A Business-Venture Approach to Premium O&M Service for Commercial Packaged HVAC Systems

Jeff Harris, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
Phil Welker, Tudi Haasl, and Dana Banks, Portland Energy Conservation, Inc. (PECI)

Keywords

Abstract

Many commercial buildings are served by "packaged" units that combine heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC). These systems, also known as “rooftop units” (RTUs), are often oversized, and can deliver cooling and heating necessary for comfort even with significant energy efficiency degradation. As a result, these systems typically receive little or no attention until they fail altogether.

Current maintenance contracts for smaller commercial buildings focus on routine maintenance, such as filter replacement, while the functional efficiency of systems is ignored. However, new diagnostic tools and protocols have recently become available that are much less expensive to deploy. Coupled with technician training and effective marketing, these advances could make energy-efficiency optimization of RTUs a costeffective proposition for HVAC service providers.

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (Alliance) is undertaking a pilot project to test the presence of three market conditions necessary to support a regional market transformation effort:

1. A significant opportunity to improve the efficiency of packaged units
2. HVAC service providers with an interest in "up-selling" additional services to existing maintenance service contract customers
3. New diagnostic tools that reduce service costs and provide customers with both energy and non-energy benefits

Key elements of the pilot project include review and development of diagnostic tools, technical training, sales training, and marketing assistance. The program will seek to establish a viable market for RTU efficiency optimization as a new component of existing maintenance services.

The pilot project was launched in January 2002 with final results expected by October 2002. This paper presents preliminary findings.