As the electricity price mounts and public frustration does too, many businesses in South Africa are looking for solutions to manage energy consumption.  Electricity supply is an ongoing and far-reaching challenge that impacts South African employers and employees alike.  

While businesses are striving for energy efficiency an additional (and often tricky) pressure is ensuring workspaces function optimally in terms of temperature control. Have you ever been involved in a thermal war in your workplace? If not, count yourself lucky. Establishing the ideal ambient temperature for every individual in the office is nearly impossible, purely because there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to comfort that satisfies everyone at the same time. One thing’s for sure, though: comfort is integral in maintaining workers’ well-being for productivity.

So, what can businesses do to ensure they’re implementing energy-efficient, cost-effective heating and cooling solutions? How can you address employees’ expectations of creating a comfortable working space? And, importantly, how are businesses expected to consume less power while meeting sustainability requirements?

Time to crunch the numbers 

Understanding how to maintain stable thermal conditions within a commercial space is the first step in optimising energy consumption in a building. To do this, it is necessary to get to grips with an area in terms of its function, potential noise restrictions, aesthetic parameters, and users' energy consumption patterns and temperature control requirements. These are crucial in formulating a strategy to make energy consumption cost-effective and sustainable. 

By coming up with answers to these questions, HVAC consultants, contractors and building managers will be able to mitigate dramatic temperature fluctuations that could have profound cost implications and affect employees' performance in their place of work.

Research quality HVAC solutions for sustainability 

Considerations for sustainability will include investing in eco-friendly HVAC solutions that save money and inflict minimal harm on the environment. The idea is to maximise a building’s value by installing an HVAC system that ensures energy is consumed efficiently while keeping a close eye on costs.

Ideally, these optimised HVAC systems should address all climate needs while providing fresh, purified air for different business environments. Another non-negotiable that helps save energy is having direct access to an integrated energy monitoring and management system that tracks energy usage patterns and reduces operational costs.

Invest in the latest HVAC technology for ultimate energy efficiency

To find the best possible HVAC system for any given space, you need to consider office standards, cost, performance, existing systems, visual impact, and available space. Fortunately, LG delivers powerful HVAC solutions that can meet a variety of needs. LG HVAC offers a diverse and highly efficient range of control solutions that satisfy the specific needs of each building and its users. These controlling systems are equipped with a user-friendly interface, flexible interlocking environments, and energy management functionality for optimised controlling conditions and smart building management.

Ideally suited to high-rise residential and office buildings, hospitals, educational institutions, and other high-traffic spaces such as airports, the LG MULTI V 5 features state-of-the-art cooling, heating, and seasonal efficiency monitoring technology that provides maximum energy efficiency while minimising operational costs. At the same time, human detection sensors automatically adjust the flow and operation of air to increase energy efficiency, ensuring consistent temperature control with no interruptions. 

LG's latest Smart Inverter Single Split solutions are all equipped with the company's advanced Smart Inverter Technology that brings about instant comfort and reduced noise, maximum reliability, and the ultimate convenience. 

Clean and comfortable

Failing to keep employees comfortable is not an option in today’s business context, and an HVAC system is essential for maintaining a good working temperature, but they also have a role to play when it comes to filtering air. One of the best ways to prevent pollutants from finding their way into an office is by ensuring that fresh air circulates throughout the space. The all-new LG Ceiling Mounted Cassette is equipped with an air purification function available as an additional option. 

Offering an effective 5-step air purification filter, the Air Purification Kit removes odour, pollen, spores, germs, and invisible dust, supplying fresh air free from contaminants.

Streamlined performance and efficiency

LG’s HVAC solutions are maintained with the LG BECON cloud, which gives users access to monitor and control their systems that enables rapid repair and preventative maintenance using the real-time data.  This cloud-based system allows for performance to be remotely optimised for comfort and optimised energy consumption. This not only reduces maintenance times but minimises CO2 emissions and decreases running costs.

Ultimately, investing in a quality, long-term HVAC strategy leads to short- and long-term solutions that translate to a happy and energy-efficient workspace.