Five practical examples of calculating the efficiency of building automation.

Five practical examples of calculating the efficiency of building automation.

Continuing the series of publications on the economic feasibility of building automation, we Here are five examples from the practice of YORK (today part of Johnson Controls).

1. Saving energy

Several years ago, we were reconstructing the refrigeration and air conditioning control system at one production facility. The software included optimization of equipment operating cycles, stepwise changes in productivity depending on the operating mode of the enterprise, and also used energy-saving algorithms when controlling compressors of refrigeration machines. According to statistics accumulated after modernizing the system, thanks to these measures, we were able to reduce electricity consumption by 22%. Energy savings per year amount to $147,000. (see table 1).

Table 1

The cost of reconstruction, including equipment, programming and commissioning, amounted to $140,000. Thus, in this case, the cost of installing a modern control system paid off in less than a year.

2. Reducing equipment repair costs

Using the example of one of the Moscow shopping centers, we will consider what costs the automation system helped to avoid over 2 years of operation. Typically, a complex control system collects and processes many different parameters that report on the performance of engineering equipment installed throughout the building. Analysis of all this data and timely automatic response when certain parameters deviate can save considerable money (see Table 2):

Table 2

– By constantly analyzing the parameters generated by the refrigeration machine controller, the automation system warned the dispatcher in advance about changes in the operation of the compressor and suggested that he contact a service company for preventive maintenance. It later turned out that this work helped prevent a breakdown of the compressor, the repair of which would have cost $16,000.

–Based on an analysis of the operating conditions of the refrigeration machines (load, number of starts, external conditions), the system periodically issues recommendations on replacement timing oils and maintenance. Compared to the standard clockwork method, annual savings of $1,500;

– The pump was left running when draining the refrigerant from the refrigeration circuit. Operating the pump without liquid leads to its failure.

The automation system detected a lack of liquid in the system and de-energized the pump, issuing a message to the dispatcher. The cost of replacing the pump is about $9,000.

– When the pipeline was damaged, water flooded the ventilation chamber above the sales area. The automation system issued a warning message to the dispatcher, who localized the leak.

This prevented flooding of the sales area. The cost of repair work could be $25,000.

3. Costs of maintaining the operation service

This calculation has been tested more than once at many of our facilities. To service an average shopping center that is not equipped with an automation system, at least 15 qualified specialists are required to monitor the operation of the equipment. Today, the salary level of such a specialist cannot be less than 600 dollars.

For a similar building equipped with a comprehensive automation system, three shift dispatchers and an agreement with one or more specialized organizations are required (approximately $25,000 per year). Let’s add to this 13% income and 28% unified social taxes. It turns out that (see Table 3) with a comprehensive automation system you can save $102,117 per year.

Table 3

4. Increasing the prestige of the property

A building management system is one of the necessary requirements for modern office buildings and directly affects the class of the office and, therefore, the cost of renting it.

Take for example an office building with an area of ​​15,000 sq. m. m. By upgrading the class of such an office center from “B” to “A” through the installation of a building automation system (see Table 4), one can qualify for an increase in rental payments by $2.8 million. in year. Of course, this example is not entirely correct, since the class of an office is also influenced by many other parameters, such as location, type of building, environment, etc.

Table 4

*Source: «Real Estate Market Indicator» (irn.ru), February 2005

Nevertheless, the use of automation systems increases the level of comfort in the building and affects not only the cost of rent, but also the performance of employees.

5. Reducing the cost of building insurance

It is no secret that if a building is equipped with a modern automation system, including active fire extinguishing systems, protection against leaks, monitoring the condition of ceilings, etc., insurance companies are willing to provide clients with significant discounts (10–40%).
Thus, in the building costing 50 million dollars, equipped with these systems, the amount saved on insurance can be approximately 75,000 dollars. annually (see table 5).

Table 5

As can be seen from the examples, each of the described calculations, even considered separately, clearly shows the economic efficiency of implementing building automation systems, i.e. significantly saves money for the investor or building owner. In practice, many of these aspects are implemented, simultaneously providing an even more significant economic effect.

In the next issues of the newsletter we will continue the topic of the economic feasibility of building automation and talk about specific techniques and solutions that make automation systems as efficient as possible.

Roman Vroblevsky, director of building automation department
YORK, a Johnson Controls company, Russia