An HVAC with its air conditioning, ventilation and heating features is used extensively to control the indoor temperature. It helps keep the indoor areas of homes and commercial places comfortable, safe and healthy. The air quality improves, and the rooms remain safe for living. Using an energy-efficient heating and air conditioning system is important to save energy and money. A good quality local HVAC company ensures a healthy indoor environment. The productivity of the occupants increases when they work in a room that has a comfortable environment.
Several factors affect an HVAC system’s energy efficiency. The type of HVAC system you have and maintaining it determines the device’s longevity and functioning. You can improve the functioning of this machine with the following steps. These steps will keep your HVAC system running efficiently and help you avoid frequent repairs.
Control Heat Losses of Your Building As Much As Possible
An HVAC system keeps the temperature of the indoor areas at the set temperature. The users set this temperature based on the prevailing outdoor temperature. It is set at the level most comfortable for all residents. The machine keeps removing or adding heat based on this temperature setting.
Things You Can Do to Reduce Heat Losses
Effective insulation in walls and roofs will prevent unnecessary heat loss through dissipation and conduction.
Add heat insulation materials to your windows and doors as well
Cold bridges (pillars, beams, window frames, door frames, etc.) should have proper treatment
For more energy-efficient cooling, install sunscreen systems to control solar radiation
Install all such systems and technologies at the time of constructing a new building, rather than in an existing building when it becomes more expensive to install such things
Avoid using both air conditioning and heating simultaneously
For higher energy efficiency, use the control systems in suitable settings for the building. The devices prevent heating and cooling simultaneously. They can close the distribution circuit when heating is not needed. Timer switches can be used to switch an HVAC system on or off as required. It can be programmed for non-working hours, public holidays and other events. All of it helps reduce the time the device keeps operating. Smart timer switches are now available at low costs. They ensure optimal device operating duration and reduce the running time significantly.
Use the Following Tips to Avoid Using Your Heating System Improperly
Do not let the temperature exceed 20-22 degrees C in the buildings where industrial, administrative or commercial activities occur. Higher temperature settings are needed in hospitals and healthcare centers. Cold temperature is preferred in sports and gymnasium centers.
Control windows opening as much as possible (both in hot and cold weather conditions). Your cooling and heating system will work better and more efficiently with closed windows.
Make Your Heating System More Economical by Optimizing It
Two types of heating systems are used in buildings – standalone and centralized.
Standalone Systems
These heating systems include blower, radiant or convector technology electric radiators. They are used to heat each room of the building separately. Even though all energy of such a system is used to heat the space (ensuring 100% efficiency), this type of device is expensive to operate. The operating costs can be reduced by using a control system that switches off the heating unit when space heating is no longer needed.
Centralized Heating Systems
A centralized system has two units – a furnace or boiler for heat generation and a heat distribution system. The heat purchased from the supplier is supplied through the hot water pipes. The service is billed using thermal metering. In another system, thermal energy is generated by a boiler used in the building. Higher efficiency can be achieved using the latest boiler that trained boiler technicians can adjust. The device efficiency level can be checked by regularly measuring the temperature of exhaust fume and CO2 level. It can be done irrespective of the type of fuel used for heating.
Heat Pumps
A heat pump is used as a standalone unit or with a boiler based on the heat source. When the surrounding air is the heat source, the pump cannot be used below a certain temperature because of the icing formation issue. The most widely used devices in this range are the “Air-Air” or “Air-Water” systems during mid-season. A furnace boiler is preferred when it gets too cold. The underground water is also used as a heat source. The heat pumps with “Water-Water” technology are used in many applications because they do not depend on the outdoor temperature.
Solar Heating
This type of heating poses two problems – first, the solar panels must be oriented accurately for maximum sun exposure, and second, the availability of heat depends on the weather condition. For this reason, the solar heating option can be used only to supplement the main heating system.
Optimizing Heating Circuits
In a centralized heating system, air ducts or water pipes distribute thermal energy throughout the building. The energy efficiency of this setup can be improved by reducing the heat loss that occurs in the pipes. This objective is achieved with proper air flues or water pipes insulation. It is mainly done in unheated spaces (service areas, ducting, boiler rooms). More energy can be saved by zoned heating, whereas several thermostats are used to control the temperature of different zones.
Heating Control Optimization
The goal of a heating control system is to reduce energy consumption to the minimum possible and still provide maximum comfort to the occupants of the rooms. The indoor temperature of rooms can be maintained at a comfortable level during normal operations. However, the temperature can be lowered when the spaces are not being used (for example, during weekends, holidays and nights).
Device Programming for Higher Efficiency
The room heating process can be started a few minutes or hours before the occupants arrive. In the same way, the system can be turned off sometime before they leave. This timely adjustment and fine-tuning save energy. The temperature of different spaces in a building should be regulated to avoid heating the rooms not occupied or being used. The temperature of each room should be set separately to improve the user’s comfort level. Finally, keeping a tab on the outside climate (temperature, wind, sunlight) helps estimate the heat loss from the building accurately.