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In this article we’re going to be discussing different ways to improve the efficiency of your
existing chiller setup. We’re going to cover Compressor Retrofit, Compressor VFD, Chilled Water
Reset, Condenser water reset, Condenser and Evaporator cleaning, Expansion Valve, Air cooled
chiller, condenser fans, Free cooling or Economiser cooling, Chiller and plant sequencing,
Controllers and fittings, Cooling tower, Pumps and AHU fan VFD’s
Scroll to the bottom to watch the video tutorial on this article
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In most applications, chillers are the single largest energy consuming piece of equipment within
a building. There’s a lot of pressure on engineers as well as building and facilities managers to
reduce the energy consumption and carbon footprint of buildings so chillers are naturally going
to be in the focal point for this. We’ll have a look at both low-cost options as well as some
potential projects to help achieve this.
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As the refrigerant moves it takes away the buildings unwanted thermal energy from the
evaporator so we have thermal energy entering the system here represented by Qthin.
This is then rejected from the condenser so we have energy leaving the system here
represented by Qthout. We also have fans on air cooled chillers which run to force the unwanted
heat to dissipate, so we have electrical energy entering here also represented by the Qein.
The condenser and evaporator are heat exchangers and they are exposed to water, dirt and
biological growth which cause restrictions to the heat transfer. This results in reduced
performance and increased energy consumption to achieve the design criteria.
Between the evaporator and condenser, we have the expansion valve which maintains the
pressure differential between the high and low pressure side, this also controls the flow of
refrigerant into the evaporator and ultimately the compressor.
Then we have the controls and fittings that dictates how the system works.
So we have lots of components which are all playing their part in the system to change and
control the movement of thermal energy and pressure at different points. All of these play a part
in how much energy the chiller will consumer.
Let’s work our way around the system to consider different ways to reduce the energy
consumption for chillers. I do just want to point out that the estimated energy savings listed for
each of the items is for the individual implementation, you can combine the steps mentioned but
the potential savings will not simply add together, they will diminish.
The first area we’ll consider is the most energy intensive part, that being the compressor. In our
previous video we looked at chiller types and applications where we covered the different types
of compressors, the applications and efficiency. Check that out as it will help with your
understanding, additionally I highly recommend checking out of Essential Chiller Terminology
article and video tutorial which will help you become fluent in chiller language.
Compressor retro t:
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Compressor Retrofit
In many cases the compressor of a chiller is able to be retrofitted with a newer technology.
Check with the chiller manufacturer or your chiller service specialist if your chiller can be
retrofitted. If so, the payback can be very quick. For example, replacing a fixed speed scroll
compressor for a variable speed compressor can lead to a ~9% reduction in energy
consumption. The biggest factor affecting the savings is how much of the year does the chiller
operate at part load. If it’s at full load for most of the year then there will be little to no saving
however if the chiller operates at part load for the majority of the year, which the majority of
chillers do, then there is a big potential here for energy savings.
The next part is to consider what the chillers compressor does and how its linked to the
operating conditions of the evaporator and condenser. Remember it takes a low pressure
refrigerant and compresses it to a high pressure. This is what the electricity is used for. So lets
look at some ways to reduce this.
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The increase in chilled water temperature results in an increase in evaporator pressure of the
refrigerant. The compressor takes the refrigerant at the evaporator pressure then compresses it
and increases its pressure to the condensers pressure, so the higher the evaporator pressure
the less work the compressor needs to do to increase that pressure.
As a rule of thumb, the chiller efficiency can be increased by 1-2% per degree C the chilled
water temperature is increased.
There are lots of ways to implement this, you should first check with your chiller manufacturer if
this is applicable to your chiller and ask what temperature or pressure limits should be imposed.
If it is applicable then you can start to decide what will be the deciding factor for temperature
change because there are many ways to do this.
We won’t go into too much detail on that in this article but some common options are to control
based on outside air temperature, to control based on the actual load, both sensible and latent
heat or to control based on the average or highest demanding vale position on the cooling coils.
The chilled water pumps will increase in speed for variable volume systems, to meet the
cooling load. The optimal point should be calculated to make sure the increase in pumping
power doesn’t offset the savings from the chiller.
The cooling coils are often used for humidity control. The temperature of the chilled water is
crucial for this so check if this is applicable to your system.
Check if the chiller manufacturer recommends any temperature and pressure limits for the
water or refrigerant.
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Again, as a rule of thumb you can save 1-2% per degree C reduction. Usually the condenser
water return temperature setpoint is fixed at around 27°C or 80°F and the cooling tower fans or
bypass line adjust to control this temperature.
Some regions of the world with temperate climates will be able to reduce the condenser water
temperature as the outdoor wet bulb temperature decreases. This will reduce the condensing
pressure of the refrigerant so the compressor has to do less work. There are limits on how low
you can go though, eventually the chiller will shut off to protect itself so check with the
manufacturer first before doing so.
Every chiller is designed to have some amount of fouling but over time biological growth, dust,
foreign particles and internal particles from corrosion will build up and line the surfaces of the
pipes and heat exchangers causing the pumps to work harder but also reducing the ability of the
heat exchanger to transfer thermal energy between the water and refrigerant.
Appropriate water treatment should be carried out to maintain the system, you should contact a
local water treatment specialist to determine the correct chemicals and dosing intervals.
Additionally, the condenser and evaporator should be physically cleaned periodically.
For condensers connected to open cooling towers then its good practice to clean these annually.
For evaporators and condensers on closed loops then its good practice to physically clean every
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3 years.
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The amount you can save really depends on how much fouling has built up on the surfaces.
Cleaning heavily fouled chiller could lead to an energy saving of up to 10% where as a lightly
fouled chiller would see 1-3% improvement. This is going to depend on how much fouling builds
up as well as how long the chillers run. Its best to keep a daily log of operating conditions to
compare the performance overtime, this will indicate when its economical to isolate the chiller
and clean it.
Don’t forget to also clean the fins on the condenser of an air-cooled chiller. Over time these can
accumulate dirt, dust, pieces of trash, animal nests and biological material which builds up on
the surfaces and reduces the heat transfer effectiveness.
Expansion valve:
If you want to know how TXV’s work we’ve previously made a very detailed animation video,
click here to see.
The thermal expansion valve can be replaced with an electronic expansion valve which will
provide much more stable superheat especially at low loads and because its digital it’s able to
respond to changes and control the super heat with greater speed and precision.
It does this by measuring both the pressure and temperature at the outlet of the evaporator.
The precision allows the condensing pressure to be reduced so the compressor therefore doesn’t
need to work so hard. By replacing a thermal expansion valve with an electronic expansion
valve, energy savings of around 14% are possible but this varies on the loading of the chiller.
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Using a free cooling or economiser strategy allows the chillers compressor to be turned off,
however the pumps and fans will still run and will likely run at high speeds so some of the
savings from the compressor being off are offset here. Using a free cooling cycle could reduce
the chillers annual energy consumption by 20-50% again this really depends on the local
ambient conditions and setpoint temperature.
Air cooled chillers sometimes have a free cooling feature built in which uses the fans without the
compressors if conditions are right, but I’ve came across some installations where this hadn’t
been commissioned so check with the manufacturer if this feature is available or if it can be
retro fitted.
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On the controls side, the manufacturer will quite often release new software updates periodically
for the controllers and equipment, make sure the service and BMS engineer or servicing
company is updating your systems, where possible, as this will allow the controllers to operate
more effectively and without bugs. If you use a third party to service your chillers, pressure
them to come up with new energy saving controls strategy not just for the chiller but also how it
interacts with the entire cooling system. You can ask for this as part of their normal service or
for a contract renewal or just ask them to provide quotations for improvements.
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If you opt for the combined plant sequencer then it’s possible to reduce the entire systems
energy consumption by around 20% sometimes higher but this depends on how bad the
controls strategy previously was and how efficient your plant items run at part load.
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Paul Evans
http://www.TheEngineeringMindset.com
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