Install Higher Efficiency HVAC Units in the Annex Building

Recommended Action

Replace the existing packaged HVAC units in the Annex Building with higher efficiency packaged
HVAC units.

Estimated Electrical Usage Savings = 45,485 kWh/yr
Estimated Demand Savings = 5.20 kW

Estimated Total Cost Savings = $5,898/yr
Estimated Implementation Cost = $29,925
Simple Payback Period = 5.1 years

Background

The Annex building utilizes a total of five packaged HVAC units to provide heating and cooling
to various areas in the building. Four packaged HVAC units have a cooling capacity of
approximately 5.0 tons and one packaged HVAC unit is estimated to have a cooling capacity of
7.5 tons. Table 6-1 lists the existing packaged HVAC units serving the Annex building and their
associated properties. According to plant personnel, the HVAC units are operating 24 hours per
day, 365 days per year for a total of 8,760 hours per year.

TABLE 6-1 SUMMARY OF HVAC UNITS SERVING ANNEX BUILDING
HVAC Unit N NC Rating LF

H UF

EER
C
+

(tons) (kW) (hr/yr) (Btu/W-hr)
York HVAC Unit 1 5 7.34 0.60 8,760 0.50 9.10
York HVAC Unit 3 5 7.90 0.60 8,760 0.50 7.00
Day & Night HVAC Unit 1 7.5 13.15 0.60 8,760 0.50 6.00
* NC = nominal cooling capacity, Rating = total electrical rating of HVAC unit, LF = load factor, H = annual
operating hours, UF = utility factor, EER = energy efficiency ratio of current HVAC units
Estimated based on energy balance of facilitys electrical energy consuming equipment
+ Energy efficiency ratio had been estimated based on experiences with other similar models unless manufacturers
data was available.

It is recommended that the existing packaged HVAC units in the Annex building be replaced
with similar HVAC units with a higher efficiency rating.


Anticipated Savings

The energy efficiency ratio for the HVAC units were either taken from manufacturers data (if
available) or estimated based on manufacturers data for other similar units. EER is a measure of
a packaged HVAC units cooling capacity (in Btu/hr) per electrical energy input (power draw in
watts). The higher a HVAC units EER, the less electricity the unit uses to provide the same
amount of cooling.

High efficiency HVAC units will have an EER of about 11. The electrical usage (energy)
savings from using high efficiency HVAC units to cool the Annex building, EUS, can be
estimated as follows:

EUS = NC LF H UF C
1
[(1/EER
C
) (1/EER
P
)]

Where,

NC = nominal cooling capacity of the current HVAC units (estimated), tons
LF = average load factor of the existing HVAC units (estimated), no units
H = annual hours of use of the faculty buildings (estimated), hr/yr
UF = average utilization of the existing HVAC units for cooling, no units
C
1
= conversion constant, 12 Btu/ton-hr
EER
C
= energy efficiency ratio of the current HVAC units, Btu/W-hr
EER
P
= energy efficiency ratio of the proposed HVAC units, 11.0 Btu/W-hr

As an example, the electrical energy usage savings for replacing the 7.5-ton Day & Night HVAC
unit in the Annex building with a more efficient unit, EUS
1
, is estimated as follows:

EUS
1
= (7.5)(0.60)(8,760)(0.50)(12)[(1/6.0) (1/11.0)]
EUS
1
= 17,918 kWh/yr

The associated electrical usage cost savings, EUCS
1
, can be estimated as follows:

EUCS
1
= (EUS
1
) (average cost of electric energy)
EUCS
1
= (17,918 kWh/yr)($0.1153/kWh)
EUCS
1
= $2,066/yr

The electrical demand savings from using higher efficiency HVAC units to cool the Annex
building, DS, can be estimated as follows:

DS = NC LF CF C
1
[(1/EER
C
) (1/EER
P
)]

Where,

NC = nominal cooling capacity of the current HVAC units (estimated), tons
LF = average load factor of the existing HVAC units (estimated), no units
CF = average coincidence of the existing HVAC units for cooling, no units
C
1
= conversion constant, 12 Btu-kW/W-ton-hr
EER
C
= energy efficiency ratio of the current HVAC units, Btu/W-hr
EER
P
= energy efficiency ratio of the proposed HVAC units, 11.0 Btu/W-hr

Using the same example as before, the electrical demand savings for replacing the 7.5-ton Day &
Night HVAC unit in the Annex building with a more efficient unit, DS
1
, is estimated as follows:

DS
1
= (7.5)(0.60)(0.50)(12)[(1/6.0) (1/11.0)]
DS
1
= 2.05 kW

The yearly demand cost savings, YDCS, can be estimated as follows:

YDCS
1
= DS
1
(cooling months per year) (average demand cost)
YDCS
1
= (2.05kW)(8 months/yr)($15.72/kW-month)
YDCS
1
= $258/yr

Continuing the demand savings and yearly demand cost savings calculations for the remaining
HVAC units yields the results listed in Table 6-2.

TABLE 6-2 SUMMARY OF ENERGY SAVINGS AND COST SAVINGS
Equipment N NC EER
C
EER
P
EUS EUCS DS DCS

York HVAC Unit 1 5 9.1 11.0 2,993 345 0.34 43
York HVAC Unit 3 5 7.0 11.0 24,574 2,833 2.81 353
Day & Night HVAC Unit 1 7.5 6.0 11.0 17,918 2,066 2.05 258
Totals 5 27.5 45,485 5,244 5.20 654

From Table 6-2, the annual electrical usage savings from replacing the existing packaged HVAC
units with higher efficiency packaged units is estimated to be 45,485 kWh per year, resulting in a
total electrical usage savings of $5,244 per year. The total electrical demand savings from
replacing the existing HVAC units with higher efficiency HVAC units is estimated to be 5.20
kW, resulting in a total electrical demand savings of $654 per year. The total cost savings, TCS,
is simply the sum of the electrical usage cost savings and the yearly demand cost savings, which
is $5,898 per year.

Implementation Cost

Implementation of this EEO involves the removal of the existing HVAC units and the purchase
and installation of the higher efficiency HVAC units. According to vendor of packaged HVAC
units, the cost of a higher efficiency packaged 5.0-ton HVAC unit with an EER of 11.0 is
approximately $5,575 (installed) and a 7.5-ton HVAC unit with an EER of 11.0 is approximately
$7,625 (installed). The installation cost includes all additional material costs, labors cost, and
profit and overhead. Therefore the total implementation cost to install three high efficiency 5.0-
ton HVAC units and one 7.5-ton unit is approximately $29,925. The estimated total cost savings
of $5,898 per year would pay for the estimated implementation cost of $29,925 in about 5.1
years.