Trane Commercial Blog & Industry Updates

Energy Storage: Transforming How We Use-- And Pay For-- Energy

Mark MacCracken, VP, CALMAC Portfolio December 13, 2019 08:45 AM

Energy storage may be the technology that fundamentally changes the grid. It’s important to know that buildings have two types of energy loads, electric and thermal, and each one has an optimal storage method.

The Benefits of Wireless Controls for Connected Buildings

December 10, 2019 09:00 AM

Zero energy building growth has increased by 700 percent since 2012 and revenue from these buildings is expected to reach $1.4 trillion by 2035. Buildings with the greatest flexibility can offer multiple benefits to the grid and to the owners and managers of those buildings.

Approaching Zero Energy: Unleash your building’s hidden potential

Mark MacCracken, Portfolio Leader, CALMAC® Portfolio, Trane November 21, 2019 08:15 AM

Zero energy building growth has increased by 700 percent since 2012 and revenue from these buildings is expected to reach $1.4 trillion by 2035. Buildings with the greatest flexibility can offer multiple benefits to the grid and to the owners and managers of those buildings.

Designing an HVAC System When Your Building Occupants are Green

November 15, 2019 08:15 AM

Green plants, such as lettuce, kale, basil, and other crops, are being grown by indoor agriculture producers around the world. Maintaining an optimal environment is just as important when plants are grown indoors as when they are outside.

Energy Cost Saving Methods for Data Centers

Justin Wieman, Trane Applications Engineer November 4, 2019 08:15 AM

When data centers want to reduce non-IT energy costs, there is no single solution. Many strategies come to mind, and the best one…depends. It depends on utility rate structures, local climate and natural resources, and on the type of IT equipment and how the center is laid out. Experienced HVAC system designers begin with energy efficient base equipment—and then we get creative. Many of the available solutions for reducing energy costs aren’t new, but we’re finding new ways to apply them to reduce the energy intensity of data centers.

Air vs. Water Cooled Chillers: Which is Best for Data Centers?

Justin Wieman, Trane Applications Engineer October 31, 2019 08:15 AM

Data centers and computer rooms are being built everywhere to accommodate the rapidly increasing demand for data processing. Too often, systems that are designed to manage human comfort are being applied to data centers, and they simply aren’t up to the task. Using a comfort system where precision cooling is required inevitably results in unplanned downtime, excessively high energy costs, and diminished ROI due to shortened equipment life.

Contingency Planning

October 18, 2019 08:15 AM

No matter what industry you are in, it is critical to develop a power and HVAC contingency plan as part of a comprehensive crisis-response plan. Interruptions to power and HVAC – whether from a natural disaster or other challenges – can cause millions of dollars in damage, disrupt operations and erode stakeholder confidence. Developing an effective power and HVAC contingency plan minimizes financial risk, while protecting the health and safety of building occupants and providing peace of mind for an organization and its stakeholders.

The Future of Data Center Energy Use: Mastering Complexity with Artificial Intelligence

October 7, 2019 03:30 PM

It’s one of the biggest paradoxes of our time: The world needs to build more energy-intensive data centers to meet growing demand. Meanwhile, it has become imperative to reduce carbon emissions to put the brakes on climate change. It’s both a challenge and an opportunity to introduce technologies that could transform building energy use forever—across all sectors—including machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Comfort vs. Precision Cooling

October 7, 2019 08:15 AM

Data centers and computer rooms are being built everywhere to accommodate the rapidly increasing demand for data processing. Too often, systems that are designed to manage human comfort are being applied to data centers, and they simply aren’t up to the task. Using a comfort system where precision cooling is required inevitably results in unplanned downtime, excessively high energy costs, and diminished ROI due to shortened equipment life.

Achieving the Water-Energy Conservation “Sweet Spot"

July 30, 2019 08:15 AM

While the focus on climate change has driven reduced energy consumption, attention to water conservation is increasing because fresh water supplies are diminishing. At the current consumption rate, this situation will only get worse.