Industrial chillers on a building rooftop with piping, sensors and HVAC energy monitoring
4 min read

Did You Know a Chiller Can Represent 40% of a Building's Energy Consumption?

Did You Know? series — In offices, hotels, hospitals and data centers, chillers can represent up to 40% of total energy consumption.

Key figures

40%

Building consumption

In many technical buildings, chillers can represent up to 40% of total energy consumption.

24/7

Continuous operation

They may run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year — small efficiency losses cost thousands of euros.

5

Critical variables

Consumption, temperatures, pressures, alarms and trends — continuous monitoring via CTM, SCADA and energy management.

Less

Operational costs

Identify waste, improve efficiency and extend equipment life with real data.

When discussing energy efficiency, many organizations focus on lighting, office equipment or solar panels.

But there is often a hidden major consumer: the HVAC system.

In offices, hotels, hospitals, shopping centers and data centers, chillers can represent a significant share of total energy consumption — up to around 40%.

Why Do They Consume So Much?

Chillers produce chilled water used in air conditioning systems.

Depending on facility size, they may run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, continuously.

Small efficiency losses can translate into thousands of extra euros on the annual energy bill.

The Problem

In most facilities there is not enough information to answer simple questions about chiller energy performance.

Without data, there is no control.

  • What is the chiller's real consumption?
  • Is it operating at expected efficiency?
  • Is there performance degradation?
  • Is there energy waste?

What Should Be Monitored?

Continuous monitoring turns the chiller from an energy black box into a managed asset with clear indicators.

  • Energy consumption — identify real operating costs
  • Temperatures — chilled water and condensation
  • Pressures — refrigeration circuit monitoring
  • Alarms — early anomaly detection
  • Trends — identification of efficiency losses over time

Savings Opportunity

With monitoring systems, CTM, SCADA and energy management you can identify waste, improve operational efficiency and reduce consumption.

ScadaIoT helps organizations transform operational data into useful information to increase energy efficiency and improve decision-making.

  • Identify waste
  • Improve operational efficiency
  • Reduce energy consumption
  • Lower operational costs
  • Extend equipment life

Conclusion

Ignoring the weight of chillers on the energy bill means ignoring one of the biggest savings opportunities in a building.

Those who monitor consumption, temperatures, pressures and trends decide based on data — and reduce costs before inefficiency becomes chronic.

Frequently asked questions

How much can a chiller represent in building consumption?
In offices, hotels, hospitals, shopping centers and data centers, chillers can represent up to around 40% of total energy consumption.
Why is efficiency hard to control without monitoring?
Without consumption, temperature, pressure and trend data, it is impossible to know if the chiller operates at expected efficiency or if silent degradation is occurring.
Do CTM and SCADA help chiller energy efficiency?
Yes. They track energy KPIs, generate alarms, analyse history and integrate HVAC management with operational building supervision.
What savings are possible with continuous monitoring?
It depends on the facility, but identifying waste, adjusting setpoints and planning maintenance based on data measurably reduces consumption and operational costs.

Want to know if your chillers are operating efficiently?

Talk to us about chiller monitoring, CTM and energy management with ScadaIoT solutions.