Concepcion-Carrier Air-Conditioning Company, in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), recently completed the installation of new, energy-efficient chillers in one of the largest banks in the Philippines, which is one of the beneficiaries of the Philippine Chiller Energy Efficiency Project (PCEEP).

The PCEEP aims to encourage establishments in both private and public sectors to replace their old and inefficient chillers with environment-friendly and more energy-efficient ones by giving them a subsidy that is equivalent to 15% of the total cost of new chillers. This most recent project of Carrier received an estimated subsidy of Php3 million to replace two old chillers that have been in use for more than three decades now.

With assistance from the World Bank and funding from the Global Environment Facility and the Ozone Trust Fund, PCEEP began in 2013, when a five-star hotel in the busy center of Makati was the first to be outfitted with the Carrier 23XRV Evergreen.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, buildings consume about 40% of global energy and are the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. “In tropical countries like the Philippines, the air-conditioning system, especially the chiller plant, consumes 45 percent of the overall energy that powers an entire building,” says Rajan Komarasu, Group Director of the Building and Industrial Solutions (BIS) arm of Concepcion Industrial Corp.

“There are still buildings in the country that operate on older model chillers using chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as refrigerants, which are harmful to the ozone layer. Now that there is greater imperative to reduce GHG emissions, environment-friendly options have become increasingly available in the market. If more buildings would switch to green cooling systems, the resulting impact would be a significant reduction in carbon emissions,” Komarasu adds. “Through the PCEEP, we have enabled major building operators in the country to make that switch.”

The latest beneficiary of the PCEEP replaced its old chillers with two new Carrier 19XR Centrifugal Chillers, which can achieve high energy efficiency levels with their semi-hermetic compressor motors. The new Carrier chiller also uses a chlorine-free hydrofluorocarbon-134a refrigerant (R134a) that does not deplete the ozone layer. Since the installation was completed, it was found that electricity costs have decreased from Php10 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to only about Php7 per kWh.

The latest report by the World Bank says that the PCEEP has already replaced 29 chillers to date, with 33 more to go until the project closes in 2017. The new chillers are said to have reduced energy consumption by more than 11 gigawatt-hours (GWh) and avoided over 38 kilotons (kt) of carbon dioxide equivalents or greenhouse gas emissions.

Keeping its commitment to mitigate the effects of climate change, Concepcion Industrial Inc. (CIC) recently launched the Green Footprints Movement, a campaign that aims to encourage individuals and businesses to reduce their carbon footprint. In terms of air-conditioning usage, the campaign recommends that air-conditioners older than ten years be replaced with new units or upgraded to inverter units to help reduce carbon emission. Users are also urged to take advantage of the energy-saving features of air-conditioners and clean the units regularly to maximize energy-efficiency while bringing down carbon emissions.

“As the threats brought about by climate change become more manifest in our daily lives, we believe that these initiatives in the Philippines is only one step towards ensuring a future that is resilient in the face of extreme weather patterns and temperatures,” shares Komarasu. “Together with the DENR, we are confident that this project would help the market shift to more energy-efficient cooling technologies that result in long-term energy savings, as well as healthier and more productive environments.”