HVAC Controls

Control & Optimization of Central

Chilling System

Name- Kunal D. Deshmukh

Roll no. 210123002
Outline
• Basics of Chiller.
• Chiller safety interlocks.
• Chillers and central chilling system
configurations.
• Chiller performance and optimal control.
• Optimal control of heat- rejection systems.
• Optimal set- point reset of chilled water supply
temperature.
• Sequence control of multiple chiller plants.
Basics of
Chiller
Systems:
•Generally, a central chilling system
consists of three subsystems:
•Chillers, whose function in a central
chilling system is to produce an adequate
quantity of chilled water at the required
temperature.
•Heat- rejection system, whose function is
to reject the heat from the refrigerant to
the environment.
•Chilled water distribution system, whose
function is to distribute the chilled water
to the user terminals.
• A vapor compression chiller removes an amount of
heat (Qe) from the chilled water and invests an
amount of work (W) to deliver a quantity of heat (Qc)
to the environment.
• The coefficient of performance (COP) of a chiller is
defined as the ratio between the heat removed from
the process (Qe) and the work (W) required to
achieve this heat removal.
• Typically, chillers operate with COPs within the
range of 2.5 to 7.0.
• Optimization can increase the COP by increasing the
evaporating temperature or decreasing the
condensing temperature of the refrigerant.

COP =
Chiller Safety Interlocks:

• An interlock system prevents the compressor motor

from being started if any of the following conditions
exist :
 Low evaporator water temperature, near freezing point,
sensed by low temperature switch.
 Low water flow, sensed by low- flow switch.
 High compressor discharge pressure, sensed by high-
pressure switch.
 High motor bearing or winding temperature, detected
by high- temperature switch.
 Low oil pressure.
Central Chilling
System Configurations:
1. Constant Primary Only Pumping System:
• The controlled variable in this control system is
the differential pressure between the main supply
and return pipes.
• A bypass pipe is installed to link up the two pipes
across which the differential pressure is monitored
and controlled. At the bypass pipe, a flow control
valve is installed, and this valve is modulated to
open or close, under the control of the differential
pressure controller.
• The differential pressure bypass valve (DPV) helps
in maintaining a constant chilled water flow
through the chillers, which is an essential
condition for steady operation of the chillers.
2) Constant
Primary/Variable Pumping
Systems:
• When the flow demand reduces from m1 to m2, if
constant pumps are used, the pump characteristic
curve remains unchanged and the system characteristic
curve changes as the valves in the terminal units are
closed.
• Pumps are used in the secondary loop, both the pump
characteristic curve and the system characteristic curve
can be changed, depending on the control
implemented, by slowing down the pumps.
3) Variable primary-only
pumping system:
• As shown in fig., the variable- speed pumps in the primary-
only system are controlled to maintain the differential
pressure at the most remote location (the critical branch)
in the distribution system at a set- point determined to be
sufficient to deliver the required chilled water flow rate
through any coil.
• The variable- speed pumps can significantly reduce pump
energy and are cost effective in most variable- flow chilled
water applications, where changes in load demand require
a variable chilled water flow rate.
• A bypass control valve and a flow meter are installed to
maintain the minimum flow through the chillers, due to
the fact that the flow rate in the primary system may be
below the minimum flow rate required by the chiller
evaporators when there is very low demand for chilled
water flow rate from the coils. The flow rate is sensed by
the precise flow meter. The controller then opens the
bypass valve to maintain the required minimum flow
through the chillers.
Chiller Energy
Performance:
• The condensing and evaporating temperatures establish the
refrigerant pressure and thus the energy needed per unit
cooling load.
• Considering the efficiency of a chiller alone, the
condensing temperature should be maintained as low as
possible and the evaporating temperature should be
maintained as high as possible to minimize refrigerant head
which means less compressor energy consumption.
• A decrease of 1 K in condensing temperature or an increase
of 1 K in evaporating temperature can result in an increase
of about 3 per cent in chiller COP.
• A saving of 1.5–2.5 per cent can be expected by reducing
the condensing temperature by 1 K or increasing the
evaporating temperature by 1 K in practical chillers at
normal air- conditioning conditions.
• The load of a chiller also strongly affects its
efficiency, which is mainly due to the efficiency
of the compressor at different loads.
• Chiller achieve its maximum efficiency when it is
running at the load range of 80 to 85%.
Optimal Control of Central Chilling
System:
• As we know, three sub-systems of chilling systems interact with each other.
• Hence reduction in one subsystem would normally result in increase in power consumption of other systems.
• Therefore, the systematic optimization is not to minimize the power consumption of one system, but to minimize the power
consumption of the entire system.

Where,
Wtot: total power consumption of the entire chilling system;
Wp,ch: power consumption of chilled water pumps;
Wchil: power consumption of chillers;
Wcd: power consumption of the condenser heat- rejection system.
• Steps for achieving the optimal control,
1. Identify the load and relevant external environment.
2. Identify or update the performance of chiller subsystems.
3. Determine the optimal operating settings of the system including the subsystems, which lead to minimum total energy consumption
of the entire system.
4. Control the system and subsystems at the determined optimal settings.
 Optimal Control of Heat Rejection
Systems:

• Sea Water Cooled Heat Rejection Systems:

• Since sea water- cooled systems use sea water to cool the
condenser water the temperature of the sea water cannot be
controlled.
• The balance between the power consumption of chillers and
pumps should be optimized since the high sea water flow rate
reduces the chiller power consumption by lowering the chiller
condenser water supply temperature while requiring more pump
power.
• For this, variablespeed pumps are introduced into condenser
heat- rejection systems, providing significant energy- saving
potential.
• Correct reset of the sea water differential pressure control set-
point can provide up to a 10 per cent saving in total chilling
system energy consumption.
2) Optimization of Air-cooled
systems:
• The air flow rate through the condenser affects
the chiller performance while the ambient air
temperature is not controllable.
• The increase of the air flow rate (fan speed)
will reduce the condensing temperature of
chillers and therefore reduce the power
consumption of chillers, however at the same
time it increases the power consumption of
condenser fans.
• Hence, optimal point of fan speeds to be
controlled in which it allows the total power
consumption of chillers and condenser fans
to be minimum at a certain load and ambient
air temperature.
3) Cooling Tower Optimization:
• The cooling tower fan speed control is the usual method of
maintaining the pre- set cooling tower supply water
temperature.
• Each 1 K reduction in the cooling tower supply water
temperature can reduce the operating costs of the chiller
compressor by about 2.5 per cent.
• In cool weather or partial load, a tower bypass valve can
be used to further reduce the cooling capacity when the
fan speed is at its low limit.
• A decrease in the cooling tower water supply temperature
tends to reduce the cost of chiller operation but it increases
the amount of work of cooling tower fans.
• Hence, we need to operate the system at the optimal
temperature. The optimal cooling tower supply water
temperature is the temperature that can satisfy the load at
the total minimum cost of all the operating equipment,
such as chillers plus cooling tower fans and pumps.
Optimal set-point reset of chilled
water supply temperature:

1) Variable Water Volume Systems:

• When the evaporator temperature rises as a result of controlled
chilled water supply temperature from chillers increasing, the
power consumption of chiller compressors is reduced as the
suction pressure rises.
• However, the power consumption of chilled water pumps
depends on the temperature difference across the user terminals
and the temperature difference is mainly affected by the chilled
water supply temperature.
• The higher the supply temperature, the more water that needs
to be pumped to transport the demanded amount of heat from
user terminals and the more power that is consumed by the
water distribution pumps.
• Each 1 K increase of the supply temperature reduces the
compressor operating cost by about 2–3 per cent and increases
the chilled water pump operating cost by about 10 per cent.
2) Constant Water
Volume Systems:
• In this system, pumps are running at constant speed
hence the optimization is simply to minimize the power
consumption of chillers.
• This system basically continuously measuring and
maintaining the optimal value for chilled water supply
temperature.
• The following simple rules can inform such a control
algorithm:
• 1) If all water valves are unsaturated or the discharge air
temperatures of all AHUs with saturated valves are
lower than the set- point, increase the chilled water
supply temperature set- point.
• 2) If more than one valve is saturated at 100 per cent
open and their corresponding discharge air
temperatures are greater than their set- points, decrease
the chilled water supply temperature set- point
Sequence Control of Multiple Chiller
Plants:

• Advantages of Multiple chiller systems:

1. High Efficiency.
2. Life of the equipment is lengthened.
3. Lower maintenance cost.
4. Reduced no. of failures.
• When multiple chillers are employed, sequencing their operation correctly becomes an essential function.
• Ultimate aim of the sequence control is to make the operating chillers achieve an overall COP as high as possible
while fulfilling the demanded cooling load.
• Typical chiller sequence control methods include:
1. Temperature- based sequence control
2. bypass flow- based sequence control
3. direct power- based sequence control
4. total cooling load- based sequence control
1) Temperature Based
Sequence Control:

• In this, a water temperature sensor is installed at

the main chilled water return pipe, downstream of
the bypass line, which transmits the temperature
signal to the sequence controller.
• When the chilled water return temperature
exceeds the upper limit of the control band, an
additional chiller will be sequenced online.
• When the chilled water return temperature drops
blow the lower limit of the control band, the
running chillers will be switched off, one by one.
• When the chilled water return temperature stays
within the control band, no further change to the
status of on and off stages will occur.
2) Bypass flow-based
sequence control

• The chilled water flow rate in the secondary loop is somehow

proportional to the total cooling load demand of a building.
• The flow rate in the primary loop, however, will only vary in
steps with the number of operating chillers.
• Flow is sensed by a flow meter in the common bypass pipe to
indicate the surplus or deficit flow rate and the flow direction
is sensed by a flow direction detection switch.
• When the cooling load increases, the flow in the secondary
system will exceed that in the primary system and cause a
reverse flow direction in the common pipe, then another
chiller and primary chilled water pump will be sequenced
online by the sequence controller.
• A chiller is sequenced off when the water in the bypass pipe
flows from supply to return and the flow exceeds the design
flow of one chiller.
3) Direct Power-Based Sequence
Control:

• The simplest indicator of the simultaneous chiller cooling load is the percentage of full- load
current of the compressor motors, because it is generally available on the chiller control panel
and a reliable measurement.
• Based on this percentage value sequencing of the chillers takes place.
• Disadvantages:
1. Correlating this percentage of full- load amperage to the chiller cooling load is complicated
as it relates to the influence of the power factor, part- load chiller efficiency and the
capacity change due to the change of condenser and evaporator water temperatures.
2. Overestimation may sequence to ON the additional chiller which leads to more
consumption of energy.
4) Total Cooling Load
based Sequence Control:

• The sequence control based on the chilled water return

temperature relies on the assumption that the chilled
water in the secondary loop is constant.
• The sequence control based on the flow in the bypass
pipe flow relies on the assumption that the T of the
chilled water to and from the building is constant.
• However, these assumptions are hardly maintained
practically.
• In this, the instantaneous cooling load can be
determined through measuring the total flow rate of
chilled water in the secondary loop and the difference
between the chilled water supply and return
temperatures in the secondary loop.
• Based on this two signals, sequencing of chillers is done.
References:

1) Intelligent building & building automation by Shengwei Wang.

2) https://www.processingmagazine.com/process-control-automation/heating-cooling/article/212525
95/chiller-capacity-control
3) https://www.hvacinvestigators.com/webinars/the-basics-of-chillers-how-they-work-where-theyre-us
ed-and-common-problems/
Any
Questions?
Thank You