The contribution that the air conditioning sector has made to improving people's quality of life is invaluable. We are on the right track.
by Alfredo Sotolongo*
The most economical energy to produce is the one that is saved!
Almost half a century ago I started my professional life and I have always been related to the air conditioning industry. Recently graduated from university, in the 60s, I wondered how it was possible that to achieve comfort the air was cooled and reheated spending energy unreasonably.
Today, 48 years later, I can proudly say that I am very satisfied with the efforts of our industry and the achievements made. In addition, as air conditioning is the largest consumer of energy in commercial and residential buildings, our industry continues to devote economic and human resources to the research and development of products and systems to further reduce energy consumption.
As you have been able to read in my last writings, I decided to put emphasis on the control of the volume of the three fluids that totally or partially make up any air conditioning system: air, water and refrigerant. The application of the frequency inverters in the control of these fluids and also, the interrelation of the control between them, has managed to minimize the electricity consumption to values never seen before while maintaining the desired comfort. I understand that all these achievements are directly related to being able to vary the mass of fluids using variable frequency drives.
Going back to the past, I can tell you that the first thing that was achieved at the end of the 60s was to control the volume of air through the use of variable volume boxes. This made it possible to diversify the volume of air that each air handling unit would have to move. But the question remained of how to save energy in the engine. At that time variable frequency drives were used in industrial applications and were quite expensive. Then, fan inlet gates or control of the angle of incidence of the fan blades were used. This avoided continuing to have to cool and reheat the air and also managed to reduce the consumption of the unit's engine somewhat.
Over the years, other situations arose such as the oil crises that forced developed countries to take measures, create regulations and laws focused on minimizing electricity consumption. Governments dictated these kinds of measures, but it was really private enterprise, the real engine of our market economy, that took action by reinvesting profits in the research and development of new, more effective products and systems.
Today, more and more efficient chillers, more durable, low-sound cooling towers, pump systems that modulate and produce the mass of water required for each thermal load are being developed. Energy is recovered from the exhaust air in the heat recovery systems, the ventilation outside air is minimized, and the cold and condensation water is kept clean and free of air bubbles.
All this that appears in the previous paragraph is available and when the rules or laws require it must be applied. However, in our countries where we do not have those laws or regulations, it is in the hands of the engineer who designs to apply everything that is available and offer the owner the best possible system.
In my opinion, air conditioning is one of the technological advances that most contributes to improving the quality of life of those who use it. It provides comfort to employees and therefore companies operate more efficiently and also considerably reduces the transmission of many diseases.
The air conditioning industry is an example of how free enterprise, using its economic resources and human capital is able to improve the standard of living, reduce energy consumption and contribute positively to ecology.
If you need more information on any of the topics covered in this column, please contact me at the email [email protected] * President of Protec, Inc., is certified as a professional engineer in Puerto Rico and the state of Florida; he has more than 40 years of experience in the application and sale of systems and equipment for energy conservation. He is a member of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), AEE (Association of Energy Engineers), ASHRAE and was president of the Miami chapter of that association.
