Maintaining operations

High energy savings can be achieved through proper maintenance services, experts say.

How can your choice of maintenance strategy affect the long-term operation of key building plant? Facilities Management Middle East investigates.

Change is afoot in the Middle East construction industry. The combination of the ongoing global economic crisis and sudden intense focus on sustainable design has provoked a dramatic shift away from the desire to complete buildings as quickly as possible - as witnessed during the boom period - to a focus on their long-term operational efficiency.

Extending the life cycle of both the buildings and their major plant, while reducing the operational costs are becoming pre-requisites for major projects.

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And core to the success of making this desire a reality is the maintenance strategy that is undertaken. But what exactly is an effective maintenance programme and how can its implementation affect an MEP system and building operation in the short- and long-term?

Effective maintenance
The benefits cited for an effective preventative maintenance policy are numerous: lower operating costs; higher energy efficiency; reduced plant breakdowns and associated downtime; extended lifecycle of plant; and improved indoor and outdoor environmental quality. Achieving some or all of these benefits is essential to all building projects today, with the primary need for cost-effectiveness.

“The lack of an effective maintenance programme would not only shorten the lifecycle of equipment, it would also lead to lower performance in comparison with the intended design, higher energy bills derived from the loss of efficiencies, unhappy tenants, and an indirect impact on a business due to disruptions or major repairs,” stresses Bemco AirCare division manager Michel Farah.

“On average, if maintenance is kept up every six months on both indoor and outdoor [air conditioning] units it will easily give more than 50% energy efficiency savings,” adds Panasonic Middle East product head Abby Thomas.

“This increased efficiency is mainly due to improved heat transfer in the system. Any dirt clogging filters, for example, will act as an insulator meaning more power is needed to achieve the cooling loads.

“Without maintenance the performance of the equipment goes down but it uses the same power, so it may give 60T [of cooling] but consumes the same energy as 100T, so the client is losing money,” explains UTS Carrier business unit manager for service Sajid Tungekar. “If properly maintained, this would not happen.”

In the worst case scenario the desired indoor temperature may not be achievable, which can also have health implications. “You can set a thermostat at 21/22 degrees C but you will never get these temperatures if there is no maintenance of the outdoor units.”