Readers of the February issue of Ciepłownictwo Ociepłownictwo Wentylacja (COW) magazine are being motivated to further reduce energy consumption in buildings, and navigate the minefield of the declared performance of air handling units (AHUs), in a new article written by Igor Sikonczyk, Senior Technical and Regulatory Affairs Manager at Eurovent. ‘Reducing the risk of non-compliance of the AHU declared performance and excess energy consumption’ covers the key factors affecting energy consumption and declared performances for AHUs, and the effect of non-compliant products on system efficiencies.
In the article, Igor goes into detail on issues affecting the HVAC market internationally, as he navigates the dangers of unwittingly installing non-compliant AHUs. He explains that ensuring energy-efficient operation of a system depends on a number of factors, including the correct design, construction, commissioning and configuration of controls. However, a hidden issue can affect even the best designed and installed of systems, namely the accuracy of product performance declared by its manufacturer.
If the declared performance is not met in real life, the actual energy consumption of a well-designed, calculated, constructed and apparently well-functioning system can be much higher than it should be. The issue of the reliability of the declared performance is particularly relevant air handling units which are responsible for heat recovery and air transport and, therefore, key to heat and electricity consumption for ventilation.
This must-read article explores issues surrounding verification of actual energy efficiency during the commissioning and operational stages, excessive energy consumption due to non-compliance with the declared performance, the impact of excessive electricity consumption of the fan and excessive heat consumption due to lower than declared heat recovery efficiency, deviations in declared performance, manufacturers obligations in verifying declared performance and reducing the risk of non-compliance by voluntary certification. The article also covers certification via Eurovent Certita Certification and the Eurovent Energy Efficiency Label.
Read Reducing the risk of non-compliance of the AHU declared performance and excess energy consumption now.