Here is why we’re choosing to focus on large heating-cooling systems
Firstly, buildings account for approximately 40% of global energy use and CO2 emissions. And the big elephant in the room is Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration equipment (HVAC-R) representing 50-70% of the energy consumption in commercial buildings and factories.
Global warming is certainly not helping. The subsequent growing power demand, coupled with an increase in the price of electricity has created an urgent need to better manage energy costs, reduce carbon footprint while maintaining reliability.
“With the rising concern on the impact of air quality on occupant’s health, well-being and productivity, raising outdoor air provision has been widely accepted as an effective means to improve indoor environments and reduce virus spread.”
However, the energy required for conditioning the outdoor air, i.e. cleaning, heating-cooling and dehumidifying, is very high.
To make matters worse, HVAC-R is designed to cater to the most unfavorable days or hours of the year under the worst weather, full occupancy, or business activity conditions. This has posed challenges and caused inefficiencies, as most of the time buildings are operated under part-load conditions.
This is particularly relevant in the face of Covid-19 with rising demand for work-from-home which has created more frequent part-loading conditions in workplaces and an urgent need to reduce costs.
Even though HVAC-R shows potential for efficiency gains, the opportunity remains mostly untapped due to the lack of effective measures. Energy efficiency solutions are often too costly and impact the business (e.g. interruption for installation and equipment replacement).
In addition, HVAC-R is a critical asset affecting comfort in commercial buildings as well as product quality & safety in factories. Hence, facility managers often prefer the status-quo over taking operational risks for just cost savings.
To achieve energy efficiency at scale, a non-intrusive and adaptive HVAC-R that can anticipate weather changes, occupancy conditions & business activity and adjust its operation accordingly, is necessary.
And that’s where BeeBryte comes in!
We use AI and IoT to control-command HVAC-R in a smarter way and provide innovative remote operation & maintenance services for heating-cooling systems in commercial buildings and factories.