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Whole System Design

by John Herbert | Director

What is Whole System Design? It is integrated design philosophy that as the name implies considers the whole picture, from the individual items of equipment and furniture through to operations and E&M services (HVAC, MEP). 

whole system design approach low energy

The advantage of Kelcroft's Whole system design approach it that it delivers dramatically lower first cost (CapEx) and lower running costs (OpEx).

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One guiding principle is that no detail is insignificant, for example at Kelcroft we verify the efficiency and power consumption of every motor at the design stage - because every watt counts. Investigation options for process delivers significant efficiency benefits.

Watt Watching

Let's consider an air-conditioned space with an electric motor as an example, using the whole system design approach provides accumulating consequential benefits, a smaller energy efficient motor would mean:

  1. reduced purchase cost
  2. smaller cable and probably smaller fuse sizes
  3. reduced cost of distribution system
  4. reduced power consumption
  5. less power = less heat
  6. reduces cooling demand
  7. smaller cooling fans
  8. smaller cooling fans = lower power consumption
  9. reduced cooling load = small ductwork
  10. smaller air conditioning plant
  11. reduces chiller power consumption
  12. smaller pipework
  13. smaller chiller reduces installation cost
  14. requires less space
  15. less environmental impact
  16. reduced carbon discharge
  17. lower power station emissions

And that's just for one motor, now imagine an integrated whole system design repeated for every key decision! and you will realise that real capital and operating cost savings accumulate quickly.

And there is more, consider a typical planning approach more often than not equipment was arbitrarily positioned, whole system thinking means we must examine the long term impacts of mundane decisions that were often overlooked in the past.

Optimising equipment - location saves you money. It saves the initial capital cost (capex) and more importantly saves OPex for year after year thereafter.

Whole system design is a smarter approach to deliver cost effective solutions in the real world. I'll leave you with one further example, consider the total lifetime cost of a single pipe elbow. A typical elbow has a pressure loss factor (K factor) of lets say 1.5, that means every elbow is equivalent to an extra 1.5 metres of pipework. You will often find superfluous elbows on pump systems.

Once it is installed it is too late, you are committed to suffer the loss. The elbow will spend its whole lifetime redirecting flow and causing a pressure drop, which requires extra pump power to overcome the pressure loss it creates every year. A larger pump, also means increased costs, plus the extra cost of the larger electrical distribution.

Now imagine the power consumption savings if fifty percent (50%) of the elbows were engineered out at the design stage! that's the real power behind whole system design - keeping more money in your pocket every year.

Green Procurement

New terms like green procurement have entered the buyers lexicon, but is it really the right term? Can we really expect buyers to change the habit of a lifetime, and start buying greener products and services? Furthermore how does a buyer determine what is green?

Buying against a specification, often a short form of the full specification, at the lowest possible first cost is exactly opposite of a smarter procurement strategy. Sharper organisations are only now learning that every asset is not valued by its first cost,  or its depreciated cost, but its Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and the saved carbon.

Take another classic example in the data centre environment. Procuring servers is a costly exercise, where the primary metrics are technical computing power. Typically the IT department issues a performance and functional requirements, and purchasing dept. sources the goods from the lowest qualified bidder. Since manufacturers are attuned to this circle of destruction, they will most likely provide the least efficient and hence cheapest cost PSU (power supply unit) on the market. Manufacturers, will not risk adding a few dollars for a more efficient unit since they might lose the project. Since the demand is unknown, Energy Efficicent units are not held in stock, so the delivery time is always longer, therefore the EE is never ordered.

Once installed the inefficient PSU's power the server, that extra energy, is loss in the form of heat, in turn that demands larger  air-conditioning equipmemt, larger power cables, etc. I think you get the point, every procurement decision can't be driven by cost alone.

Further Information

For further information regarding Kelcroft's energy saving and green services, call our Hong Kong today - office telephone: +(852) 2335 9830, send us a fax +(852) 2335 9862, or send us an email message

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