In commercial facilities, refrigeration and space cooling is responsible for roughly 20% of the building's energy consumption. RAISE Energy, the socially-responsible company that gave us Plug-n-Play LED tubes, now offers a treatment for air conditioning, refrigeration, and heating systems. Restore1030TM, the only 2nd generation Polarized Refrigerant Oil Additive HVAC optimizer that cleans, lubricates, and treats the internal components, promises to deliver up 30% energy savings compared to an untreated HVAC System. Sounds cool to me, so let's check it out.
Not Your Father's Additive
It seems like every machine that has liquid flowing through it has some sort of "miracle additive" that improves the machine's performance, and HVAC systems are no exception. The main energy sucking culprits are friction and clogging, both of which cause the unit to use more power to pump the refrigerant through the system. Well, that's an easy fix: just add lubricant. That works, but the solution presents its own problems. First, it causes oil fouling, a buildup of lubricant on the inner walls of the condenser and evaporator coils, which narrows the channel through which liquid can flow, and clogs valves and filters. Oil fouling is the "bad cholesterol" of a heat pump's cardiovascular system. Second, the oil buildup acts as an insulator, reducing heat transfer.
Early attempts to eliminate oil buildup involved detergents and other chemicals that did indeed remove the oil, but eventually damaged the "plumbing" and clogged the filters. Another line of products - Polarized Refrigerant Oil Additives - is more promising. PROAs consist of a polarized molecule that electrostatically bonds with metal, forming a one-molecule-thick coating that displaces dirt, oil, and other contaminants. According to RAISE Energy's Chief Technology Officer, Tom VanZeeland, most PROAs "do not have any chemical or mechanical bonding taking place. They charge their surfactants (particles) so that they are attracted to the tubing. This is a van der Waals force bond. The charge on the particles is similar to magnetizing a piece of metal. It will attract other metal, but only for a period of time." In 1995, the US Department of Energy endorsed the use of PROAs to improve HVAC efficiency.
A Second Generation PROA
RAISE Energy calls Restore1030 a second generation PROA that can treat HVAC units ranging in size from small, closed 2-ton HVAC DX systems, to large, several thousand ton open chiller systems. According to its developers, Restore1030 uses a multi-stage process, first removing the oil buildup and system fouling, then permanently, mechanically bonding with the inside of the pipes, and finally, circulating polymers throughout the refrigerant.
Using a patent pending blend of polymers, Restore1030 begins its task by removing oil deposits on the pipes. This reduces friction and improves heat transfer, allowing the unit to operate more quietly and efficiently. Next, a layer of PTFE (sometimes known as Teflon) forms a permanent, mechanical bond on the interior walls of the metal surfaces. The PTFE is inert and does not react with any metal or refrigerant so it is compatible with just about any coolant system.
PTFE's slickness prevents oil fouling, giving the heat pump a lifetime of low-friction, high heat-transfer operation. Tom VanZeeland explains the key difference between Restore1030 and first generation PROAs: "The PTFE is microscopic and is initially attracted to the tubing walls via van der Waals forces. It 'fills' into all of the microscopic crevasses in the metal. When the PTFE is heated during the thermodynamic process of the HVAC system, it enlarges and twists. This permanently locks itself into the microscopic crevasses. To remove it, you would have to physically file or scrape it out."
The non-charged polymer blend continues to circulate throughout the system, allowing the refrigerant to boil at a lower temperature. The lower boiling point means the refrigerant reaches the "state change" point sooner, which is where refrigeration occurs. As a result, the unit experiences a 70% improvement in the heat transfer of the HVAC unit.
Results
The Edison Testing Laboratory conducted several experiments to test both the safety and efficacy of Restore1030. Compatibility tests showed that it causes no harm to any HVAC components. Side-by- side testing showed that a system enhanced by Restore1030 consistently outperformed an untreated unit in terms of energy consumption, startup current, and cooling ability.
Lab testing is one thing, but how does it perform in the field? Company documentation, which includes third-party evaluation, shows a 5% to 25% energy savings in a variety of cases. One national retailer located in the southeast US made a $610 investment in Restore1030, adding it to a ten-year-old, 8.5-ton dual compressor HVAC unit. The customer reported a 17% energy savings, giving a short six-month payback period. The company estimates an overall $9M annual savings if it uses the additive in all of its 6000+ locations.
Restore1030 is sold through HVAC distributor Carrier Enterprises. Douglas Mackemer, Carrier Enterprise's National Director of Parts, Supplies, and Specialized Equipment says, "Based on the performance and enhancement results witnessed at several installations, Restore1030 could be a winner for businesses looking to reduce energy usage and extend equipment life."
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