The Nalco COIL-FLO HVAC Coil Cleaning System Trial at a London Hotel

Situation
The London Hotel took new ownership in November 2004 and was last refurbished in 1985. The building did not have an air-handling unit cleaning procedure in place. The hotel Facilities Manager found certain areas of the hotel to be in poor condition when he accepted his position a year ago. The air filters had been changed regularly, but the cooling coils had never been cleaned. Guests complained about the lack of air-cooling in the bedrooms and, although the heating was rarely on in the bedrooms, it was frequently too warm for the guests. In the conference rooms it often was impossible to achieve the desired cooling on the hottest summer days, potentially limiting the availability of the rooms. As a result of the cooling load, energy bills were very high. The Facilities Manager paid close attention to the buildings level of energy efficiency through thorough and regular monitoring of gas, electricity and water consumption. As a result, energy saving initiatives had been introduced, and savings were recorded the monthly electricity consumption has dropped about 10% per month, when com-

pared to the previous year. However, the site conditions indicated that further savings could be captured, and the savings delivered through energy efficiency monitoring did not address guest concerns regarding air temperature regulation.

Solution
Nalcos patented COIL-FLO HVAC coil cleaning system has been proven effective at removing deposits and debris on heat transfer surfaces, thereby improving unit efficiency and air quality in a manner that is compatible with design parameters. The use of the COIL-FLO service on site would support the other energy efficiency initiatives on site while resolving the issue of air temperature regulation and the associated costs. The Facilities Manager coordinated with Nalco to facilitate access to the relevant areas and manage site logistics. He also provided assistance with the electricity rate figures, which allowed for accurate efficiency calculations.

Case Study CH-667 E

The standard units and dimensions used for the trial are:
Ceiling Unit Size kWh Cost in No of units Operation Hours (estimate) 1.00 x 0.15m 0.075 130 12hrs/day 8months/annum Wall Unit 0.80 x 0.25m 0.075 35 12hrs/day 8months/annum Roof Unit 0.60 x 0.40m 0.075 4 12hrs/day 8months/annum

The trial was conducted by cleaning a single wall-mounted unit and a ceiling-mounted unit.

Results
After cleaning the air-handling units, there was an immediate increase in the airflow through the unit and a reduction in air temperature of the air exiting the unit, indicating the removal of the deposits that were previously on the coils, blocking the unit and reducing heat transfer. The average improvement of the flow rates and temperature drops were as follows:
Ceiling Unit Before clean After clean Air flow (m/s) Air temp in (C) Air temp out (C) 1.8 26.7 26.4 2.8 26.7 20.4 Wall Unit Before clean After clean 0.7 22.0 16.7 1.6 22.0 11.1

These improvements were noticeable to those present and were further remarked upon after a period of time when an increased level of condensate was observed in the drip tray under the coil, indicating increased cooling. Financial savings from unit performance improvements were calculated by comparing electricity charges paid by the hotel. The hotel is supplied electricity on three tariffs day (summer and winter), night and weekend, at the following rates:
Electricity costs Day rate( per kWh) Night rate( per kWh) Weekend rate ( per kWh) Summer 0.061 0.043 0.059 Winter 0.097 0.043 0.059

The typical daily electricity consumption profile for the hotel indicates the highest electricity consumption occurs at 9.00 am with a steady drop through the day until another peak at 6.00 pm. The minimum consumption occurs through the night, with the lowest rate at 5.30 am. This indicates that the majority of electricity used in the hotel is supplied at the high rate day tariff. By reading the electricity bill and dividing the total bill by the number of units used, we get the average unit cost, as follows:
Summer Average cost Electricity unit cost( per kWh) inc VAT 0.084 ex Vat 0.071 Winter inc VAT 0.111 ex VAT 0.096

For the purpose of our calculations, we have use the figure of 0.051 per kWh. However, the figures above indicate that is a conservative figure. Assuming 6 months at 0.071 per kWh and 6 months at 0.096 per kWh, average annual rate for electricity is 0.072 per kWh. By calculating 6 months*30 days*10 hours=1.800 h, we can see the potential savings in electricity alone are as follows:
Electricity unit cost (pence per kWh) 0.051 (ref for night/weekend rate) 0.071 (average summer rate) 0.096 (average winter rate) 0.072 (average annual rate) Ceiling unit energy savings Unit*1800h Annual total 91 / annum 128 / annum 172/ annum 130/ annum 11.852/ annum 16.593/ annum 22.350/ annum 16.932/ annum Wall unit energy savings Unit*1800h Annual total 91/ annum 128/ annum 172/ annum 130/ annum 3.191/ annum 4.468/ annum 6.017/ annum 4.559/ annum

Assuming an actual average unit electricity cost of 0.072 per kWh, the COIL-FLO cleaning service represents a return on investment in electrical costs in excess of 20,000 per annum. This clearly shows the significant financial benefit of the COIL-FLO system.

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