The DrivePak Differences: DrivePak vs. Factory VFDs
As electricity prices continue to rise, the phone lines and inboxes of the NexRev team are busy with incoming queries from businesses of all sizes across the US who all want – and need – to better manage, and reduce, the energy consumption of their commercial buildings.
In our earlier blog How does HVAC optimization boost your bottom line? we discussed how, in most commercial buildings, HVAC systems are the largest individual sources of energy consumption and, in turn, drivers of cost.
Far too many HVACs are running on their factory settings with no customization for the real-life environment of the building they are serving. Factory settings tend to use a “one size fits all” approach that address extreme case scenarios, but make no adjustments for site specific weather patterns, humidity, and building environments.
That’s not all – even solutions that have been adopted, such as the addition of VFDs often don’t deliver the savings they could. Failure to optimize means that there are benefits that have yet to be unlocked. In this blog, we’ll explain why and how we can help you make the most of such solutions.
What are the benefits of HVAC optimization?
HVAC optimization delivers a number of benefits which we outlined in our earlier blog including:
- Reduced downtime
- Lower energy consumption
- Extended equipment lifespan
- Better quality of indoor environment
- Simplified system operation
Reducing energy use by adjusting a factory-installed Variable Frequency Drive
Adjusting the Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) is a key part of the HVAC optimization process. You can find a full explanation of VFDs here but essentially a VFD:
“is a device that converts a fixed AC voltage and frequency into an adjustable AC voltage and frequency. It is used to control the speed of an AC motor. By adjusting the voltage and frequency the AC induction motor can operate at many different speeds”.
The main advantage of installing a VFD in an HVAC unit is that it can reduce the amount of energy consumed by matching the blower speed to the load.
Factory VFDs vs DrivePak
Factory VFDs are becoming more and more common as increasing amounts of mechanical codes require the presence of VFDs in new HVAC units. Unfortunately, many of these don’t deliver optimal results. That’s because most factory VFDs operate at pre-set levels and follow the one-size-fits-all approach that is not optimized for local conditions.
DrivePak is NexRev’s energy-saving upgrade for existing packaged rooftop air conditioning units, found in quantity on nearly all retail, restaurants, grocery, finance, travel and leisure, entertainment, federal, municipal and Government buildings, schools and universities.
There are multiple advantages from deploying NexRev’s DrivePak instead of a factory VFD:
First, we don’t do factory settings.
DrivePak changes HVAC fans from constant speed to variable speed by matching fan speed to actual load requirements. We also take the time to adjust all manner of settings including standard temperatures.
We customize for every building
We know that “One-size does not fit all” and wrote about this here: One-size does not fit all. How to reduce the energy requirements of all the commercial buildings of your organization, regardless of location
We understand that the energy consumption of commercial buildings varies according to location and so we do not have a one-size-fits-all approach.
At NexRev we work with our customers to ensure that they balance the needs of their customers and employees (comfort) and the needs of their business (e.g. refrigeration for perishable goods).
Attractive ROIs
We’re specialists with economies of scale across our product range.
DrivePak users report an average of 15 percent overall facility energy savings. Simple paybacks commonly are in the twelve to eighteen month range; with larger units, they can be less than twelve months.
You can read more about DrivePak and how it can reduce the amount of fan energy by more than 75% in our DrivePak FAQ.
We can integrate your existing equipment with Freedom, NexRev’s building and energy management system
This provides users with a centralized view of connected devices, sensors, meters, as well as NexRev DrivePak deployments.
We can optimize existing VFDs for additional savings
If an HVAC unit has a factory VFD, NexRev can perform optimization based on local variables and adjust the settings in the VFD. So, even if your HVAC units have VFDs already installed, we can still implement DrivePak for additional savings.
Our team
We are experts in HVAC optimization. This is what we do all day every day. Our team of 200 include the engineers in our thriving R&D lab. All of NexRev’s products are proudly Made in the USA where all design and manufacturing is originated in NexRev facilities
Our customers
Our customers include Home Depot, Lowes, Floor & Décor, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ross, Burlington, At Home, Academy Sports, Pilot/Flying, Walmart, Aldi. Bank of America – and movie theaters across America including Cinemark, Regal, AMC and CMX.
These companies have deliberately chosen NexRev’s DrivePak to improve the energy efficiency of their packaged rooftop HVAC equipment rather than a generic Variable-Frequency-Drive (VFD) system.
Time to reduce how much energy your commercial buildings are using
To start the conversation about how you can reduce energy consumption, and slow down energy waste, please send a message to: