“Furthermore, not only will the owner benefit from the obvious energy savings and comfort increase, we also were able to help optimize some other building maintenance and processes and help enhance energy and maintenance effectiveness for years to come. Overall tenant satisfaction with the building environment has been improved as evidenced by the property manager’s communications and positive feedback. IAQ and the awareness of good IAQ are increased in the building, and the overall comfort and work effectiveness can be greatly enhanced. The HVAC system performance is increased and can more closely perform to its original intended specified operation… After coil cleaning and regular maintenance, the HVAC systems are cleaner, and do not provide the environment for fungal, bacterial and microbial growth in their coils, ducts, and pipes. The authors of the study concluded, “In addition to the hard results presented in this article, many other ‘soft’ positive results come out of cleaning and normal maintenance operations and its resultant energy savings and airflow increases. “Restoration of air handler resulted in improvements that will lead to energy savings of up to $40,000 this year.” And there were other results beyond the monstrous energy savings… including decrease in pressure drop and increase in airflow, increase in thermal efficiency of the cooling coil, decrease of the load on the chiller plant, and increase in efficiency of heat transfer. The study was conducted in July through September 2005 by restoring two of the four air handlers in the 1500 Broadway building – then comparing their performance to the other two. If proper maintenance is an important consideration in overall energy costs, conserving in that budget area can be self-defeating. As a result, building managers often ignore or reduce resources devoted to air-handler maintenance when faced with budget constraints. Montgomery and Robert Baker, the article reports the results of a coil cleaning study performed at the iconic 34-story Times Square skyscraper, 1500 Broadway in New York City.Īlthough it’s theoretically known that cleaning a coil can result in energy savings, little actual testing data and research exist to prove the point. These can cause overall air quality to decline and systems to fail, and decrease the life expectancy of motors due to increased heat while running.Īll across the internet you can find scores of articles and blog posts extolling the virtues and importance of coil cleaning, but perhaps none is more persuasive than the findings revealed in the November 2006 ASHRAE Journal article titled, “Study Verifies Coil Cleaning Saves Energy.” Authored by Ross D. DOE says “a dirty condenser coil can increase compressor energy consumption by 30%.” A dirty evaporator coil decreases airflow, resulting in reduced heat transfer and a degradation of the dehumidification process. Department of Energy (DOE), major utilities, and other experts, dirty condenser and evaporator coils can significantly increase HVAC energy usage and associated utility costs. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Dirty coils force compressors to run longer and work harder than required, increasing energy usage and utility costs while decreasing component life and occupant comfort.Īccording to the U.S. As commercial building owners and facility-maintenance professionals prepare for the dog days of summer 2017, it is critical they make sure their evaporator coils are clean and ready to perform!Īn article in a recent issue of HPAC Engineering, quotes Tim Kane, president and chief executive officer of maintenance-solutions provider Goodway Technologies: “Not only do you want to make sure your HVAC system is running properly, but uncleaned coils can shorten the life of your equipment and force your system to work harder than it should, thereby drastically increasing the cost of running your HVAC.”Īn article in Buildings Magazine agrees…One of the easiest, most cost-effective green things you can do for your building’s energy efficiency is to have your HVAC system’s condenser and evaporator coils inspected yearly and cleaned as necessary.
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