Air Conditioning Inspection - Reports

Air Conditioning Inspection Report
Faq's - Frequently Asked Questions about Air Conditioning Inspection procedures and techniques.

Note that all air-conditioning systems with an effective rated output of more than 12kw rating  must be regularly inspected by an Energy Assessor (Refer to Compliance, and the Directory to find an assessor). The inspections must be a maximum of five years apart.

Report Guidelines

The purpose of the air conditioning  inspection report is to ensure that building owners or managers are provided with basic information regarding the efficiency of the air-conditioning systems that they control, together with advice on how the energy efficiency or effectiveness of these systems might be improved, based on the recommendations contained in the report. The asset owner may well benefit from improved performance and energy consumption as a result of undertaking the recommendations provided in the report.

In some situations the costs of providing both heating and cooling may be
reduced, in cases where these two systems are unnecessarily in use at the
same time due to inappropriate controls or settings, this would be identified during the course of the survey.

In most circumstances it should become evident that many installations will have been well documented, and commissioned, with records available detailing that the equipment has been regularly maintained to a high standard (see also Good Practice).

In these instances the energy inspection could be reduced in extent and scope, including the inspection report brief, with the main content advising the asset owner on opportunities for load reduction or on alternative solutions not previously considered to improve efficiency of the air conditioning equipment installed at the site.

In some cases the energy assessor may suggest relatively basic maintenance routines, such as cleaning or repairs, to equipment whose efficiency has evidently suffered through lack of maintenance or repair. Cleaning operations or adjustments to controls do not form part of the inspection procedure however, even where they might be carried out simply and with significant immediate effect in improving efficiency of the system.

Limitations & Constraints of Examination

Such inspection is not intended, or expected, to involve any physical work of this nature as this could alter the level of professional risk to the energy assessor conducting the survey. Any such authority to carry out such work would need to be given as part of a separate arrangement by the asset owner or manager provided the Energy Assessor has the required competence to carry out the work. However, this does not preclude the asset owner, manager or their representative from doing so, if they are competent, and are able to carry out some modifications themselves as the energy inspection is carried out, provided they agree with the assessor’s observations at the time of the inspection.

Air Conditioning reports are likely to contain advice that a combination of simple low or zero cost measures, and advice on measures where some investment may be required either to apply the measures, or to investigate the potential to apply such measures in more detail. The building owner should also be provided with, or informed how to obtain, access to advice on the ongoing management of the systems, particularly that contained in existing free publications such as the Carbon Trust’s Good Practice Guides for example, which can be found on their website.

Advice may be provided on site by the inspector to notify of defects found, the assessor is not obliged to repair defects as found. If owners or managers require this service then they should ensure that the need is clearly specified in the invitation to undertake any work, and assure themselves that the energy assessor is competent to undertake such additional work, and ensure that such aspects are clearly expressed in their contract or agreement with the energy assessor.

The Report Must Contain:

Any air conditioning inspection report must include an assessment of the efficiency of the system and its size compared to the cooling requirements of the building under review.
It must also contain appropriate advice on possible improvements to the
system if required.
Air Conditioning Energy Assessment: The following information must be included:

• Address of the building in which the system is located.

• Name of the energy assessor who conducted the inspection.

• Name and address of the energy assessor’s employer, or the name.
  under which the assessor trades and his address.

• Date on which the inspection occurred.

• Name of the approved accreditation scheme that he/she is a member of.

Planned Maintenance

Setting up a maintenance procedure is key to running an energy saving plant, it should be noted that it is helpful to maintain a log of repairs, maintenance, and upgrades as part of your log. The log book with date/time events should be made available upon request by an air conditioning energy assessor upon request. This will help the assessor during their inspection of the premises.

If a planned maintenance schedule does not exist, it is worth considering starting one, especially with the benefits outlined above. If the existing system is old and considered suitable for upgrading your business or company could be entitled to an ECA grant to provide funding towards any improvements or recommendations made by the inspector.

Where can I find an approved Inspector?

Remember small scale systems can be inspected by a commercial energy assessor as part of an energy assessment for business premises for sale or lease, a directory of commercial property assessors can be found in the links section of this website. Large scale systems will require a dedicated air conditioning energy assessor. See also our Directory for approved assessors for your local area.

Did You Know? - Climate Control Systems could make your Heating and Ventilating system run more efficiently.

Refer also to Air Conditioning for further details regarding Refrigeration, cooling, design, engineers, service, installation, maintenance, repairs, inspection, installers, Variable Refrigerant Volume/Flow Systems VRV VRF, Heat Recovery, Ducted Systems, Climate Control Systems, upgrades of New and Existing Air Conditioning HVAC Heating Ventilation plant (AHU) Air Handling Units and controls.