Why should you settle for anything less, when you can have both indoor air quality and energy efficiency? Alnor instruments provide you the tools you need to bring your HVAC system to peak performance while maintaining indoor air quality. By using our rugged, reliable and easy-to-use instruments, you will ensure that your building will have less wasted energy.

HVAC systems typically account for over one third of a facility's energy consumption, so it is imperative to properly manage the operation of HVAC systems to ensure economical operation while providing a comfortable, safe environment for occupants. Whole building energy savings from fine tuning the HVAC system can average 15 percent of annual heating and cooling costs.

Measurement tools will help assess the operating efficiencies and discover system problems such as clogged filters, dirty coils, inoperative dampers, improperly programmed building control system loops, excessive outside air, defective thermostats and sensors, and simultaneous heating and cooling--all of which contribute to inefficient HVAC system operation, wasting considerable money. Information from testing is used in building and HVAC system commissioning reports, used to benchmark system performance, and to identify areas of energy waste.

A properly operated HVAC system finds the often-delicate balance between optimizing occupant comfort and controlling operating costs. Comfort is an important issue for occupant satisfaction, which can directly affect occupant's concentration and productivity. At the same time, controlling comfort and health parameters directly affects HVAC system operating costs in terms of energy, maintenance and equipment life.

Retro-commissioning of buildings helps control risk from volatile energy costs as well as loss of tenants due to comfort issues and risks of litigation stemming from indoor air quality problems. Test instruments are used to provide a means to properly measure and document key HVAC parameters by identifying potential energy conservation measures that can significantly reduce facility energy expenditures.

Here are some ways you can use Alnor instruments to Green up your building:

Look at total amount of air coming into spaces. The volume of air emerging from grilles and diffusers is a critical measurement in HVAC systems. The Alnor EBT721 Capture Hood is a multipurpose electronic air balancing instrument for reading air volume flow at diffusers, grilles, and linear slots. A balanced supply and exhaust will help ensure sufficient ventilation by meeting minimum air exchange rates, removing airborne contaminants which can affect air quality, and reducing operating costs. This light weight, ergonomically designed instrument saves time and money while helping to create a healthy and energy efficient environment. It is ideally suited for commissioning agents, facilities managers, health and safety specialists, test engineers, and ventilation installers.

Look at ventilation effectiveness. The Alnor CF930 Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) meter is designed for long term monitoring of carbon dioxide levels to determine outside air per person. Use outside air as a baseline; inside air should not be more than 700 ppm greater than outside. It may indicate poor ventilation for the space and poor IAQ. If the percent outside air is too high, there is wasted energy being used to heat or cool the extra air.

Check building pressurization. Buildings under a negative pressure in relation to the outside can allow unconditioned outside air and moisture to seep into the building envelope. Check the differential pressure between the inside and outside using the meter from the EBT721 to determine if pressurization is a concern.

Balance water flows. The Alnor HM680 hydronic manometer makes it easy to analyze flows and pressures in water-systems. The hydronic system must be able to efficiently distribute water to all terminal devices under design load and part load conditions to be considered operating properly. If the system is not balanced for design conditions, then the cost to operate the system will be higher than anticipated.

Maintaining a green building does not happen from making measurements just once. At the end of the process, the systems are well tuned and operating at their peak performance. However, buildings change over time and, unless explicit strategies are put into place to maintain and monitor the improvements, the performance of the systems may decline. Develop a program to continue with on-going, scheduled analysis measuring key parameters like CO2, ventilation rates and temperatures using Alnor instruments.

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