The importance of certifications lies in offering the customer a reliable alternative that meets the characteristics mentioned in the tables.
By Alfredo Sotolongo*
The most economical energy to produce is the one that is saved!
For the equipment and components of the various air conditioning systems to truly save energy in the way we expect, they must reflect in their operation the same as they show in their technical literature. How do we make sure of this? They must be certified by one or more of the institutions that inspect and confirm that what the manufacturers publish is real. Among some of the institutions that certify our equipment are the following:
CTI – Cooling Technologies Institute. Formerly known as Cooling Towers Institute. They do technical tests on our Protec cooling towers to verify that the characteristics we publish are correct and thus certify them.
AHRI – Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration Institute. They visit the factories of our represented, such as AAON and randomly ask for any equipment on the production line to do the tests and be able to certify their boards.
AMCA – Air Movement and Controls Association. Serious and responsible fan manufacturers, such as Loren Cook, provide this institution with their complete line of the ventilators they manufacture to perform the relevant tests and by satisfying these tests, they certify their tables.
These institutions, by certifying the capabilities presented by the manufacturers, provide peace of mind to the one who selects these equipment to be sure that they will achieve the energy savings they seek in their designs. According to some colleagues who have dealt with this issue, in the case of cooling towers and air conditioning equipment, most manufacturers are certified by both CTI and AHRI. But in the case of fans, one of the main problems they have is that there are several manufacturers that do not have AMCA certification or that only have some certified models.
Users or project owners, in many cases, are unaware of the existence of AMCA and the protection it provides. Manufacturers without certification propose cheaper fans that are not AMCA certified. Many of these fans do not meet the capacity that appears in the technical tables in the literature that these manufacturers publish. The serious problem is that only after being installed and in operation, when it is too late, is that it becomes evident that these fans do not meet the capacity for which they were selected.
In the case of fans I would like to give you a brief overview of the history of AMCA which was founded 100 years ago in 1917 where all manufacturers came together to ensure the integrity of ventilation systems in industrial applications through an independent institution, commercial and residential. One of AMCA's most important responsibilities has been to check the performance not only of fans, but of gates, blinds, etc., components that handle air.
The technical tables of air flow and fan pressure drops that AMCA certifies guarantee consulting engineers, architects, contractors and owners that the operation of the ventilation system is truly in accordance with the design. In addition, in applications where power consumption and sound levels are critical, they check that the values published by the manufacturer are the real ones.
As far as my great passion, energy saving, is concerned, I wonder: what would be the impact on the environment and economically when an uncertified fan operates outside the values published by that manufacturer? To answer this question, AMCA has developed the program that estimates the energy the fan wastes. To use this tool, the user selects the country where the fan is going to operate, which automatically includes the country's currency and the average cost of electric power.
This program allows to determine the cost of the inefficiency of a fan that is not certified. AMCA members can use these results to compare their certified fans with those of manufacturers that are not, which justifies their membership and the cost of certifying their equipment.
In addition, consulting engineers, contractors, and owners should consider specifying the manufacturers that are AMCA certified and ensuring that the fans that are installed are amCA certified. This is the only assurance they will have that the operation of the ventilation system will be in accordance with the design and that it meets the needs of the owner.
All serious and responsible manufacturers, such as Loren Cook, have AMCA certification which guarantees that their product operates according to the technical tables they publish. I suggest our colleagues make sure to design their ventilation systems using manufacturers who have their line certified and that the AMCA logo appears on both the technical tables and the equipment.
If you need more information on any of the topics covered in this column, please contact me at the mail: [email protected]
* President of Protec, Inc., is certified as a professional engineer in Puerto Rico and the state of Florida; 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.
