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 A. System and Major
Components of a
Chilled Water Air
Conditioning Unit
CHILLED WATER (Description of Parts,
Schematic
AIR CONDITIONING UNIT Diagrams, Processes
& Cycle Diagrams)
B. Operation of a
Chilled Water Air
Conditioning Unit
C. Mass & Energy
Balance
D. Performance Test
(What, Why & How
it is conducted,
 Chilled water air conditioning systems are
commonly used in applications that need large
cooling capacity such as hypermarket,
industrial process, commercial air
conditioning such as offices and factories.
 Chilled water systems work much the same way
as direct expansion systems work. The
exception is they use water in the coil
rather than refrigerant. Technically speaking,
water can be classified as a refrigerant.
 In a chilled-water system, the entire air
conditioner is installed on the roof or behind
the building. A water chiller cools water to
between 40 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 and
7.2 degrees Celsius). The chilled water is
then piped throughout the building and
connected to air handlers. This can be a
versatile system where the water pipes work
like the evaporator coils in a standard air
conditioner. If it's well-insulated, there's
no practical distance limitation to the length
of a chilled-water pipe.
WATER CHILLER
COOLING TOWER
AIR HANDLING UNIT
DUCTING SYSTEM
 A device that removes
heat from a liquid via a
vapor compression or
absorption refrigeration
cycle. This cooled liquid
flows through pipes in a
building and passes
through coils in air
handlers, fan-coil units,
or other systems, cooling
and usually dehumidifying
the air in the building.
Evaporator
Condenser
Compressor
Expansion valve
 The evaporator
works the
opposite of the
condenser, here
refrigerant
liquid is
converted to
gas, absorbing
heat from the
cooling water in
the compartment.
 A condenser is a
device or unit used
to condense a
substance from its
gaseous to its liquid
state, by cooling it.
In so doing, the
latent heat is given
up by the substance
and transferred to
the surrounding
environment
 The compressor compacts
the refrigerant vapor
and pumps it to the
reversing valve.

Centrifugal Screw Compressor

Compressor
 removes pressure from
the liquid refrigerant
to allow expansion or
change of state from a
liquid to a vapor in
the evaporator. The
high-pressure liquid
refrigerant entering
the expansion valve is
quite warm. The liquid
refrigerant leaving the
expansion valve is
quite cold.
 A cooling tower
is a heat
rejection device,
which extracts
waste heat to the
atmosphere though
the cooling of a
water stream to a
lower
temperature.
Fan
Cooling Tower Sprinklers
Drift Eliminator
Fill Media
Air intake louvers
Forces air from
the cooling
tower to the
atmosphere
releasing hot
air with heat
absorbed from
the water.
 its role is to evenly
distribute the water
filling, the increase
in water vapor contact
interface, so that part
of the water vapor-
based to remove heat,
play a role in lowering
the water temperature.
Also a part of water
distribution system
inside the cooling
tower.
 Drift eliminators
are designed to
capture large
water droplets
caught in the
cooling tower air
stream. The
eliminators
prevent the water
droplets and mist
from escaping the
cooling tower
 is a medium used in
cooling towers to
increase the surface
area of the tower.
Increased surface
area allows for
maximum contact
between the air and
the water, which
allows for greater
evaporation rates.
prevent the
sun’s rays from
penetrating the
water
reservoir,
which stops
mold and algae
from forming.
 Used to condition and
circulate air. Usually,
it is a large metal box
containing a blower,
heating and/or cooling
elements, filter racks or
chambers, sound
attenuators, and dampers.
Also connects to ductwork
that distributes the
conditioned air through
the building, and returns
it to the AHU.
 Ducts are
insulated
conduits or
passages used in
ventilation, and
air conditioning
(HVAC) to
deliver and
remove air.
Includes the
Supply and
Return Vents.
Supply Vents/
Diffuser Return Vents
 In air conditioning processes heat is
added to or extracted from the air to
produce heating or cooling. At any
temperature, moist air will contain:
oSensible heat for dry air
oSensible heat for water
oLatent heat of evaporation
oSensible superheat for water vapor

o An adiabatic process is one in which

the air loses sensible heat by an
amount equal to the latent heat gain.
 Cooling is the transfer of energy from the space
or air supplied to the space by virtue of a
difference in temperature between the source and
the space or air. In the usual cooling process
air is circulated over a surface at a low
temperature. Cooling usually denotes sensible
heat transfer, with a decrease in the air
temperature.
 Heating is the transfer of energy to a space or
to the air in a space by virtue of a difference
in temperature between the source and the space
or air. Heating can take place through direct
radiation and free convection, heating of forced
circulated air, heating of water that is
circulated to the vicinity space.
 Dehumidifying is the transfer of water
vapor from the atmospheric air. Latent
heat transfer is associated with this
process. This process is most often
accompanied by circulating the air over a
surface maintained at a sufficiently low
temperature to cause the condensation of
water vapor from the mixture.
 Humidifying is the transfer of water vapor
to atmospheric air. This process is
usually accomplished by introducing water
vapor or by spraying fine droplets of
water that evaporate into the circulating
air stream.
 The evaporator of the chiller is where
the “chilled water” is generated. The
“chilled water” leaves the evaporator
at around 6°C (42.8°F) and is pushed
around the building by the chilled
water pump. The chilled water flows up
the height of the building to each
floor in pipes known as “risers”.
These pipes are known as risers no
matter if the water is flowing upwards
or downwards within them.
 The chilled water branches off the risers into
smaller diameter pipes which head to the fan
coil units (FCU’s) and Air Handling Units
(AHU’s) to provide air conditioning. The AHU’s
and FCU’s are basically boxes with fans inside
that suck air in from the building and push it
across the heating or cooling coils to change
the temperature of the air and then push this
air back out into the building. The chilled
water enters the AHU/FCU and passes through
the cooling coil (a series of thin pipes)
where it will absorb the heat of the air
blowing across.
 The chilled water heats up and the air
blowing across it cools down. When the
chilled water leaves the cooling coil it
will now be warmer at around 12°C
(53.6°F). The warm chilled water then
heads back to the evaporator, via the
return riser, and once it enter the
evaporator a refrigerant will absorb the
unwanted heat and move this over to the
condenser. The chilled water will then
leave cool again, ready to circulate
around the building and collect more
unwanted heat.
 The condenser of the chiller is where the
unwanted heat is collected before being
sent to the cooling towers. A refrigerant
passes between the evaporator and the
condenser to move all the unwanted heat.
Another loop of water, known as “condenser
water”, passes in a loop between the
condenser and the cooling tower. The
refrigerant collects the heat from the
“chilled water” loop in the evaporator and
moves this to the “condenser water” loop
in the condenser.
 The condenser water enters the condenser
at around 27°C (80.6°F) and will pass
through, collecting heat along the way. By
the time it leaves the condenser it will
be around 32°C (89.6°F). The condenser
water and the refrigerant never mix, they
are always separated by the pipe wall,
heat just transfers through the wall. Once
the condenser water has passed through the
condenser and picked up the unwanted heat,
it will head up to the cooling towers to
dump this heat and return cooler ready to
collect more heat.
 The cooling tower is usually located up on the
roof and is the final destination for the
unwanted heat in the building. The cooling
tower contains a large fan which blows air
through the unit. The condenser water is
pumped up to the cooling towers and it is
sprayed into the air stream. The cool ambient
air will enter and come in direct contact with
the spray of condenser water this will allow
the heat of the condenser water to transfer
into the air and this air is then blown out
into the atmosphere. The condenser water then
collects and heads back to the chillers
condenser ready to collect more heat.
 When the mass flow rate increases the heat rate
changes. However, the outlet temperature does
not change proportionally to the mass flow rate
because it depends on other parameters such as
the flow type and the physical parameters that
generally changes with the temperature. To
explore explicitly the relation between the
exchanger (heat recovery concept) performance
and the water flow rate, a first set of
calculations is performed for the water flow
rate varying from 0.01 to 0.1 kg/s for 3.52 kW,
31.65 kW and 63.31 kW cases. For this set of
calculations the air volumetric flow rate is
fixed at 0.8 m3/s.
Water is cooled by air in a cooling tower. The
volume flow rate of air and the mass flow rate of
the required makeup water are to be determined.
Assumptions:
1. Steady operating conditions exist and thus
mass flow rate of dry air remains
constant during the entire process.
2. Dry air and water vapor are ideal gases.
3. The kinetic and potential energy changes are
negligible.
4. The cooling tower is adiabatic.
First Analysis:
a) The mass flow rate of dry air
through the tower remains constant (m a1
m a2 m a ) , but the mass flow rate of
liquid water decreases by an amount
equal to the amount of water that
vaporizes in the tower during the
cooling process. The water lost
through evaporation must be made up
later in the cycle to maintain steady
operation. Applying the mass and
energy balances yields.
Second Analysis:
 Air is cooled and dehumidified at constant pressure.
The amount of water removed from the air and the rate
of cooling are to be determined.
Assumptions:
1. This is a steady-flow process and thus the mass
flow rate of dry air remains constant during the
entire process (m a1 m a2 m a ) .
2. Dry air and water vapor are ideal gases.
3. The kinetic and potential energy changes are
negligible.
Properties:
The inlet and the exit states of the air are
completely specified, and the total pressure is 1 atm.
The properties of the air at various states are
determined from the psychrometric chart to be:
 Air conditioning and refrigeration consume
significant amount of energy in buildings
and in process industries. The energy
consumed in air conditioning and
refrigeration systems is sensitive to load
changes, seasonal variations, operation
and maintenance, ambient conditions etc.
Hence the performance evaluation will have
to take into account to the extent
possible all these factors.
 The purpose of performance assessment
is to verify the performance of a
refrigeration system by using field
measurements. The test will measure net
cooling capacity (tons of
refrigeration) and energy requirements,
at the actual operating conditions. The
objective of the test is to estimate
the energy consumption at actual load
vis-à-vis design conditions.
A. Preparatory for Measurements
o After establishing that steady-
state conditions, three sets of
data shall be taken, at a minimum
of five-minute intervals. To
minimize the effects of transient
conditions, test readings should
be taken as nearly simultaneously.
B. Procedure
oTo determine the net refrigeration capacity:
The test shall include a measurement of the
net heat removed from the water as it passes
through the evaporator by determination of
the following: a. Water flow rate b.
Temperature difference between entering and
leaving water The heat removed from the
chilled water is equal to the product of the
chilled water flow rate, the water
temperature difference, and the specific
heat of the water is defined as follows
 The net refrigeration capacity in tons shall be
obtained by the following equation:

 The accurate temperature measurement is very

vital in refrigeration and air conditioning and
least count should be at least one decimal.
C. Methods of measuring the flow
In the absence of an on-line flow meter the
chilled water flow can be measured by the
following methods
o In case where hot well and cold well are
available, the flow can be measured from the
tank level dip or rise by switching off the
secondary pump.
o Non-invasive method would require a well
calibrated ultrasonic flow meter using which the
flow can be measured without disturbing the
system
o If the waterside pressure drops are close to the
design values, it can be assumed that the water
flow of pump is same as the design rated flow.
o Measurement of compressor power
The compressor power can be measured by
a portable power analyser which would
give reading directly in kW.
If not, the ampere has to be measured
by the available on-line ammeter or by
using a tong tester.
The power can then be calculated by
assuming a power factor of 0.9
Power (kW) = √3 x V x I x cosφ
o Temperature, Dry Bulb – is the temperature of air
indicated by a regular thermometer.
o Temperature, Wet Bulb – is the temperature measured
by a thermometer that has a bulb wrapped in wet
cloth.
o Temperature, Dewpoint – is the temperature to which
air must be cooled in order to reach saturation or
at which the condensation of water vapor in a space
begins for a given state of humidity and pressure.
o Relative humidity - describes how far the air is
from saturation. It is a useful term for expressing
the amount of water vapor when discussing the amount
and rate of evaporation. One way to approach
saturation, a relative humidity of 100%, is to cool
the air. It is therefore useful to know how much the
air needs to be cooled to reach saturation.
 A damper is a valve or plate that stops or regulates
the flow of air.
 Thermal Transmittance or Heat Transfer Coefficient
(U-factor) – is the rate of heat flow through a
unit area of building envelope material or
assembly, including its boundary films, per unit of
temperature difference between the inside and
outside air. The U-factor is expressed in Btu/ (hr
°F 𝑓𝑡 2 ).
 Thermal Resistance (R) – is the reciprocal of a
heat transfer coefficient and is expressed in (hr
°F 𝑓𝑡 2 )/Btu.
 Cooling Load Temperature Difference (CLTD) – an
equivalent temperature difference used for
calculating the instantaneous external cooling
load across a wall or roof.
 Sensible Heat Gain – is the energy added to the
space by conduction, convection and/or radiation.
 Latent Heat Gain – is the energy added to the
space when moisture is added to the space by means
of vapor emitted by the occupants, generated by a
process or through air infiltration from outside
or adjacent areas.
 Radiant Heat Gain – the rate at which heat
absorbed is by the surfaces enclosing the space
and the objects within the space.
 Space Heat Gain – is the rate at which heat
enters into and/or is generated within the
conditioned space during a given time
interval.
 Space Cooling Load – is the rate at which
energy must be removed from a space to
maintain a constant space air temperature.
 Space Heat Extraction Rate - the rate at
which heat is removed from the conditioned
space and is equal to the space cooling
load if the room temperature remains
constant.
 Cooling load temperature difference and

cooling load factor are used to convert

the space sensible heat gain to space
sensible cooling load.
 The space sensible cooling load 𝑄𝑟𝑠 is
calculated as:

𝑄𝑟𝑠 = 𝐴(𝑈)(𝐶𝐿𝑇𝐷)
A = area of external wall or roof
U = overall heat transfer coefficient of the
external wall or roof.
CLTD values are found which are designed for
fixed conditions of outdoor/indoor temperatures,
latitudes, etc. Corrections and adjustments are
made if the conditions are different.
 CLF is used to determine solar loads
or internal loads.

𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑄𝑟𝑠

𝐶𝐿𝐹 = =
𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑄𝑒𝑠
 To calculate space heat gain, the following information
on building envelope is required:
 a. Architectural plans, sections and elevations – for
estimating building dimensions/area/volume
 b. Building orientation (N, S, E, W, NE, SE, SW, NW,
etc), location etc
 c. External/Internal shading, ground reflectance etc.
 d. Materials of construction for external walls,
roofs, windows, doors, internal walls, partitions,
ceiling, insulating materials and thick nesses,
external wall and roof colors - select and/or compute
U-values for walls, roof, windows, doors, partitions,
etc. Check if the structure is insulated and/or
exposed to high wind. e. Amount of glass, type and
shading on windows
 Three Categories:

 External Cooling Loads

 Internal Cooling Loads

 Loads from Infiltration and Ventilation

 External cooling loads have the following
components:
 Solar Heat Gain through Fenestration Areas,
Qfes
 Conduction Heat Gain through Fenestration
Areas, Qfe
 Conduction Heat Gain through Roofs (Qrs) and
External Walls (Qws)
 Conduction Heat Gain through Interior
Partitions, Ceilings and Floors, Qic
𝑄𝑓𝑒𝑠 = 𝐴𝑠 (𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑆𝐻𝐺𝐹 + 𝐴𝑠ℎ )(𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑆𝐻𝐺𝐹𝑠ℎ )(𝑆𝐶)
 𝐴𝑠 = unshaded area of window glass
 𝐴𝑠ℎ = shaded area of window glass
 𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑆𝐻𝐺𝐹𝑠ℎ = maximum solar heat gain factor for
the shaded area on window glass (Table 4)
 max. SHGF = maximum solar heat gain factor for
window glass (Table 5)
 SC = shading coefficient (Table 6)
The corresponding cooling
load 𝑄𝑓𝑠 :
𝑄𝑓𝑠 = 𝑄𝑓𝑒𝑠 (CLF)
 The space cooling load due to the conduction
heat gain through fenestration area is
calculated as:
 𝑸𝒇𝒆 = A(U)(CLTD)

 A = fenestration area

 U = overall heat transfer coefficient for window

glass (Table 7)
 CLTD = cooling load temperature difference
(Table 1)
 The space cooling load due to the conduction
heat gain through roofs or external walls is
calculated as:
 𝑸𝒓𝒔 (𝒐𝒓𝑸𝒘𝒔 ) = A(U)(CLTD)
 A = area for external walls or roofs
 U = overall heat transfer coefficient for
external walls or roof
 CLTD = cooling load temperature difference
(Table 2)
 The space cooling load due to the conduction heat
gain through interior partitions, ceilings and
floors is calculated as:
𝑸𝒊𝒄 =A(U)(𝑇𝑏 − 𝑇𝑖 )
 A = area for interior partitions, ceilings or
floors
 U = overall heat transfer coefficient for
interior partitions, ceilings or floors
 𝑇𝑏 = average air temperature of the adjacent
area
 𝑇𝑖 = indoor air temperature
 Electric Lighting

 People

 Power Equipment and Appliances

 Space cooling load due to the heat gain from electric
lights is often the major component for commercial
buildings having a larger ratio of interior zone.
Electric lights contribute to sensible load only.
Sensible heat released from electric lights is in two
forms:
 (i) convective heat from the lamp, tube and fixtures.

 (ii) radiation absorbed by walls, floors, and furniture and

convected by the ambient air after a time lag.
 𝑄𝑙𝑒𝑠 = 𝐼𝑁𝑃𝑈𝑇 𝐹𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐹𝑎𝑙

 Input = total light wattage obtained from the

ratings of all fixtures installed
 𝐹𝑢𝑠𝑒 = use factor defined as the ratio of
wattage in use possibly at design condition to
the installation condition
 𝐹𝑎𝑙 = special allowance factor for fluorescent
fixtures accounting for ballast loss, varying
from 1.18 to 1.30
 𝑄𝑙𝑠 = 𝐼𝑁𝑃𝑈𝑇(𝐹𝑢𝑠𝑒 )(𝐹𝑎𝑙 )(𝐶𝐿𝐹)
 CLF is a function of:
 (i) number of hours that electric lights are switched
on (for 24 hours continuous lighting, CLF = 1), and
 (ii) types of building construction and furnishings.

 Therefore, CLF depends on the magnitude of surface

and the space air flow rates.
 Human beings release both sensible heat and
latent heat to the conditioned space when they
stay in it. The space sensible (Qps) and
latent (Qpl) cooling loads for people staying
in a conditioned space are calculated as:
 𝑄𝑝𝑠 = 𝑛 𝑆𝐻𝐺 𝐶𝐿𝐹
 𝑄𝑝𝑙 = 𝑛(𝐿𝐻𝐺)
 n = number of people in the conditioned
space
 SHG = sensible heat gain per person (Table
8)
 LHG = latent heat gain per person (Table 8)
 Adjusted values for total heat shown in Table
8 is for normal percentage of men, women and
children of which heat released from adult
female is 85% of adult male, and that from
child is 75%.
 CLF for people is a function of
 (i) the time people spending in the
conditioned space, and
 (ii) the time elapsed since first entering.
 CLF is equal to 1 if the space temperature is
not maintained constant during the 24-hour
period.
 The industrial and commercial applications

use various equipment such as fans, pumps,

machine tools, elevators, escalators and
other machinery, which add significantly to
the heat gain.
 If the motor and the machine are in the room the heat
transferred can be calculated as
 Q = 2545 * (P / Eff) * FUM * FLM
 P = Horsepower rating from electrical power plans or
manufacturer’s data
 Eff = Equipment motor efficiency, as decimal fraction
 FUM = Motor use factor (normally = 1.0)
 FLM = Motor load factor (normally = 1.0)
 Note: FUM = 1.0, if operation is 24 hours In this
situation the total power are transferred as heat to the
room. Note! If the machine is a pump or a fan most of the
power are transferred as energy to the medium and may be
transported out of the room. For such cases, case 4 shall
be used.
 Tons of refrigeration (TR): One ton of
refrigeration is the amount of cooling
obtained by one ton of ice melting in one
day: 3024 kCal/h, 12,000 Btu/h or 3.516
thermal kW.
 Net Refrigerating Capacity. A quantity
defined as the mass flow rate of the
evaporator water multiplied by the
difference in enthalpy of water entering
and leaving the cooler, expressed in
kCal/h, tons of Refrigeration
 kW/ton rating: Commonly referred to as
efficiency, but actually power input to
compressor motor divided by tons of
cooling produced, or kilowatts per ton
(kW/ton). Lower kW/ton indicates higher
efficiency.
 Coefficient of Performance (COP): Chiller
efficiency measured in Btu output
(cooling) divided by Btu input (electric
power).
 Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER):
Performance of smaller chillers and
rooftop units is frequently measured in
EER rather than kW/ton. EER is
calculated by dividing a chiller's
cooling capacity (in Btu/h) by its
power input (in watts) at full-load
conditions. The higher the EER, the
more efficient the unit.
 1. Power per Ton

kW input = measured compressor

power
tons refrigeration effect = net
refrigeration capacity (TR)
 Net refrigerating Capacity

m = mass flow rate of the chilled water,

kg/hr
Cp = specific heat, kCal/kg ºC
Tin = chilled water temperature at the
evaporator inlet, ºC
Tout = chilled water temperature at the
evaporator inlet, ºC
2. Coefficient of Performance

3. Energy Efficiency Ratio

 RELATIONS USED TO CALCULATE
ENERGY EFFICIENCY PARAMETERS
COP = 0.293 EER EER = 3.413 COP

kW/Ton = 12 / EER EER = 12 / (kW/Ton)

kW/Ton = 3.516 / COP COP = 3.516 / (kW/Ton)

Change Air Conditioner Filter
 If gone unchanged, the filter builds up
excess dirt and grime, which reduces
airflow, slows unit down, and worsens
indoor air quality.
Use Shade Strategically
 shading outdoor heat pump (air
conditioner) help save energy and
improve a/c performance
Keep Vents and Registers Open and Clear
 Air conditioner has to work harder
when the vents aren’t clear, resulting
in higher electricity bills.
Clean A/C Condenser
 Over time, dirt, debris, twigs, lawn
clippings, and other junk gets stuck
around a/c condenser. To improve a/c
performance, condenser unit should be
cleaned twice a year at least.
 There are a number of variables that
determine the operational
characteristics and energy performance
of water chillers. A chiller is
selected to meet a specific maximum
capacity requirement at certain design
conditions.
 To design chillers that meet the performance
specifications, manufacturers of packaged water
chillers must consider a very wide range of
variables. These variables include:
o Compressor Design
o Heat Gains – Motors, Oil Pumps, Casings
o Motor Efficiency
o Surface Area of Evaporators/Condensers
o Tube Heat Transfer Coefficients – Fouling, Tube
Enhancement, Velocity of Fluids
o Internal Refrigerant Pressure Drops
o Over/Under Compression
o Use of Refrigerant Economizers
o Refrigerant
 At peak design conditions the efficiency of
water chillers is rated by “coefficient of
performance” or COP.

 The higher the number (COP), the more energy

efficient the machine. ASHRAE Standard 90.1-
20047 and Title 24-20058 provide minimum energy
efficiency standards for water chillers.
 Chiller efficiencies are also discussed in

terms of “kW/ton” for peak ratings.

 The lower the kW/ton, the more energy

efficient the machine.
 Standard chiller ratings are based on

“ARI conditions,” which set standard

parameters for the rating capacity of
different machines.

 ARI (American Refrigeration Institute)

 For water chillers the ARI rating conditions
are: