Energy

Efficiency
Solutions SKF actuators help buildings
cut energy use by 30–50 %
Benefits Actuator and control units from SKF allow self-regulating blind systems
• Reduces energy use to keep buildings warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer.
50 % in summer
•R
 educes energy use
SKF – deflecting energy demand
30–35 % in winter
Particularly well suited for glass-clad
• Cuts unwanted solar buildings, a secondary glass facade is
absorption by 89 % a system of self-regulating glass blinds
on warm days that automatically capture and deflect
• Glass panels allow heat. In the winter, blinds deflect heat
toward the building; in the summer,
light to permeate while
they deflect it away.
reducing glare
SKF technology is at the heart of this
system, allowing it to function more
On average, the Heating, Ventilation practically and reliably. Linked to the
and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system in building’s HVAC system management
office buildings accounts for roughly software, SKF actuators and control units
one-third of the structure’s total energy allow the blinds to automatically respond
use. In glass facade buildings, HVAC to the sun, as well as other factors such
energy needs are even greater, since such as nearby buildings and clouds. The
structures readily lose heat in the winter, result? The SKF-enabled system reduces
and become heat-trapping greenhouses HVAC energy use as much as 30–35 %
in the summer. in the winter, and 50 % in the summer.
With global energy demand expected to
double in the next 50 years, developing
and implementing solutions that reduce
HVAC energy use is essential. More
efficient HVAC equipment, programmable
thermostats and “green” roofing tech-
niques are already protecting buildings
worldwide from interior energy loss. SKF
is helping to control interior temperatures
by enabling another HVAC solution – the
secondary glass facade.

Eight hundred SKF actuators control

eight hundred secondary glass window
panes at the Parliament building
in Brussels, home to the European
Commission and a leader in “green”
building technology.
SKF energy efficiency solutions
SKF knowledge and engineering can help you address the growing need
to reduce energy consumption, in your products and/or your process.

Office building energy efficiency With help from SKF, it can get
is improving even better
In 1973, the typical high-rise office The SKF-enabled secondary glass
building consumed 600 kWh per m2, facade system can help the most energy
per year. With the development and efficient buildings cut their yearly HVAC
implementation of green technologies costs by an average of 40 %. As HVAC
since then, this average has dropped energy consumption represents roughly
substantially. a third of an office building’s total
energy use, that average 40 % savings
Today, many office buildings worldwide is quite significant, see table below.
have been able to cut their energy con-
sumption to 200 kWh per m2, per year.
Improved construction techniques, more
efficient HVAC equipment, programmable
thermostats, “green” roofing techniques
and more have combined for much
improved energy efficiency. But there’s
still much room for improvement.

)
Energy-saving example – office building HVAC systems*

Annual energy use (total) 200 kWh per m2

Annual energy usage (HVAC) 67 kWh per m2

Annual energy savings (HVAC) 27 kWh per m2

Energy savings for 100 000 m2 building 2,7 million

kWh per year

*) Energy savings calculated on the basis of an average of 40 % decrease

in HVAC energy costs for one year after installation ofa secondary glass
facade with electrically driven actuators.

® SKF is a registered trademark of the SKF Group. © SKF Group 2007.

Publication 6440 EN
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prior written permission is granted. Every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in
this publication but no liability can be accepted for any loss or damage whether direct, indirect or consequential arising
out of the use of the information contained herein. Any cost savings and revenue increases in this publication are based
on results experienced by SKF customers and do not constitute a guarantee that any future results will be the same.
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