ORCID Identifier(s)

0000-0003-3658-2252

Graduation Semester and Year

2018

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

First Advisor

Dereje Agonafer

Abstract

Heating, Ventilation, and Air-conditioning accounts for about 60% of the total energy consumed in commercial facilities including office buildings, hospitals, retail stores, warehouses, campuses, manufacturing facilities, medical facilities, etc. As the cost of electricity and energy continue to rise, building owners and facility managers continue to witness a rise in the Total Cost of Ownership. Chilled water plant system is the largest consumer of energy in HVAC system consuming 75% of the total energy used in HVAC according to the Department of Energy. Operating chilled water plant systems at the recommended AHRI Standard 550/590 for performance rating of water chilling and heat pumps temperature set-points seldom results in optimized operation and cost savings, since factors such as operation schedules, site-specific conditions such as prevailing ambient conditions, part load operations, keep on changing. The aim of this project was to design an optimized heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning chilled water system for a 100,000 square feet facility complex in Houston, Texas. By selecting a chilled water distribution system; chilled water temperatures, flow rate, and sizes; condenser water distribution system, condenser water temperatures, flow rate, and pipe sizes; cooling tower approach temperatures; and piping system optimization, a saving of 25% on the annual energy costs at peak load operations of the complex facility was obtained. This analysis also showed that as the chilled water supply temperature is set upwards, the pump energy increases but the chiller energy and the cooling tower energy decreases resulting in a positive net system gain.

Keywords

Optimization of chilled water plants

Disciplines

Aerospace Engineering | Engineering | Mechanical Engineering

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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