Life cycle analysis of enhanced condenser features for air-cooled chillers serving air-conditioned buildings

Air-cooled chillers are commonly used to provide cooling energy for air-conditioned buildings at the expense of considerable electricity. This paper examines the life cycle electricity cost of these chillers with the improved condenser features of condensing temperature control (CTC), evaporative pre-coolers (EC) and variable speed condenser fans (VSF). A validated model for an air-cooled screw chiller was used to ascertain how the individual and mixed features influence the annual electricity consumption of chillers in various operating conditions. It is estimated that the life cycle electricity cost savings range from HK$ 2,099,742 with EC to HK$ 6,399,564 with all the three features, with regard to a chiller plant serving an office building for 15 yr. The life cycle analysis reported here provides important insights into how to reap the benefits of energy efficient technologies for air-cooled chillers.     

Economic benefits of optimal control for water-cooled chiller systems serving hotels in a subtropical climate

A water-cooled chiller system in an air-conditioned hotel can take up about one-quarter of the total electricity consumption and considerable amounts of water in the heat rejection process. This paper evaluates operating cost savings of a chiller system integrated with optimal control of cooling towers and condenser water pumps. A sophisticated chiller system model was used to ascertain how different control methods influence the annual electricity and water consumption of chillers operating for the cooling load profile of a reference hotel. It is estimated that applying load-based speed control to the cooling tower fans and condenser water pumps could reduce the annual system electricity use by 8.6% and operating cost by 9.9% relative to the equivalent system using constant speed fans and pumps with a fixed set point of 29.4 °C for cooling water temperature control. The ways to implement this advanced control for system optimization are discussed.     

Advanced control of condensing temperature for enhancing the operating efficiency of air-cooled chillers

Air-cooled chillers are commonly used to provide cooling energy in commercial buildings in the subtropical climate. These chillers have long been considered inefficient because they operate under head pressure control where the condensing temperature is kept high in the refrigeration cycle. This paper considers a novel method to strategically lower the condensing temperature to enhance chiller efficiency at any outdoor temperature. An experiment is carried out on an air-cooled reciprocating chiller to confirm that an electronic expansion valve enables refrigerant to be adequately fed into the evaporator in all operating conditions, even when the condensing temperature falls to around 20 °C. By enhancing the heat rejection airflow of the condenser, both the condensing temperature and chiller power can decrease considerably with less fluctuation. According to the algorithm of staging condenser fans, this enhancement corresponds to resetting the set point of the condensing temperature based on any outdoor temperature. The potential and benefits of implementing this reset strategy are discussed.     

An alternative approach for the performance rating of air-cooled chillers used in air-conditioned buildings

Air-cooled chillers are widely used to provide cooling energy for air-conditioned buildings at the expense of considerable electricity. The (Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Institute) ARI standard 550/590 sets out a rating condition to specify the coefficient of performance (COP) of the chillers under part-load conditions. This condition was found to be insufficient to deal with diverse operating conditions under the multiple chiller arrangement. This paper proposes an alternative approach to specifying more precisely the chiller COP under part-load conditions. It is desirable to establish a set of part-load performance curves showing how the chiller COP varies with the condensing temperature at various combinations of chiller loads and outdoor temperatures. The results of this paper will give engineers and researchers a better idea about how to specify the upper limit of condensing temperature for more energy efficient chillers and how chiller COP curves help compare air-cooled chillers for buildings in any climate zone and to estimate the annual electricity consumption of chillers satisfying any given building cooling load profile.     

全变频冷冻站及其控制策略Hartman Loop^TM介绍

如今，主要冷冻机制造商在中国市场都推出了全系列的离心式变频冷水机组，同时，全变频冷冻站的概念正在被大家接受（全变频冷冻站是指冷冻站中的冷冻机、水泵和冷却塔风扇都可以变频调速）。此文目的是为正在评估应用全变频冷冻站这项新技术的设计师和机电经理们提供一些有用信息，以帮助他们有效地实施这项技术。     

Low-energy design for air-cooled chiller plants in air-conditioned buildings

Chillers are widely used for cooling buildings in the subtropical regions at the expense of considerable energy. This paper discusses how the number and size of air-cooled chillers in a chiller plant should be designed to improve their energy performance. Using an experimentally verified chiller model, four design options were studied for a chiller plant handling the cooling load profile of an office building. Using chillers of different sizes is desirable to increase the number of steps of total cooling capacity. This enables the chillers to operate frequently at or near full load to save chiller power. Pumping energy can also be saved because of the improved control of chilled water flow whereby the chilled water supplied by the staged chillers can match with that required by air side equipment for most of the operating time. It is estimated that the annual electricity consumption of chiller plants could drop by 9.4% with the use of unequally sized chillers. The findings of this research will offer guidance on how to select chillers of different sizes for a low-energy chiller plant.     

Optimum load sharing strategy for multiple-chiller systems serving air-conditioned buildings

Many central cooling systems in air-conditioned buildings have multiple chillers to meet various cooling load requirements. This paper further develops optimum load sharing strategies for the chillers in order to maximize their aggregate coefficient of performance (COP). Based on the part load performance curves of air-cooled screw chillers, it is ascertained that for two equally sized chillers operating, one should carry a full load and the other should be partially loaded to meet the system load. When two chillers of different sizes are running, the larger chiller should be fully loaded and the smaller chiller should operate at part load in order that their combined capacity satisfies the system load. Such an uneven load sharing strategy for achieving maximum COP is independent of ambient conditions and the control of condensing temperature. The variable primary flow of chilled water should be applied to chillers in order to implement the strategy. The results of this paper are useful in developing low-energy chiller plants.     

对变频离心式冷水机组全年节电的探讨

介绍了变频离心式冷水机组节能的原理及适用条件。基于冷水机组的全年耗电量是冷水机组在不同运行时段内的机组能效、机组负荷与运行时间乘积之和,分析了1台变频离心式冷水机组在单台和多台机组中应用的节电效果。     

Part load performance of air-cooled centrifugal chillers with variable speed condenser fan control

Air-cooled centrifugal chillers are commonly used in commercial buildings but their performance analysis is lacking. This paper investigates the part load performance of the chillers via a thermodynamic model. The model was validated using a wide range of operating data from an existing chiller with specific settings of outdoor temperature and condensing pressure in controlling the condensing temperature. The validated model was developed specifically to ascertain the maximum coefficient of performance of chiller (COP) together with the strategy for optimizing the condensing temperature under various operating conditions. It is found that the highest COP occurs at a part load ratio (PLR) of 0.71–0.84, depending on the outdoor temperature and the control of condensing temperature, rather than at full load. Yet the chillers operating at such part load conditions will cause extra energy used for the early staging of chilled water pumps. To minimize the overall chiller plant energy consumption, it is still preferable to implement chiller sequencing based on the full load condition than on the aforementioned PLRs. The results of this paper present criteria for implementing low-energy strategies for operating air-cooled chillers satisfying a given building cooling load profile.     

Strategy for designing more energy efficient chiller plants serving air-conditioned buildings

In cities located in the subtropical regions, air-cooled chillers are commonly used to cool commercial buildings almost year-round, which accounts for considerable electricity consumption in the long term. This paper explains how a chiller plant should be designed to enable the chillers to operate frequently with maximum performance. Four design options with respect to the number and size of chillers were studied for a chiller plant satisfying the year-round cooling demand of a hotel. For each design option, the annual electricity consumption of chillers and pumps was assessed using a sophisticated chiller model. The assessment showed that an electricity saving of 10.1% can be achieved by installing a chiller plant with six chillers of three different sizes instead of four equally sized chillers. The results of this paper will give engineers and researchers a better idea about how to select chillers of different sizes and how chiller part load performance curves can be used to evaluate improvements in the energy performance of a chiller plant with alternative designs.     

全年供冷的风冷式冷水机组问题分析与解决

风冷式冷水机组在环境温度较低时，可能出现冷量急剧减少等问题。本文对于产生问题的原因进行了分析，提出采用热力膨胀阀并联毛细管和控制冷凝风机开机数量的方法，来维持机组在大的环境温度变化范围内正常工作，给出了具体的控制策略。应用本文方法所设计的冷水机组，已在实际中得到应用，实现了全年正常供冷。     

空调冷却水变流量控制方法研究

指出冷却水的出水温度和进出水温差的可变范围实际可以选取得较大,论述了冷凝温度控制法的特点,并将其与常规的定温差控制方式进行了比较,结论是当水泵相对于主机的电功率大于10%时,冷凝温度控制节能效果较好,控制上也简便易行.同时指出,虽然冷却水变流量对于冷水机组性能系数的影响是负面的和不可忽略的,但这一负面影响较之对水泵节能的正面影响要小.     

变频冷水机组部分负荷下冷却水定变流量性能研究

冷水机组大部分时间是在部分负荷下运行,而变频技术的发展使得变频压缩机和变频水泵越来越多地应用到制冷空调当中。本文针对制冷循环各部件建立了稳态模型,并在模型中引入RKS方程精确计算制冷剂的热物性。模拟结果表明:变频冷水机组在部分负荷下运行,定、变冷却水流量对机组蒸发温度影响不大,但冷凝温度有不同程度的降低。同时,考察定、变冷却水流量是否节能应着重考虑冷却水系统能耗在机组总能耗中所占的比例,冷却水系统能耗比例越大,变流量节能效果越明显。     

变频制冷系统的应用探讨

介绍变频制冷系统的节能原理及适用条件.基于不同冷冻水系统,不同类型制冷机组在不同工况下的能效、耗电量,分析了一次泵变流量冷冻水系统及变频离心式冷水机组在实际应用中的节能效果.     

Energy signatures for assessing the energy performance of chillers

This paper investigates how energy signatures can be used as an alternative to an energy use intensity (describing the annual electricity consumption of chillers in kWh per unit floor area of a building in m²) to assess the energy performance of chillers with various design options and operating strategies. An energy signature is a best-fit straight line relating chiller power to a climatic index when chillers operate for a building cooling load profile. Sixteen combinations of four design options and four operating strategies for chillers serving a hypothetical hotel are studied by simulation. For each combination, an energy signature for the chillers is determined. The slope and intercept of the energy signature can be used to accurately predict the annual electricity consumption of the chillers and to evaluate the extent to which this consumption can drop when chiller efficiency is improved. It is desirable to develop reference energy signatures in relation to different characteristics of building cooling load as a yardstick for the minimum requirement of chiller performance. With this yardstick, the effectiveness of energy efficient measures in the operation of chillers could be identified.     

基于冷水量变化的冷水机组性能测试与故障诊断

研究了定流量/变温差和变流量/定温差条件下冷水量变化对机组性能的影响。结果表明:大型冷水机组蒸发器侧冷水大范围变流量不会影响系统的稳定性;在一定范围内冷水机组制冷量与冷水流量呈线性变化,系统的性能系数COP基本保持稳定,这为冷水泵的节能运行提供了良好的依据;蒸发器盘管中冷水流量较大时,允许的冷水流速变化范围可以适当增加;冷水量调节的极限速度为10.1%/min,否则会造成冷水机组运行不安全;蒸发器冷水流量变化引起的冷水机组性能变化可作为故障诊断的判断依据。     

风冷冷水机组和水冷冷水机组的选择

本文从六个方面对风冷和水冷冷水机组的选用进行了比较，列举了风冷机组布置实例，并提出了冷水机组选择建议。     

多台不同冷量冷水机组并联节能运行及控制

针对多台不同制冷量冷水机组并联运行的情况,分析了影响系统能耗的各因素,结合实例对比了不同运行方案的能耗,提出了制定节能运行方案的方法。对冷水机组群控的逻辑判据进行分析,从兼顾节能效果和设备使用寿命的角度,提出了将节能运行方案与负荷变化趋势预测相结合的群控策略。     

部分负荷下一次泵水系统变流量性能研究

通过对制冷机厂家的调研、对制冷机变流量运行的热力学模型的分析以及对整个一次泵水系统变流量运行的技术经济比较，指出水侧在一定范围内变流量运行不会给制冷机COP带来明显影响，但对整个水系统的节能效果相对明显；通过计算得出了水泵能耗占空调水系统总能耗20％以上时可以达到节能效果。     

Electricity end-use characteristics of air-cooled chillers in hotels in Hong Kong

This paper presents the operating efficiency of air-cooled chillers in three existing hotels and investigates the extent to which the annual electricity consumption can decrease by improving their efficiency. Chillers in these hotels tend to be improperly staged, causing their seasonal efficiency to rise by 0.05–0.12 kW/kW from a full load efficiency of 0.32 kW/kW. When chiller sequencing is restored, their seasonal efficiency could be enhanced to 0.34 kW/kW, which corresponds to an 8.8–22.7% drop in their annual electricity consumption. It is possible to further decrease the annual electricity consumption by 27.0–38.6% when the chillers operate under floating condensing temperature control instead of head pressure control. The implications of improved chiller efficiency for reducing the electricity demand of hotels are discussed.