‘A virtuous circle’ of climate control

Simon Keel, product executive at air conditioning specialist, Daikin UK, points out that this pressure has manifested itself in “a constant stream of legislation, standards, and regulations”, resulting in many health estate managers feeling “bogged down and even a little confused”. Here he examines some of the key requirements and “contradictions” of carbon reduction legislation for air conditioning, and how managers can best address them.

  One of the most straightforward pieces of legislation with which health estate managers must comply is the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive. This legislation states that air conditioning systems capable of providing more than 12 kW of cooling should have undergone an official inspection before January this year, and must continue to be inspected every five years thereafter. Figures show that, across the UK, compliance with this legislation is minimal. Not only does this mean that the law is being broken in a large number of cases, but it also poses a real threat to the chances of the UK meeting its carbon reduction requirements. However, by viewing the energy assessment of air conditioning systems as a route by which information can be gathered to improve thermal efficiency, managers can achieve significant energy performance improvements, as well as ensuring that they stay on the right side of the law. This is because, as well as assessing how an air conditioning system is functioning at the point of inspection, the role of the assessor is to offer advice on how improvements in performance can be made going forward – vital information in providing even higher reductions in a building’s energy usage. The essence of the legislation is that the inspection should highlight shortcomings, praise efficiency, and recommend changes and updates that will save energy, and thus money. The inspections are carried out by trained assessors who have a crystal clear objective: to inspect records of systems, plant sizes, and settings, as well as the building’s requirements in relation to its needs and operation. The findings are put into a report which will form part of the building’s history, and provide an overview of the whole building, recommending actions that could reduce carbon emissions – and hence save money. It might be possible to put these recommendations into place immediately, or there could be long-term considerations regarding plant life and replacement.

‘Entering into the spirit’