Energy Efficiency in Your Commercial Building is a Breeze with the Right HVAC

With every passing year, the importance of achieving and maintaining energy efficiency becomes more and more critical for commercial building owners; after all, such large buildings naturally require high levels of power to operate. As energy prices keep climbing, the only way to keep costs down is to use less of it.

The biggest drivers of energy usage in these buildings are generally its HVAC systems. Since they handle the heating, air conditioning, air ventilation, and air quality processes on each floor, the vast amount of square footage alone makes HVAC operation one of the heftiest line items on the budget. Let’s talk about how building owners and managers can go to the source to help lower energy consumption and make for a more efficient building.

Why it’s important to achieve energy efficiency

There are three primary reasons to aim for energy efficiency in any building: costs, sustainability, and compliance. As energy usage is a major cost driver in commercial buildings, one which owners and managers have at least some level of control over (as opposed to other costs like property taxes and licenses), efforts to use less energy will directly, and significantly, help out the bottom line. 

Many companies also try to do their part to limit the environmental impact of their operations. For commercial building owners, that often comes in the form of utilizing less energy (often by making the HVAC systems more efficient) and reducing their carbon footprint. 

And finally, depending on the building’s location and the industry it houses, there might be regulations around energy usage in the space. Complying with these regulations will avoid fines and other penalties, as well as avoiding the reputation damage of noncompliance. Achieving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Energy Star certifications can be a feather in a commercial building’s cap and help it appear more attractive to potential tenants.

The right HVAC systems can optimize energy use

As we said, HVACs are a huge part of any commercial building’s energy bill. There’s no way around that—not unless you want unheated, uncooled, and unventilated spaces and the unhappy tenants that come along with that—but there are ways to keep the energy costs associated with your systems down:

• Use variable air volume (VAV) HVAC systems

VAV systems can meticulously vary the flow and temperature of the air they produce, as opposed to constant air volume (CAV) systems that have a constant airflow rate and variable temperature. They optimize the amount and temperature of distributed air, which not only helps to use only the energy needed to properly heat or cool a room but also provides more efficient comfort to occupants thanks to less overcorrecting (overheating that requires someone to turn the heat down, then back up again, etc.—VAV systems make it easy to achieve the temperature “sweet spot” in a given space!) 

• Enable smart thermostats and sensors

Speaking of temperature sweet spots, smart thermostats can be connected to HVAC systems to enable more precise adjustments depending on the space. Zoning systems divide a space into different sections (a whole floor, a section of a floor, or even a single room) that can have their air comfort adjusted individually. Not all rooms hold heat equally, so without zones one side of an office could be boiling as the other tries to heat to a comfortable temperature. Additionally, smart sensors in these systems react more accurately to temperature changes in a space; as soon as the area reaches the desired temperature, the sensor sends a signal to the HVAC to shut off the air. That means less wasted energy throughout the building thanks to unnecessary heating or cooling.

• Integrate with building management systems (BMS)

Consider using a BMS to remotely control and monitor the HVAC system use in a commercial building. This will also allow for optimal scheduling, such as having the heat or AC automatically adjust to the work day’s beginning or ending, and for alerts to be sent when ideal thresholds are exceeded. BMSs can also provide quick visibility into the energy consumption in a building or floor, making it possible to flag inefficiencies that need to be addressed, which could be caused by faulty or dirty equipment.

• Switch to an advanced system like a heat pump

Heat pumps, high-efficiency boilers, and similar innovative systems consume less energy to heat and cool spaces—in some cases, a lot less. Heat pumps in particular are enjoying a large increase in popularity lately: by tapping into heat energy outside and underground (the latter being warmer than aboveground in the winter and cooler in the summer), these units require less energy to achieve the same level of cooling or heating as traditional units. Every building is different, so we highly recommend speaking to our experts to discuss what advanced heating and cooling systems would work best for your commercial building.

• Make the most of routine maintenance

Every HVAC unit dips in its energy efficiency over time, but with routine maintenance, you can stay as close to that optimal efficiency as possible. Our experts can clean and replace dirty air filters, clogged ducts, and other deteriorating parts that are hindering the unit’s performance. We calibrate the sensors and clean coils, ensuring the smart functions that maintain optimal temperature with minimal energy are working properly. This can also help fend off an untimely unit breakdown. 

Routine maintenance, as opposed to having an expert look into the system only when something breaks, helps you extend the life of your units and saves you money on replacements. That said, when new and innovative HVAC options become available, or your commercial building’s units are nearing the end of their useful and efficient life, our expert technicians will be ready to recommend the best fit for your building’s needs. Don’t spend another month overpaying for energy-inefficient HVAC operations in your building; set up an appointment with us today!