CSIRO engineers have designed and commissioned a new, state-of-the-art national test facility to evaluate the electrical, cooling and heating performance of conventional and solar-powered Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems.

How do you know if the star ratings on your air conditioner really perform as they state on the label?

CSIRO engineers have designed and commissioned a new, state-of-the-art air conditioner test facility to evaluate the electrical, cooling and heating performance of conventional and solar-powered systems.

Air conditioning and heating accounts for 22% of the electrical use in Australia, and contributes 7% to the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. Nearly three-quarters of Australian households have air conditioners and HVAC typically accounts for up to 40% of business energy bills.

The demand for new HVAC technology continues to grow alongside rising consumer preferences for products that offer greater energy efficiency and performance.

The National Heating Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) Performance Test Facility, located at the CSIRO Energy Centre in Newcastle, New South Wales, is able to simulate the climate conditions of a winter in Hobart to a tropical summer in Darwin.

CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship’s solar cooling research leader, Dr Stephen White, says the facility will greatly enhance Australia’s capability to perform ratings and Minimum Energy Performance (MEPS) testing of new and existing products on the Australian market.

“For the large number of HVAC systems available in the Australian market, only a few test facilities exist to validate manufacturer’s claims regarding the thermal and electrical performance of their product,” he says.

This facility expands Australia’s capacity to undertake spot-checks on products already on the market, and validate new products, giving accurate information that can eventually be used for product labelling.

“It offers industry new resources to develop innovative products, test new product assembly combinations or undertake specific tests on novel and conventional air conditioning systems.

“Consumers are also winners because they will be able to have accurate information they can rely on to assist in making better purchase choices.”

The facility has been designed to test the electrical, cooling and heating performance of air conditioners under rating conditions and under transient simulated global weather conditions, from 2°C to 45°C.

It houses a balanced ambient calorimeter, built to Australian and international standards, which can be connected to the TRNSYS simulation package for hour-by-hour heat load analysis.

The calorimeter is comprised of two test rooms with precisely controlled ambient temperature and humidity conditions to simulate an indoor and outdoor environment

Test equipment is placed inside the rooms of the calorimeter and then exposed to the desired indoor and outdoor test conditions.

Precision instrumentation, data acquisition and control equipment are used to tightly control the desired room temperature and humidity and monitor the test air-conditioner electrical and thermodynamic performance.

For example, if a split system air conditioner was being tested, the indoor unit is placed in one room in a simulated indoor environment, while the outdoor unit is placed in the other room in a simulated outdoor environment.

The facility also features a variety of solar thermal collectors, which can be swapped via a ‘plug and play’ arrangement, to evaluate the performance of solar air conditioners with flat panel or evacuated tube solar collectors.

Air conditioning also contributes significantly to peak-load pressure on the electricity network and is driving the demand for upgrades to the existing electricity infrastructure.

As part of its integrated approach to helping Australia transition to a low-emission, prosperous energy future, CSIRO is developing innovative and cost-effective solar cooling technologies using this facility, to cut emissions and reduce seasonal peak loads.

This facility adds to CSIRO’s existing suite of research and test facilities, and is also available to industry for research and development.