Upgrading Your Business’s Heating, Ventilation, or Air Conditioning Can Help Cut Costs and Increase Comfort

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) can make up a significant portion of a business’s energy costs. By upgrading to new efficient HVAC systems, a business owner can save energy and money while improving comfort for employees and patrons. 

To help businesses reduce their costs and energy consumption, Efficiency Maine’s Commercial and Industrial Prescriptive Program offers incentives to Maine businesses that install eligible heating, cooling, and ventilation technology. The program offers a variety of eligible systems to accommodate almost any business type. Read through our HVAC measures below to see what could be a good fit for your business. 

High-Performance Heat Pumps

High-performance heat pump units can be used by businesses for both heating and cooling needs while saving energy and money. Units must meet the minimum HSPF (Heating Season Performance Factor) requirements in order to qualify for incentives from Efficiency Maine.

Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) Systems

VRFs can simultaneously heat and cool different parts of a building. These systems can be very efficient because they can take waste heat captured in one part of the building (e.g., a server room, or the face of the building exposed to the sun) and deliver it to spaces requiring heat. Because they rely on a different distribution network than is present in most existing buildings, variable refrigerant flow systems are most often installed in new buildings or as part of large renovation projects.

Packaged Terminal Heat Pumps (PTHP) and Vertical Packaged Terminal Heat Pumps

PTHPs are heating and cooling systems used for individual rooms, typically seen in the hospitality industry. Vertical packaged terminal heat pumps are very similar to PTHP technology, except they offer a different option for installation space. Both PTHP and vertical units are self-contained heating and cooling systems with a permanent electrical connection. Both systems also use outdoor air as a source of heat in the winter and cool air in the summer. 

Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERV)

In a commercial setting ERVs are used to condition outside air that ventilates into a building, taking the load off of a heating or cooling system and making it more efficient. There are several types of ERVs depending on the needs of a building; rotary heat exchanger, plate heat exchanger, heat pump heat exchanger, and runaround coil heat exchanger. 

Variable-Frequency Drives (VFDs)

VFDs are systems that modulate the electric motor speed for water loop systems through changes in frequency, allowing the heating or cooling system in a building to run more efficiently. These are offered as a retrofit measure installed on a current HVAC system.

Visit our Heating and Cooling page to learn more or to get started on a project. You can also click here to see a full list of incentives for these systems.