You have equipment that is old and perhaps no longer functioning well. It is time to replace it. It is common to make things easy and just procure and install the latest, even most energy-efficient model of the same equipment to take its place. That is good, but here is an idea that is better. Invest a little time to determine whether that equipment was right for the job. Take the time before buying new equipment (which presumably will be in place for many years) to determine what its right size should be for current applications or looking ahead into the future.

This is particularly true of HVAC and other equipment that uses a lot of energy. Many existing buildings are decades old and were designed when energy was rarely a consideration in design of equipment and when energy was cheap. Perhaps that HVAC firm calculated that a particular air conditioning system needed to produce 20 tons of cooling to properly cool a given space. It was common decades ago to include in the design a unit for 25, even 30 tons, to “ensure” that sufficient cooling would be achieved. There is an energy penalty for operating a larger system (more kWh of electricity must be used), but that was not a big deal decades ago, as energy costs were cheap. Well, now, decades later, perhaps that piece of equipment needs to be replaced. Electricity is not cheap anymore and will not be in the future; it is likely to grow in cost faster than inflation. Therefore, when planning to replace that air conditioning unit or boiler, it is important to re-assess and see if you still need that 25 or 30 tons of maximum cooling. Maybe you can still comfortably cool your tenants with 20 tons of cooling. This will reduce capital costs and monthly electricity costs, too, for many years to come.

This is not only true of HVAC, but other equipment, too. Pumps have historically been overdesigned “to be sure” it pumps the material necessary fast. But modern pumps can be designed with variable frequency drives (VFDs) to maintain the amount of movement that is needed, whether maximum or not. New motors with VFDs can significantly reduce energy costs, too.

And take the time to look into the future and estimate what your future needs will be and “right size” equipment for that. What new functions may occur? Perhaps the building has aged such that you need more heating or cooling. Or perhaps the tenant mix and needs have changed over time (especially, with the potential of fewer staff in a space generating heat). Invest in what is truly needed in the future.

Yes, you certainly don’t want to under-design equipment (you want your tenants to be happy and your operations to function reliably), but you also don’t want to needlessly overdesign either, as the costs for doing that could be great.

CCES has the technical experts to help you assess your equipment needs, particularly when it comes to energy efficiency and air emissions. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.