Today, there is a huge variety of options when it comes to selecting HVAC systems for a building. One of the options available is the Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system that can simultaneously heat and cool different sections of a building. This article discusses when this system is specifically suited for use in a given building.
Limited Space
Ducted air conditioning requires a significant amount of space to lay the inlet and outlet pipes of air conditioning in a building. Additionally, more space is required to house different condensing units for each evaporator van that is indoors. If you have 20 fans in your apartment block, then you need space for 20 condenser units outside the building. This takes up huge amounts of space and the units can be an eyesore.
With VRF systems, very little space is taken up. A single condensing unit of a VRF system can serve several evaporator fans and this dramatically reduces how much overall space the systems takes up both indoors and outdoors.
If your building is one in which space is a constraint, VRF air conditioning is the right one for you.
Energy Efficiency
VRF systems conserve energy because the hot air from one section of the room is recycled to cool another part of the building. This is because the system can allow one part of the building to be cooled while another part is being heated.
Advanced controls enable real time communication between different parts of the building so that the waste air from one part is used in the other part thereby cutting energy requirements.
Furthermore, this variable control allows for partial or full capacity use of the unit in different segments of the building so waste is eliminated since heating or cooling will only be turned on where it is needed. If energy efficiency is a cause you are passionate about, then go for VRF systems.
Retrofit Situations
There are buildings that would be adversely affected if drilling to install split system air conditioners is done. This applies to vintage buildings as well as delicate wood structures since the building would be weakened after that pipe-work is laid.
Air conditioning that uses VRF technology is the best for such delicate buildings since its piping needs are very limited and they would not endanger the structure.
Initially VRF air conditioning costs more but those costs pay for themselves in long-term savings made from conservation of energy. If your building is similar to what has been described above, contact a professional HVAC company to see how you can benefit from VRF technology.
