Zed AC

The Zed AC’s work at 46% of energy use of conventional AC’s (which are, of course, high on ozone-harming substances). They use 100 p.c. fresh air, unlike your regular machine that draws about 8 p.c. fresh air in its hours of working. These work on the thermal transfer from the central chiller plant, and so T-Zed saves the energy cost of the 300 pumps that are needed for these Fan Coil Units. The annual carbon emission reduction credit on just these 300 AC’s at the campus is 900 tonnes! Remember, too, that there is a huge financial saving for each homeowner month after month, year upon year. This is luxury and urban convenience at its best, at the least cost to the planet. District ACs and refrigeration employed at T-Zed are IPR-ed by BCIL. The organization is willing to share the technology at a very nominal cost for organizations that are not–for–profit, and which seek to further these green directions into the future.

AC that’s Easy on the Purse

It works on fresh air. Has no energy-guzzling motors. It is sleek. It’s environment friendly to boot.

Here is a reinvention of the wheel – for it is a technology that is at least thirty years old, and high on performance and endurance. Read on to know more. One of the reasons we went for the Zed AC is that, here is a powerful demonstration of how the world can have an urban convenience, while making the least impact on the natural environment. While physically they are similar to stand-alone systems, much like the Split or window AC that you get on the market, there is a big difference in how they work.

Air Modulation

The Zed AC is also termed the air modulating and cooling system because a modulating valve critically is activated by a thermostat which responds to the temperature outside, and ensures that the valve opens to let chilled water into the radiator coil only when the moisture [call it humidity if you like] is high.

The conventional split AC works at its capacity [of 1.5 TR] regardless of the moisture present or the temperature, and so consumes higher energy. To add further, the system is a hybrid air conditioner that uses water as a refrigerant as well as a medium. The primary refrigerant is the benign harmless chemical, ammonia, which is used at the central chilling plant at the Service Core, feeding the ACs in your home on a distribution grid. The Zed AC system does not use any water in the incoming fresh air—it is therefore not like the water cooler. It uses water for heat exchange alone, and that is returned to the atmosphere. The system gets fitted like a window air conditioner in specially designed wall recesses in each room. It is compact and elegant. The system size is compact — 2’6” wide and two feet high. It is 3 feet deep. The system design is contemporary, with the cabinet carrying all the heat exchanger systems. It also features a state-of-the-art low-voltage control panel.

There are the following differences:—
a. The air is fresh.
b. It has more oxygen.
c. It is filtered to 10 micron.
d. The system announces the need for filter cleaning automatically. It has a differential pressure switch that is activated when the pressure changes—it sets off a beep. The change will be needed, usually, once in three months, if not earlier. This is a local maintenance job that the campus engineer will be trained to take care. Costs Rs. 50 per change, and takes less than 10 minutes.

It is a window air-conditioner split into two parts. The compressor and condenser are placed outside. The cooling part is brought inside.

How would you compare traditional split ACs with the Zed AC?

The split AC uses even more power than a window air conditioner, which itself is quite inefficient. It has absolutely no provision for bringing in fresh air and exhausting the foul indoor air. The air filter often is capable of filtering only large particles from 20 to 50 micron size. All refrigeration systems cool and dehumidify the indoor air by passing it over the radiators cooled by the refrigerant, and this cooled air is recirculated in the room to pick up the room heat. The process continues, but continues to recirculate carpet glue smells, body odour, formaldehyde vapour from plywood and laminates, and so on. It recirculates animal dander from pets, too. The recirculation process damages Indoor Air Quality as we humans, need oxygen to breathe and convert it to carbon di-oxide constantly. The recirculated air becomes oxygen deficient and causes potentially damage to human memory besides few other complications, in the long run, with very regular usage.
On the contrary, the Zed AC uses fresh air ventilation as the backbone of temperature and humidity control, and uses heat recovery as the key component for cooling or heating, unlike the split AC systems that use refrigeration as the backbone. The cooling [or refrigeration] system in split AC demands the building is disconnected from its ambient. Whereas the Zed AC is linked to the ambient and makes full use of nature’s fresh and cool air whenever possible during day or night. This makes it highly energy–efficient and eco-friendly, capable of delivering the best indoor air quality at all times. The Zed AC will be less noisy if not better than the split AC, because there is no compressor nearby. It will be as cool as you wish—even more so than a Split AC if you want it to be, and there is little as maintenance. A good split should cost Rs 30,000 or more for each room. A company called General, represented in India by ETA, has announced a whole house stand-alone system that costs around Rs 3 lacs. It has a special compressor. If it fails after the warranty period you will spend about 50 per cent of the original investment since the spares have to be shipped from out of the country.

Time Meter
As for the chilled water that is the lifeline for the functioning of the AC in your home, there will be a ‘time–meter’ installed for each AC in your house. This will record the number of hours of usage of each of the ACs in the bedrooms, only when you use the full AC mode. This meter will not be activated when you activate the fresh air mode. So you pay only for use of the chilling mode. You have your controls in your home to shut off all systems. In addition, the central service facility will close the service to your home to avoid any misuse in your absence. There are little risks, safety hazards. Less risk than your water lines bursting, as the pipes used are copper and have limitless life.

You pay Rs 4 per AC per hour on the basis of the time–gauge, which revenue will go to cover the costs of running the central chilling plant. This is against Rs. 9 per hour for a split or window AC.

How the Zed AC System operates:
The main system is located in the Service Core facility. Chilled brine is circulated to each room in your home to cool it. Between air and water, water is easiest to handle for transporting long distances. The human body needs air movement to feel comfortable. We use brine water and glycol to carry the cooling and use air to provide you comfort in your home. Smoking in the house, and kitchen smoke, will make no difference to the air modulation because it is fresh air-based, and is not dependent on recirculation. This is an unusual system that does not rely on electricity at your house for running. There are two small fans and motors inside the system that will be billed with the lighting bill you receive per month on the power meter for your house. That's all.