BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE

The following article was published in ASHRAE Journal, September 2004. © Copyright 2004 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-
Conditioning Engineers, Inc. It is presented for educational purposes only. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in
paper form without permission of ASHRAE.

Selecting Right System, Configuration

By William Ryan, Ph.D., P.E., Member ASHRAE is more acute as there often are few other
practical applications for waste heat.

C ogeneration systems generate power and capture heat for

local uses. These systems can reduce operating costs, re-
Unfortunately, a large body of litera-
ture does not exist on the best way to link
engine generators and absorption chill-
ers. Surprisingly, even absorption manu-
duce the need for new electric generation, and perhaps, more
facturers offer no specific guidance,
importantly, reduce the load on electric transmission systems. although manufacturers’ sizing programs
can be of some help. This is a crosscut-
After last summer’s East Coast grid failure, the interest in cogen- ting question between HVAC and engine-
generator manufacturers—two groups
eration systems is higher than ever. who have had little contact in the past.

In the long run, developing countries
(where electric demand is growing and
electric distribution is strained) can ben-
efit most from cogeneration. Every co-
generation system built reduces the need
for central generation and transmission
system construction, and decentralizes
power production, potentially increasing
the security of the electric system.
Aggressive year-round heat recovery
is important in economically justifying
S30 Building for the Future | A Supplement to ASHRAE Journal
cogeneration systems. Engine generators
are the most commonly used drives for
cogeneration systems in commercial
buildings and campuses. For most prac-
tical application sizes, this means that a
portion of the summer cooling load must
be met by an absorption chiller operat-
ing on waste heat from an industrial en-
gine. In the developing world, which
tends to be more tropical, the need for
cogeneration systems to supply cooling
Absorber Types
The first issue is the selection of the
best type of absorption chiller to apply
to engine heat rejection. Engine genera-
tors reject heat in the exhaust, the jacket
water, the oil cooler, one or more turbo-
charger intercoolers, and directly to the
engine room. The last three often are too
low in temperature to be practically used.
Temperature limits govern how much
can be recovered. Engine jacket outlet
September 2004

‘ Surprisingly, even absorption manufacturers offer no
specific guidance, although manufacturers’ sizing pro-
grams can be of some help.
temperatures are limited to the 240°F to 250°F (116°C to
121°C) range. Heat recovery mufflers are less limited, but
the amount of heat that can be recovered declines with in-
creasing inlet water temperature. Overall, if water at or be-
low 250°F (121°C) can satisfy the load, the jacket water heat
as well as a sizable portion of the exhaust heat can be recov-
ered, and heat recovery between 3,800 and 5,000 Btu/kWh
(4009 and 5275 kJ/kWh) of electric generation is practical. If
high pressure (>15 psig [>103 kPa]) steam is needed,
the jacket heat cannot be used and more exhaust heat is
wasted, lowering heat recovery to as low as 1,500 Btu/kWh
(1583 kJ/kWh).
Given that high-pressure
steam is not needed in most
commercial buildings, the
lower temperature hot water
approach can recapture as
much as 300% more heat.
This means that running a
less expensive, single-effect
absorber on low-temperature
heat is more desirable than
using a more efficient high-
temperature, double-effect
system.
Table 1 shows how much
cooling is available from such
systems. Note that a low-tem- One of two MW generators.
perature, single-effect absorber
produces more cooling per kW of engine generator at a lower
first cost than a high-temperature, double-effect absorber.
In addition, single-effect absorbers have somewhat lower
maintenance costs than double-effect systems, and do not re-
quire steam, eliminating steam system maintenance issues.
Lastly, single-effect absorption chillers operate further from
the crystallization region than double-effect systems. Figure
1 shows a simple, idealized low-temperature system. Figures
2 and 3 show examples of these components.
Engine Absorber Integration
The way the absorber is connected to the engine is critical
for proper operation. Although absorption chillers can be run
September 2004 Building for the Future | A Supplement to ASHRAE Journal
ABSORPTION CHILLERS
’
at water temperatures as low as 180°F (82°C), operating at such
low temperatures may involve a capacity derating. This will
require oversizing the absorber, effectively increasing the cost
of the absorption chiller in dollars per useable ton. Clearly,
operating the energy transfer between the engine and the ab-
sorber at the highest temperature practical is desirable. How-
ever, the ultimate limitation comes from a source most designers
do not initially expect: the maximum temperature of return
water to the engine jacket allowed by the engine manufacturer.
Industrial engine manufacturers contacted thus far
require jacket return water temperature at 207°F (97°C) or
below. The return temperature to the exhaust gas heat ex-
changer or water-cooled si-
lencer is not as limited. So
what are the effects on prac-
tical supply temperature to
the absorber?
Figure 5 shows a derating
chart for two domestic manu-
facturers of single effect hot
water-driven absorption sys-
tems. (Figures 6 and 7 are the
same chart with specific
sample temperatures.) The
multipass line uses data from
both manufacturers for chill-
ers with the greatest number
of passes available. The chart
is somewhat simplistic in that
a customer can, by working directly with the manufacturer,
order specific changes that can improve capacity somewhat.
Therefore, Figure 5 should be used to give a good first esti-
mate of absorber derating.
The charts are plotted with inlet temperature on the verti-
cal axis and outlet temperature on the horizontal axis. The
capacity factor scale on each line shows the percentage of the
original rating these machines produce at any particular inlet
and outlet water temperatures. Where the user’s system falls
on these charts can make a dramatic difference in actual ab-
sorber capacity.
The chart shows lines for both a single-pass and multipass
flow arrangement. In a single-pass arrangement, the hot wa-
S31
 Cooling Percent Cost
Heat Absorber Available, Above
Production, Hot Water
COP tons/kW Electric
Btu/kWh
Gen. (At 500 tons)
Water Absorber
Single Effect
Min. 3,800 0.22 Cooled Chilled
0.7
Low Temp. 25% Silencer Water to
System Single Effect
Max. 6,000 0.35 Cooling
0.7 Exhaust
Load
Double
Min. 1,500 Effect 0.15
High Temp. 1.2
100%
System Double
Max. 2,000 Effect 0.2
1.2

Table 1 (left): Comparison of low and high temperature approaches. Figure 1 (right): Ideal engine absorber interconnection.

Figure 2 (left): Absorption chiller at GTI cogeneration facility. Figure 3 : Exhaust heat recovery heat exchanger at GTI facility.

ter flows through the absorber generator once before exiting

the absorption chiller. In a multipass arrangement, the water
Hot Water
flows back and forth through the generator from two to four
times before exiting. The longer flow lengths of multipass
Water Absorber
arrangements remove more heat from each gallon of hot wa- Cooled Chilled
ter, resulting in a greater temperature drop through the ab- Silencer Water to
Cooling
sorber. The other alternative, running the hot water through Exhaust
Load
the generator tubes more slowly, generally is not practical as
the water flow may become laminar and the heat transfer rate
may deteriorate. 207°F
Using these charts for our simplified engine-absorber sys- Max.

tem, it will be seen that the critical limitation is the return

water temperature to the engine jacket.
If the maximum return water temperature to the engine jacket
is 207°F (97°C), the maximum temperature of water leaving
the absorber is 207°F (97°C). This gives the situation shown in
Figure 7. Using a multipass arrangement, the absorber could
take in water at 230°F (110°C)with a capacity factor of ~84%
and still produce the desired 207°F (97°C) outlet water tem-
perature. Feeding water to the absorber at any higher tempera-
ture other than 230°F (110°C) would raise the leaving water
temperature above 207°F (97°C). This excess heat would have
Figure 4: Engine absorber interconnection.
to be thrown away before the water reenters the engine jacket,
thereby lowering the overall efficiency of the system. With a
single-pass machine, the maximum hot water inlet tempera-
ture would be 220°F (104°C) and the capacity factor would be
~74%. A multipass arrangement produces significantly less ab-
sorber derating than a single pass.
In addition, the multipass allows a 23°F (13°C) hot water
range (difference between absorber input and output water

S32 Building for the Future | A Supplement to ASHRAE Journal September 2004
 ABSORPTION
HEAT RECOVERY
CHILLERS

280 280

260 100% 260 100%

0% 0%
10 10
0%
Inlet Temp. (°F)

90% 90% %

Inlet Temp. (°F)

240 r 9 240 r 90
to to
Fac 80% % 230°F Fac 80% %
ity 80 80
ac 70% ity
220 p 7 0 % 220 220°F pac 70% 0 %
Ca Ca
7
% %
60% 60 60% 60
200 % 200 %
50 50
% %
40 40 207°F
180 180
Multipass Multipass
Single-Pass Single-Pass
160 160
140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240
Outlet Temp. (°F) Outlet Temp. (°F)

Figure 5 (left): Derating charts for two American manufacturers. Figure 6 (right): Operating points to achieve 207°F (97°C)
return to jacket temperature.

temperatures), whereas the single pass allows only a tor is to engine jacket entering water temperature, and also
13°F (7°C) range. The larger range of the multipass the value of using multipass machines. Both absorber derat-
means that less water has to be pumped to and through the ing, requiring installation of a larger absorber, and the larger
absorber to supply a given hot water flows, requiring
heat input. This helps to 280 larger piping and pumps,
compensate for the higher can make a significant dif-
260 100%
pressure drop of a multipass 1 0 0% ference in first cost.
arrangement. 90% % There are situations
Inlet Temp. (°F)

240 0
or 9
If the maximum return wa- act % where single-pass arrange-
yF 80% 80
ter temperature to the engine 220 acit 70% % ments will make sense,
p 7 0
Ca
jacket was 190°F (88°C), 212°F
60% 6 0 % specifically where tempera-
%
as quoted by some engine 200 198°F 50 ture ranges must be kept low
%
manufacturers, the situation 40 or the water flow rate must
180 190°F
becomes appreciably worse, Multipass be high for some other sys-
Single-Pass
as shown in Figure 8. 160
tem-related reason. How-
With a 190°F (88°C) maxi- 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 ever, with engine coolant,
mum engine jacket entering Outlet Temp. (°F) the limited return tempera-
temperature (and therefore a Figure 7: Operating points to achieve 190°F (88°C) return to ture to the engine and the
190°F [88°C] absorber leav- jacket temperature. ability for an engine to
ing water temperature) the generate high (250°F or
maximum entering water temperature for a multipass absorber more [121°C or more]) leaving water temperatures suggest
is 212°F (100°C), with a capacity factor of ~65%. that engine heat recovery is a problem best solved with a
Table 2 illustrates how sensitive the absorber capacity fac- multipass chiller.

Maximum Engine Chiller Size Engine Water Flow

Number of Maximum Absorber Resulting Capacity
Jacket Inlet, °F Required to Deliver Required
Passes Inlet Temp., °F Derating Factor
100 tons, Tons For 100 Tons, gpm

1 180 186 37% 270 571

1 190 198 50% 200 428
1 207 220 73% 137 264
1 220 236 86% 116 214

Multipass 180 200 50% 200 171

Multipass 190 212 65% 143 156
Multipass 207 232 87% 115 137
Multipass 220 258 101% 99 90

Table 2: Resulting derating situation and water flows for 100 tons (350 kW) of heat recovery cooling.

September 2004 Building for the Future | A Supplement to ASHRAE Journal S33
How Heat Exchangers Make the Situation Worse pump to be in separate circuits, other ways exist of handling
Designers often place a heat exchanger between the ab- this, as described in the next section.
sorber and the engine jacket. Engine manufacturers may ac-
tually recommend this as it relieves them of any concerns Pumping Issues
about the capability of the engine water pump to handle the Moving jacket water through the absorption chiller directly
pressure drop through the absorber. Unfortunately, this is not involves overcoming the pressure drop within the hot water
desirable from an overall sys- piping that runs through the
tem standpoint. generator. The longer the flow
If the heat exchanger has a path, the greater the pressure
10°F (5.5°C) drop, as is typi- Absorber loss. Therefore the pressure
cal of shell and tube arrange- Water drop increases with the num-
Cooled
ments, and the maximum Silencer ber of passes used.
return temperature of the en- 180°F As shown in Table 3, mov-
Exhaust
gine is 190°F (88°C), the ing from single to multipass
maximum output temperature machines both raises the pres-
from the absorber becomes sure drop and lowers the water
180°F (82°C). As shown in 190°F 190°F flow rate, resulting in similar
Table 2, this results in a fur- power consumption. Pumping
ther derating of the absorber, Figure 8: Commonly used heat exchanger worsens situation. power does rise with lower
increasing the design size of water temperatures in either
the absorber from 143 to 200 tons 20 pass arrangement. However, it remains
ss

(503 to 703 kW) just to effectively a small quantity compared to the cool-
Pa

produce 100 tons (352 kW). ing derived. The values in Table 3 do
3

10
Some designers also voice con- not include pumping needed to send
Pressure Drop, ft of water

cerns about any leakage in the ab- the hot water from the engine to the
ss
Pa

sorber generator heat exchanger absorber. A system with considerable

2

5
potentially contaminating the engine distance between the engine and the
coolant system. However, even when absorber will consume more power.
ss
Pa

the absorber is running, the genera- Some engine generators may be

1

tor operates below atmospheric pres- equipped with a pump on the engine.
2
sure, whereas the jacket coolant However, this pump will have been
system is at or above atmospheric. sized to move jacket water through
When the absorber is shut down, the 1
a radiator and back to and through
generator is far below atmospheric 90 100 200 300 400 500 the engine. It may not be sufficient
Gallons Per Minute
pressure. Any leakage in generator to handle pumping through the ab-
tubing would admit jacket water to Figure 9: Pressure drop in a 160 ton (563 kW) sorber. An additional pump may
the absorber, rather than leak bro- (nominal rating) hot water absorption chiller. need to be added to circulate cool-
mide solution to the jacket water. ant through the absorber. Also, the
Finally, although a heat exchanger dividing the two water pressure drops shown in Figure 9 are for water and will be
flows allows the absorber’s hot water flow pump and engine higher than for the ethylene glycol water mixtures generally

Maximum Maximum Resulting Chiller Size Pump Power

Number of Engine Jacket Engine Water Flow Required Pressure at 60%
Absorber Inlet Capacity Required to Deliver
Passes Inlet, °F For 100 tons, gpm Drop, ft Efficiency, hp
Temp., °F Factor 100 tons, tons
1 180 186 37% 270 571 10 2.41
1 190 198 50% 200 428 6 1.08
1 207 220 73% 137 264 2 0.24
1 220 236 86% 116 214 2 0.14
0.00
Multipass 180 200 50% 200 171 22 1.59
Multipass 190 212 70% 143 156 15 0.98
Multipass 207 232 87% 115 137 12 0.69
Multipass 220 258 101% 99 90 8 0.30

Table 3: Pump power across differing flow conditions.

S34 Building for the Future | A Supplement to ASHRAE Journal September 2004
 ABSORPTION
HEAT RECOVERY
CHILLERS

used in engine jackets to prevent radia-

Absorber Control Valve
tor freeze-up in the winter.

Sizing and Control T

Water
In most commercial building appli- Cooled Chilled
Water to
cations, cooling, heating, power (CHP) Silencer
Cooling
or cogeneration systems make the most Load
Exhaust
economic sense when sized to cover Absorber
about 50% of a facility’s electric load.1,2
The generator operates nearly continu-
Expansion and
ously to cover 40% to 60% of the full Pressurization
electric load. The infrequent peak elec- 207°F
Tank
tric loads are covered by utility power. Max
Properly connected, engine generators
in the 32% efficiency range can provide
Dump Radiator
enough heat to power, at most, 250 to
300 tons (880 to 1055 kW) of single- Figure 10: Layout showing control system and heat rejection.
effect absorption chiller for each MW
of generator installed. Given that the absorption chiller is operated on reclaimed
Commercial buildings require between 5 and 15 W/ft2 (54 heat from a generator, the absorber should be the first chiller
and 161 W/m2). This includes all electric loads including elec- operated (the “lead” chiller) whenever a cooling load is
tric cooling systems. Conversely, each 400 ft2 (37 m2) of build- present. Other chiller capacity should then be brought on only
ing requires roughly 1 ton (3.5 kW) of cooling. as needed.
CHP systems in commercial buildings, as suggested in Table
4, feature the following: Controlling the System
• CHP systems tend to have more favorable economics in Diagrams presented thus far have shown very simple sys-
larger installations. In general, for a given climate and utility tems. The next issue to handle is controlling the output of the
rate structure, the amount saved by the systems is relatively absorber to match the needs of the cooling system. The stan-
constant per square foot of building floor space. However, dard method is to control the volume of hot water flow through
the first cost of the system declines precipitously with build- the generator with a two-way or three-way control valve.
ing size, making paybacks shorter for larger systems.1,2 Given that the overall water flow through the engine jacket
• Engine generators are the most practical way of generat- must remain constant, and that some water flow should be
ing electricity in systems in the 0.5 MW to 2 to 3 MW range. maintained through the water-cooled silencer, the three-way
This would cover buildings up to ~500,000 ft2 (~46 450 m2), arrangement lends itself to this system.
which includes the vast majority of commercial buildings. In addition, during periods when the absorber is producing
Systems serving larger floor space loads, where turbines may less than full cooling or is shut down, the unused heat from
be more practical, would include only very large hospitals the engine jacket must be rejected to the environment. At this
and collections of buildings on central heating and cooling point, the dump heat radiator is introduced into the system,
systems. The emerging technology of microturbines may as shown in Figure 10. A cooling tower could also be used.
change this situation soon. Given that this cooling tower is also needed for the absorp-
• The cooling provided by an absorption chiller oper- tion chiller, this can be a practical arrangement for CHP sys-
ating on generator waste heat tends to cover typically tems. However, in colder climates, engine cooling to a cooling
about one-third of the peak cooling load. The remainder tower will require cooling tower operation in freezing weather,
of the cooling needs must be provided by either con- generally requiring a dry sump.
ventional chillers and/or by supplementary firing of the Notice that an expansion and pressurization system also has
absorber. been added. The water system must be kept at a pressure above

Peak Electric Cogen Size Absorber Size, tons Peak Cooling Cost of Installed Cost of System
Building Size, ft2
Load at 50% Load, tons System Per ft2 of Building
100,000 700 kW 350 kW 87 250 $1,400/kW $5.50
500,000 3,500 kW 1,750 kW 438 1250 $1,200/kW $3.33
1,000,000 7,000 kW 3,500 kW 875 2500 $800/kW $2.80

Table 4: Approximate sizing of CHP systems in commercial buildings.

September 2004 Building for the Future | A Supplement to ASHRAE Journal S35
the boiling point of the hottest water in
From
the system. CWR Cooling
A water-cooled silencer (for exhaust Load

gas heat recovery) equipment manufac- To

CWS Cooling
turers’ diagram is shown in Figure 10. Load
Single Effect
An exhaust gas diverter valve controls Absorption
the water-cooled silencer. When the en- Chiller

gine operates and some or all of the waste Exhaust

To
heat is not needed, the valve opens and HWS Heating
sends exhaust gas around the heat ex- 180°F Max. Load
Heat
Exchanger
changer. Even when this is done, some Water Cooled From
flow of water should continue to pass Silencer HWR Heating
160°F Max. Load
through the silencer to prevent boiling <207°F
due to any possible diverter valve leak-
Water Pump
age. In Figure 10, the silencer flow by- T Radiator Operation Triggered by
passes the radiator, but does mix with the Leaving Temp. Exceeding 207°F
cooling flow. Therefore, the return to the Figure 11: Possible connection arrangement between engine generator and heat
silencer should not significantly exceed recovery system.
the temperature out of the engine jacket,
even when heat usage is zero. erate, with little derating, on lower temperature hot water.
These chillers use a different structure to the generator,
Space and Water Heating allowing lower temperature hot water to be used more
Having handled the cooling issues, the more straightforward effectively. To date, there has been no American production
recovery for space and water heating should be incorporated. of such equipment. Given a strong enough market in cogen-
As previously mentioned, water jackets typically can pro- eration systems, these chillers may become available in
duce hot water in the 240°F to 250°F (116°C to 121°C) range. the future. Some foreign equipment of this type has
The critical temperature is the allowable entering temperature been brought into the market, but this is beyond the scope of
to the water jacket, and engine manufacturers may limit this to this article.3
below 207°F (97°C). If there is no productive heat load that
will lower the return water to 207°F (97°C), much of the en- Conclusion
gine jacket heat will be wasted. This has a negative impact on Applying absorption chillers in conjunction with engine-
cogeneration economics. driven cogeneration systems requires some thought about
Figure 11 details an entire interconnection arrangement be- overall operation. Otherwise, the cost of the absorbers may
tween an engine generator, an absorption chiller, and a heating become too high or the system may produce less cooling than
delivery system. The absorber uses engine coolant directly with expected. In cogeneration economics, recovered heat offsets
no intermediate heat exchanger to minimize derating. some of the generator’s fuel consumption by reducing boiler
Using a heat exchanger for a building space heating sys- fuel consumption. With the rising cost of fossil fuels, maxi-
tem almost always is required. Building heating systems in- mizing the useful recovery of heat from a cogeneration sys-
volve extensive piping, and, running engine coolant tem is more important than ever.
throughout the building generally is not practical. In addi-
tion, the highest temperature used for most heating applica- References
tion is 180°F (82°C), well below the maximum engine return 1. Ryan, W., C. Haefke and M. Czachorski. 2002. Evalua-
temperature. When the space heating load is sufficient, all of tion of Commercial Markets for BCHP Applications, Gas Tech-
the recovered heat can be used and the waste heat radiator nology Institute.
remains inoperative. In addition, in larger commercial build- 2. Ryan, W. 2002. “Economics of Cogeneration.” ASHRAE
ings, domestic hot water often is generated as part of the over- Journal 45(10):34–40.
all heating system. This single heat exchanger would then 3. 2004. Century Single Stage Absorption Chiller, Product
pick up the domestic hot water load, as well. Specification Sheet.

Low-Temperature Absorption Chillers William Ryan, Ph.D., P.E., is a research engineer at the Uni-
Single-effect absorption chillers also can be built that op- versity of Illinois Chicago.

S36 Building for the Future | A Supplement to ASHRAE Journal September 2004