Chillers provide crucial cooling for air conditioning and refrigeration, but they also use a lot of energy. Optimize your operations with these low-cost strategies to improve chiller system efficiency and performance.
Use controls to sequence chillers
Chillers rarely operate at full capacity, and their efficiency drops as the load decreases, especially when loads drop below 50%. Monitor the capacity of all your chillers and manage their load. For optimal efficiency, keep active chillers within the 60% to 80% range.
Manage water temperature
An often-overlooked method for improving chiller efficiency is managing water temperature. Let's look at three strategies.
- Delta-T is the temperature difference between the chilled water supply and return. A low delta-T might force chilled water pumps to work harder than necessary to produce cooling.
- Condenser and evaporator approach temperatures are important metrics that can impact chiller efficiency. A low approach temperature indicates good heat flow between water and refrigerant.
- Chiller lift is the difference between the outgoing condenser and evaporator water. It represents the energy balance between the cooling tower fan and compressor operation. Lower chiller lift is better.
Energy management systems
Use an energy management system to monitor and evaluate these metrics and operate chillers at optimal efficiency for every load condition.
Preventative maintenance pays off
Don't forget preventative maintenance and tracking to ensure the system continues working as effectively as you planned. Combining low-cost operational strategies with targeted maintenance measures can improve chiller performance and save money without a big financial investment.