Go With The Flow: The Advantages Of Choosing Variable Refrigerant Flow Air Conditioning
Keeping your home residence comfortable cool during Australia's typically brutal summer months can be a challenge, but keeping a larger commercial building properly climate controlled can be an even bigger hassle. Commercial air conditioners have to contend with cooling far larger rooms than would ordinarily be found in a home, and also have to effectively counteract the body heat released by dozens or even hundreds of employees.
Needless to say, many air conditioning units designed for residential use aren't up to this task, and business owners who need effective cooling solutions often have to look to more sophisticated technology to keep their business premises cool. This is where variable refrigerant flow (commonly abbreviated to VRF) air conditioning comes into its own.
What is variable refrigerant flow air conditioning?
A VRF air conditioning unit bears more than a passing resemblance to the ducted air conditioners seen in many homes. Like ducted conditioners, a single VRF air conditioning unit is capable of cooling multiple rooms at a time. However, while ducted air conditioners do this by pumping cool air from an external condenser to the rooms in question, VRF conditioners pipe the refrigerating liquid in their condensers directly to a series of miniaturised air conditioners located in a commercial building.
What advantages do VRF air conditioners have over other commercial air conditioners?
This unique approach to multi-room cooling gives VRF air conditioners a number of attractive advantages over more conventional air conditioner choices:
Highly adjustable
The chief advantage of choosing a VRF system for your business is the enormous degree of control it gives you. VRF systems aren't just capable of cooling multiple rooms at once; by varying the flow rate of cool refrigerant to different rooms and cooling vents around your building, a VRF air conditioner can intensively cool some rooms while providing moderate amounts of cool air to others. Some VRF systems fitted with reverse-flow capabilities are even capable of heating rooms while simultaneously cooling others.
As you can imagine, being able to control cool (or hot) air flow as the situation demands can be enormously convenient. It particularly suits businesses that routinely have to keep some locations cooler than others, such as internet-based businesses housing large server rooms that must be kept very cool for effective functioning. Using a VRF system allows you to cool these rooms effectively, without leaving human employees in other rooms shivering.
Energy efficient
The highly adjustable nature of VRF systems isn't just a matter of convenience. By swiftly shutting down the air conditioning in unoccupied rooms and directing cooling power to where it is needed most, a business can make substantial energy savings. Piping liquid refrigerant instead of cool, gaseous air around a large building also takes far less energy, and a properly installed VRF unit can pay for itself within a matter of years. These energy savings can also dramatically lower your business's overall carbon footprint.
Minimal installation
VRF systems do not require the installation of miles of ducting to function; ducts are replaced with small-diameter refrigerant pipes, which can easily be concealed within walls and drop ceilings and lead to compact and highly concealable room conditioners.
This makes VRF systems considerably easier to install than bulkier alternatives that require miles of ducting to function and is particularly well suited for compact or extremely busy commercial buildings where space is always at a premium. This stripped-down format also means that VRF systems can be installed relatively quickly, reducing overall downtime and preventing extensive remodelling works from distracting or inconveniencing employees and colleages.
Contact a company like MTA Australasia for more information and assistance.