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Trending NewProducts Power Fire,LifeSafety Electrical,Lighting BuildingTypes CodesandStandards HVAC
Controlsequencesforchilledwatersystems
Themostimportantcomponentofgoodchillerplantcontrolisunderstandingthefullandpartloadrequirementsandthen
matchingthosetosystemperformance.
PeterD.Zak,PE,GraefUSAInc.,Milwaukee
01/20/2012
Weeklym
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Astheheadlineimplies,thisarticlewillprovideadiscussionandoverviewof answered
methodsusedtocontrolchillers.Tounderstandwherewearetoday,alittletime upcoming
travelisrequired. efficiency
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Theyear1902issignificantbecausethatiswhenWillisHavilandCarrierdesigned
systemde
atemperatureandhumidityconditioningsystemforaprintingplantinBrooklyn,
N.Y.Temperatureandhumidityfluctuationscreatedproblemswhenworkerstriedto Weeklym
alignmultipleinkcolorsintheprintingprocess. acquisitio
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In1911CarriersubmittedtotheAmericanSocietyofMechanicalEngineershis
Top5Con
basicrationalpsychometricformulae,whichtothisdayisconsideredthebasisof
allcalculationswithrespecttothepropertiesofair. Specifyin
Articles,A
Carrierreceivedapatentforthefirstcentrifugalrefrigerationmachinein1921.The Standbyg
designwasinspiredbyobservingtheconstructionandoperatingcharacteristicsof systems,
acentrifugalpump.Atthetime,thecentrifugalcompressorwasconsideredamore NFPA101
practicalandsafemethodofprovidingairconditioningforlargespacesinlieuof hospitals
thetraditionalreciprocatingunitsthatusedammonia,CO2,orothergases projectco
consideredhazardous.
Plugfans
In1924theHudsonDepartment unhoused
StoreinDetroitbecamethefirst configura
commercialbuildingtohaveanair Weeklym
conditioningsystemspecificallydesignedforhumancomfort.Untilthatpoint acquisitio
mostairconditioning(cooling)waspartofanindustrialprocess.Thuswasborn
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humancomfortcooling,thankstotheacknowledgedfatherofairconditioning,
WillisHavilandCarrier. Whatsne
13andwh
Movingforwardtothepresent,wefindthesamebasicprinciplesapply,butthe infuturee
deliverymethodisbeingconstantlyrevised.Mechanicalcomponents,suchas
compressortypesandheattransfersurfaces,havechangedinresponseto Modularw
changingrefrigerantsandmaximizingunitefficiencies.Whentherewascheap systems
energyandthepublicwasjustthankfultobeoutoftheheatandhumidity,simple Selecting
on/offcontrolmethodswereperfectlyacceptable.Aslongasthespacewas
Analyzing
coolerthantheoutdoors,a5or10Ftemperatureswingwasjustfine.
centers:c
Backthenandevennow,theon/offconceptissimpleandworks,althoughit standards
doeshaveadetrimentaleffectonoperationallifeoftheequipment.Risingenergycostsandthedemandformoreprecise
temperaturecontrolarethedrivingfactorsforproperlyandefficientlycontrollingachillerplant.Inanidealworld,thecooling
requiredandsubsequentenergyusewouldexactlymatch.Inreality,thisneverhappensduetosystemefficiencies,
controllability,andthethermodynamictimelagthatoccursinbuildings.
Thewholesystem
Thechallengefordesignengineersisjusthowtomaximizethecomfortrequirementswhilekeepingenergycoststoa
minimum.Thisisbestachievedbynotonlyproperlycontrollingeachindividualcomponentofachillerplantbutalsoeffectively
controllingtheentiresystem.
Accuratelydeterminingthechillerloadisthefirststep.Itisimportantnotjusttohaveagraspofthemaximumandminimum
loadrequirements,butalsotounderstandthebuildingloadprofilethatidentifiesthetimedurationduringpartloadevents.This
criticalinformationisneededtoidentifythequantityanddesiredperformancerequirementsoftheequipment.
Atypicalchillerplantconsistsofachillerormultiplechillers,alongwithchilledwaterpumps,condenserwaterpumps,and
coolingtowers.Theselectionofthisequipmentisdrivenbytheindividualefficienciesatfullandpartialloads,andalsobyhow
thesystemefficiencywillrespondtothebuildingloads.Theindividualcumulativeefficienciesofthecomponentsarenota
realisticvalue.
Eachpieceofequipmentinachillerplanthasdifferentpartloadefficiency.Thetrickistoknowwhatthosevaluesare,when
thatloadoccursforthatspecificcomponent,andhowtosynchronizethatequipmentsoperatingpointstomaximizeplant
efficiency.
Inthechiller,themainsystemcomponentsincludeacompressororsomethingthatmovestherefrigerantanevaporator,which
isaheatexchangerthattransfersheatfromthechilledwatertotherefrigerantandcondensers,additionalheatexchangers
thattransfertheheatpickedupfromthechilledwatertotherefrigerantandtheheatofcompressiontoeithertheairorawater
heatrejectionsink.
Thedesignoutputcapacityofachillerexistsonlyforashortperiodoftimeduringthecoolingseason.Alargepercentageof
operatinghoursarespentatsomepointbetweenoffand100%loaded.Tocompensateforthiswiderangeofloading
conditions,controldeviceswereaddedthatwillmodulateorrestricttheflowofrefrigerantinresponsetothesetpointofthe
chillerleavingwatertemperature.Thisisaccomplishedbyunloadingcylindersinthereciprocatingunit,modulatingaslide
valveinascrewtypecompressor,orcontrollingrefrigerantflowwithavariablespeeddriveorinletvanesonacentrifugal
compressor.Theobjectivesaretomaintaintheunitoperationduringpartloadconditions,avoidon/offcycles,andminimize
energyconsumption.
Ifyouweretoplottheoperationofthevarioustypesofchillercompressors,youwouldseethatthereciprocatingunitwill
unloadinsteps.Thismeansthatformorepreciseloadmatchingrequirements,morestepsarerequired.
Asimpleanalogywouldbetryingtofitrectangularobjectsunderacurvethelargerandfewertheobjects,themoreopenarea
underorabovethecurve.Thesmallerandmorefrequenttherectangles,thecloseryougettomatchthecurve.Thegaps
underthecurveindicateunmetloadsandunitinefficiency.Areasoverthecurveindicateunnecessaryenergyconsumptionand
overcooling.
Thecurveactuallyrepresentsthepartloadperformanceofthechiller.Thismaybeashocktosomeofthehardcoredigital
techies,buttheloadcurveisanalog.Acompressorthatcanhavetherefrigerantflowcontrolledinfinitelywillbemore
successfulmatchingtheloadsandmaintainingefficiency.
Configurations
ChillersareratedbytheAmericanRefrigerationInstitute(ARI).Partloadperformanceisbasedonafixedleavingchilledwater
temperatureandfluctuatingcondenserwatertemperatureinresponsetotheoutdoorairtemperature.
Fromthemachineperspective,theobjectiveofthechilleristomakecoldwater.Howefficientlythisisaccomplishedisbased
onthetypeofcompressorandhowtheinternalcontrolsystemmodulatestherefrigerantflow.Thisbecomesalittlemore
complicatedwhenmultiplemachinesareused.Thisisjustonecomponentofthetotalefficiencyofasystem.
Onthechilledwaterside,mostpumpingconfigurationsusevariableflowstrategies.Thetwomostcommonconfigurationsare
asinglepumpwithstandbyorpumpsinparallel.Thereareprosandconsforeachconfiguration,buttheproperselectionwill
includeananalysisoftheoperationalcharacteristicsbasedonthehourlyoperationalloads.Thiswillprovideaprofileofthe
powerrequirementsandefficiencies.Thisinformationwillindicatethemostefficientoperatingpointforthemaximumhoursof
systemload.
Asinglepumpingsystemissimplebecauseasinglesystemcurveisfollowedaparallelpumpingsystembecomesalittlemore
complex.Eachpumpisselectedat50%oftotalsystemflow.Thecurvesareadditiveandthesystemcurveisplottedthrough
bothpumpcurves.Asthesystemloadchanges,theflowrequirementschangeaswellassystemhead.Horsepowerchanges
exponentiallytothethirdpowerinrelationshiptoflow.Pumpspeediscontrolledbydifferentialpressuretransmitterslocated
throughoutthechilledwatersystem.
Measurements
Thereisamisconceptionthatinaparallelpumpingconfiguration,oncethesystemflowdropstoanythinglessthandesign
flowrate,onepumpmustbedeenergized.Inreality,itmaybemoreefficienttooperatebothpumpsatareducedcapacity,
basedonoverallefficiency.Controllogicusedtodeterminethisiscalledwiretowaterefficiency.Asystemoperationalcurveis
programmedintothecontrollogic.Pressuresensorsandflowmeterscalculatethesystemhorsepower.Currenttransducerson
thepumpmotorsmeasuretheactualpowerconsumption.Dataiscomparedtotheprogrammedsystemcurvethatthenselects
themostefficientnumberofpumpstobeoperated.Thisholdstrueforanynumberofpumpsoperatinginaparallel
configuration.
Condenserwaterpumpscanbeconfiguredinthesamemanner.Thereareseveralcontrolstrategiesforcondenserwater
pumpcontrol.Themostsimpleisconstantflowwiththreewaymixingvalvesateachcondenser.Thethreewaymixingvalves
modulateinresponsetorefrigerantheadpressureoratemperaturesensorsettomaintainafixedenteringorleaving
condenserwatertemperature.Gooddesignpracticewillhaveacontrolvalveforeachchiller.Inplantswithamixtureofchiller
sizesandtypes,itisimperativethateachcondenserhaveanindependentcontrolvalve.
Invariableflowpumpingstrategies,atwowayvalvemodulatescondenserwaterflowinresponsetorefrigerantheadpressure.
Differentialpressuretransducerscontrolthepumpspeed.Insomescenariosthepumpscanbecontrolledbythehead
pressurehowever,thisbecomesdifficultwithmultiplechillersandrequiresaverysophisticatedcontrolsystem.
Maximumchillerefficiencyisachievedbycontrollingrefrigerantflowandgettingthecoldestpossiblewatertothecondensers.
Mostchillermanufacturerswillacceptchilledwateraslowas65F.Forexample,incentrifugalchillers,temperaturesbelowthis
limitwilladverselyaffectthelubricatingsystemandcontrolofrefrigerantflow.Thiscoldwaterisproducedatthecooling
towers,whichmakestheselectionandoperationofthetowersanintegralcomponenttomaximizingtheoverallsystem
efficiency.
Themostcommoncoolingtowersarecrossflowtype.Warmcondenserwaterissprayedoveramediaorfillmaterialandairis
movedthroughthematerialviaafan.Theevaporativepropertiesofairtemperatureandmoisturecoolthecondenserwater.
Coolingtowercapacityandperformanceisbasedontheoutdoorwetbulbtemperatureandtheabilityoftheequipmentto
matchthewetbulbtemperatureandthetowerleavingwatertemperature,whichisknownastheapproachtemperature.The
approachtemperatureisthevaluegiventothedifferentialtemperaturebetweentwomedia.Inthisexampleiftheoutdoorwet
bulbtemperatureis78Fandthecondensingwatertemperatureleavingthetoweris85Ftheapproachtemperaturewouldbe
7F.Asmentionedearlier,chillersworkwellwithcoldcondenserwatertheARIratingsandchillerperformancecurvesindicate
thatunitefficienciesincreaseduringpartloadcycleswithcoldercondenserwater.
Whenselectingatower,itmaybecosteffectivetomaximizethefillmediawithinanominalunitcasing.Themorefill,themore
surfaceareaandthebettertheheattransfer.
Controls
Towercontrolscanbeassimpleasanon/offfanbasedonafixedleavingwatertemperature,ortwospeedmotorsorvariable
frequencydrives(VFD)tomaintainafixedsetpoint.Whentowersareoperatedduringfreezingconditions,theremustbea
controlalgorithmthatmaintainsaminimumflowthroughthetowertopreventicebuilduponthefillmaterial.
Ifmultiplecelltowersareused,controllingthecondenserwaterflowtoeachtowerwillallowallthetowersurfacemediaareato
beusedpriortostartingthefans,whichisanefficientmethodofoperation.Onceagain,minimumflowratesandbasinorsump
volumearecritical,asismaintainingheattransfernetpositivesuctionhead(NPSH),andpreventingicingincoldweatheruse.
Whileon/offcontrolissimple,amajordrawbackwillbetheunstablewatertemperature.Thisisacriticalfunctionofchiller
efficiency.Astablecondenserwatertemperaturewillresultinconsistentchilleroperationandefficiency.
Anotheraddedcontrolfeatureistohavetheleavingwatertemperatureresetbasedontheoutdoorairwetbulbtemperature.
Thismayrequirethetowerfanstooperatelonger.Theoffsetwouldbehigherefficiencyatthechillers,resultinginanetenergy
reductionforthesystem.Onceagain,theengineeringevaluationmustconsidertheimpactofoperatingbypassvalvesortower
fans.Changeonlyonethingtoomanyvariableswillneverwork.
So,howdoesallofthisworkinonecohesiveunit?Aspreviouslydiscussed,eachcomponenthasaprimaryfunctionoperating
withinitsowndesignparametersandindividualefficiencies.Tooperateasacohesiveenergyefficientsystem,thereare
individualcomponenttradeoffsthathavenetpositiveresults.
Toaccomplishthis,thecontrolsorBAShastobecapableofmonitoringandprocessingmultipledatapointsthatprovide
directiontotheindividualequipmentcomponentsresultinginthemostefficientoperatingconfiguration.Thisalsoincludesthe
physicallayoutandconfigurationoftheplant.Properequipmentplacementbasedonfunctionalrelationshipsandcorrectwater
floweliminateflowandpressuredropissues.
Thisallbeginswitheithersingleormultiplesensors,locatedinaspaceorcontrollingaprocesstemperature.Usingaroom
thermostatasastartingpoint,thefollowingeventswouldoccur:
Asthespacetemperatureincreasesabovesetpoint,avariableairvolumedampermodulatesopen.Thefanspeed
increasesinresponsetotheductstaticpressurecontroller.Asmoreairismovedacrossthecoolingcoil,adischarge
controllerbeginstomodulatethetwowaychilledwatervalveopen.
Asthechilledwatervalvebeginstoopen,thechilledwaterdifferentialpressuretransmittersensesadropinsystem
pressure.ThissendsasignaltothechilledwatercontrolpanelandVFDs.Thepumpsaredesignedtooperateina
parallelconfiguration.Currentlyasinglepumpisoperatinginresponsetowaterflowrequirements.
Therequestforadditionalwaterflowisprocessedpriortoadjustingthepumpspeed.Thesystemdifferentialpressure
sensorandwaterflowmeterdataareprocessedalongwithactualpowerconsumptiontakenfromthecurrenttransducer
monitoringmotorpowerrequirements.Thesystemwiretowaterefficiencyiscalculatedandevaluatedtodetermineifone
ortwopumpsoperatingisappropriatepriortoincreasingthepumpspeed.
Asthechilledwaterflowisincreased,theadditionalloadisnotedatthechillerbyanincreasedreturnwatertemperature.
Thechillerthenbeginstoincreasetheflowofrefrigerantbyeitheraddingmorecompressorsinstagesorchangingthe
guidevanesorspeedofacentrifugalchiller.
Asthisoccurs,thetotalsystemwaterflowandchilledwatertemperaturedifferenceismonitoredalongwiththechiller
powerconsumption.ThisdataiscollectedandprocessedbytheBASCalculatedcoolingtons,andunitkW/ton(partload)
dataarethenusedtooptimizethestagingofsingleormultiplechillers.
Asthechillerloadsmodulate,arefrigerantheadpressurecontrollermodulatesatwowayautomaticvalveonthe
condenserwaterside.Differentialpressuretransmitterssensethechangeinwaterpressureandcontrolthecondenser
waterpumpsinthesamemannerasthechilledwaterpumps.
Asadditionalwaterflowispresentedtothecoolingtowers,anoutdoorwetbulbsensorisusedtoresettheleavingwater
temperaturecontroller.Thisdevicethenopensthetowercellsupplyvalvesinsequencetoeachcell,firstmaximizingthe
useoffillmaterialsurfaceareainconvectiveheattransferpriortoengagingthefansinsequence.Mostofthisworksin
reverseiftheloadsarebeingdiminished.
Soherewehaveanabbreviatedoutlineofinteroperability,demonstratingthatachangeinanyonecomponentwillhavean
effectonoverallsystemperformance.Assoftwarebecomesmoresophisticated,thecontrolsequences/operationwillhavean
intuitivenature,preventingrapidsystemfluctuationsduetoasingledatapointchange.
Controllingthesystem
Withintheframeworkofthebasiccontrolstrategy,thereareanumberofcontrolsubsetsthatprovideequipmentoperating
limitsandsafetycontrols.Thesecontrolfunctionsareessentialtosafelyoperatetheequipmentwithinthedesignparameters
andguidelinesofthemanufacturer.Observingatypicalwiringdiagram,youwillnoticeaconfigurationsometimesidentifiedas
aladderdiagram.Thisdrawingindicatessensingdevicesspecificallydesignedtopreventtheoperationoftheunitunlessa
presetnumberofconditionsaremet.Thecircuitsarewiredinseries,whichmeansallconditionsmustbesatisfiedpriorto
allowingtheunittooperate.Forchillers,someofthemorecommonitemsarehighheadpressure,lowsuctiontemperature,
proofofwaterflowatthecondenserandevaporator,oilpressure/temperature,startingcurrent,andvoltage.
Forpumps,aproofofflowswitchordifferentialpressuresensoracrossthepumpisanaccuratemethodtoindicatepump
operation.Thesensingpointsshouldbedirectlyacrossthepumpsuctionanddischarge.Sensingpressureafterthepump
dischargecheckvalvewillnotwork,especiallyinamultiplepumpcommonheaderdesign.Somedesignersuseacurrent
transduceronthemotorthatindicatesthepumpisrunning.However,ifthepumpusesacouplingtoattachthepumpshaftto
themotorshaft,andthatshears,themotorrunsbutthepumpisnotoperational.TheBASmaynotrecognizethefailureand
criticalflowsensitiveequipmentmayalsofail.
Coolingtowersincorporatevibrationsensorsintheeventafangoesoutofbalance.Icedetectionsensorsprotectthetowersin
coldclimateoperationsaswellasinitiateadeicingoperation.Safetycontrolsareusuallyinherenttothemanufacturerand
shouldnotbealtered.TheBASwillmonitorthesafety/alarmcircuitsandindicatethesituationattheuserscreenor,inmore
criticalsituations,initiateavisualoraudiblealarm.
Chilledwatersafetycontrolsmightincludehighandlowtemperaturealarmsforthechilledwaterandcondenserwater.Flow
indicationsincludeminimumandmaximumalarmlimitsandon/offequipmentfailure.Invariableflowconfigurations,
considerationmustbegiventoevaporatororcondenserminimumflowrequirements.
Thedesignerhastotalflexibilityinidentifyingsensingpoints,alarmcircuits,andcontrolstrategies.Whilethismaybringjoytoa
controlcontractor,sometimestoomuchinformationwillmakesystemcontroldifficult.
Achillerplantcannotrespondinstantaneouslytoachangeinthecoolingrequirements.Therelationshipbetweentimeandload
changesisdifferentthantheinstantaneousworldofelectronicsensorsandcomputers,sothesensitivityandresponsetime
mustbereconciled.
Anothercommonmistakeistryingtoresetacontrolpointwithtoomanyvariables.Pickoneandonlyone.Forexample,donot
controltowerfanspeedfromchillerheadpressurewhiletryingtoresettheleavingtowertemperaturebasedonwetbulb
temperature.
Thereisareasonunitmanufacturershaveunitcontrolpanelsfortheequipment.Theydesignedtheequipment,they
understandtheoperationallimits,andtheycarrythewarranty.EmbracethisconceptandintegratetheBAStoworkwiththe
manufacturersunitcontrols.Donotreinventthewheelkeepthingssimple.Mostmanufacturerssoftwarehastheabilityto
integratewiththecontrolsystemviaBACnet,LonTalk,orModbus.Attemptingtobidindividualcontrolsystemsmayprove
difficultandmayeliminateanyequipmentmanufacturerswarranty.
Themostimportantcomponentofgoodchillerplantcontrolisunderstandingthefullandpartloadrequirementsandthen
matchingthemtosystemperformance.
Thereisacertainironyinthedesignandcontrolofachillerplant.Inthebeginning,theprocesswasdedicatedtosatisfyingthe
needsofanindustrialprocess.Soonbuildingandhumancomfortbecamethenorm.Astimewenton,thetoleranceforawide
offsetintemperaturewithrespecttosetpointweakened.This,alongwithrisingenergycosts,createdaneedformoreefficient
equipmentalongwithpreciseaccuratecontrol.
Thepublicsdevelopingawarenessofoperatingcosts,sustainableoptions,andthepotentialenvironmentalissuesof
refrigerantsisspawningamovementtoacceptlargertemperatureandhumiditydeviations.Thisissupportedtosomedegree
bythefactthatanincreaseinnatural(outdoor)airflowisbecomingacceptableinthecommercialenvironment,thusreducing
theneedforlargechillerplants.Tosomeextentwearemovingbacktothewaysof1921.
WhatwouldWillisHavilandCarrierthinknow?
ZakisaprincipalwithGraefUSAInc.,headquarteredinMilwaukee,wherehemanagestheMEPgroup.Heisamemberof
NCEESandisontheeditorialadvisoryboardofConsultingSpecifyingEngineer.Hewasanadjunctassistantprofessoratthe
MilwaukeeSchoolofEngineeringfor20yearsandisaregisteredprofessionalengineerin24states.
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