The key to healthy, sustainable environments? Control. And thanks to the advancement of intelligent HVAC system controls, building operators are assuming greater and easier control over the places they live, work, and play.
“Energy controls play a significant role in not only getting HVAC systems to meet specific environmental needs, but doing so in the most energy-efficient way,” agrees Pushpinder Rana, Senior Manager (Commercial Products & Industry Relations)) with MESCA. “At the end of the day, having that control reduces overall emissions and increases a home or building’s overall sustainability while meeting desired comfort levels.”
Those controls have come a long way. Whereas conventional HVAC systems operate at full power when instructed to heat or cool an environment to a desired temperature, HVAC equipment with smarter internal and external controls and inverter technologies have emerged that take a more efficient (and comfortable) approach to address the temperature gap.
“The HVAC systems we’re introducing now are much more intelligent and proactive,” notes Pushpinder. “They can predetermine all the factors contributing to an environment’s temperature and choose the most effective way to deliver comfort.”
What makes these smart controls “smart” is their ability to get information from surrounding HVAC sensors (e.g., temperature sensors, occupancy sensors, humidity sensors, digital and analog inputs/outputs, etc.) and use that data intelligently to operate the right components at the right times with right parameters in collaboration with surrounding systems.
“Take, for example, an occupancy sensor that detects if there’s anyone in the room or not,” explains Pushpinder. “That same sensor can be tied into an HVAC system to tell it when to operate and to what extent. The same thing applies to window or door sensors that detect movement and send commands to the HVAC components.”
“Similarly,” he continues, “input from an IAQ sensor can send a command to the ventilation system to manage indoor air quality to the desired level. As a result, you have all these technologies ‘talking’ to each other and determining the smartest way to heat or cool and ventilate that space.”
These components can also be tracked and controlled through a central platform, be it in a building’s back-office, maintenance room, or through a remote app. The is result is a more connected and holistic approach to indoor heating and cooling and optimum indoor air quality that ensures peak comfort, smarter energy usage, lower utility costs, and smaller carbon footprints.
Point, tap, comfort
External HVAC controls are equally important to the sustainability conversation. More and more, property managers and homeowners alike are gaining the ability to operate heating and cooling systems remotely via apps (iOS & Android) over their smart devices. Through these apps, they can yield greater control over when and how long their HVAC components are active, and set parameters by which they will automatically kick into action.
“Imagine leaving your office and being on your way home. Well, through one of these apps, you can turn on your HVAC system so that your home is just the way you like it as soon as you walk through the door,” suggests Pushpinder. “At the same time, if you forgot to turn off your HVAC system while leaving your office, you can easily do it while sitting inside your car or at a café so that you aren’t wasting energy.”
A view to comfort
Greater control begets greater visibility. That, in turn, enables property owners and managers to better understand their buildings’ energy performance, be it within a single asset or across an entire portfolio.
“With the centralized HVAC control systems we have now, you can collect data to create advanced dashboards that show precisely how your HVAC system is behaving and its impact on the overall building envelope,” explains Pushpinder. “That data will tell you if you’re using too much power or if you can be setting more effective controls.”
Similarly, these advanced control systems can help property managers narrow in on tenants who may be using more power than they need to.
As Pushpinder illustrates: “Let’s say your HVAC system is shared by ten clients. At the end of the month, you can pinpoint which client was using the building’s HVAC system within permissible parameters and which may be consuming way more power than they should.
You can also generate periodic reports that provide an in-depth review of overall HVAC functioning, tenants’ habits, space conditions, error logs, schedules, notifications, alarms, and much more.”
With that insight, property managers have the opportunity to educate the tenant on how they can use less energy while achieving the same goals. Additionally, Property managers may use this information to begin billing tenants based on their specific consumption habits.
Multitasking tech
Advanced HVAC controls and technologies are also promote greater functionality. MESCA’s HVAC line-up, for example, is comprised by smart controls and heat recovery technology that enable them to provide heating and cooling simultaneously without requiring additional equipment.
Says Pushpinder: “Traditionally, with heat pumps, you either remove or add heat to your space push it outside .MESCA’s heat recovery technology, on the other hand, recovers the heat that’s been collected from one space and simply moves it to another space without wasting it.”
Depending on building orientation, there may also be tenants who require cooling during winter in the same building as those who prefer heating. Meeting these competing demands is easily doable by using a City Multi heat recovery system that provides both heating and cooling at the same time.
“This is a huge advantage in terms of your energy efficiency,” Pushpinder continues. “Your system is now operating at peak efficiency, and you aren’t relying on auxiliary equipment because that single heat recovery system is doing both jobs of heating and cooling. That has a direct impact on how much power you’re consuming.”
Going further
The future of HVAC is all about continued advancement in the control world. As heating and cooling technologies evolve, and demands for greener and healthier environments mount, the bulk of industry innovation will be focused on making those systems smarter and more reactive, and precise.
“The control side will drive a lot of big moves in HVAC in the coming years, especially as building stakeholders look to technologies that will help them stay up to speed with tenant demands, building codes, and clean energy initiatives,” predicts Pushpinder.
Learn how MESCA gives building stakeholders the power to create cleaner, greener, and future-ready assets. Visit www.MitsubishiElectric.ca.
