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Tevaporator = 10 F
Tcondenser = 10 F
Tchilledwatersupply = 42 F
Tcoolingtowerreturn = 80 F
The total energy use of the chiller plant includes the energy use by the chiller, pumps and
cooling tower fans. Historically, as energy efficiency became more important, attention was
originally focused on improving chiller efficiency since the chiller was the single biggest energy
user in the chiller plant. As a consequence, chiller energy use declined over the last thirty years
from over 0.75 kW/ton to less than 0.50 kW/ton today.
As chiller efficiency improved, the energy use by supporting fans and pumps became a larger
fraction of chiller plant energy use. In addition, designers and operators became increasingly
aware of interaction effects between the components, and the potential to drive energy use
even lower by optimizing the system rather than components. This chapter discusses chiller
plant control to reduce total system energy use. Specifically, it considers how the design
guidelines shown above could modified to enhance energy efficiency.
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Source data: Trane, 2000, “Chilled Water System Design and Operation”, CTV-SLB005-EN.
Cooling tower fan energy use can also be reduced by better air flow control. The temperature
of the water leaving a cooling tower is typically controlled by varying the air flow rate through
the cooling tower. In older cooling towers, air flow rate was varied by cycling the cooling tower
fan on and off. A more energy efficient method of control is to vary the fan speed since friction
pressure drop is lower at lower air flows; the fan affinity law of fluid work varying with the cube
of flow applies to cooling towers as well duct systems. Two speed cooling tower fan motors
approximate this type of control. Today, full variable speed control is achieved by controlling fan
speed with a variable-frequency drive.
The table and graph below show simulated cooling tower fan electricity use for a constant-
speed on/off and variable-speed 10-hp fan motor running continually in Dayton, OH with a 10 F
temperature drop and an 80 F condenser supply temperature. The constant-speed fan is on
47% of the year, while the variable speed fan runs at 37% of full speed. During hot, humid
weather, the fraction energy savings from variable-speed cooling tower fan control are less since
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the cooling tower fan must operate at close to full load. However, during cool, dry conditions,
the fraction energy savings from variable-speed cooling tower fan control are significant.
Overall, fan energy was reduced by about 64%.
Example
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A cooling tower is originally designed and operated with 5 gpm of water per ton with a 10 F
temperature gain through the condenser. The required elevation head is 10 ft H20 and the
friction head is 20 ft H2O. The pump is 70% efficient and the pump motor is 90% efficient. The
water flow rate is then reduced to 3 gpm per ton. If the wet-bulb temperature of the air is 60 F,
determine a) the water temperature leaving the cooling tower at 5 gpm, b) the water
temperature leaving the cooling tower at 3 gpm, c) the pumping power at 5 gpm per ton, d) the
pumping power at 3 gpm per ton, and e) the fraction reduction in pumping power.
a) From the cooling tower performance chart for a tower operated at 5 gpm/ton, the
temperature of water leaving a cooling tower when the temperature range is 10 F and the wet-
bulb temperature of the air is 60 F is about 80 F.
b) If the tower flow rate were reduced to 3 gpm/ton, the new temperature range can be found
from an energy balance on the condenser.
From the cooling tower performance chart for a tower operated at 3 gpm/ton, the temperature
of water leaving a cooling tower when the temperature range is 16.7 F and the wet-bulb
temperature of the air is 60 F is about 78 F.
Thus, the temperature of water leaving the cooling tower declines with the lower flow rate. As
long as the temperature of water to the condenser is greater than the minimum temperature
required by the chiller, reducing the temperature of water to the condenser improves the
efficiency of the chiller.
d) Reducing the flow rate to 3 gpm/ton reduces the pump work to overcome friction according
to the pump affinity laws. The fluid work to overcome friction at 5 gpm/ton was:
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According to the fan affinity law, the fluid work to overcome friction at 3 gpm/ton is:
Wf2 = Wf1 (V2 / V1)3 = 0.0253 hp/ton (3 gpm/ton / 5 gpm/ton)3 = 0.00546 hp/ton
Assuming the efficiencies of the pump and motor remain the same, the total electrical power to
the pump motor at 3 gpm/ton is:
e) Thus, reducing the flow rate from 5 gpm/ton to 3 gpm/ton reduced the electrical power to
the pump motor by
The result in the example above indicates the savings potential from reducing the flow rate of
condenser water through the cooling tower. In practice, this can sometimes be achieved by
measuring temperature difference of water across the condenser, and reducing flow if the
temperature difference is consistently small.
The affect of condenser water temperature on total cooling tower fan plus chiller electricity use
can be modeled by solving a system of equations that includes cooling tower and chiller
performance. Input values must be known for:
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To solve the system using successive substitution, start by assuming a temperature range Tr,
across the cooling tower and then solving the following set of equations. The chiller fraction
loaded, FL, is:
1) FL = Qevap / Qcap
The minimum water temperature delivered by the cooling tower, Tc, is given by:
However, cooling tower fans cycle on and off to maintain the water leaving the cooling tower at
a set temperature Tcsp. Thus, to incorporate cooling tower control, Equation 2 must be
followed by the following algorithm. From an energy balance, the fraction of time the cooling
tower fan runs, Fon, and the actual entering and leaving cooling tower water temperatures Th
and Tc are:
3)
If Tc >= Tcsp then
‘fan runs continuously
Fon = 1
Tc = Tc
Th = Tc + Tr
Else if Tc < Tcsp then
‘fan cycles on and off to maintain Tcsp
Th = Tcsp + Tr
Fon = (Tcsp – Th) / (Tc – Th)
Tc = Tcsp
End if
Compressor input power per ton of evaporator cooling, KWPT, is given by:
Then, from an energy balance on the chiller, compressor input power, Wcomp, heat rejected by
the condenser, Qcond, volume flow rate of water through the condenser, Vw, and temperature
rise across the condenser, Tr, are given by :
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where pw is the density of water and cpw is the specific heat of water. The value for Tr can then
be substituted back into the start of the algorithm and the algorithm repeated until Tr
converges. After convergence, cooling tower fan power, Wctf, can be calculated as:
Where RHP is cooling tower fan rated horsepower, FML is fraction motor loaded, Emotor is the
efficiency of the motor. The total power of the cooling tower fan and compressor is:
Example
Consider a 500-ton chiller operated at 300 tons with a 30-hp cooling tower fan and design water
flow rate of 3 gpm/ton. The fan motor is 90% efficient. The outdoor air wet-bulb temperature
is 60 F. Calculate total cooling tower fan plus compressor electrical power for cooling tower
water set point temperatures of 80 F, 70 F and 60 F.
Use of the algorithm shown above produces the following results. The minimum total cooling
tower fan plus compressor electrical power (192 kW) occurred at a cooling tower water set
point temperature of 70 F, which is 10 F greater than the outdoor air wet bulb temperature.
This suggests that total cooling tower fan plus compressor electrical power might be minimized
over an entire year by resetting the cooling tower water set point temperature according to
outdoor air wet-bulb temperature.
When this algorithm is incorporated into an hour-by-hour simulation program, the affect of
condenser water temperature set point on total cooling tower fan plus chiller electricity use can
be tested. For example, the following results shown below are for a 500-ton chiller operated at
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300 tons with a 30-hp cooling tower fan and design water flow rate of 3 gpm/ton in Dayton, OH,
and a cooling tower water set point temperature of 60 F.
The results below show total cooling tower fan energy use for both a constant speed fan Ecsf
and variable speed fan Evsf, compressor energy use, Ec, and total energy use for various cooling
tower set-point temperatures. These results indicate that chiller plus cooling tower fan energy
use can be reduced from a design condenser water temperature of 80 F by setting the cooling
water temperature equal to the minimum condenser temperature recommended by the chiller
manufacturer. Chiller plus cooling tower fan energy use can then be further reduced by varying
cooling water temperature with outdoor air wet-bulb temperature.
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These results are similar to an analysis by Trane, which showed that varying condenser water
temperature with outdoor air wet-bulb temperature resulted in lower total energy costs than
the design condenser water temperature or the minimum condenser water temperature that
the chiller could accept.
Source data: Trane, 2000, “Chilled Water System Design and Operation”, CTV-SLB005-EN.
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traditional constant flow systems. The figure below shows an all variable-speed cooling plant.
Variable-speed cooling plants have been documented to use as little as 0.5 kW/ton at high loads
and 0.3 kW/ton at low loads (Erpelding, Ben, 2008, “Monitoring Chiller Plant Performance”,
ASHRAE Journal, April, pp. 48-52.)
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