SEER, SCOP & SEPR: What are they?
From 2018, due to the increasingly strict European regulations, all manufacturers of HVAC&R units and chillers are being required to have an energy class label corresponding to at least A+, under certain conditions. This label and energy value have become essential for Chiller and Heat pumps manifacturers to be able to continue selling the machines in Europe, thus beign able to go on with their business. The label is filled with the European, SEER, SCOP & SEPR energy indexes, i. e. numbers that in turn determine the energy class displayed on the label. Let’s look at these indexes in detail:
SEER: an energy index for chillers, i. e. for all machines whose purpose is water and air cooling.
SCOP: the energy index for heat pumps, i. e. machines whose purpose is the water or air heating.
SEPR: an energy index only for water cooling. SEPR also applies only to industrial chillers, i. e. machines with a significantly higher power range.
We can therefore apply a first distinction: if SEER and SCOP are energy indexes used in the civil/residential segment of the market, the SEPR is only linked to the industrial segment. These indexes are the natural evolution of the COP and EER indexes, with a fundamental difference. If, in fact, the previous indexes included punctual values, calculating the machine at a given condition, these new ones try instead to determine with a single value the level of efficiency of a machine considering a one year time span. Only in the case of SCOP we also have 3 climate categories to consider: Average, Warmer and Colder. SEPR and SEER only have the Average climate category. In the case of machines that need to take care of heating or cooling water, so most of them, these climate levels are also divided into different temperature sizes linked to the water to be produced: low, medium, intermediate and high.
But how is the energy index calculated in in practical terms? SEER, SCOP & SEPR are calculated according to the climate category (for SEPR and SEER, with Average. For SCOP with Average, Warmer or Colder) and at a certain temperature size. For this combination, climate category and temperature size, performance ranges are created, and for these ranges we will have an energy class, the minimum of which is A+. The energy class must be declared: if it is not declared and is below the minimum value, it will not be possible for the manufacturer to sell its units in Europe. Finally, the legislation requests for a specific report to be compiled according to predefined rules and accompanied by the already mentioned label.
On request, Unilab offers the possibility to add to its SHARK software the calculation of the SEER, SCOP & SEPR energy indexes, including the possibility to print the report according to regulations, and the energy label to which the customer can add his company logo. For further information, clarification and questions, please do not hesitate to contact our sales team at sales@unilab.eu .
