Does My Commercial Building’s HVAC Need an Energy Retrofit?  

Cut Costs and Save on Energy with New Technology Strategies

Everyone wants to save money when it comes to commercial building expenses, and there’s no better way to cut costs than by saving energy with your heating and cooling. Often the changes necessary are as simple as eliminating excess drafts or sealing up leaky windows. And did you know that a recent study contracted by the Department of Energy has demonstrated that small to midsize businesses can reduce their energy bills up to 35% with an HVAC retrofit? It’s far less expensive than overall system replacement, while letting you make use of the best in energy saving technologies.

What’s involved in some of these high impact retrofits? Take a look, below: 

Demand Control Ventilation 

It used to be that most building ventilation systems largely revolved around a preset calculation: the estimated maximum number of building occupants who could fit in your commercial space. Industry pundits touted the link between a pre-determined number of air changes per hour based on maximum occupancy, and your safety and health. Using just estimates, this meant for example that you might be paying for conditioning air in a room that could hold hundreds of people, even if it was going completely unused. Many ventilation systems still work this way. Obviously, this gets expensive, and is sometimes sadly unnecessary. 

Using a carefully placed CO2 sensor, demand control ventilation has changed all that. With the data from the sensor, DCV detects how many people are in a given space and adjust ventilation depending on that number. You don’t pay for unnecessary ventilation in areas that go unused, while the DCV system keeps people comfortable, and air quality excellent in spaces that are heavily occupied. 

Building Automation

We’ve talked in this space about how useful a smart thermostat can be for your home or office when it comes to ensuring indoor comfort. But few people are aware that building automation can also save you big money when it comes to energy bills for your commercial space. Did you know that the Department of Energy has found that heating and air conditioning alone may be over half of your energy bill month to month? For that reason alone, it makes sense to automate wherever you can. 

A major part of most HVAC retrofits involve automation when possible. This isn’t just a neat upgrade. It’s about carefully controlling when and how you use your system. You’ll avoid paying for colder or hotter air when no one is there to enjoy it, and you’ll also keep temperatures consistent all year round, according to the parameters you choose. That’s energy savings that make sense. 

Economizer Installation or Repairs

Many commercial buildings in California have economizers. Few of them work correctly, a problem we’ve discussed here. Is yours helping you save energy, or costing you thousands in needless energy expenses? Any HVAC retrofit will include taking a long, hard look at your economizer, and determining what, if any, changes or repairs need to be made. 

Don’t just let your utility bills drift upwards over time. Consider an HVAC energy retrofit to get control of your operations budget. It’s a smart way to get immediate ROI. 

 

 

Are you paying too much in energy bills? Call Air-Tro today to find out how you can save money with an energy retrofit for your commercial HVAC system. (626)357-3535.