Fast Track Your Corporate Carbon Reduction Efforts
The world’s relationship with technology has been fast-tracked in the last decade, with new technological advancements springing up in every sector, across every industry, all over the globe. Along with these new technologies comes increased power demand, which in turn requires more energy. Burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation produces the by-product of carbon dioxide.
What are carbon emissions?
Like other greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide absorbs radiation and prevents heat from leaving the atmosphere. This excess stored heat disrupts weather patterns, causing rising global temperatures and other climate-related changes. The four main sources of carbon emissions are transportation, industry, agriculture, land use and forestry. In regard to industry, burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation tops the charts of carbon emissions production.
Why does corporate America care about being greener?
Large corporations and manufacturers are starting to do their part in reducing these harmful carbon emissions. Some countries are considering a “carbon tax” on companies based on their carbon footprint. The threat of a penalty aside, companies are seeing the importance of taking a proactive approach to reducing their carbon footprint and are looking for new ways to do so.
Many industries are starting to tackle these problems by assessing their own energy requirements. And one place they always find room for improvement is in the HVAC department. Heating and cooling large structures and office buildings can be notoriously difficult, expensive, and inefficient. A well-designed HVAC energy recovery system should provide effective and affordable energy recovery during the hot summer and cold winter months as well as throughout the year. Climates with tropical conditions can also benefit from energy recovery utilizing energy recovery systems with enhanced dehumidification. Corporations can benefit from tax deductions under Section 179D of the Internal Revenue Code for energy-efficient commercial buildings if they can demonstrate a 50% reduction in energy usage accomplished solely through improvements to the heating, cooling, ventilation, hot water and lighting systems.
How do ACT’s HVAC Energy Recovery Systems help your carbon emission reduction efforts?
ACT specializes in passive energy recovery HVAC heat pipe systems. Passive meaning they use ZERO energy! How is that possible? By utilizing heat pipe heat transfer technology. You can learn how they work here.
If your building has multiple floors and requires spread out, long-distance configurations, Pumped Energy Recovery Solutions can be considered. These are active recovery systems that require minimal parasitic load to transfer heat. These solutions are expertly engineered to consume as little energy as possible or no energy at all when one of the seasons can operate fully passively. These HVAC solutions reduce your carbon emissions output by reducing your HVAC system energy consumption. An example would be using the building’s exhaust air stream. The exhaust air stream is typically stable at around 70°F. The energy recovery system captures that 70°F air and routes it around to the incoming air stream, prior to the HVAC system. We are now able to temper the incoming air to either pre-cool or pre-heat it. This tempering makes it so your system doesn’t have to work as hard (or use as much energy) to heat up or cool the air that will be delivered into the occupied space. These systems pay themselves off in savings in as little as two years!
The Tech-y Stuff – Want to learn how they work?
A typical HVAC system works by drawing air into the system and forcing it through either a heating or cooling element before blowing the air through the duct system of the building.
ACT AAHX Pumped Split Loop Configurations
ACT’s Air-to-Air Heat Exchanger (AAHX) is a counter-flow heat exchanger/energy recovery system that features ACT’s high-performance, reliable heat pipes. These systems can be designed for new construction or retrofit to existing establishments. There is no cross-contamination between isolated air streams, meaning improved indoor air quality. AAHX systems reduce heating and cooling requirements, with estimated cost-savings greater than 40%, in hot or cold climates. ACT’s AAHX systems also qualify for LEED and High-Performance Building requirements.
ACT’s Wrap-Around Heat Exchanger (WAHX) provides the same benefits as the AAHX, with the added benefit of enhanced passive dehumidification, achieved by pre-cooling incoming airstreams. The WAHX systems eliminate the typical overcooling to dehumidify, plus they offer the added benefit of free passive reheating of the building’s entering airstream. The reheating provides dry neutral air to the building. WAHX systems may also result in the option of a smaller air handling unit, which can be beneficial in confined or cramped spaces.
Check out how a university retrofit their outdated HVAC system with ACT.
[1] https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions
[2] https://www.irs.gov/irb/2006-26_IRB#NOT-2006-52
