Cooling Your Factory
Chilled water-based cooling systems are frequently used to cool large factories and their office areas. They represent a large initial capital outlay, require a designated floor space and if not managed properly, can expose the factory to high electricity and maintenance costs. They still offer greater benefits over air cooled packaged units that rely on air ducts to transfer cooled air to a designated point.
Water is a more efficient energy conductor and requires less piping space than an air duct system. In addition, water based chillers offer better energy efficiency, a higher degree of overall temperature control (flexibility) and a longer life span. It is important to match chilller plant size and piping network to the required amount of factory temperature control. Too small and the system is overwork, too large and the system wastes capacity. Significant energy savings can result if chiller selection, sizing and staging acknowledge the dynamic nature of chiller efficiency dependencies, including the building load and heat rejection temperatures (read more- link). A key factor is variable speed chiller plants that offer flexibility to adapt to changing factory conditions.
Retrofitting or upgrading existing chiller plants is also a viable option. Results of up to 60% energy reduction costs have been recorded if the correct configuration, control and maintenance have been implemented. Retrofitting involves replacing existing operational controls with a broader networked control strategy. There are a number of feature/products add-on components available that offer the factory owner/manager automated control that optimizes the chiller operation under all loading conditions. In addition there is new methodology for making sure the plant operates at commissioned levels for the life of the system. It is worth making the changes now as Government has already introduced chiller efficiency requirements through the SANS 204/2011 brief (South African National Standard). This standard specifies the design requirements for energy efficiency in buildings and of services in buildings with natural environmental control and artificial ventilation or air conditioning systems.
What You Need To Know:
– Desalinated Water
– In Conjunction With Solar Power
– Air Quality
– Mould & Formaldehyde
– Cooling and heating equipment shall have efficiencies in accordance with ASHRAE 90.1. (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers)