IES( The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia) Webinar

Low Water Flow Design in Chiller Plant

Dr. Zhao Xijing

20 May, 2020
Dr. Zhao Xijing
Senior Manager, System Solutions, AP Hub, Daikin
SPECIALIZATION Solution sales engineering, energy audit, measurement and verification,
building energy modelling, holistic HVAC energy system

EXPERIENCE 2 years in Building & Construction Authority, Singapore

Green building assessment and verification, chiller plant energy audit
2 Years in Johnson Controls, Asia
High efficiency plant retrofitting and optimized HVAC controls
7 years in Trane Air Conditioning, Asia
Strategic system energy solutions for applied products, building energy
simulation and life cycle economic analysis
5 years in consultancy, China
Specializes in HVAC system design

EDUCATION PhD, National University of Singapore

PROFESSIONAL Singapore Certified Energy Manager, Green Mark Facility Professional,

QUALIFICATION LEED AP BD+C, Certified Measurement and Verification Professional
HVAC System Solution

Water cooled plant + AHU/FCU at conventional design

24C 12.2C 35C 31C WB

Room
heat Outdoor

13C 6.7C 29.5C 27C WB

Chiller Plant Efficiency Benchmark

ASHRAE Journal by Thomas Hartman

Sg Green Mark ENRB 2017: Chiller Plant Requirement
Minimum Water-cooled chilled water system efficiency(Pre-requisite)

Building Cooling Load

Green Mark (RT)
Rating <500 RT ≥500RT
Minimum Efficiency (kW/RT)
Certified 0.85 0.75
Gold 0.75 0.70
GoldPLUS 0.7 0.68
Platinum 0.68 0.65

Water-Cooled Chilled water system Efficiency (12 points) (under credit 2.2)
Building Cooling Load
< 500 RT ≥500 RT

Baseline 0.85 kW/RT 0.75 kW/RT

Point scored = 0.6 x (% improvement)

To get full point, for <500RT, plant efficiency ≤ 0.68kW/RT, for ≥500RT, plant efficiency ≤ 0.60kW/RT
High Performance Chiller Plant

 Plant System Design: Low water flow system, low pressure system

 Equipment Selection and installation

 Accurate measurement and continuous monitoring

 Optimized control system

 Continuous maintenance and facility engineer’s expertize

Plant Low Water Flow
 Why low water flow?
Pump KW = (L/s x kpa) / (1000*Peff*Meff) Or KW = (0.746xgpmxftwg) / (3960*Peff*Meff)

Pump energy consumption is minimized by reducing flow rate and pump head

 Old rules of thumb

• 44°F chilled water supply, 54F chilled water return
• 10°F delta T across the evaporator : 2.4 GPM/ton
• 10°F delta T across the condenser : 3.0 GPM/ton

 New rules of thumb: pumping less water flow

• Increase CHW temperature difference: Low flow on chilled water side
• Increase CW temperature difference: Low flow on condenser water side? It depends
• CHWS and CHWR temperatures
• CWS and CWR temperatures
ASHRAE Green Guide

Low chilled water flow : large Delta T, 7-11C

 ASHRAE Green Guide

Low condenser flow : large Delta T, 10F to 18F

Depends on chiller types, condenser pump head, and operation conditions
ASHRAE 90.1 2016 Prescriptive Requirement
6.5.4.7 Chilled-Water Coil Selection.
Chilled-water cooling coils shall be selected to provide a 15°F or higher temperature difference
between leaving and entering water temperatures and a minimum of 57°F leaving water temperature
at design conditions.

Exceptions to Section 6.5.4.7:

1 Chilled-water cooling coils that have an airside pressure drop exceeding 0.70 in. H2O when rated at 500
fpm face velocity and dry conditions (no condensation)
2 Individual fan-cooling units with a design supply airflow rate ≤ 5000 cfm
3 Constant-air-volume systems
4 Coils selected at the maximum temperature difference allowed by the chiller
5 Passive coils (no mechanically supplied airflow)
6 Coils with design entering chilled-water temperature ≥ 50°F
7 Coils with design entering air dry-bulb temperature ≤ 65°F
Intent: To encourage the use of coils with more heat transfer surface to achieve this higher ΔT to
reduce overall system energy cost ( Fan energy increase offset by pumping energy)
Applications:
• Mixed-air, multiple-zone VAV systems larger than 5000 cfm
• Single-zone VAV air handlers
• Demand controlled dedicated outdoor-air systems
Plant Design Parameter: Low Flow
Chilled water side : Tons = gpm * deltaT / 24
Delta T F Flow rate gpm/ton
20(11C) 1.2
Chillers may 18(10C) 1.3
work hard 16(8.9C) 1.5
14(7.8C) 1.7
12(6.7C) 2.0
10(5.6C) 2.4
8(4.4C) 3.0 Pumps consume more
6(3.3C) 4.0
4(2.2C) 6.0

ASHRAE GreenGuide and CoolTools™ New Rules:

Chilled water T: 12F(6.7C) to 20 F (11C)
Condenser water T: depends, 10F(5.6C)(single stage) to 18 F(10C) (multi-stage)
Pumping Energy Comparison at Low CHW Flow
500RT x 2 unit at CHW 2.4 gpm/RT(10F deltaT)vs. CHW 1.6gpm/RT(15F deltaT)

2.4gpm/RT 1.6 gpm/RT

Plant capacity RT 2 x 500RT 2 x 500RT
Flow rate gpm 2400 1600
Pump head ft 120 80
Pump eff % 84 84
motor eff % 95 95
CHW Pump kW 68.0 30.2
Pump eff kW/RT 0.0680 0.0302

Pump KW = (L/s x kpa) / (1000*Peff*Meff) Or KW = (0.746xgpmxftwg) / (3960*Peff*Meff)

Note:
• Assume same pipe sizing
• To be conservative, assume pump head reduction is proportional to flow rate reduction
• Low flow design will end up low pressure piping system
Compressor Lift Impact on Chiller Efficiency
kW chiller= f( Capacity,LIFT)

CSD chiller :
energy saving of 1 - 3%
per 1 °C lift reduction

VSD chiller :
energy saving of 3%-5%
per 1 °C lift reduction

Compressor Lift: Leaving condenser water temp – leaving chilled water temp
The higher lift , the more work compressor done, the more energy consumed
Two ways to reduce lift: increase leaving chilled water temp, reduce leaving condenser water temp
Single Stage Chiller vs. Multiple Stage Chiller

Chiller Operation Cycle

Single Stage Chiller Three Stage Chiller

• Due to different chiller designs, multiple stage ( three stage) chiller has three impellers and two
economizers in between which help reduce individual impeller compression lift
• Multiple stage chiller is less sensitive to lift increase or reduction compared with single
stage chiller. When lift is increased, normally single stage chiller will consume more
energy compared with multiple stage chiller
CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION OF TRANE
 Single Stage Chiller vs. Multiple Stage Chiller
Single stage centrifugal chiller with VSD has the ability to save more energy than
multistage chiller when lift is reduced

• Centrifugal impeller tip speed (as it rotates) determines the compressor’s ability to produce the required
capacity and lift. Slowing down the compressor speed (i.e. tip speed) in response to both reduced load and lift
will improve chiller efficiency greatly.
• To achieve same HVAC lift, multiple stage chiller HCFC123 has bigger impeller, much lower RPM at 3550rpm.
While single stage chiller HFC 134a has smaller impeller, but high RPM at 11884rpm.
• For HFC134a chiller, impeller speed change could be 200rpm per hz change, while for HCFC 123, only 60
rpm per hz change
• HFC 134a high speed small impeller compressor would have more potential to optimize compressor efficiency
by reducing impeller speed Hz
 Water Flow Rate Impact on Chiller Efficiency
Varied water flow have little effect to chiller performance if leaving chilled water temp unchanged
As long as chiller Lift is unchanged, chiller efficiency is almost same with different flow rate design

Q = U × A × LMTD Q = quantity of heat transferred

U = heat transfer coefficient
15 C A = effective surface area
Low flow
12.2 C LMTD = log-mean temperature difference
Chilled water temp
TD2 – TD1
6.67C LMTD =
AHRI flow ln (TD2/TD1)
TD2
TD1 • Reducing water velocity increases the resistance to
heat transfer on the waterside of the evaporator,
therefore reduces the heat transfer coefficient U
Refrigerant evaporation temp 6C • On the other side, increasing temp difference
increases LMTD
Chiller Evaporator Heat Transfer • Chiller eff, almost same for both low flow and AHRI
flow as long as the other conditions are same
Plant Low Flow: Water Temperature
 Increase CHW Temperature Difference: Low flow impact on coils
CHW delta temp
CHW leav. temp CHW enter temp

5C 12 C 10 C 17 C

 Increase CW Temperature Difference?: Chiller Lift will be increased

CW delta temp

CW enter temp CW leav. temp

28C 32 C 33 C 40 C
 CHWS and CHWR temperatures: depend on chiller and air side selection, as
well as application
 CWS and CWR temperatures: look at total energy consumption of chiller,
condenser pump, towers, as well as real operating and weather condition
Low Chilled Water Supply Temp
Application: ice storage system, district cooling plant , cold air distribution
system, retrofit/expansion applications

 impact on cooling coils: reacts to colder entering water by returning warmer

water, to make same AHU cooling coil produce the same capacity with low flow,
chiller water must be colder.
Impact on chiller: efficiency drops
Existing piping: same capacity, low flow with smaller pump energy (retrofitting)
same flow rate with bigger capacity(expansion)
 System expansion: just need to replace old chiller with bigger one

Coil Performance:
Q= U x A x LMTD
Building Load:
Tons = GPM x DeltaT/24
Coil Capacity Increased with Low CHW Water Temp
Q = U × A × LMTD
Air side cooling coil: when chilled water supply temp is reduced, coil capacity
would be increased due to increased LMTD with same flow rate

Log Mean Temperature Difference

High Chilled Water Supply Temp
Application: DOAS systems, Datacenter, process cooling having less latent load,
normal mixed air AHU system
Chilled Beam High
Temp Chilled water
loop
OA

14.0 C

7C

VPF VPF
12 C 18 C

Plant room Plant room

Dual chilled water loops
High Chilled Water Temp Impact on AHU Coil

Entering air:
Target leaving temp:
25°C drybulb
13°C db
18.5°C wetbulb

Air flow: 5,000 l/s

4°C approach
6°C approach Or Bigger coil
temperature temperature

Leaving temp – chilled water temp = required approach

13°C leaving air 13°C leaving air

- 7°C CHW water - 9°C CHW water
6°C required approach 4°C required approach
Impact on AHU Coil

• When chilled water temp

increases, the selected cooling
coil face velocity will be
reduced

• If chilled water temp designed

at 10C, with same coil pressure
drop 250Pa design, the face
velocity is about 320fpm(
1.6m/s) which means bigger
coil, compared with 5C water
coil face velocity 2.6m/s(small
coil)

Commercial Office Building

Impact on AHU Coil

• When chilled water temp

increases, the selected cooling
coil face velocity will be
reduced

• If chilled water temp designed

at 10C, with same coil pressure
drop 250Pa design, the face
velocity is about 320fpm(
1.6m/s) which means bigger
coil, compared with 5C water
coil face velocity
2.6m/s(smaller coil)

Commercial Office Building

High Condenser Water Temp
Application: retrofitting project with increased load

 Increasing chiller leaving condenser water

temp, cooling tower heat rejection load can
be increased with same condenser pump,
pipes, and CT
 Need to make sure the existing chiller is able
to operate at the high condenser water temp(
screw chiller typically have the capability,
centrifugal chiller need to be cautious)
 Chiller efficiency will become worse

Higher inlet temp, large temp range, the better CT efficiency

Low Condenser Water Temp
Application: Most of time at part load operation with ambient relief,
VSD chiller, oversized cooling tower

Variable Speed Chiller Performance

0.9

0.8 The most efficient operating

range of variable speed chillers
0.7 is 30% to 80%
0.6

0.5
kW/ton

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Load
85°F ECWT 75°F ECWT 65°F ECWT 55°F ECWT
Low Condenser Water Temp
Cooling tower provides low condenser water temp at part load

 During part load operating, cooling tower is

able to provide lower condenser water temp
with or without variable condenser water
flow control.
 By varying condenser flow rate at part load,
condenser water temp(91.3F) is higher than
the one(89.5F) of constant condenser flow
control, which makes chiller less efficient but
condenser pump more efficient. Constant
condenser flow control vice versa
Cooling Tower : Evaporation Device
• Range = Difference between hot and cold water temperature
• Design Approach = difference between Wet Bulb temperature of Air entering tower and
cold water leaving tower.
• As load is reduced on the tower, the leaving water temperature will get closer to the
entering wet bulb(full speed running), at an approach of 1-2.2oC .If reduced further, fan
energy will begin to be wasted as the tower can only cool to the wet bulb temperature
by theory
• Cooling tower is evaporation device. If any condition is beneficial for water vapor
evaporation, cooling tower efficiency would improved.
• The higher out side WB temp, the better cooling tower efficiency
• The higher condenser entering tower temp, the better cooling tower efficiency
• Oversized cooling tower is able to provide lower condenser water temp
Cooling Tower Performance: Approach and WB

CT approach could
be lower to 2F( 1C)
at 82F(28C) WB
2012 ASHRAE Handbook-HVAC Systems and Equipment, Chapter 40 Cooling Towers.
Low Cond Water Temp is Achievable in Hot and Humid Region
Zone 1A (Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand,etc)
Assumption: If cooling tower of 1.5C approach
Chiller would be able to operate at ECWT (entering condenser water temperature) lower than
27C for 56% of the time, lower than 26C for 34% of the time

WB Temp Bin
3500

3064
3000
56% • ECWT=WB+1.5C
2500
2433 • Zone 1A means very hot humid
zone based on the definition of
WB Temp Bin
2000 1915 climate zone from ASHRAE90.1
standard
1500

1000
768
503
500

0 4 58 15 0 0
0
19.5-20.5 20.5-21.5 21.5-22.5 22.5-23.5 23.5-24.5 24.5-25.5 25.5-26.5 26.5-27.5 27.5-28.5 28.5-29.5 29.5-30.5
Low Cond Water Temp is Achievable in Hot and Humid Region
Zone 1A (Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand,etc)
Assumption: If cooling tower of 2.0C approach

Chiller would be able to operate at ECWT (entering condenser water temperature)

lower than 27C for 34% of the time, lower than 26C for 15% of the time

WB Temp Bin
4000
3741

3500
• ECWT=WB+2C
WB Temp Bin
3000
• Zone 1A means very hot humid
2500 zone based on the definition of
34%% climate zone from ASHRAE90.1
2000
1663
1823 standard
1500
1161

1000

500
155 194
0 0 19 4 0
0
19-20 20-21 21-22 22-23 23-24 24-25 25-26 26-27 27-28 28-29 29-30
Low Water Flow Application
Constant chilled water system with 3 way control valves:
Since pump is operating at constant speed all the time, reducing pump design energy
would save operating energy significantly
Low Water Flow Application
Primary Secondary System:
Primary pump is constant speed running, secondary pump will be reduced with reduced cooling load
requirement, low flow would reduce pumping energy significantly

Secondary Pumps

Typical
load
with two
way
Primary Pumps valve

Common Pipe
Low Water Flow Application
Variable Primary Flow System
1
• The chilled water flowing through chillers
750 gpm would be reduced with reduced building
cooling load
2 • Chiller has minimum flow rate
750 gpm requirement to keep good heat transfer
and stable control
3 • Minimum flow rate limit has direct
relationship with design evaporator water
750 gpm velocity
• Design low water flow at full load may
end up low design water velocity and high
minimum flow rate percentage
• Need to balance between design flow
rate and minimum flow rate limit

59F 44F
Low Water Flow Application
Series flow System: series on chiller evaporators

• No more than 2 chiller

• High pumping energy due to double
chiller pressure drop
• Better average chiller efficiency
• Higher system delta T, Low flow
• Fit well with VPF

VPF + Series
Low Water Flow Application
Series Counter Flow: Series on both evaporator and condenser, condenser flow in counter
direction to evaporator flow .

99°F 85°F

92°F

51.5°F • High pumping energy

99°F • Much Better chiller efficiency
85°F

92°F
• Higher delta T low flow design

59°F 44°F
High Performance Chiller Plant

Optimized design: Low pressure, low flow, right equipment sizing

+
Continuous accurate M&V and Optimized plant control

+
Professional service and maintenance

High Performance Chiller Plant at 0.6kW/RT

Take Away Messages
• For high performance chiller plant, plant design parameters( water flow rate and temperature ) have to be
optimized during design phase

• Low water flow rate is highly recommended for high performance chiller plant in order to minimize pumping
energy

• Low chilled water flow would provide positive impact on plant efficiency for all chiller types due to significant
pumping energy reduction, chiller efficiency may or may not lose depending on leaving water temp design,
cooling coils need to be selected based on low flow

• Optimal water temp design depends on application requirement, chiller types, and real world operating and
weather conditions.

• Be careful when applying low flow on condenser water loop, need to evaluate the chiller types, real
operating condition, and weather condition, evaluate if the condenser pump and CT saving could offset the
more energy consumed by selected chiller

• When applying low flow to VPF system, consider both design delta T and minimum flow rate requirement

• Low water flow fits well with all basic plant configurations, especially for constant and series flow system
Thank you for your attention
Question?