Energy audit case studies II - air conditioning (cooling) systems

This paper discusses a novel methodology for determination of the efficiencies of each segment in a centralized air conditioning (A/C) plant. The methodology is useful analytical tool in energy audit where it can be used for decision support for evolution of energy conservation measures and techno-economic evaluation of the various options. The procedure is applied to three A/C plants of capacity range from 50 to 500 TR. Losses in chilled air ducts and cycling losses in the refrigerant circuit are identified to be the major causes for decrease in the efficiency and capacity under rating of the systems. Effective controls and insulation of air ducts: have been shown to be: the must cost effective solutions to improve the energy efficiency of the A/C plants. The generalized experimental data on overall performance of sixteen A/C plants is also provided. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.