[2002-051-B] Right-Sizing Airconditioning Systems

Project participants and team members
Arup Australasia	PC Thomas
Rider Hunt	Gregory Nowak
CSIRO	Steven Moller- Project Leader
RMIT	Helen Lewis

Over designed environmental control systems indicate inefficient use of capital in terms of initial cost, increased outgoings to purchase energy for heating, cooling and ventilation over the life of the building, and increased maintenance costs. These outcomes have economic impacts on developers, owners and occupants. Tenants may have to pay excessive energy bills; suffer increased thermal discomfort, and consequent drop in productivity.

At a societal level there are also increased environmental impacts, such as unnecessary consumption of resources to generate energy (eg., coal), excessive air pollution (including) greenhouse gas emissions, and solid waste at power plants. The research outcomes would take a big step forward in solving these issues by identifying drivers of over specification, estimating the life cycle cost penalty of over design, and proposing improved interaction between all stakeholders to reduce over specification of environmental control systems leading to reduced capital, maintenance and energy costs.

The major objective of this research project is to collect and disseminate information to help reduce over specification of environmental control systems. It will also help to deliver efficient environmental control systems which are effective at providing better thermal environments in buildings. The project will also seek to quantify the economic and environmental penalty incurred due to over specification. It is hoped that the outcomes will provide a persuasive business case for industry to fundamentally change their approach to specifying and procuring environmental control systems for large buildings, and will foster more research into developing methods to do so.