Mechanical Technology August 2015

⎪ Heating, cooling, ventilation and air conditioning ⎪

Commercial comfort for improved productivity

Johnson Controls has announced an innovation that it calls ‘Commercial Comfort Systems’, which seeks to use its comprehensive range of products and control solutions to customise workplace environments to best suit comfort and efficiency requirements.

A correct heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) man- agement 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 a company’s bottom line. Our Commercial Comfort System approach is designed to help companies achieve this.”

Indoor environmental quality encom- passes air temperature and humidity, lighting, acoustics and air quality. The costs of getting this wrong, either through bad building design, operational strate- gies 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 Systems combine the company’s HVAC solutions and control systems with its deep sector knowledge, skills and pro- cess expertise to give users more options. The Commercial Comfort System of- fers a holistic HVAC approach that: • Supports achievement and productiv- ity via occupant comfort. • Provides the economic benefits as- sociated with efficient operation and energy savings. • Delivers financial value – affordability and reliability. Explains Cameron: “To our broad range of mechanical systems, we add inte- grated controls for the building envi- ronment. 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 entertain- ment system. The controls offer

Johnson Controls’ Commercial Comfort Systems combine the company’s HVAC solutions and control systems with its deep sector knowledge, skills and process exper- tise to offers holistic HVAC approaches that promote productivity, efficiency, affordability and reliability. ciency and minimise energy use – e.g, by setting equipment to work only during business hours. • Trend reporting – e.g, on humidity and air quality) enables facility manage- ment to adjust HVAC equipment to maximise efficiencies and comfort, and ensure health standards or regula- tions are met. • Zoning features, which allow zoning of areas for independent control of clusters of equipment – e.g, on differ- ent aspects of the building, in areas where sensitive equipment is used, or where specific activities demand different treatment. “In the majority of companies, the people are the business,” emphasises Cameron. “Improving employee engagement, sat- isfaction, productivity and loyalty are important to the performance of the organisation. Our Commercial Comfort Systems make it easier to leverage that advantage,” he concludes. q

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 effi-

Johnson Controls introduces York LX Series packaged units, a new stan- dard in residential and commercial heating and cooling.

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Mechanical Technology — August 2015