Environment Friendly Systems

Environment Friendly Systems

The industry is now replete with eco-friendly catch phrases like carbon credits, green buildings and energy efficiency. The latest technology is now being harnessed to meet these demands by companies in the business of temperature regulation and ventilation.

That using an efficient, environment-friendly system is in keeping with business sense is what companies are becoming aware of. Retailers in Europe and the US spend 2% of their proceeds on only electricity and now all are demanding that the figure comes down. Retailers in India too are beginning to realize the importance of such matters and how they affect profit margins.

There are always innovations for energy efficiency. For example, Sanyo possesses an eco-store management system for regulating the load on air-conditioning, refrigeration and lighting. In China and Japan this system has been seen to have a 10% to 40% reduction in load. They have introduced the system in Reliance Hyper Martin Jamnagar.

The same company also possesses air-conditioning systems running on CNG and LPG rather than electricity which will become a popular technology because of the frequent power cuts in India. Commercial establishments are lured by carbon credits. They're willing to invest once they can see business sense in it. Before the awareness and availability of environment-friendly products reaches the public it will take time but young educated middle class Indians in particular are now becoming aware of it.

A common sight in the consumer durables space is the Bureau of Indian standards (BIS), that has star ratings for energy efficiency. There is however, no legislation for commercial spaces as yet. In countries abroad even a certificate for cleaning of an air-conditioner duct has to be compulsorily shown to the health department. As we are going through a construction boom now it would be the ideal time for the government to bring in legislation in this matter.

In the area of emission control existing refrigerants such as R22 are being done away with by companies as they are ozone depleting and variants that do not affect ozone such as R410 and R404 are being brought in. Some are changing to carbon dioxide technology that eliminates heat but does not affect ozone levels.

Only the IT/ITeS, biotechnology, telecom, hospitality and retail sectors seem to have awareness and sensitivity in this matter. The HVAC equipment in a commercial space uses as much as 55% of the energy bill. There is much scope for improvement and innovation.

The proper usage and maintenance of equipment is as important as the installation and companies often do not realize this and go from green to grey. All departments are involved in the planning of a green building from the architect to the mechanical engineer to the electrical department. They must collaborate and work to utilize materials and equipment in the best way.