Office Buildings

Energy efficient HVAC motors

 
 

Value proposition

Main drivers

  • Energy Efficiency HVAC represents more than 50 % of energy consumption in air conditioned office buildings.Cutting energy cost & getting more Green Label credits (LEED , BREEAM for instance) are two major drivers for developers, property managers and occupying companies, as well in existing office buildings as in case of new construction
  • Flexibility: very easy installation is required to upgrade any existing office building ; easy connection to HVAC control system
  • Short ROI: 1 to 3 years maxi for quick wins
  • Reduce CAPEX through smooth integration of any technical equipment in a single BMS
  • Reduce OPEX, through a single easy to use BMS For OEMs, improving the performance of their HVAC machines is consequently a strong driver : optimization of running mode, better regulation, low noise of the machine

 

Solution in brief

  • Speed control of pumps & fans generates huge energy savings in HVAC office buildings. Schneider Electric offer is suitable for any commonly used HVAC equipment in office buildings worldwide:

   - Cooling tower

   - Air Handling Unit (AHU)

   - Chillers

   - Boilers

   - Pumps in the circulating water system

   - Variable Air Volume (VAV)

  • For existing office buildings, ready to install variable speed drives in IP54 enclosures reduce the installation cost and inconvenience due to HVAC temporary interruption :no change of the electrical panel. For new construction, variable speed drives are installed in a machine by OEM, in a control panel (small power) or close to the machine in technical room without water pipes inside integration into use Altivar offer adpated to NEMA standard (S-Flex and E-Flex)
  • Schneider Electric LON or BACnet based Building Management System ; Supervision by Vista

 

 

Value proposition

  • Fan speed control provides -50% on fan energy consumption at 80% air flow vs a mechanical solution (damper). ROI typical value: 1 or 2 years
  • Pump speed control provides -30% on pump energy consumption at 80% water flow vs a valve solution. Adding a VSD on an standard motor pump provides 10 times more energy savings than changing for a high efficiency motor. Typical energy savings for a 4kW pump adding a variable speed drive 84 000 kWh cumulated during 10 years changing for a high efficiency motor (EFF1 type) =  8 400 kWh cumulated during 15 years ROI typical value : 2 to 3 years
  • Smooth integration into Schneider Electric LON or BACnet based Building Management System

 

Differentiation factor

  • Better performing harmonic mitigation system compared to ABB, Siemens and Danfoss (C-Less technology coupled with a dedicated motor control algorithm)
  • Innovation award from Frost &Sullivan in 2008
  • THD down to 30%
 

Main characteristics

  • Variable speed drives Altivar 21 power range from 0.75 kW to 75 kW 380 / 480 V, IP21 or IP54
  • Variable speed drives Altivar 61 power range from 0.75 kW to 630 kW 380 / 480 V, IP21 or IP54
  • Lon & Bacnet protocols
 
 
 
 
 

Solution breakdown

  • Variable speed drives: Altivar 21, Altivar 61
  • HVAC controller: Xenta
  • Supervision softwares: Vista, Continuum
  • ECO8 software for calculation of energy savings and ROI duration
  • HarmCalc software for calculation of harmonics rejection & check IEEE519 compliance