Reduction of Carbon Emissions of HVAC Systems: A Case Study of a Pharmaceutical Site in France

eating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC) are widely present in industry. They permit to maintain strict environmental conditions such as in clean room in pharmaceutical and aerospace industries. They also permit to maintain personal health and comfort (e.g., in offices). This article is a case study in an industrial pharmaceutical site in France. HVAC systems represent 57% of site’s carbon emissions because air must be transported and undergo several different treatments: heating, cooling, dehumidification, and Filtration. Moreover, those systems are generally overdesigned, operate very far to the specification limits and/or regulation are not optimized. To minimize carbon emissions, a specific methodology has been developed for ensuring to make the right choices when implementing a new HVAC or modifying an existing one. This methodology contains 4 steps: reduce quantity of air, reduce air treatment periods, efficient air treatment by design and efficient air treatment by management. Each step includes complex, simple and innovative actions such as electronically commutated motor in place of conventional motor. The methodology developed does not degrade global
performance and thermal efficiency of systems and answer to quality, environment, health, and safety requirements. The
application of this methodology has permitted to reduce carbon emissions of HVAC systems by 24% in less than 3 years.