To demonstrate the positive impact of choosing sustainable products, Carrier Corp. has launched its CO2NSERVATION Meter, which calculates avoided greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a result of the installation of high efficiency Carrier air conditioning, heating and refrigeration systems by customers around the world since 2000. Carrier Corp., a unit of United Technologies Corp., is the world’s leader in high technology heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) solutions, improving the world around us through engineered innovation and environmental stewardship.
“Energy efficiency is really a two-part proposition in our business,” says Geraud Darnis, president of Carrier Corp. “We invest in new technologies to advance the efficiency of our products, and building owners invest to secure the benefits of that efficiency in their properties. The Carrier CO2NSERVATION Meter demonstrates the power of that choice.”
Buildings in the United States alone consume approximately 40 percent of all energy, and within buildings, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems account for approximately 35 percent of energy use. Carrier has consistently invested in energy efficient technologies to assist its customers in lowering that energy demand and the associated greenhouse gas emissions.
To illustrate the avoided GHG emissions associated with energy efficient products in use and to emphasize the impact of choosing more efficient products, Carrier developed the Carrier CO2NSERVATION Meter. The model compares the projected GHG emissions from select Carrier products to emissions from comparable baseline products, with the difference representing the avoided emissions. As of Nov. 16, 2010, the Carrier CO2NSERVATION Meter showed Carrier customers have avoided 70,087,194 metric tons of GHG emissions, equivalent to the electricity use of 8.5 million U.S. homes for one year, by choosing high efficiency Carrier products since 2000.
“Carrier has developed an innovative way to show the importance of energy efficient choices,” states Harvey Sachs, senior fellow, American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
“Carrier’s CO2NSERVATION Meter is a powerful demonstration that technologies exist today to significantly reduce the energy consumption of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems,” says John Mandyck, Carrier vice president for Sustainability & Environmental Strategies.
TIAX LLC, an independent, third-party technology company operating laboratories with over 100 scientists, engineers and industry experts, has validated the reductions, according to John Dieckmann, TIAX director, HVAC and Refrigeration Technology. “TIAX has conducted a thorough review of the models used to calculate the ongoing reduction of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) greenhouse gas emissions that can be attributed to the high efficiency refrigeration and space cooling and heating products that Carrier produces and sells globally, as displayed by the CO2NSERVATION Meter,” Dieckmann says. “We have found that the CO2NSERVATION Meter provides a solid estimate of the CO2e emission reductions attributable to the high efficiency products that Carrier has sold since 2000 in several product categories.”
Carrier’s CO2NSERVATION Meter can be found at the company’s new sustainability microsite at www.carrier.com/green.