The economizer is an essential component of a building’s cooling system. It uses outdoor air to cool the building rather than relying on the air conditioning compressor. The economizer is an add-on feature to an HVAC air handler that takes in outdoor air and mixes it with the indoor air.
The Role Of Economizers In HVAC
A controller located in the economizer is responsible for measuring both the temperature and humidity of the outside air. When the air outdoors is favorable, the control will switch the air conditioning compressor off and cool the building with the outside air.
The economizer will cool the building while using far less energy compared to an AC system. Economizers generally operate during the nighttime when outside air is cooler than the indoor air. This cooling process is commonly referred to as “free cooling.”
The economizer will mix enough outside air with the indoor air to meet the thermostat setpoint without the use of the compressor. Fresh air that the economizers haul in while saving energy at night will count as ventilation. Therefore, the ventilation system can operate for less time and avoid operation during the day’s peak electrical hours altogether.
Economizers For Ventilation
The majority of buildings use the economizer as their ventilation system. The economizer does not normally feature heat or energy recovery functions, so ventilating with an economizer can have an energy penalty when compared to heat recovery ventilators.
When buildings use economizers for ventilation, its dampers will be open while the HVAC system is heating, cooling, or simply operating in fan-only mode. The fan-only option is there for ventilation but no heating or cooling functions.
In order to operate efficiently, the economizer would require very sophisticated control which tracks the amount of ventilation air delivered during the free-cooling mode and also during ventilation mode. A controller could measure and regulate the outdoor air when it enters the building.
Economizer Drawbacks
One drawback of using the economizer is the fact that this feature can waste a lot of energy. Many economizers have installation flaws that result in under or over ventilating a building.
There are many energy savings to be found just from fixing the economizers and installing smarter controls.
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