HVAC IoT - Expert Commentary
The demands of HVAC professionals are unique, often requiring them to work in extreme conditions that necessitate gear that can keep up. Every day, these workers face fluctuating temperatures and a variety of hazardous environments. As such, the development of their uniforms has become a critical focus in the industry, with the goal of transforming them from basic work wear into high-performance apparel that meets the unique challenges of the HVAC work environment. Modern HVAC technicians&rsquo...
I remember Dr. Dave Bowman from Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" commanding HAL 9000 to open the pod bay doors, and HAL chillingly responds, "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that." Fortunately, unlike the fictional HAL," ChatGPT and other GenAI tools remain compliant and helpful, far from refusing commands or leaving us stranded in space. In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology, artificial intelligence (AI) should play a pivotal role in transforming various aspects of our dai...
Nothing is immune to entropy. As buildings age, they suffer natural breakdowns in efficiency, performance, and useability, compromising occupant comfort and leading to higher energy bills. Luckily, they do not have to stay that way. Retro-commissioning brings existing structures up to speed so they can function their best. What Is Commissioning? Commissioning helps buildings operate as the owners intended and ensures staff maintains their equipment and systems. During new construct...
Using air conditioners and electric fans to stay cool accounts for nearly 20% of the total electricity used in buildings around the world, according to a report from the International Energy Agency. hybrid work model As a unique mix of key factors, such as the adoption of the hybrid work model and escalating heatwaves in certain regions of the United States keep people indoors for longer periods, this 20% share represents an increasingly costly line item on household budgets. Those within th...
Coastal and tropical areas present their own unique challenges for business and residential HVAC units. For these machines, which we use to create comfortable, safe air for occupants, corrosion is enemy number one in high moisture environments. Due to the high level of moisture and salts in the air along the coast, HVAC solutions are more susceptible to corrosion. These salts can negatively impact unprotected coil fins and metal surfaces, causing them to corrode, which can ultimately lead to s...
With each passing year, more and more individuals are becoming conscious of the importance of sustainability. As a result, there has been a boom in the electric vehicle (EVs) market. According to the International Energy Agency, the sales of EVs doubled in 2021 with nearly 10% of global car sales being electric. Two million electric vehicles were sold in the first quarter of 2022 alone. It was estimated that 13% of new cars sold in 2022 would be electric. Gas-Powered vehicle For those who cho...
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is a smart buildings’ biggest ally. Without it, a building could hardly be classed as smart. For building owners and managers, AI is imperative to create a secure and comfortable experience for their occupants every day. What a building platform should do is gather data from various sources from the building management system and other smart technologies, to gather it all in one place. The data should then be fed into a flexible, scalable cloud-based platform...
Even though the COVID-19 pandemic is seemingly drawing to a close, living, working and learning at home is set to continue. Under this new normal, home electricity use is expected to double by 2050. Simultaneously, as climate change devastates communities around the world, we are faced with a moral and economic obligation to cut CO2 emissions from houses. Our goal is to build Net Zero houses and we can't get there fast enough. Fossil fuels use in heating systems Many countries continue to rely...
Seasonal transitions are the perfect time to take inventory and inspect a building’s various systems. We’ve been reminded for years that when we set our clocks back, we should also replace the batteries in our smoke detectors. The same thought process can be applied in support of seasonal preventative maintenance for a building’s HVAC system. Now that the cooling season has passed for a large part of the country, it is time to ensure that HVAC systems have been shut down prope...
I am writing this the day after the Autumn Spending Review, which among many measures, included a huge focus on how the Government wants to ‘level up the country’, creating a new post-pandemic economy, with higher wages and higher skills. Part of this is the £500 million ‘Multiply’ scheme, which aims to increase numeracy and basic mathematics for adults in the United Kingdom via in person tutoring, digital training and flexible courses. Lack of basic skills to acce...
The development of digital technologies in the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) sector has been transformational for the industry, as well as for those who run HVAC systems. While the electrification and digitalization of machines, and assets has made a lot of operations simpler, it has also meant that the collection of machine data has never been more critical. Given that engineers can now view lots of different metrics on a single screen, including things like heating control...
With the increase in climate protests and UN reports highlighting future net-zero challenges, industries are trying to focus their business practices on principles of sustainable development and responsible investment. In the building sector specifically, landlords are gravitating towards certification schemes such as BREAM, LEED, and WELL (among others) to promote the sustainability of their assets and boost green credentials. Tenants are now demanding that the spaces they live and work in ar...
It is now more common to read about cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the media than ever before, with outbreaks regularly being reported in cities around the world, all the time. Many of these cases are attributed to contamination of domestic systems, showers and spas, but some are the result of operating cooling towers. While this problem is not new, with the first reported case in Philadelphia, in 1976, the United Kingdom (UK) has been at the forefront in leading the battle with Legionn...
At the moment, it seems as though a day rarely goes by without low-carbon heating hitting the headlines. Whether it is reports of ‘revamping’ the Clean Heat Grant, to include a ‘boiler scrappage’ scheme, which may offer home owners up to £7000 to make the switch to a low-carbon alternative, to speculation that the Prime Minister is under pressure to push back the 2035 ban on gas boilers, the debate on how and when the low-carbon heating revolution will happen is ong...
We visit the doctor for yearly check-ups and take our vehicles to a mechanic for maintenance and oil changes. The same idea applies to an HVAC system. An HVAC system can run around 2,000 hours per year and is a building system that is constantly expending energy. Without preventative maintenance, it is much more likely that a building owner could be overlooking silent issues that could cause a system to break down long before it should. Preventative maintenance is catching on for a re...
In today’s world, we spend almost 90 per cent of our time indoors, in our workplaces, leisure areas and our homes. It is no secret that the built environment has been relatively slow in its embrace of information technology and automation. According to KPMG’s ‘Building a Technology Advantage’ report, fewer than 20 percent of construction and engineering executives, and major-project owners said they are re-thinking their business models, so as to incorporate new technolo...
A quick glance at official COVID-19 mitigation guidance reveals that it promotes increased ventilation air change rates, as the most effective way to keep people safe. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Just open a window or turn up your ventilation system, if you have one. The fact is, however, that the vast majority of domestic properties in Britain does not have a mechanical ventilation system and rely on natural means for background ventilation, including windows, trickle vents or air bricks. In...
With the UK committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, drastic action is needed by the government. For new-build homes, there’s a gas boiler ban coming in less than five years’ time. And for older properties, it’s likely that gas prices will continue to rise, to encourage homeowners to switch to a more sustainable alternative. Renewable heating market With this in mind, the renewable heating market is growing rapidly, albeit from a very small base &ndash...
Over the last decades heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems became significantly more energy efficient. This is immensely important as they are one of the largest energy-consuming loads in commercial and residential buildings. Smooth performance of the systems requires careful installation, thorough cleaning, and regular maintenance. Running an HVAC system (energy) efficiently is challenging because of constantly changing variables: people entering and leaving a building, changing...
The ongoing shortage of HVAC equipment and tools has created a significant challenge for contractors around the country. At the same time, companies are also up against intense environmental conditions, like the extreme winter weather that impacted much of Texas in early 2021. The right strategies can help HVAC businesses navigate this shortage and make the most of the equipment they can order. Due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, raw material and component shortages have disr...
The energy transition is upon us and we are shifting today’s energy use to low and zero carbon sources. The way in which we heat and provide hot water to our homes and businesses will change, and we are developing technologies that will support this transition. A bold and pragmatic policy framework will encourage investment and drive change. BEIS Hydrogen Strategy We, therefore, welcome the publication of the Hydrogen Strategy from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Str...
Most people spend about 90 percent of their time indoors. For home owners, indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is the most meaningful differentiator between ‘high-performance’ and ‘code-built’ homes. Indoor environmental quality IEQ describes how well the indoor environment promotes occupant comfort and health. The components of IEQ include thermal comfort, indoor air quality (IAQ), sound and lighting. Requirements for optimal IEQ vary per occupant and household, d...
A cooling tower allows building owners and operators to take advantage of low cooling water temperatures and higher rates of heat rejection per square meter inherent in evaporative cooling systems. A well maintained cooling tower enables cooling systems to perform at optimum efficiency, reliably and cost-effectively, with contractors who maintain cooling systems able to service their customers with comprehensive and routine cooling tower maintenance programs that should maintain cooling perfor...
The last 18 months have seen an acceleration in digitalization across many aspects of work and home life. Home spaces have become workspaces, and commercial buildings have had to adapt to changed use and lower occupancy rates. Coupled with this, there is a growing need to dramatically reduce carbon emissions from buildings - according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the buildings and construction sectors combined are responsible for over 30 percent of global energy consumption, and n...
In HVAC and smart buildings, short-termism is an easy trap to fall into. We live in a world driven by returns, profit, KPIs and results; where short-term goals often trump long term ambitions as individuals at all levels are judged on their immediate targets. It is a facet of human nature that can cause us to be blind to the bigger picture. Yet for companies to operate not only more sustainably, but equally more effectively in the long run, sometimes the big picture needs to take preceden...
As our urban centers grow, so does our demand for key resources, such as energy. Currently, cities are accountable for over 60% of resource use and an estimated 70% of global carbon emissions. In the Middle East particularly, countries have experienced unprecedented population growth, increased economic activity and consequently, increases in energy consumption. Integration of sustainable systems Fortunately, industry leaders and governments are placing sustainability at the heart of regional...
Forget the fact that heat pump installations in the average home could cost several thousand pounds more than a conventional gas boiler and that fully insulating those homes will add even greater cost to the homeowner. It’s not really the cost issue that could be the only potential bump in the road on the way to the target set by the UK Government, because a more pressing problem to solve will be the shortage of trained ‘green’ heating engineers that will be the key to delive...
Utilizing the latest in building connectivity, facility operators can uncover a wealth of data in their systems. The next step comes by leveraging that data with artificial intelligence (AI) and a suite of connected solutions. Data is analyzed to determine actionable items and achieve data-based outcomes that improve efficiencies, allow operators to meet budget goals, hit sustainability targets and deliver on occupants’ expectations. To make those high-level outcomes happen, collecting a...
When we think of remote working our thoughts often jump to office workers taking laptops to the kitchen table or of Zoom calls interrupted by needy pets. Remote working, however, isn’t just confined to office jobs. Within the HVAC industry, engineers have been working remotely for large parts of the pandemic thanks to advancements in connected technology and automation of HVAC systems. So, just how has technology enabled remote work in the HVAC industry, and is the rise of the ‘work...
With ongoing efforts from governments across the globe to reduce carbon emissions and with an ever greater focus on sustainability, it is vital that the HVAC sector does its part in becoming more environmentally conscious. And, while there have been steps to become more sustainable, there is a huge amount that still needs to be done to make sure that many of the targets that have been set are attainable. In buildings, both large and small, industrial heating accounts for roughly two thirds of i...
