Measurement and evaluation of energy efficiency of refrigeration appliances
As a company specializing in refrigeration and air-conditioning industry, we offer professional services in measurement and evaluation of energy efficiency of refrigeration appliances. The region of our business activity covers not only Katowice and Silesia, but the entire of Poland. In addition to years of experience and vast amount of knowledge, we have legally required qualifications.
Basic information
The activities related to check-up of an air-conditioning system in the scope of “Energy efficiency assessment of household refrigerating appliances with a cooling capacity of more than 12 kW” are further specified in model protocols of such inspections (Ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure and Development on model protocols of inspection of a heating system or an air-conditioning system of 17 February 2015).
Measurement and evaluation of energy efficiency of refrigeration appliances is a process that can be divided by a specialist into the following:
- Survey of the air-conditioning system, covering a type and method of operation of an installation, an air treatment process, a control system, components constituting a system, operating parameters, etc. (the survey is carried out on the basis of existing technical documentation of an air-conditioning system),
- Verification of technical condition of an installation, paying special attention to air-conditioning and refrigeration appliances, pipelines, handling units, pumps, ventilation ducts and automatic adjustment systems,
- Measurement of the most important physical quantities such as pressure, amperage and temperature,
- Preparation of the final protocol, in accordance with the models contained in the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure and Development.
Until March 2015, a legal basis obliging owners of buildings and building managers to carry out inspections of air-conditioning systems in the field of measuring and evaluating the energy efficiency of refrigeration appliances was the Construction Law. In order to clarify the procedures and the scope of an inspection, on 29 September 2014, the Act on energy performance of buildings was adopted, which is the basic document regulating the manner and scope of such activities at the moment.
The issue of controlling air-conditioning systems related to energy efficiency assessment of refrigeration appliances concerns all air-conditioning systems which, by their function, are divided into two basic types:
- Comfort air-conditioning (shops, offices, hotels, residential buildings, sports halls, etc.),
- Technological air-conditioning (cold stores, warehouses, industrial buildings, server rooms, etc.).
Inspection of refrigeration appliances – what should be covered??
Inspection of refrigeration appliance in air-conditioning systems should be carried out at least once every five years and should consist of a thorough check of a system, to suit the specific needs, and cooling requirements of the facility.
Measurement and evaluation of energy efficiency of refrigeration appliances should cover:
- Verification of functioning of a system,
- Comparison of power of appliances and current demand for refrigeration energy,
- Checking settings and strategies of an automatic adjustment system,
- Verification of air parameters,
- Checking implementation of processes related to air treatment,
- Controlling efficiency of ventilation systems.
Apart from evaluating energy efficiency of refrigeration and air-conditioning systems, our company’s offer, which we primarily address to clients from Katowice and Silesia, also includes expert advice on possible improvements or replacement of an air-conditioning system, in particular providing the owner or a building administrator with precise information on:
- Technical condition of a system and possible improvements,
- Possibility of using additional / alternative cooling source,
- Indicating a more efficient system,
- Comfort evaluation provided by a system.
What exactly is being tested when evaluating energy efficiency of a refrigeration system?
In the EU countries, the inspections of air-conditioning and ventilation are carried out on the basis of the standards. According to such documents, a number of components such as handling units, cooling sources, air distribution, control systems and specific data of a building that may cause heat gains or losses should be considered during the inspections of refrigeration systems.
Efficiency evaluation performed by our company from Katowice includes several aspects: technical condition check-up, strategy of system functioning check-up as well as developing guidelines for the user. This means that, apart from tightness control, we also check whether the power of each unit is properly adjusted to the demand for refrigeration energy, we verify operation of a system, etc.
The benefits of inspections of refrigeration systems:
- Obtaining a protocol for a construction site log, drawn up in accordance with the rules in force under the Ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure and Development on model protocols of inspection of an air- conditioning system,
- Obtaining precise guidelines, the implementation of which may have a significant impact on energy efficiency of the system during use.