part load performance of rooftop units, and that’s a good thing, because that’s where most buildings operate, so they would benefit from it.”
Additionally, data and connected technologies will become more and more prevalent in the HVAC arena.
“Connected buildings and using data to make decisions, will become much easier to manage,” DuChane explained. Although many FMs have access to building systems data, DuChane said what really counts is how that data is used.
“Buildings today are full of hidden potential. It comes down to how you understand it and make changes, how you adapt, how you see how your building is operating based on that data,” he said. “In the next five to 10 years it’s going to be incredible how actionable data and insights will help guide the way building owners operate their buildings.”
Greg DuChane
By: Amy Bell
