Campaign Awards Organizations for Excellence in HVAC Rooftop Unit Efficiency
ACHR News, June 12, 2015. Image credit: fudowakira0
The organizing partners of the Advanced Rooftop Unit (RTU) Campaign (ARC) have announced their award winners for excellence in RTU efficiency. ASHRAE, Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Better Buildings Alliance and Federal Energy Management Program launched the campaign in 2013, and since then over 190 partners have driven reduction in heating and cooling costs of commercial buildings by upgrading over 40,000 rooftop units. As a result, this has saved 4 trillion Btu of energy and $37 million annually, said ARC.
The following organizations were recognized for leadership and excellence in commercial building rooftop unit efficiency. Combined, their estimated energy savings total over 100 million kWh and $10 million per year from efficient rooftop unit replacements, retrofits, and quality management.
- Whole Foods Market: Highest number of advanced RTU control retrofits by a commercial organization, 107 advanced controls retrofits, with an estimated savings of 836,000 kWh/year worth $85,000 annually.
- Target: Largest efficiency gain for a single building RTU replacement project, 60 percent installed efficiency gain with 41 percent (108 tons) capacity reduction.
- Target: Largest efficiency gain for a multi-building RTU replacement project, average of 50 percent installed efficiency gain at 40 stores with a range of capacity reduction of 8 to 41 percent, with an estimated savings of 12,729,000 kWh/year worth $1.3 million annually.
- adidas: Most innovative RTU management approach by a participating partner; changed equipment replacement strategy from “replace upon failure” to “proactive replacement” for over 300 stores, starting off with an estimated 25 RTU replacements on 10 stores saving 131,000 kWh/year worth $13,143 annually.