Latin America. After more than a year between total and partial lockdowns, it has begun with an increasingly strong dynamic of returning to offices and schools; As occupants tentatively return to their places of work and study, building owners and operators face the challenge of optimizing their operational performance, ensuring comfort in the presence of high temperatures, but above all, minimizing the risk of contagion and giving peace of mind to occupants and visitors.
And in these summer months, beyond the need to increase the use of energy to cool buildings, there are a number of factors that can put greater pressure on your building systems, such as increased use of water for irrigation, extreme humidity, particles added to the air. Understanding how extreme summer temperatures affect the energy performance of buildings will help to have better equipment performance, manage energy consumption and why not, reduce electricity bill bills.
Well, despite the fact that Mexico is in hurricane season, these days the Canícula 2021 started, which, according to the National Meteorological Service (SMN), brings the 40 hottest days of the year that will conclude on August 20.
Most commercial buildings are designed using climate data by specific area, which helps to know the expected extreme temperatures during the summer by up to 95%. As a result, on the hottest days of summer it is possible that the environmental situation exceeds the current cooling capacity of the building's equipment and systems.
Because environmental factors have changed a lot in recent years, there are more days with extreme temperatures and in some buildings their air conditioning systems cannot supply the required demand. This is a challenge for buildings over 30 years old, as meeting standards with extreme temperatures is difficult and can only be achieved 90% of the time. According to Trane, today it is essential to integrate technologies that manage to satisfy the cooling capacity in any season of the year and under a perspective of well-being centered on the human being and with a clear focus on energy efficiency.
Building owners and operators must apply the necessary measures to ensure optimal operation and good indoor air quality in buildings to their occupants, given the high temperatures that are about to happen.
Trane suggests two key points that can help minimize the impact summer has on buildings, even on the hottest days:
1. Ensure optimal energy performance in summer
Air conditioners are often required to perform at their best during the summer and this can lead to deficiencies in buildings that are hidden at other times of the year, so regular maintenance is very important so that the equipment is prepared to work at its best in summer. Proactive maintenance can reduce unexpected failures by 70% to 75% and reduce downtime by up to 40%. (1)
Continuous overhauling of air conditioning equipment and systems is another way to maintain the optimal performance of your building. Trane engineers are committed to constantly reviewing all products, focusing on increasing energy efficiency and system performance.
A more efficient building can provide greater comfort to occupants, resulting in increased employee productivity as well as a better customer experience. Dissatisfaction with occupant comfort can be especially critical in the summer, as buildings without optimal systems and controls can present complications in maintaining the required temperature and humidity levels. This makes staff productivity a major concern for most organizations. Actions that have even a small impact on employee productivity can make a significant difference to the bottom line.
2. Reduce thermal load
There are many ways you can reduce the internal load of your building to save energy, such as disconnecting equipment when not in use, adding sun protection on windows and switching to more energy-efficient lighting or even reducing the amount of lighting used in the summer.
There are also functional options that help reduce the thermal load on your building and improve efficiency. A building automation system (BAS) can be especially beneficial because data from the BAS system and equipment shows how they are performing and building usage trends. Today there are energy management solutions that provide building data and information that can be used to operate systems more efficiently to reduce thermal load on buildings.
Using data can provide a better understanding of when and how a building is operating; which parts of the building are in continuous operation and are maxed out, or if systems in certain areas are not working; this may indicate a problem that may prevent optimal efficiency from being achieved. Current technologies can help determine what the data means and turn it into meaningful information that can be used to make improvements and improve the building's energy performance.
Extreme conditions during the heat and summer can pose unique challenges. Using data to anticipate potential equipment problems or problems based on trends or anomalies will allow corrective action to be taken sooner; today, building performance can be optimized to achieve occupant comfort while saving energy costs, mitigating health risks, and promoting a sustainable corporate culture.
[1] Federal Energy Management Program, U. S. Department of Energy, Operations & Maintenance Best Practices: A Guide to Achieving Operational Efficiency (August 2010).
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