Industry Leaders Interview: Robert Johnson

Trane is a leading global provider of indoor comfort systems and comprehensive facility solutions, with current annual sales approaching $5 billion. Its products include energy-efficient heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, top-notch service and parts support, sophisticated building controls, and financial solutions, including the Performance Agreement for Comfort from Trane (PACT™).

Trane is a business of American Standard Companies, a Fortune 500 company and a leader in the air conditioning, plumbing, and vehicle braking systems markets.

e-FFICIENCY NEWS: As an international company, American Standard and Trane Commercial Systems produce some of the world’s leading energy efficient heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Why does Trane see energy-efficiency as a cornerstone for its products and how has this benefited them in the market place?

ROBERT JOHNSON: Trane's energy-efficiency commitment is a vital part of the company's culture. If you look at the history of Trane, you see the commitment to energy efficiency at every step. In the 1970s Trane introduced a benchmark industry program, "Trane for Energy Fitness," that elevated our commitment to energy efficiency. Since the early 1980s, we have offered the most efficient centrifugal chiller in the industry. Our CenTraVac Earthwise chiller is up to 18 percent more energy efficient than alternatives.
Trane is an active participant in global green building initiatives, working closely with organizations such as the U.S. Green Building Council (LEED) and the World Green Building Council. Our commitment to energy efficiency is visible in our R&D priorities, across our product and service portfolios and in the efforts of Trane people to support our customers while preserving the environment.
Around the world, building owners, developer, architects and customers tell us that they want an HVAC partner who can provide integrated systems and services that make their buildings work better. Our reputation is built upon providing our customers products and systems that are good for their business and good for the environment. This focus has benefited us in the marketplace primarily because helping our customers achieve their environmental priorities allows us to improve sales and meet our environmental responsibility goals.

e-FFICIENCY NEWS: In addition to its energy-efficiency focus, how is Trane’s HVAC equipment designed to reduce pollutants such as green house gas emissions and noise?

ROBERT JOHNSON: Superior engineering design is a common thread that enables Trane to deliver on our environmental promise and lead the HVAC industry in development of environmentally responsible systems. With more than 1,100 engineers, we have pioneered world-class machining technology to ensure a light, yet tight design, even at high pressures. Trane was the first in the HVAC industry to back technology with a leak-tight guarantee. (If the unit is leak-tight, refrigerant remains in the system will have a lower ozone depletion potential.) We also were the first to introduce an R-134a chiller, which became the CFC replacement pioneer. Trane recognizes that global warming, ozone depletion and other factors, such as indoor air quality, water conservation, recycle/reuse strategies and noise pollution all affect the environment. To assist building designers in reducing noise pollution, Trane acoustics program or TAP™ (acoustical analysis software) is used to model sound levels of HVAC systems. It estimates overall sound levels as well as the contribution of each component. As HVAC system components are added, moved or deleted, the program dynamically recalculates the resulting sound levels and provides information to the building designer to develop acoustically and environmentally responsible buildings.

e-FFICIENCY NEWS: Can you share with us some specific customer examples in which energy efficiency and reduced pollutant (GHG or noise) was an important business consideration for your customer’s purchasing decision?

ROBERT JOHNSON: Trane’s customer examples come from a variety of industries and geographies. To name just a few:

• Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station, with its nearly 4,000 active duty service members in South Carolina, utilized a Super Energy Savings Performance Contract to guarantee energy savings while improving the quality of life on the base. Trane supplied a broad range of systems and services, including a renewable energy solution: geothermal water source heat pumps. Energy savings are estimated at $457,299.
• New Bethel School District, with Trane’s help, earned the title of first high performance and LEED-certified school in Arkansas. Trane’s performance contract guarantees more than $50,000 in energy savings and more than $38,000 in cost savings over 15 years.
  Southfield High School, a Michigan National Exemplary School, which serves more than 1,700 student recently chose a complete HVAC system from Trane. We integrated new classroom air conditioning systems with our building automation system (Trane Tracer Summit®) to control both climate and lighting to reduce energy consumption. School officials tell us that we were chosen due to our reputation for providing a high level of indoor air quality and improved classroom acoustics.
• Ft. Knox Army Base in Ft. Knox, Kentucky selected Trane’s comfort-system equipment, control software (Trane’s Tracer Summit™) and maintenance packages to achieve lifetime energy efficiency and savings.The installation has reduced annual energy costs by over $1 million with an annual energy savings of 131,756 MMBtu.
• Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management in California is another interesting case study. We assisted the advisory board in exceeding California Energy Code’s Title 24 standards for energy efficiency. By installing a high efficiency chiller, Don Bren Hall surpassed its energy savings goals and exceeded the California Energy Code requirements by 31 percent. Additional benefits of this chiller include extremely low refrigerant leak rate (R-123). In fact, as of June 2005, there has been zero leakage of the R-123 refrigerant among the 3,800 tons of Trane chiller capacity on the campus.

e-FFICIENCY NEWS: Does Trane help to educate its customers about these different types of environmental and economic benefits? For example do you have any energy management programs or educational seminars for small business, retail stores and school facility managers to teach them about the various aspects of energy consumption and utility of energy efficiency and low-noise products?