Thermal Chiller Scoping Study

This scoping study investigatee the issues required to evaluate, design and operate chilled water plants that include engine-driven or thermally fired chillers.  This research attempted to connect to near term market applications and identify any research gaps.  The goal of this work was to increase the number of choices that design professionals have in providing owners with cost effective chilled water systems while reducing peak electric demand by delineating the information and tools required to fairly compare electric, engine driven and thermally-fired alternatives.

The Objective of this work was to generate sufficient information such that gas engine-driven and thermally-fired chiller equipment can be added to the CoolToolsTM Chilled Water Plant Design and Specification Guide.  The project work tasks were structured as follows:

  • Identify the current, state-of-the-art technology associated with typical chilled water based gas cooling applications with respect to their energy efficiency
  • Describe best practice information for the design and operation of chilled water systems using gas engine-driven and thermally-fired chiller equipment
  • Describe best practice information for the design and operation of chilled water systems using gas engine-driven and thermally-fired chiller equipment (to include waste heat & CHP applications, if available) in a format that can easily disseminated to end users and is similarly useful for design and operation purposes
  • Identify the best means to disseminate the “best practices” information to chilled water plant design professionals and facility owners, for integration into current energy efficiency programs and resources