HOW CAN DESIGN A CHILLER WATER SYSTEM

Chilled Water Schematic and Condenser water schematics. In this article

we’l be covering chilled and condenser water schematics to learn how to
read them, how to identify the main components and symbols as well as
real world examples, additionally we’ll cover  the purpose of the main
components and different design types.
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Variation of design
Firstly, every chilled water schematic you look at will be completely
different. The symbols used are always similar, enough to recognise what
they are, but always slightly different. However, they will all show how the
chilled and or condenser water system is connected and distributed around
a building. They will also show the main components such as valves and
pressure sensors etc. They should also show which floor the component is
located.

They usually will not display every Air handling unit and fan coil unit
connected to the system. Sometimes they will show the connection to the
main AHU’s other times they will refer you to a separate drawing to see this
detail.

If the
building rents floors out to tenants and the tenants have full control over
the fit-out of their area, then the drawing will likely just show the
connection from the riser to the tenant space and anything after that is up
to the tenant’s fit-out contractors. The contractors should provide the
landlord with a copy of their own drawings for their area.

Additionally, remember schematic drawings will not show every bend or the
exact route through the building. They are simply a flat 2D representation
of the system.

How to read the chilled water schematic

In the top left and lower right you’ll usually find the drawing number, which
is a unique ID number for that drawing.
 Chilled Water
Schematic Drawing Layout
In the bottom right you will find the title of the drawing for example “chilled
water system”. You’ll also find the date of production, revision number, and
other information such as the client, the person and or organisation that
produced the drawing and most importantly on the right hand side you will
find the legend which lists all the symbols used as well as their title.

Chille
r, AHU, Risers, Pump location
I always start by locating the chillers, the pumps, the risers, AHU’s and
cooling towers. This shows you how the system works and where each part
is located.

The schematics can be quite cramped and you’ll need to sometimes see
through the information to follow the system.
Important notes about reading a chilled water
schematic

notes on reading a chilled water schematic

The pipes often have letters to help you identify which system it is
such as CHW and CND they will also use F and R for flow and Return.

 You can see the direction of flow in the pipe which is indicated by
arrows.
 The diameter of the pipe is sometimes listed next to the line.
 Newer designs might show you the designed flow rate, velocity,
pressure and pipe diameter.
 You’ll also often see letters around valves, this is just to identify
what type of fitting it is. For example, an IV stands for isolating
valve.
 The capitalised letters of “NC” will mean the valve is normally
closed.
 You’ll also see circles with numbers and letters inside, this is the
unique ID for the fitting, there should be a matching ID tag fixed
to the physical fitting. You can use this number to find the correct
fitting and also lookup detail for it in the log sheet such as size and
type.
  Dotted horizontal lines from one side to the other of the drawing
mean there is a floor there.
 The arrow on the pump indicates the direction of flow.

Chilled water schematic examples

Differe
nt chiller representations
We’ll first start with the chiller. I’ll show you some examples of how chillers
are illustrated in schematics as it really varies. The two in the top right and
the one in the bottom right are all air cooled chillers and the rest are water
cooled. The components of each system are similar but as you can see the
design does vary and not every chiller install will use the exact same setup
or components.

So we’ll start with the chiller showing the condenser and evaporator, as
well as the flow and return lines coming in and out of this to join the rest of
the system.
 Chiller flow and return with isolating
valves
Then we’ll find the isolating valves which are typically butterfly or gate
vales, these will be used to cut the chiller off from the main system to carry
out maintenance. You’ll also find these valves on all major components
such as pumps and AHU’s.

chiller temperature sensor

Then we’ll have some temperature sensors which the chiller is connected
to. The chiller will read this to control its performance.
 Chiller orifice plate commissioning station
Then we’ll have a commissioning station to measure the flow rate, this will
be used to balance the system to meet the design flow rates and also
analyse the performance. I made another video previously on how to
measure the flow rate of a chiller using this device, check it out here.

Chiller double regulating valve

chilled water schematic
Next we have a bypass line and in this example there is a double regulating
valve between the flow and return lines but its more common these days to
have an isolating valve here which is normally closed or there isn’t a bypass
line at all. These are used to either flush the system and bypass the chiller
to stop dirt going into the heat exchanger during the system clean or in this
case its used to balance the system as its an old constant volume system
so this can be used to simulate the pressure drop of the chiller if the chiller
is isolated for maintenance.

Then because we have a bypass line we’ll have some more isolating valves,
this allows the chiller to be cut off from the system but the bypass line can
still be used. In newer systems you will find a motorised control valve here
which is connected to the Building Management System and allows remote
control.
 Pete plug test point
Then we’ll have some test points, also known as Petes plugs and these
allow technicians to plug measurement devices in, to take temperature and
pressure measurements.

Chiller temperature and pressure

gauges
Then we’ll have some temperature gauges to manually take readings. Over
time these generally become less reliable and the gauges often get stuck.
Then we’ll have some pressure gauges to allow manual readings. Again
these become less reliable over time and can become stuck.
 flexible connectors
Then we’ll have some flexible connectors, these prevent the vibration of the
pumps and chillers from running along the pipes throughout the building
and they also allow the pipes to expand and contract slightly which takes
the pressure off the connection.

We’ll usually find an almost identical setup on the condenser side so I’ll add
that in.

Multiple chiller
installation
This design is for a large commercial office building so there will be multiple
chillers, all with identical pipe arrangements.
Pump sets
Next we’ll need some pumps to push the water through the chiller and
around the building.

Pump set
For this we’ll usually have two or more pumps in parallel typically running
in duty and standby. Again the triangle points in the direction of flow.

Pump set flexible connectors

Then we’ll need some flexible connectors as the pumps will cause
vibrations.
 Pump set isolating valves
Then we’ll want some isolating valves so we can cut one or all the pumps
off for maintenance.

Pump set strainer

Then we’ll have some strainers which capture particles and dirt in the water
and prevent them from entering the pump. Some pump setups don’t use
this, some will have one large strainer elsewhere in the system.

Pump set pressure gauges

Then we’ll have some pressure gauges to allow manual readings

Pump set non return valve

Then we’ll have a non-return valve which prevents the pressure in the
pipework from forcing the pump to rotate backwards when its turned off.

Chilled Water pump design schematic

Notice this design doesn’t have another isolating valve past the non-return
valve, in newer systems like this one you will usually find there is one,
 Example
of a pump set explained
in the real world the pump set will look something like this for a centrifugal
pump set.

We know the pumps need to push water through the chiller, so we can
connect the pump sets to the chillers evaporator inlets.

Chilled water is generated in the evaporator so we’ll need to connect that

back around to the pumps to create a circuit and distribute the chilled
water.

Primary and secondary systems

Notice there is a common header between the flow and return lines. This
separates the system into primary and secondary loops and allows a
constant flow rate in the primary side which the chillers prefer as they
require a minimum water flow rate, it also allows a variable flow rate in the
secondary side as the cooling load changes.
Chilled water primary circuit
The chilled water is generated and circulated in the primary side, the
secondary loops will pull chilled water out of the header to cool the building
and then dump the warm return back into the header. If the flow rate In
the secondary side is low then some chilled water will flow into the
secondary and some will recirculate back to the chillers. If the flow rate is
high In the secondary loop then all the chilled water will flow into the
secondary loop and the return line will flow straight back to the chillers.

Coming off the common header is another header, this allows the flow to
be split and each will receive equal distribution. On the outlets of the
header you might find a commissioning station or double regulating valve
but in newer systems this is likely on the return line.

From the header outlets we’ll have some more pumps to distribute the
chilled water to different parts of the building, for example the east and
west side. Some designs won’t have separate pumps for different parts of
the building, they will simply have one pump set which forces the chilled
water around the entire building.
 Secondary circuit
pumps
These pumps will distribute the water off to the AHU’s and FCU’s, I
explained about when this detail is/isn’t shown earlier in the article but I’ll
just briefly give you some examples of Air Handling Unit connections and
also some Fan coil units.

AHU schematic
You’ll also find a pressurisation unit on the chilled water side as this is a
closed system, typically this is connected on the return line to the main
circulating pumps as this area is not affected by the pump. This unit just
maintains a certain pressure in the system.

Condenser Water
Now for the condenser water side. Remember air cooled chillers do not
require a condenser system. We will need a set of pumps to push the
water through the chiller and around the system so we can drop those in.

Condenser water circuit

Then connect those pumps to the condenser inlets and another line out of
the condenser and up to the cooling towers, located on the roof.

Cooling Towers
The cooling towers are connected to the riser via a header. These
connections will need isolating valves and flexible connectors. Not all
towers will use two inlets, some will have just one.

Cooling tower connection

At the outlet of the cooling tower we also need another isolating valve and
another flexible connector. Then we can connect this back to the pumps to
complete the circuit.
 Cooling tower outlet
As this is a large building with multiple chillers we’ll need multiple cooling
towers and in this design we’ll pipe them in parallel.

Multipl
e cooling tower balancing line
Because they are in parallel with a common supply and return we’ll
typically find a balancing line to ensure equal water levels in the basins and
prevent air from being sucked into the pipework and pumps.

Cooling tower bypass line

There might also be a bypass line with a motorised valve across the cooling
towers flow and return. This can have various functions such as maintaining
minimum flow rate and also protecting the chiller from tripping on low and
high pressure due to the temperature of the return condenser water being
out of design limits, for example during start-up of a cold winter morning.
 Coolin
g tower schematic
Another common version of the cooling tower you might come across will
look something like this. It has the flow and return lines for the condenser
water. There is also a balancing line between other cooling towers, they
have a make-up line which tops up the water in the water if it gets too low
and there will also be an overflow and drain line. Some have a flushing line
between the flow and return lines for system cleaning. If you want to know
how cooling towers work we’ve covered this in a previous video, click
here to see.