ICS Cool Energy urges Building Management to ensure Air Conditioning complies with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
15/05/2015 ICS Cool Energy Ltd
Temperature control specialist, ICS Cool Energy is urging facility management companies and building owners to ensure that their A/C equipment complies with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) as outlined in the EU legislation. To facilitate the legalisation, CIBSE has produced guidance referred to as TM44, which provides instruction for carrying out air conditioning inspections in the UK. Only 30-40% of companies are currently compliant, despite the energy and cost-efficiency benefits that can be gained as a result of the inspections.A/C inspections ensure that all air conditioning and comfort cooling conditions are compliant with EPBD and should take place every five years. Since 2011, A/C inspections have been required for all buildings with a combined cooling capacity of 12kW, and since 2009, for all systems providing over 250kW of cooling.
Mike Jones, Director at ICS Cool Energy, comments: "Although there are directives in place to improve buildings' energy efficiencies, there is nowhere near enough awareness of the need for the regular inspections. Only approximately 30-40% of companies are complying with the standard and a lot of systems are going to be up for renewal this year.
"The inspection provides recommendations on how to improve the lifespan of your air conditioning system and the initiatives, when implemented, will often recover the cost of the survey in a short period of time. It can then go on to provide long term cost savings due to improved efficiency and significant energy reduction. The A/C inspection must be carried out by an approved accredited Air Conditioning specialist, providing peace of mind that energy performance is optimised to meet site requirements.
The A/C report, in line with the CIBSE TM44 guidelines, includes an assessment of the air conditioning efficiency and includes:
-— Documentation review
-— Comparison of maintenance with industry good practice
-— Inspection of system components
-— Assessment of controls and settings
-— Estimation of cooling load
-— Review potential for improvements or alternatives
-— Report on the findings and advice
Jones continues, "We are urging companies to look at when they need to get their air conditioning systems inspected and make sure that they are legally compliant with EPBD. When we work with large companies, we set up a rolling contract to ensure the work is automatically scheduled every five years, so the building management team have peace of mind."
For more information, please contact:
ICS Temperature Control
ICS House
Stephenson Road
Calmore Industrial Estate
Totton
Southampton
Hampshire
SO40 3RY
Tel: 0800 774 7420
Email: info@icstemp.com
Web: www.icscoolenergy.com
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