by Shane Henson — May 28, 2012—Daikin McQuay, formerly McQuay International and part of global Fortune 1000 company Daikin Industries, has earned the distinction of becoming the first company to meet the Department of Energy’s (DOE) High Performance Rooftop Unit (RTU) Challenge.
The RTU Challenge, aimed at spurring the market introduction of cost-effective, high-performance commercial rooftop unit air conditioners, was announced in January 2011. Five manufacturers—Daikin McQuay, Carrier, Lennox, 7AC Technologies, and Rheem—are participating in this challenge to commercialize highly efficient commercial air conditioners that satisfy a DOE-issued specification for energy savings and performance.
The companies have until April 1, 2013, to submit a product for independent evaluation according to the specification. When built to meet the specification, these units are expected to reduce energy use by as much as 50% over current standards. Nationwide, if all 10 to 20-ton RTUs met the specification, businesses would save more than $1 billion each year in energy costs, helping American companies better compete on a global scale, says the DOE.
Daikin McQuay’s Rebel rooftop unit system, submitted long before the deadline, met the specification. The commercial packaged rooftop system offers building owners unprecedented energy savings using quality manufactured McQuay equipment incorporated with advanced, industry-leading technologies. Rebel’s innovative design creates air-conditioning part-load energy efficiencies that overwhelmingly surpass ASHRAE’s 90.1 performance standard by a “staggering” 71%, says the company.
The DOE says that Daikin McQuay, like manufacturers nationwide, have a strong motivation to produce highly energy-efficient air conditioning units for commercial buildings. Members in the DOE’s Commercial Buildings Energy Alliances (CBEA), such as Target, Walmart, and other participating commercial building owners have expressed an interest in equipment that meets the new energy efficiency specification at an affordable price. The DOE is evaluating potential demonstration sites for high-performing products that meet the RTU Challenge. In addition, the DOE is also developing analytical tools that enable businesses to more accurately estimate the energy and cost savings of using high performance RTUs in their facilities.
