Many air conditioning systems in Australia don’t comply with AS1668 or AS3666. Let’s deal with each standard separately.
AS1668 mandates the amount of fresh air each commercial space must have and where it can come from including not only offices, auditoriums, halls, hospitals, and bathrooms but also carparks, basements and the like at the time of HVAC Design. Other standards and best practise guidelines provide recommendations on the sizing of plant and associated services. It is becoming more important with the cost of commercial building spaces rising and along with it the occupant density as businesses optimise the number of staff in a building. Many medium and large building projects are designed by qualified and reputable engineers but due to many buildings in Australia being built using the competitive tender system, it is normally the lowest tender that wins. This often means a vital building component such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) being relatively unseen and hidden away it is one area where costs are cut and a contractor that is forced to make savings can do so in this area leading to HVAC problems. This can be overcome by the design engineer checking the system over once it has been commissioned into service but this is not always the case because due to budget constraints the design engineer inspection is not included. Often these HVAC challenges do not manifest themselves until someone moves into the building and then lodges complaints about the operation of the system or the cost of keeping the building operating. After all Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) electricity consumption typically accounts for around 40% of total building consumption and 70% of base building (i.e. landlord) electricity consumption.

Often an energy audit is required to identify opportunities to save on running costs. We see consistent savings averaging 29%. The whole building is taken into consideration including HVAC, lighting, hot water, building thermal efficiency and other appliances. Energy audits and the resultant implementation of suggested improvements can break even in weeks.

In most cases the existing system can be optimised to be more comfortable and energy efficient but if a plan for a more efficient system is required our staff have experience in chillers, boilers, building control systems, geothermal, chilled beams, heated and cooled slab designs to name few. For specific information on geothermal heating and cooling please see local geothermal HVAC company https://www.geomaster.com.au/

Long term consideration at both the design and installation stages neglects proper design to make sure the building has proper fresh and efficiently filtered air. This can in some cases include Ultraviolet air treatment systems. This feeds into our next topic on maintenance because good filtration doesn’t need to be expensive.

The other area that is often neglected is AS3666 which mainly deals with maintenance. This is an area which shortens the life of the plant, and if omitted reduces indoor air quality and causes the system to use excessive energy. Air Medic can design a filtration and maintenance program and teach the responsible person how to manage the program.

This holistic approach will ensure a lower total cost of ownership and cost to business. So not only will productivity increase but the savings on investment will pay for themselves. Air Medic is completely independent and would be glad to guide you through the process. contact us here.