Continuing with the theme from last month, this column presents another real-life example of how trend analysis, if done thoughtfully, can uncover wasted energy that no one even suspected. Trend analysis is not only good for confirming that systems are meeting the owner’s temperature, relative humidity, air quality, pressurization, and other needs over time, it is also good for finding hidden energy savings opportunities.
This month’s system was a large constant volume reheat air-handling system serving museum gallery spaces in the U.S.’s upper Midwest. Clearly, converting to variable air volume operation would be an energy conservation opportunity for this system, but that’s evident without much thought or analysis.