MINNEAPOLIS - Honeywell has introduced Roof Top Retro Commissioning, a service that is designed to improve the efficiency of rooftop units (RTUs) used to heat and cool commercial facilities, and that is expected to lower the cost of operating this equipment by 5 to 20 percent on average.

According to Honeywell, RTUs are one of the main energy consumers in a facility, and mechanical problems and poor maintenance can greatly increase utility bills. The Roof Top Retro Commissioning service centers on a handheld diagnostic tool - Honeywell Service Assistant - developed to pinpoint problems, suggest service work, and display the anticipated payback. Specifically, the tool calculates equipment energy use, capacity, and cost-savings potential to optimize performance so buildings can be more energy efficient and comfortable.

“Roof Top Retro Commissioning fills in the gaps left by traditional service,” said Mike Taylor, vice president of Americas marketing for Honeywell Building Solutions. “It quickly identifies issues with RTUs, and helps organizations avoid spending time and money on ‘best guess’ repairs that don’t hit the mark.”

As part of the new service, Honeywell technicians use Service Assistant to perform a detailed assessment of an RTU. Unlike traditional methods, in which maintenance personnel rely on manual tools to investigate problems and formulate a hypothesis, the tool uses fault-detection diagnostics based on a series of patented algorithms to accurately uncover even difficult-to-diagnose mechanical problems.

In addition, Service Assistant provides customized reports on a unit’s energy use, along with potential upgrades and maintenance to cut consumption - from filter and coil replacement to new thermostats. With the tool, technicians are able to quantify the financial impact of service work, and provide facility managers with a report on energy-saving opportunities and their associated return on investment.

Because the process is data driven, the Honeywell service also creates a baseline that organizations can use to measure service performance, verify the impact of improvements, and ensure that RTUs are running as efficiently as possible.

“All too often, facility managers are forced to replace equipment due to presumed mechanical failure, when in fact the equipment is still operable and the problem is simply misdiagnosed,” Taylor said. “Roof Top Retro Commissioning eliminates the guesswork so organizations can extend equipment life, reduce unexpected downtime, and maximize comfort - all while lowering operating costs.”

For more information, visit www.honeywell.com/buildingsolutions.

Publication date:08/06/2007