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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Energy performance of a cooling plant system using the inverter chiller for industrial building

The purpose of this paper is to clarify energy performance of the cooling plant system in the industrial building using actual measured operating data and numerical simulation analysis. One aspect of industrial buildings is that they have large energy consumption for manufacturing and air-conditioning compared with office and commercial buildings. Some examples of high-efficiency technologies installed in this particular cooling plant system are inverter chillers, integrated cooling towers and a free-cooling system. The inverter chiller which has been put on the market recently is state-of-the-art technology. The maximum COP of the inverter chiller reaches about 18 under certain conditions and integrated cooling towers make lower temperature cooling water as the whole capacity is large. Actual operating data indicates satisfied values for chiller and system COP during the running period and the simulation results show that the cooling plant system can cut down annual electric power consumption by about 48% compared with conventional cooling system.     

深圳市6栋写字楼集中空调系统逐时冷负荷与能耗分析

以深圳市6栋高层写字楼集中空调系统全年运行数据为依据，分析了写字楼集中空调系统制冷主机逐时输出的冷负荷及年运行能耗，得到了各楼主机全年输出的逐时冷负荷的最大值，分析比较了各大楼的建筑面积、入住率、单位空调面积负荷、单位空调面积空调能耗，并比较了各楼的主机选型方案。     

基于遗传算法的冷水机组运行优化策略研究

本文通过采用回归方法获得冷水机组性能系数(COP)与部分负荷率(PLR)的关系,并建立各台冷水机组能耗方程,利用遗传算法求解其最小值,从而获得各冷水机组所承担的最优负荷比率,同时根据某一实际建筑计算了其全年的冷负荷率时间分布情况,在此基础对系统冷水机组全年的运行情况进行了优化,从而达到5.7%的节能效果。     

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.     

An integrated model for the design of air-cooled chiller plants for commercial buildings

Cooling load calculation is the first step in designing the air-conditioning system of a building. The calculated cooling capacity with appropriate buffer is then used to select the number and size of chillers in the system. N + 1 is a common formula used by designers to size the chiller plants in Hong Kong buildings, where N is the actual number of chillers required and 1 is a redundant chiller provided to ensure reliability. This paper reviews the problem of excess capacity and discusses the risk exposure of chiller systems without redundant chillers. The cooling load profiles of the chiller plants of four medium-sized commercial buildings in Hong Kong are reviewed. The risk exposure of chiller systems without redundant chillers can be minimized by applying risk-based preventive maintenance. The just-in-demand design reduces capital cost of the building and frees up funds for continuous energy measurement and improving the energy efficiency of chiller plant systems. This paper presents a model for designing chiller plants that improves the energy efficiency of the plant in a cost effective and thoughtful manner. It is designed with consideration of the life cycle of the plant and real-time continuous commissioning, monitoring, measurement, comparison and execution for better energy management.     

基于建筑全年动态冷负荷的冷水机组优化配置方案

提出一种在设计阶段对冷水机组方案进行优化配置的方法.首先,冷水机组的能耗计算简化为制冷机的实际制冷量和冷却水进口温度两个独立变量的函数.进一步,通过建筑动态负荷计算获得全年冷负荷频率特性以及相应的室外湿球温度分布,其中湿球温度决定了冷却水最低进口温度.最终,计算出各种冷水机组配置方案的全年以及不同冷负荷需求工况下的运行电耗,并得出最优化的节能方案.     

冷水机组容量的选择对建筑全年能耗的影响

本文通过对一幢建筑进行全年能耗模拟,分析了建筑全年能耗的基本构成和影响因子。同时根据该建筑的空调负荷情况,分别选用了三组容量不同的冷水机组,利用能耗分析软件将三组空调制冷系统所产生的能耗进行了对比,指出制冷机组的选型过大是造成建筑全年能耗过大的一个重要因素。     

Chiller sequencing control with enhanced robustness for energy efficient operation

This paper presents a strategy for improving the reliability and the energy efficiency of chiller sequencing control based on the total cooling load measurement of centralized multiple centrifugal chiller plants. The improvement is achieved as follows. Firstly, a fused measurement of building cooling load is used to replace the direct/indirect measurement. Secondly, the maximum cooling capacity of individual chillers is computed online using a simplified centrifugal chiller model. Thirdly, the online computed maximum cooling capacity is calibrated according to the quality of the fused measurement in order to deal with the possible misbehaviours in measurement instruments. A simplified model for computing the maximum cooling capacity is developed and validated using field data. The performance of the proposed chiller sequencing control strategy is tested and compared with a conventional chiller sequencing control algorithm. Test results are presented showing that the proposed strategy can effectively improve the reliability of chiller sequencing control and reduce the energy consumption of chiller plants.     

Optimal control of an HVAC system using cold storage and building thermal capacitance

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis on the optimal control protocol to minimize the daily operating cost of an air-conditioning system in a 33 600 m² office building. The system consists of two chillers, one designated for cold storage charging, the other for direct cooling, an air-handling unit, a cooling tower, and water pumps. This analysis determines the optimal protocol for indoor temperature and humidity control as well as operating point settings for the chiller control considering two thermal storage sources: (i) the thermal capacitance of the building, and (ii) a cold storage facility. The analysis is based on the thermodynamic modeling of the air-conditioning system including the thermal response of the building structure. A discussion of operating cost savings is presented for several outdoor conditions and electricity rates. Furthermore, the load shift potentials are discussed for each storage source. The results of this analysis indicate significant savings can be achieved by precooling the building during hours of low electricity rates. The resulting load shifting can be augmented by utilizing cold storage equipment. The results are discussed in detail for Seattle climatic conditions and electric rates. A regional comparison of the results for the four US locations, Seattle, WA; Phoenix, AZ; San Diego, CA; and the island of Hawaii, is given.     

多台冷水机组的优化配置与节能运行研究

本文针对公共建筑中的空调能耗,尤其是冷水机组能耗过大的问题,建立了多台冷水机组配置模型及优化目标.以某办公建筑为例,分析了不同运行策略下多台冷水机组运行时的能耗,同时对不同策略和配置情况下的运行情况进行了经济性比较.分析可知,当选用多台机组时,平均分配负荷的运行策略比较节能,节能效果视组合方式的不同而不同,其中容量相同的组合方式采用该运行策略优势最为明显.     

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.     

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。     

CFD analysis and energy simulation of a gymnasium

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program EXACT3 has been applied to investigate the temperature distribution and air movement within an air-conditioned gymnasium with four different, but commonly found, exhaust positions in Hong Kong. In this numerical study, the effects of thermal stratification on the energy performance (in terms of cooling load and electricity consumption) are examined with respect to the HVAC plant oversizing issue. It has been found that significant thermal stratification occurs in the gymnasium. The annual cooling load can be overestimated by 45.4% for the best exhaust position when the effect of thermal stratification is not considered. The corresponding peak cooling load and, hence, chiller plant size, will increase from 59.9 to 77.6 kW. The low energy efficiency of the oversized chiller at part-load operation results in a 7% increase in the annual energy use for the HVAC plant.     

地铁屏蔽门环控系统制冷机组能耗计算及选型比较

通过对屏蔽门地铁车站公共区环控系统负荷的分析,利用能耗模拟软件EnergyPlus,对上海典型地铁站进行建模,计算其全年空调负荷,模拟计算结果与设计值相比较接近。同时根据EnergyPlus中的制冷机组EIR模型,对机组能耗进行分析,通过对两种选型方案的全年能耗比较,提出根据系统全年负荷特性选择机组组合将形成良好的节能效果。