How Rooftop HVAC Units Are Becoming More Sustainable | Budderfly

Rooftop or packaged heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units have been used to heat and cool small commercial buildings for 70 years. These days, the style of rooftop unit (RTU) remains popular, and it is the top type of HVAC for commercial spaces.  

In recent years, great progress has been made with this technology, helping to improve energy efficiency, lower business’ utility bills, and reduce carbon emissions. These advancements are ensuring that RTUs can remain a viable option for businesses. At the same time, new advanced technologies are being developed beyond traditional rooftop HVACs that could transform the way we condition air and improve sustainability even further.  Keep reading to learn about how HVAC technology is quickly evolving and the benefits of adopting newer models.    

HOW ROOFTOP HVACS WORK 

Rooftop package HVACs combine air conditioning, heating and air flow in one box typically placed on the building's roof. In a traditional commercial rooftop HVAC, the unit brings in fresh air from outside and either cools or heats it based on the temperature setpoint from the thermostat. In these models, 100% of the fresh air brought into the system is conditioned or recycled. 

A big benefit of RTUs is cost and longevity. An RTU can last 15 to 20 years on average and there are affordable models on the market. However, the more low-end, cost-effective models come with serious drawbacks: they typically consume a much higher level of energy, meaning higher utility bills and more money spent in the long run. And even though they may run for 15 years, they won’t be operating at their best performance for that time. That means after a few years they’ll guzzle up even more energy and be more prone to breakdowns and other issues.  

The efficiency of rooftop HVAC units has grown a lot over recent years. In 1992, the minimum Department of Energy efficiency rating (SEER) rating was 10, and nowadays the minimum rating is 14. There are even higher efficiency models on the market as well. At Budderfly, we typically install premium 23 SEER HVAC units to get the highest level of energy savings for our customers. 

Despite these improvements, there remain some opportunities to innovate beyond rooftop HVAC systems for the next generation of air conditioning technology. 

COMMON ISSUES WITH OLD ROOFTOP HVACS  

It is impressive to think that rooftop HVACs have been ubiquitous since the 1950s. Few technologies have stood the test of time to that degree. However, with the onset of global warming, there has been an increased drive to innovate around energy efficiency. This has made a few drawbacks of traditional rooftop HVACs clearer, presenting an opportunity to rethink these older systems and drive the innovation of higher SEER, more sustainable rooftop units. Some of the most common problems with outdated RTUs include: 

1. Their basic design leads to issues of humidity, dust, noise, and poor air-filtering. An advantage of RTUs is they are relatively simple to install and use. However, their design is imperfect and can often lead to issues, especially in more outdated models. You’ve probably been in a business where the A/C was noticeably loud or have eaten in a restaurant where certain pockets of the room were too cold. For businesses, these issues of comfort and air quality can be a serious problem for customers employees. 
2. Their complexity leads to common failures if not well maintained. Rooftop HVACs have a lot of different parts: coils, duct work, filters, and more. If not maintained, that means there are many opportunities for operating failures or overworking that can lead to unusually high utility costs.  
3. Natural gas is used for heating. Natural gas is an environmentally unfriendly fossil fuel. Rooftop HVACs still require this to heat buildings, which is not ideal from a sustainability perspective.
4. A rooftop HVAC system needs to condition all outside air to heat or cool the building. Because all outside air coming into the building needs to be conditioned, many RTUs will have high energy needs and be very large, while some may need to run often to make up for ventilation issues, especially in a restaurant kitchen. 

WHY ULTRA HIGH PERFORMANCE HVACS ARE GROWING MORE POPULAR 

In addition to the innovations around RTUs, there is a new type of HVAC technology gaining traction. Ultra High Performance (UHP) HVACs are a new type of unit in the market that can solve a lot of the issues that tend to arise with rooftop HVACs. UHP HVACs utilize heat pump technology to save 65% of the energy used and vastly improve the air quality and comfort levels of commercial spaces. 

Ultra High Performance HVACs decouple the traditional rooftop HVAC unit into two components: energy recovery ventilator and variable refrigerant flow system. The energy recovery ventilator brings in 100% outside air, while reutilizing the air that is exhausted and recovering energy from it. The variable refrigerant flow system then takes the air which the ventilator brings in and cools it or heats it based on the needs of the space.  

UHP HVAC systems improve air quality, enhance comfort, and reduce carbon footprints. At Budderfly, we are pioneering this sustainability technology and helping to improve the future of energy efficient HVACs.  Watch the video below to learn more about how they work.  

At Budderfly, we’re bringing this innovative technology to customers with no out-of-pocket costs. We use our own capital to help businesses get energy saving technologies, including smart thermostats, energy monitoring software, LED lighting, solar panels, water conservation solutions,  Ultra High Performance HVACs, and a lot more. To learn more about how we can help you lower your energy bills and reduce your carbon footprint, contact us today.