The Green HVAC Research Project

Buildings account for large greenhouse gas emissions. In new buildings, heating, ventilation and sanitary facilities account for a full 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions related to material use. In rehabilitation, the emissions are double or more, depending on how extensive the measures are.

In Norway and the EU, we will build fewer new buildings, demolish less and rehabilitate more. In order to achieve energy-efficient buildings and better utilization of existing buildings, good solutions for HVAC installations such as ventilation, fire extinguishing, heating, cooling and sanitary will play an important role.

A guide for Green HVAC has been developed, which you can download here

Download our Green HVAC guide v.2.0.pdf

In 2021, the research project "Green HVAC" was launched. Its goal is to find ways to design HVAC systems that significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as show the way for how to halve emissions compared to current practice. It is led by Multiconsult and is a broad industry collaboration with seven partners, and with support from the Research Council.

Tool developed for calculating greenhouse gas emissions

Greenhouse gas savings are used to find the most environmentally friendly solutions, but for technical installations there has so far been no satisfactory tool on the market. Therefore, Multiconsult has developed a tool that can have a major impact on the choice of materials and solutions in future HVAC installations. The tool will make it possible to calculate and visualize greenhouse gas emissions directly in the drawing program, so that the environment can be taken into account directly in design.

Green HVAC has conducted a study of available research, as well as conducted its own, thorough greenhouse gas calculations of HVAC installations. The research confirms that HVAC accounts for at least 20 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions associated with material use in buildings. Some of the reasons are that virgin metals are used to a large extent, and that the various installations have a short lifespan and are replaced several times during the life of the building.

The knowledge base and tool enable the project to now compare system solutions and HVAC installations with regard to the environment. The results of the research will be published during 2024, and will lead to an industry guide and a Green HVAC seminar that will conclude the research project.

Will build HVAC competence

Green HVAC is designated as an Innovation Project in Business (IPN), and will build green competence internally in Multiconsult and with our partners, and shared with the industry. The project enables us to build sustainable buildings with the right HVAC solutions, and to offer new, green services to our customers.

Through the project, a group of experts in environmentally friendly HVAC solutions has been built up, and internal training has begun. This allows us to offer consulting services with a special focus on the environment, which includes, among other things, material selection, system selection and reuse.

Further information about Green HVAC

Green Plumbing is an Innovation Project in the business sector, supported by the Research Council of Norway. The project was carried out in the period September 2021 to March 2025.

Project objectives: Building competence, developing new services and sharing knowledge. Showing the way to a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from HVAC installations in model projects

The project manager is Multiconsult. Partners in the project are Höegh Eiendom, GK, Armaturjonsson, Swegon, KLP Eiendom and Pipelife. R&D supplier is OsloMet. The reference group consists of VKE and FutureBuilt.