As we move into the future, there are plenty of optimal behaviors we can take to ensure a safe journey. This is where the concept of a circular economy comes into play. Within a circular economy, the goal is to have a self sustaining system as much as possible. Eliminating waste, recycling resources, and designing efficient parts pushes us to a future of sustainability and consistency. There are many innovations and advancements with technology that have made things easier for us, it is only natural we look to implement these “hacks” to every sector. HVAC currently is contributing to a lot of the gas emissions, and improving emissions is a top concern. For a more in depth look, take a look at our post on decarbonization in HVAC.
Economic Circularity
As mentioned previously, a circular economic landscape deals with a lot of reusing, being efficient with resources, and regenerating. Conversely, “take, make, dispose” is the traditional, more linear economic approach that we are used to. We are consuming more resources at a macro level, and need to implement measures for sustainability. Circularity not only deals with how we use resources, it also focuses on building efficient systems. It is synonymous with advancements in tech and us being able to utilize it. Furthermore, through recycling and refurbishing we can focus on creating reusable or renewable devices. It is magnified even more so in HVAC, an industry heavily reliant on quality of components.
HVAC Circularity – Why It’s Needed
Sustainability is going to be a very large focus on all of our processes moving forward, with concepts like circularity at the forefront. Within HVAC specifically, emissions and energy efficiency are major focuses. We want to avoid being wasteful with our usage, and we want more efficient machines to accommodate our increased usage. At this rate of consumption, we are taking in more than we put back into the ecosystem, making global warming a self fulfilling prophecy. Technological advancements can certainly mitigate how long it takes to get to a bleak future, but it is inevitable unless we make changes. Primarily it involves making a core ideology shift to be more contributive, attempting to match consumption.
Primary Strategies for HVAC Circularity
End-of-life recycling – Once older HVAC units are replaced, it is important to mitigate the amount of wasted parts and materials, and use them in the future. Furthermore, utilizing reusable parts promotes production of more refurbished units. Although not as shiny and new as a new unit, a refurbished unit eliminates waste by a substantial amount.
Better product design – More effective design can be just as important as better controlled usage. Making units that don’t need proprietary parts, and ones that last longer must be a continued focus.
Regulations – There must be a level of procedure or order to ensure efficiency of these units, and that comes from government standards. Elements such as SEER rating give visibility to the end user, supplier, and manufacturer of the expected requirement for these units. Over time we do expect there to me more shifts in uniformity across parts used, making more units interchangeable.
Reduced Reliance on Non-Renewable Sources – Fortunately for us locally, we are in a situation where a heat pump will handle most if not all of our heating needs. This reduces the need for gas based furnaces, as natural gas is a finite resource.
Challenges to Achieving Circularity in HVAC
As we mentioned earlier with regulations being beneficial, they can also be a negative for circularity in HVAC. Further standardization must be adopted with hardware advancements in the industry. A secondary challenge is the knowledge of the user base. Educating end users must be a priority of the industry moving forward, making everyone aware of how to be efficient with their units. Furthermore, trying to shift away from hazardous refrigerant will take some time to achieve as well. There are a lot of systems that will take multiple years to slowly implement for efficiency but time is a big factor.
Concluding Thoughts
The premise of circularity is great, and bringing awareness within HVAC is much needed. We want to move to a greener and more sustainable future, and to do this everybody has to be on board. Awareness from the end users, manufacturers using more generic parts, distributors incentivizing newer units – it all matters. With the movements we are taking towards sustainability(such as California’s goal to be using exclusively heat pumps by 2030), there is a bright look to the future ahead. As technology gets better, our units will be able to meet our growing needs effectively. However, it is very important that we as users understand our part as well.