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Energy savings in Garages and Parking
Garages = A Money Box
When people think about saving energy, the temptation is to think
first of inhabited space in offices and residences.
One of the most important measures is to
reduce energy consumption in enclosed parking garages.
Installing ventilation controllers based on
carbon monoxide sensors can substantially reduce consumption of both
electricity and natural gas and pay for itself in less than one year.
Parking garage energy use is surprisingly
high.
Parking garages consume about the same amount of electricity per m2
as commercial buildings whose purpose is education, public assembly
and public order & safety, and signficcantly more than warehouses or
churches.
They are greater consumers of natural gas than any category except
food service.
The natural gas consumption is likely to be based on the need to heat
parking garages in colder climates.
This is what we have observed in practice.
If ventilating fans are running continuously, it is not surprising
that heating costs are very high indeed.
The reason that the ventilation is required at all is the presence
of carbon monoxide produced by vehicles moving through the garage.
One effective solution is to control the operation of the
ventilating fans based on the quality of the air inside the parking
garage.
A system which could operate the fans only when
CO/NO2/CO2 -levels
are high would reduce the operating time of the fans substantially.
This would not only reduce electricity and
cost savings on natural gas
consumption but would also extend the life of the fans as well.
While not every parking garage is heated, the natural gas cost
savings in a heated garage can be even greater than the electrical
savings.
Ventilation control equipment is inexpensive by comparison.
This equipment typically will start fans when the carbon monoxide
concentration reaches a specified level.
There is a large number of parking garages in which the ventilation
fans run continuously.
Enclosed parking garages consume large quantities of energy.
There is a simple retrofit available which can economically save a
substantial portion of this energy.
Installing ventilation controllers based on Carbon Monoxide sensors
should be high on the list of energy saving measures for any project
containing an enclosed parking garage.
See also Projecting Guide
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