Analysis of air conditioning system options for a public building, optimizing equipment costs and energy consumption

Air conditioning systems are essential for thermal comfort in public buildings, but they consume a lot of energy. This study analyzed six air conditioning systems (air and water chillers with fancoils and cassettes, VRF and Split) for a 5-storey building with 500 m² per floor, located in a hot climate (ZB8), in order to identify the most efficient option in terms of energy consumption and implementation cost. The results show that chiller and fancoil systems have higher energy consumption, while chiller and cassette evaporator systems offer the best cost-benefit ratio, despite the higher initial investment. In summary, modernization, optimization and choosing the right air conditioning project are fundamental to reducing energy consumption.