Energy Audit of Individual Air Conditioners: A

Case Study
Bhanu Duggal Divyesh Pratap Singh
Electrical and Instrumentaion Electrical and Instrumentaion
Engineering Department Engineering Department
Thapar University Thapar University
Patiala, Punjab 147001 Patiala, Punjab 147001
Email: [email protected] Email: singh [email protected]

Abstract—Individual systems are extensively used in residential of energy efficiency measures initiated by BEE in the areas
areas and commercial buildings with old design and where of household lighting, commercial buildings, demand side
centralized systems are not feasible. Air-conditioning systems management in agriculture/municipalities, etc. [4].
account for 60-65% of total energy consumption in commercial
areas making it an important area to study energy consumption. Energy consumption in commercial buildings, industry, etc.
In this study, an energy audit was conducted on 109 air is on the rise; lighting, plug load and heating, ventilation &
conditioners. The performance of air conditioners was evaluated air-conditioning (HVAC) comprise the major electric loads
using operating parameters - air flow rate and enthalpy difference in commercial buildings. It is imperative to realize their
across the evaporator coil as described by Bureau of Energy importance and fill the gaps that exist in our understanding
Efficiency. Major findings were - 55 units did not conform to
star labelling specifications and 50% units performed below 75% of operation of these systems in real environments. An energy
of their rated capacity. Common air-conditioning issues such as audit provides an opportunity to building operators to identify
low refrigerant charge, unclean filters, non-evident insulation, all energy streams, areas of energy wastage and devise energy
infrequent maintenance and improper installation have been conservation measures. As per the EC Act, 2001, Energy
discussed along with energy conservation measures as a step to Audit is defined as “the verification, monitoring and analysis
explore future energy management opportunities for individual
air-conditioning systems in India. of use of energy including submission of technical report
Keywords—Air flow rate, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Energy containing recommendations for improving energy efficiency
audit, Energy efficiency ratio, Individual systems, Refrigerant with cost benefit analysis and an action plan to reduce energy
charge consumption” [5]. Energy audit is complete only when the
recommendations of the audit have been carried out effectively.
I. I NTRODUCTION
The implementation of such measures still remains a challenge
The rapid increase in energy consumption poses a major as industries and organizations are still reluctant to commit
threat to Indias energy security. Energy consumption has risen their financial resources towards energy management.
from 411,887 GWh during 2005-06 to 882,592 GWh during This paper discusses important components of an individual
2013-14 [1]. Planning commission projected that dependence air conditioning system (split and window systems) and energy
on energy imports could double to 53% of commercial energy audit methodology followed at Thapar University (TU), Pa-
consumption in 2031-32 from about 25% in 2003-04 [2]. tiala. Based on results of the audit, both minimal/cost free and
Most of the increase in energy demand is attributed to cost intensive recommendations have been given for increased
energy losses and non-judicious utilization of energy. Energy energy saving and improving energy efficiency.
management has become a strategic area for cost reduction. A
study by Ministry of Power reveals that there is a potential of II. P ROBLEM I DENTIFICATION
23% to 46% energy savings in end uses like lighting, HVAC Rise in average annual electricity consumption from 2011
[3]. Several initiatives have been taken by Government of India to 2015 is depicted in Fig.1. Air conditioners account for 70-
(GOI) to bridge the gap between supply and demand. Energy 75% of the total energy consumed in TU during the summer.
Conservation (EC) Act was formulated in 2001 as part of an Out of total installed air-conditioning capacity of 1414 tons,
energy efficiency measure by GOI. The key features of the 1120 tons is comprised of individual systems. As per Amer-
act include standards & labeling of equipment and appliances; ican Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
energy conservation; building codes for commercial buildings; Engineers (ASHRAE), an air conditioner reduces its efficiency
and energy consumption norms for energy intensive industries. by 7% in the first year, 5% in the second year and 2% every
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) was setup in 2002 year in the following years [6]. Therefore a need arises to
to facilitate the implementation of the EC Act. Capacity study different parameters that provide an understanding of
generation of 10836 MW has been avoided through a number the energy consumed by air conditioning systems and to devise
978-1-5090-4530-3/16/$31.00 2016
c IEEE measures that aid in better energy management.
 B. Filter
Most air conditioners are fitted with air filters in the return
grille. Air filters are used to (i) remove harmful impurities
from ambient air, (ii) to maintain air quality for the comfort
of occupants and (iii) prevent particles from the air stream to
build up on the evaporator coil. Rise in particle deposition on
air filters impairs the air flow rate. A drop of 12.8% in net
capacity and 6.9% in EER was observed when air flow rate
dropped by 30% [9]. Air flow rate is further related to air
recirculation rate which is a major parameter in Indoor Air
Quality (IAQ) models.
C. Evaporator Coil
Fig. 1. Average demand of TU from 2011 to 2015. During this period the Evaporator coil is a set of pipes which receives the re-
demand has risen by 38.2%. It is expected to rise by 10-12% per year in
future.
frigerant from the expansion valve and brings it in close
thermal contact with the load. The refrigerant then takes latent
heat from the load and leaves the evaporator as a dry gas
III. BACKGROUND [10]. Minute air impurities get past the filter and result in
coil fouling. The reduced air flow from coil fouling caused
Individual systems are used to cool small rooms instead flow reductions of 5-7% and typical efficiency and capacity
of large spaces or halls. The term individual system generally reductions of less than 5% [11].
applies to window mounted or non-ducted split air conditioner.
It is widely used in developing countries such as India as it is IV. E NERGY AUDIT
the main entry level air-conditioning product. An insight into the magnitude of effects of air-conditioning
An individual air conditioner consists of a blower fan, systems on energy consumption can be gained through opera-
compressor, condenser, an evaporator coil, air filter and a tional characteristics and parameters. To determine the charac-
throttling valve. All the components are packaged in a single teristics it is important to determine condition of equipment,
unit for a wall mounted air conditioner. On the other hand, operating schedule, quality of maintenance and control pro-
split air conditioner is a two piece package unit with an indoor cedures. Additionally information such as air specific volume
evaporator unit and an outdoor condenser unit that consists of and enthalpy at both inlet and outlet conditions have to be
compressor, condenser coil and blower fan. The two units are gathered in order to evaluate the capacity delivered by the
connected via refrigerant piping. Although the performance of air conditioner. When this is compared with the power drawn
each part is affected due to different reasons but the combined by the unit, its actual performance is revealed in terms of
functioning of these parts affects the performance and energy energy efficiency ratio (EER). BEE-HVAC and Refrigeration
consumption of the air conditioner in complex ways. For handbook provides guidelines to assess the performance of
e.g. a clogged air filter results in degraded air quality due air-conditioning systems [12]. The analysis presented in this
to reduced air circulation rate and this subsequently causes paper was performed on 132 individual systems (out of which
icing on the evaporator coil due to inefficient heat transfer 109 were in running conditions) in April 2016 and was divided
because of low air flow. Individual performance parameters into the following steps:
are discussed below in the context of the major components 1) Walk-Through Analysis
of the air conditioner. 2) Energy survey and engineering analysis
3) Energy Conservation (ENCON) measures
A. Outdoor Unit A. Walk-Through Analysis
The outdoor unit accounts for 90-95% of total power drawn The objective of this analysis was to familiarize with the
by an air-conditioning system [7]. The power draw depends equipment, installation and operation and maintenance of the
upon the size of the equipment, climate conditions and refrig- facility.
erant charge levels. Most of the time refrigerant charge is not 1) On-site survey: Patiala lies in Northern India that expe-
according to the manufacturer standards. Reference [8] shows riences a very hot and humid summer (April to September)
that 57% of the residential and commercial air-conditioning during which temperatures can go as high as 45oC. The
systems were outside specification for refrigerant level. An audit area consisted of laboratories, office hall, lecture halls,
undercharged or overcharged refrigerant will result in reduced conference rooms, server rooms, guest rooms and hostel mess.
air conditioner performance and efficiency. Another study Major loads such as lighting and fan load, computers, furnaces,
reported that a 30% undercharge at 46 oC outdoor temperature servers and UPS machine. Table I summarizes department-
resulted in a 19.3% net capacity drop and a 17.1% drop in EER wise room and air-conditioning characteristics. Inventory of
[9]. air-conditioners, usage patterns, thermostat settings and other
 TABLE I
S ITE S URVEY

Sr. No Site Total Capacity , tons(KW) Split Units (tons) Window Units (tons) Median Age, Years Mean Indoor Humidity Average Operational Hours
1 CMS 3 (10.5) 1 (1.5) 1 (1.5) 7 0.4 16
2 Mechanical Department 28.5 (99.75) 12 (24) 3 (4.5) 8 0.42 9
3 D Block Lecture Hall 32 (112) 12 (23) 6 (9) 9 0.43 9
4 STEP Building 9 (31.5) 0 (0) 6 (9) 9 0.45 13.5
5 G Block SPMS 32 (112) 19 (32) 0 (0) 4 0.43 11
6 G Block CSED 4.5 (15.75) 3 (4.5) 0 (0) 8 0.47 9
7 G Block SOM 18 (63) 9 (18) 0 (0) 3 0.42 6.5
8 G Block SCB 21.5 (75.25) 12 (20) 1 (1.5) 5 0.54 9.5
9 G Block SBS 12 (42) 6 (10.5) 1 (1.5) 5 0.43 6
10 Registry 38 (133) 19 (38) 0 (0) 4 0.36 10
11 Guest House 25 (87.5) 4 (7) 12 (18) 6 0.48 5
12 FRC Hostel 15.5 (54.25) 8 (15.5) 0 (0) 2 0.35 4.5
Total 239 (836.5) 105 (194) 30 (45) Median : 5.5 0.43 9

time increased by 6% for every oC rise in indoor-

outdoor temperature difference [15]. Air leakages were a
common occurrence in the audit area. Apart from small
air leakages such as cracks and openings, open doors
and windows were the major source of loss of cooling
capacity (which can lead to longer duty cycle). It is
important to note that the longer the doors remain open,
the longer is the duty cycle of the compressor.
B. Energy survey and engineering analysis
Out of 132 air conditioners, 109 were found to be in
working conditions and hence the engineering analysis was
performed on these units.
1) Cooling capacity provided:: The rated tonnage of these
Fig. 2. Electricity consumption by G Block AC Supply, 2015. It is evident
from this graph that energy consumption is dependent over both outdoor
units ranged from 1 ton to 2 tons. Pertaining to BEE standard
temperature and RH. cooling capacity was estimated using (1) by measuring RH,
temperature difference across cooling coil, air flow rate and
enthalpy values calculated on the basis of previous measure-
relevant data was collected by the energy audit team so that a ments.
strategy could be developed for further process.
2) Historical Data: Construction and maintenance section Q ∗ ρ ∗ (hin − hout )
TR = (1)
(CMS) is responsible for keeping record of the past energy 3024
use data. Data collected from CMS was used to evaluate the Where,
energy use of G Block air-conditioning facility along with TR = Tons of Refrigeration
monthly average temperature and relative humidity (RH) for Q = air flow rate in m3/s
2015 as shown in Fig.2. ρ = air flow rate in kg/m3
3) Common malpractices and their effects: Most of the hin = enthalpy of inlet air in kCal/kg
problems arise due to improper installation, substandard main- hout = enthalpy of outlet air in kCal/kg
tenance practices and malpractice by the end users. Fig.3 shows the comparison of operating capacity of the air
• Improper Sizing: It was found that air conditioners were conditioners with the manufacturers specification. 50% of the
not sized according to Manual J recommendations (stan- air conditioners were performing below 75% of their rated
dards). Both under-sizing as well as oversizing was ob- capacities. Site 12 air conditioners delivered good cooling
served. An under-sized system is incapable of satisfying capacities because they were installed just one year before
the cooling requirements of the area, on the other hand the audit was done. Units with low operating capacity operate
studies have shown that oversizing by 100-150% above longer to remove the same amount of heat than at their rated
Manual J causes an increase in peak demand by 20-50% capacity. The increase in operation time has a direct impact
[13]. A reduction in oversizing by 1% is found to produce on energy consumption. For 24% reduction in the operating
an average energy saving of 0.2% suggesting that energy capacity, system runtime increases by 33% and energy con-
saving potential for correcting an average oversizing of sumption rises by 34% (and hence energy consumption also
50% is approximately 10% [14]. rises proportionally).
• Occupant Behaviour: Lack of awareness on the preferred Reduction in operating capacity is in most cases caused
setting of thermostat was a common problem noted by (i) low air flow rate and (ii) inappropriate refrigerant
during the audit. A study shows that hourly fractional charge. The average air flow rate across all the sites was
131.6 m3hr-1kW-1 which was out of the range suggested by
the manufacturers (169-193 m3hr-1kW-1). Measurements on
refrigerant charge were not done but based on inputs from
CMS it accounts for 20-25% of the maintenance issues in the
university.

Fig. 4. Comparison of calculated EER with benchmark. The straight line

represents the benchmark EER 2.8.

behaviour patterns. The relative humidity ranged between 24-

74%. The high humidity levels at site 8 can be accounted to
the presence of chemistry labs.

Fig. 3. Comparison of operating capacity with the rated capacity. An average

reduction of 24% from the rated cooling capacities was found.

2) Operating efficiency:: Operating efficiency of the air

conditioners was found in terms of EER given by (2).

Cooling ef f ect delivered in kW

EER = (2)
P ower input in kW
55 units were found without BEE star labelling as they
were installed before the initiation of star labelling programme
in India. Therefore to compare the performance of such units Fig. 5. Comparison of calculated EER with rated EER.
a benchmark of EER 2.8 was set.
The BEE star rated systems had a mean EER of 2.22
against their mean rated EER of 2.97 while the unrated C. ENCON measures
systems had a mean EER of 1.80. This shows that star rated ENCON measures are the most important aspect of an
systems were performing considerably better than unrated energy audit. A number of ENCON measures were identified
systems still their efficiency was 74.74% of their rated EER. by the EAT and these were presented to the concerned
These values are still expected to degrade during the peak sum- authorities with special emphasis on return on investment.
mer months as the audit was performed with standard outdoor Cost free measures were given higher priority over cost
conditions(temperature) 35±1o. Extrapolating this data to 746 intensive measures as they showed some (significant) poten-
individual units installed ,if every system in the university was tial to improve building energy performance. Because room
upgraded to EER 3.51, the peak demand of air-conditioning temperatures at some places were below the thermal comfort
load will decrease from 1959 kW to 1501 kW representing level, it is recommended to increase the thermostat setback
a 23.4% reduction in peak demand. Fig.4 & 5 show the which can generate significant energy savings. Filer cleaning
comparison of operating EER with benchmark and rated EER should be performed based on the indoor conditions which
respectively. would improve air flow and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) of
3) Indoor Conditions:: The indoor conditions in the audit the building. Power monitoring system should be devised for
space were found to be unsuitable for the thermal comfort of better energy management. This will increase the reliability of
the users. Indoor temperatures varied between 19.2 and 33.7oC the system and also provide comprehensive data about energy
with a mean of 26.6oC. The large variations in indoor tem- usage during non-working hours. Maintenance practices needs
perature were due to irrational sizing of the air-conditioning to be improved as 23 out of 132 units were not even in working
system which were done on the basis of room size with no condition. Frequency of maintenance should be increased and
consideration of load calculations and diversified occupant refrigerant charging should be done considering the length
of refrigerant lines which varied widely in the audited area. [9] J. Proctor, “Performance of a reduced peak kw air conditioner at high
Building Envelope of top floors needed insulation to counteract temperatures and typical field conditions,” Proctor Engineering Group,
San Rafael, CA (US), Tech. Rep., 1998.
the extreme temperatures during peak summer and winter [10] A. R. Trott and T. Welch, Refrigeration and air conditioning.
months. This would not only decrease energy use but would Butterworth-Heinemann, 1999.
also reduce the peak demand of the building. Solar heat gain [11] J. Siegel, I. Walker, and M. Sherman, “Dirty air conditioners: Energy
implications of coil fouling,” in Proceedings of the 2002 ACEEE Summer
consists of one-third of buildings cooling energy cost. All Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, vol. 1, 2002, pp. 287–300.
the windows in the audited area were single pane clear glass [12] HVAC and refrigeration. [Online]. Available: https://www.beeindia.gov.
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[13] R. Mowris and E. Jones, “Energy savings from properly sized and
rejecting only 19% of sun heat. Therefore Energy saving or matched air conditioners.”
Low-emissivity films should be installed as they can reject up [14] C. Neme, S. Nadel, and J. Proctor, “Energy savings potential from ad-
to 85% of solar gain and also improve the aesthetics of the dressing residential air conditioner and heat pump installation problems.”
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, 1999.
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of automatic door closures.
V. C ONCLUSION
Energy audit revealed there was a huge potential for
energy savings that could be easily realized with small changes
in usage patterns, occupant awareness and frequent standard-
ized inspections and maintenance. Further the facility should
ensure that the building indoor conditions are suitable for
the occupants to increase their productivity and health. Major
findings were:-
• Measured cooling capacity was at 70.3% of rated capacity
on an average.
• Air flow rates were considerably lower at 131.6
m3hr-1kW-1 against the recommended 169-193
m3hr-1kW-1 by manufacturers.
• Star labelled systems were performing better than systems
without star labelling but still their performance was
74.74% of rated capacity.
• Poor maintenance practices and irrational occupant be-
haviour was the major cause of energy wastage and poor
air conditioning.
o
• Mean indoor air temperature was 26.6 C which is higher
than human thermal comfort levels.
• Buildings air conditioning peak demand can be decreased
by 23.4% if the systems were upgraded to 5 star rating.
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