Developing algorithms to preserve improved IAQ

Udayan Banerjee, Co-founder and Operations Head, Clairco talks about how Indian HVAC is blooming with the impending concerns of energy efficiency and cost variables. He further talks about the latest technologies that are expected to renovate the Industry.

What kind of measures is being taken to address efficiency in the HVAC&R segment?
The hvac market was valued at $108.1 billion in 2018 and it is projected to generate $136.5 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 3.9 percent, during the forecast period (2019-2024).

Energy efficiency has always been the focus of HVAC&R departments of Facility Management companies. Saving energy in a system doesn’t always mean having maintenance and engineering to monitor the system round the clock. Efficiency issues can be addressed right during the system installation. There may be various things to consider while maintaining an HVAC unit.

Following are some of the prescribed and suggested measures being extensively adopted by the companies and the industry players to ensure the same:

• Using thermostats to automatically shut air ducts based on desired temperature.
• Retrofitting air filters with low pressure drop and high efficiency in which Clairco’s expertise lies.
• Frequent cleaning/changing of air filters to ensure minimal clogging of coarse and fine dust
• Optimal use of fresh air intake to main positive pressures indoors
• Switching to Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) units which are more energy efficient.

What are the technological advancements in the sector to look out for this year?
Indian HVAC industry is amid a churn of latest innovations and reinventing existing technologies. With the evolution of IoT and automation, processes have been eased in this sector. Today, we have a smart device that offers cost saving techniques with improved efficiency. Moreover, companies are looking to provide sustainable technologies at an affordable cost which further enables them to cut down the wastage and minimise the risks and resource optimisation. Below mentioned are some of the top technologies to look out for in the HVAC segment:

• Retrofittable Air Filters with upto MERV 13 filtration without additional pressure drop HVAC zoning. This includes dividing the buildings into zones and sending warm or cold air to individual zones as per need instead of warming or cooling the entire building.
• IoT based sensors to control the ventilation systems
• Software analysing energy use and integrating the entire BMS

How do you deal with issues like short-cycling and poor indoor air quality?
Short cycling occurs mainly because of refrigerant leakage and clogged air filters. Both these issues can be solved through predictive maintenance where the sensors and software will come into play.

To solve indoor air quality(IAQ), HVAC&R departments are exploring the services of companies like us (Clairco) where we are developing products and processes to guarantee clean air at all times in an affordable, measurable and hassle free manner.

Our expertise lies in predicting the life of air filters and designing filter frames which ensure high filtration at no additional pressure drop. Since we are able to predict the life of the air filters, our on ground service executives can replace the filters on time and thus guarantee clean air.

Besides this we are also developing algorithms to optimise the usage of fresh air intake, AHU fan speed to automatically control those using sensors.

How does your company plan to take advantage of government initiatives and emerging concepts like smart cities?
Buildings in smart cities will require them to follow the standards of certifications like International WELL building institute. Under WELL standard, air quality is by far the most expensive and difficult parameter to maintain. At Clairco we have developed solutions which are at least 20 times affordable and completely hassle free to maintain the air quality standards. We are also forming channel partners to help buildings maintain these standards.

Companies are looking to provide sustainable technologies at an affordable cost which further enables them to cut down the wastage and minimise the risks.
Udayan Banerjee, Co-founder and Operations Head, Clairco