The correct Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) management strategy can make a facility more than just suitable for occupation; it can drive productivity and cost savings. To help organisations refine control of indoor environmental quality, Johnson Controls has introduced a welcome innovation in managing HVAC systems – Commercial Comfort Systems.

Says Neil Cameron, General Manager, Johnson Controls Building Efficiency: “Facility and energy costs make up a large percentage of company costs but research shows that organisations spend almost 72 times as much on people. Even a small percentage improvement in productivity through improved Indoor environmental quality can thus make a significant impact on the company’s bottom line. Our Commercial Comfort System approach is designed to help companies achieve this.”

Indoor environmental quality encompasses air temperature and humidity, lighting, acoustics and air quality. The costs of getting this wrong, either through bad building design, operational strategies or inappropriate HVAC solutions, can be counted in absenteeism, health costs and productivity loss - all of which impact the performance of the business.

Johnson Controls’ Commercial Comfort System combines the company’s HVAC solutions and control systems with its deep sector knowledge, skills and process expertise to give users more options.

Productivity, savings, value

The Commercial Comfort System offers a holistic HVAC approach that:

• Supports achievement of occupant comfort and productivity;
• Provides the economic benefits associated with efficient operation and energy savings; and
• Delivers financial value – affordability and reliability.

Explains Cameron: “To our broad range of mechanical systems, we add integrated controls for the building environment. Whether our customers use disparate lower specification solutions like our rooftop and split system units, or higher spec equipment, or both, we can integrate these solutions using our extensive range of HVAC controls.

“Our customisable packages are as easy to set up as a home entertainment system. The controls offer greater flexibility in meeting heating and cooling needs, helping our customers achieve the comfort and performance benefits of a totally integrated system.”

Among the features offered by control systems are:

• Time scheduling to maximise efficiency and minimise energy use – e.g., by setting equipment to work only in business hours;

• Trend reporting (e.g., on humidity and air quality) enables facility management to adjust HVAC equipment to maximise efficiencies and comfort, and ensure health standards or regulations are met

• Zoning features allow zoning of areas for independent control of clusters of equipment – e.g., on different aspects of the building, in areas where sensitive equipment is used or specific activities demand different treatment.

“In the majority of companies, the people are the business,” emphasises Cameron. “Improving employee engagement, satisfaction, productivity and loyalty is important to the performance of the organisation. Our Commercial Comfort Systems make it easier to leverage that advantage.”