Page 31 - Climate Control News Magazine Feb 2021

Indoor Air Quality Feature
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Humidity Control and Evaporative Cooling
unit performance and efficiency under changed conditions (as they do change throughout the day and the seasons) or standby (as the system is consuming energy even in Standby mode).
It also didn’t factor in the different regions as some areas are colder or warmer than others and the new standard has addressed this issue.
The new standard tests the air conditioner under several conditions in full and partial load, and it di- vides Australia into different zones based on their climate conditions (three zones to be exact). Com- bining these factors provides more accurate energy ratings based on location. End users can select the most efficient air conditioner to use in Melbourne or Brisbane depending on the climate conditions.
Australia has three zones and the standard considers the zones by dictating different oper- ating hours in heating/cooling to every zone.
In Hot and humid we take into consideration 2,247 hours of cooling operation, but only 277 hours of heating operation (and 6,236 hours in Inactive mode) per year.
In a Mixed temperature region, we consider 840 hours of cooling operation and 1,291 hours in heat- ing operation (and 6,629 hours in Inactive mode) per year. In Cold regions, we consider 545 hours of cooling operation and 2,660 hours in heating oper- ation (and 5,555 hours in Inactive mode) per year.
On top of that, the standard allocates different weight to different loads based on their propor- tion in the season, for example in the cold zone, a load of 30°C outdoor temp will be allocated 48 hours which are 8.8 per cent of the total operat- ing hours (in the cold region). However, in the warm zone, a load of 30C outdoor temp will be allocated 223 hours which are 9.9 per cent of the total operating hours (in the warm region).
It all comes to this formula (in cooling). It is magnificent in its simplicity, but there is a lot be- hind it:
FTCSP (SEER) = LTCP / CCSE + CAIE, where FTCSP = Cooling performance factor (SEER); LCST = Cooling seasonal total load; CCSE = Cooling seasonal energy consumption and CIAE = Inactive Energy consumption.
Another column in the catalogue is the nom- inal data. By the old standard, it is a necessity
as the unit performance and efficiency were dictated at those test conditions. The trouble was the correlation to real-life conditions, per- formance and energy ratings. In Victoria, for example, 35-degree outdoor conditions only happen in exceptional extreme conditions that do not reflect the everyday situation in that state. Most of the time the air conditioner only works in partial load, and other regions will have different conditions.
What happened if we operate in half load or when the conditions change? The old standard didn’t provide answers to these questions.
As I mentioned, the old standard was lacking on two main levels that the new AS/NZS 3823.4:2014 standard covers. It didn’t reflect the unit performance and efficiency under changed conditions (as they do change throughout the day and the seasons) or standby (as the system is consuming energy even in Standby mode).
It also didn’t factor in the different regions as some areas are colder or warmer than others and the new standard has addressed this issue.
The new standard tests the air conditioner un- der several conditions in full and partial load, and it divides Australia into different zones based on their climate conditions (three zones to be exact). Combining these factors provides more accurate energy ratings based on location. End users can select the most efficient air condi- tioner to use in Melbourne or Brisbane depend- ing on the climate conditions.
Australia has three zones and the standard considers the zones by dictating different oper- ating hours in heating/cooling to every zone
In Hot and Humid we take into consideration 2,247 hours of cooling operation, but only 277 hours of heating operation (and 6,236 hours in Inactive mode) per year. In a Mixed temperature region, we consider 840 hours of cooling opera- tion and 1,291 hours in heating operation (and 6,629 hours in Inactive mode) per year. In Cold regions, we consider 545 hours of cooling opera- tion and 2,660 hours in heating operation (and 5,555 hours in Inactive mode) per year.
On top of that, the standard allocates different weight to different loads based on their propor- tion in the season. For example, in the cold zone, a load of 30C outdoor temp will be allocated 48 hours which are 8.8% of the total operating hours (in the cold region). However, in the warm zone, a load of 30C outdoor temp will be allocated 223 hours which are 9.9% of the total operating hours (in the warm region).
It all comes down to the formula (in cooling) mentioned earlier. The Higher the FTSCP (SEER) the better the energy-efficiency (in your region) and it will have more stars.
Every region has different loads so by consid- ering all of these factors the standard can indi- cate what is the most efficient air-conditioner based on your region. ✺
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS FEBRUARY 2021
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