Advanced Control Technology that Optimises HVAC+R

• a well maintained system, with the right refrigerant levels, clean filters and a healthy compressor are a must. It need not be new, but it must work properly
• the larger the room being cooled, the better the savings
• the lower the heat load in the room, the better the savings
• the more effective the condenser (better able to remove heat), the better the savings
• relative to a perfectly sized system, if the system is undersized, savings will be less (or non-existent), if the system is oversized, savings will be more

The internationally patented process Optimised Refrigerant Supply (ORS®) which is incorporated in COOLNOMIX® has specific protection included within its function. This includes protection against too frequent stop-start of the compressor and assurance that every re-start is always a soft-start – the re-start of the compressor is never under load since the suction and discharge pressures are guaranteed to be in equilibrium. As a result there is no adverse effect on the operational life of the compressor of the cooling system.

ORS® incorporates a priority on delivering the required room/space temperature – energy savings will be sacrificed in order to ensure the room/space temperature is achieved. COOLNOMIX® typically improves temperature control in air-conditioning and refrigeration systems. In contrast with most installations having room/space temperature variations of 1-2°C, our dual temperature sensor approach commonly limits room temperature variations to 50% of that experienced without COOLNOMIX®.

No we don’t. The best way to explain that is to use a car analogy. If you go from A to B, petrol consumption does vary depending on the load. You will, for example, use more petrol on the trip, all else being equal, if you drive faster, fully loaded, with the hand break on, uphill, with flat tyres, or roof racks etc. COOLNOMIX® runs the compressor most efficiently, getting from A to B for minimal energy.

No it should not, but we cannot review the warranty terms of every air-conditioner on the market.

Air conditioners have expected lifetimes of 15 to 20 years; consequently, the vast majority are not under warranty. For those units that are, COOLNOMIX® is merely an intelligent thermostat, which does not interfere with the cooling system, the compressor, the refrigerant or the control boards – all operate as normal.

If COOLNOMIX® was to void a warranty, it would mean all third party thermostats would too.

COOLNOMIX® can be retrofitted to all refrigerant based commercial air conditioning installations controlled by a single thermostat and designed to work at fixed set-point temperatures. Provided the unit is well maintained and appropriately sized, COOLNOMIX® works with all of the following:

• Split (wall or cassette) / Packaged / Split Ducted
• VRV / VRF / Inverter;  Single phase or three phase
• Cool only or reverse cycle (no savings in heat mode)
• Single-stage or dual-stage
• Air cooled or water cooled condensers

Note: COOLNOMIX® is not currently suitable for central chilled water systems (large office buildings, hotels, shopping centres) or evaporative coolers

COOLNOMIX® must be installed by a qualified technician. However the installation is relatively simple: it involves installing two temperature sensors and a control connection in line with the existing thermostat. In most cases, your HVAC technician will take less than an hour to do it.

Optimised Refrigerant Supply (ORS) is a unique and patented advanced control technology invented by the developers of the Coolnomix device, Agile8 Consulting Ltd, a Hong Kong based technology company. ORS delivers the optimal balance between energy consumption and the supply of refrigerant required to achieve the desired comfort level.

There are other “compressor optimisation” technologies on the market, some more successful than others.

First generation products saved energy by attempting, through timers or other means, to reduce the compressor ON time by arriving at an ‘Optimal’ mark-space ratio between compressor ON and OFF times. These devices have no concept of a temperature set point and only deliver savings under medium load and medium humidity conditions but hit problems with temperature stability under more demanding circumstances.

Second generation products attempted to satisfy set point objectives, but with limited timer based and/or single temperature sensor resources.

COOLNOMIX® is a third generation energy saving technology as it makes use a 2 temperature sensors and has algorithms that are optimised to each of the 16 temperature settings within.

The obvious question that springs to mind is “why isn’t every air conditioner doing this already?”. There is a two part answer to that question.

The first part is market driven. Commercial air-conditioners and refrigerators must be able to interface with a range of third party controllers, BMS and/or thermostats, and generally do not integrate dynamic control features – they bring the muscle not the brain.

The second part of the answer is that it just isn’t that simple. COOLNOMIX® is a third generation product, and while others have tried to improve efficiency by using compressor cycling or PID controls, none before COOLNOMIX® have used a dynamic two sensor method.