How does a chiller plant work?

A chiller works on the principle of vapor compression or vapor absorption. As the heat-transfer takes place, the refrigerant evaporates, changing from a low-pressure liquid into vapor, while the temperature of the process coolant reduces. The refrigerant then flows to a compressor, which performs multiple functions.

What is chiller approach?

Condenser approach temperature is simply defined as the difference between the condenser liquid refrigerant temperature and the outlet condenser water temperature. High chiller approach temperatures usually mean reduced heat transfer, increased energy consumptions, and a reduction in refrigeration capacity.

What is the life expectancy of a chiller?

To Repair or Replace: Where is Your Chiller in its Life Cycle? According to Consulting-Specifying Engineer Magazine, the median life cycle of a water-cooled chiller is 20-30 years, while air-cooled chillers have a life expectancy of 15-20 years.

What causes a chiller to trip?

Low pressure trip — Caused by low refrigerant, power assembly broken capillary; low or no water flow; clogged water filter or screen; antifreeze or mud coating the tubes of the evaporator causing poor efficiency.

What is the difference between HVAC and chiller?

The main difference between the two is how they cool the condenser coils to get rid of the heat. One uses the air, and one uses water. Typically, air-cooled chillers are placed outside a building, while you would keep a water-cooled chiller inside.

What is chiller capacity?

Divide Q (BTUs per hour) by 12,000 (the number of BTUs in one ton of cooling capacity). This yields the chiller capacity required to handle the process heat load in tons per hour: Example: 240,000/12,000= 20 tons/hr.

What is a blast chiller freezer?

A blast chiller is a piece of equipment that quickly lowers the temperature of food. Blast chillers are also referred to as blast freezers or flash freezers. They typically have multiple shelves where food pans or sheet pans can be stored and chilled at extremely low temperatures.

What causes low suction pressure in chiller?

If the suction pressure is low, it could indicate a brine flow problem, lack of refrigerant, plugged metering device, plugged filters, high oil level in the chiller, or a faulty gauge.

How can all variable speed chiller plants improve plant efficiency?

Furthermore, this ar- ticle shows that all-variable speed chiller plants (plants in which chillers, con- denser pumps and tower fans all use vari- able speed drives) can improve plant efficiency significantly without adding capital costs to the chiller plant design.

When to replace chillers in chilled water plant?

In Phase 1 of the project we recommend replacement of the balance of the chillers, pumps and cooling towers comprising the chilled water plant. Existing CH-2 would remain in place and be incorporated into the new plant to operate as one of three total chillers and be replaced later in Phase 2 when it’s useful life ends.

What is the purpose of a chiller plant evaluation?

The intent of this study is to determine the type of chiller plant that would offer most benefits on a Life Cycle basis. For this report, the size (in tonnage) of the new plant is not the primary focus, as long as the chiller plant tonnage is reasonably close to the actual size and consistent throughout all schemes. 2.

How much does a sheet chiller cost per ton?

Chiller Operating Cost Annual Operating Cost – 100 Ton Chiller Part Load Condition Cost To Operate 0.5 kw/ton $18,600 0.6 kw/ton $22,300 0.7 kw/ton $26,000 0.8 kw/ton $29,700 0.9 kw/ton $33,400 1.0 kw/ton $37,100 1.1 kw/ton $40,900 1.2 kw/ton $44,600 1.3 kw/ton $48,300 As shown below, any chiller plant that operates con-