Air Conditioning Systems Using Modular Chillers

For many in the air conditioning industry, modular chillers are a dream come true. As cooling and
air conditioning systems continue to age and the demand on them rises, chiller conversion and
replacement decisions are imminent for most building and facility managers. There are many
options to choose from and choosing the right solution means a lot of research. When it comes to
building renovations, retrofits, or the replacing of existing cooling systems that are either too
expensive to repair or operate, modular chillers are often the perfect solution. Our modular chillers
are a popular alternative to conventional chilling systems for three main reasons: low installation
costs, low operating costs and low maintenance or repair costs.
1. Low installation costs are an important consideration for anyone who has to install a cooling
system in the basement of an older building or in a mechanical room on the top floor of a multi-
story building without altering the building. This applies to anyone, for that matter, who has to
install an air conditioning system in a place that is hard to reach without major renovations.
Modular chillers can be installed without any significant interruption to your business and without
incurring the enormous cost of renovating your building. Because of their small footprint, they can
easily fit through most standard doorways, hallways or stairwells and even in the smallest of
equipment rooms. You won't need any special moving equipment, except perhaps a dolly, and
these modular chillers are compatible with most existing water piping systems.
2. Low operation costs are just as important, if you want a cooling system that is energy
efficient, expandable, reliable, quiet and environmentally friendly. A modular chiller is more
efficient than the older centrifugal chiller under full and part-load conditions, which can mean
significant savings given that most chillers operate 95 percent of the time or more under part-load
conditions. Modular chillers use a refrigerant that is more environmentally friendly than most and
usually consumes only one-fifth of the refrigerant that is consumed by conventional chillers. They
are more environmentally sound in the sense that they give you more control over how and when
your building is cooled, thereby reducing any wasteful use of energy. Thanks to their built-in
microprocessor controls, it is much easier for you to match your cooling load and to cool a room
when needed. These chillers are also super quiet (79 dB(A)), allowing you to put them where you
want. They are reliable to the extent that the cooling process never needs to be interrupted, even
if there is an equipment breakdown and they are compatible with most building automation
systems for remote on/off control. All these features mean much lower operating costs than you
would ever find with conventional cooling systems.
3. Low maintenance and repair costs are one more reason to go with a modular chilling
solution. This cost, however, is not the same for every modular chiller design. Some designs
absorb the cost associated with equipment failure, by giving you the option to purchase a backup
unit in case the primary chiller breaks down. Other designs, like the one by Tandem Chillers, make
it possible to remove the defective piece of equipment, repair it and then reinstall it, all without
interrupting the cooling process. Having this option saves on buying extra chillers for stand-by. In
addition to this, modular chillers are generally designed so that most parts can be purchased at
your local wholesaler and fixed by a qualified local HVAC professional.
Replacing Existing Air Conditioning Systems
Replacing your air conditioning system with a modular chiller is not a decision you can make until
you are confident that this solution will work for your own particular building. Older buildings, hi-
rise apartments, office buildings, hospitals and casinos each present their own unique challenges.
Each building has its own distinctive function and structure, which will have an impact on your
decision. More often than not, the decision to replace is driven by long-term costs. Aside from
lower installation and maintenance costs, a new modular chiller gives you the opportunity to better
match current and future cooling demands. Older cooling systems were often sized for the original
load of a facility. However, since installation, many facilities require a greater cooling load because
of more people, technology and square footage. By better matching current loads with new units,
you can get better performance and operating efficiencies. Regardless of what type of building you
are dealing with, there are three things to consider before you can decide if a modular chiller is for
you.
1. Determine Your Cooling Load
Determine how many tons of cooling are required to meet the variable cooling loads created by the
building, such as climate, number of people traveling through the building, the type of equipment ,
etc.
2. Estimate Accessibility
Determine how difficult it will be to install a chiller in your building. In most cases the room where
the chiller is going to be installed is accessed through a narrow staircase, hallway or by elevator.
In many instances, buildings were constructed around the cooling system, making it virtually
impossible to extract the old system and replace it with a new one. Physical site constraints often
demand that the installation of a modular chiller unit must be done in stages where modules are
delivered in sections and assembled on site.
3. Calculate Your Cooling Load Variation
Determine whether or not there are activities in the building that will create an occupant load
within the building which varies greatly throughout the day and the week. This results in a wider
than usual range of cooling loads and complex operating and technical requirements for the chiller
plant which are most efficiently met through the use of a modular chiller. Try, if you can, to
calculate future cooling load ranges, given that there will probably be more people in your building,
newer equipment, and expansion. Whatever you decide, make sure that the cooling system you
purchase has all the controls needed to handle these cooling variations.
Health Facilities -hospitals, retirement homes,
clinics.
When it comes to upgrading existing air conditioning systems in a health facility such as a hospital,
retirement home or clinic, there are several requirements that must be met. Given that most
health facilities are largely underfunded, most buildings are older and still rely on air conditioning
technology that is no longer energy efficient. Since the facilities are usually in a business which
deals with large numbers of people with health related problems, the buildings are large, multi-
storied facilities containing a lot of equipment that generates heat. In most cases, the building was
built around the cooling system in either a small mechanical room in the basement or in a small
room near the top of the building.
Replacing this system with a conventional chiller is going to be difficult without using heavy moving
equipment, i.e., helicopters or cranes, and knocking down many walls to get the chiller into the
basement. Not only is this going to be expensive and time consuming, it also means a major
disruption to the daily operation of the facility and is very hard on the patients themselves. In
cases like this, the only solution is one that does not involve excessive reconstruction or any major
disruption of the facility's daily operation. Moreover, the cooling system must be relatively quiet
and safe so as not to disturb the building occupants. The unit must be compact since space will be
extremely limited and it has to be able to tie into existing water piping.
Historical Buildings - state capitol buildings, museums, churches.
When you have an older building with no air conditioning or an obsolete system that can no longer
do the job, you are often talking about a building that was built before air conditioning was even
invented. It is usually a building where corridors and doors are only designed only for human
passage. Walls are thick, and often the main element of support, as in a brick-built house, making
them hard to remove or tear down. The cooling system, if there is one, is in a very small room in
the basement. Upgrading the cooling system or installing a new system in an older building is
going to be overly expensive and time consuming unless you can do the job without a ny
renovations. The new system will have to be small enough to fit in the equipment room and it will
have to fit through small doorways and stairways. In some cases, the new system will have to sit
beside the old system because the old system can't be extracted without removing walls and
widening doorways.
In an older building, there are obvious clues that a chiller is ready to be replaced: it has exceeded
its expected service life,it is costing more to maintain the system and it is wasting energy. A new
chiller is more energy efficient, will eliminate the CFC problem, reduce maintenance costs and is
more compact, allowing you to put 2,500 tons of cooling in the footprint of a 1,500-ton chiller. This
gives more you more capacity without sacrificing more space. This is an important consideration
when space is an issue.
Government and Commercial Buildings - courts,
office buildings, banks.
In any government or commercial building, the biggest obstacle to replacing the cooling system
will to be the impact on the daily operation of the building. With so much depending on the
operation of a government or a business, any interruption in the daily activity of the building is to
be avoided at all costs. The second major problem is the fact that these buildings require cooling
all year long even though these requirements can vary rapidly at any given moment. Extreme wide
load variations throughout the year demand that you have more control over the cooling system
than is possible.
Cooling systems for government and commercial buildings are often located in basement
mechanical rooms and are accessed through a narrow staircase, hallway, or by elevator. Non-
modular chillers have larger physical dimensions, requiring structural alterations to the foundation
walls and the construction of an area well to allow for the delivery of the unit. Significant
renovations within areas such as a basement mechanical room, and storage areas, including the
relocation of major electrical and mechanical equipment on site, would also be necessary to allow
for the installation of a larger unit. The additional construction work would nearly double the chiller
installation costs and potentially disrupt everyday operations.
Entertainment Venues - casinos, restaurants, bars, halls, hotels, art galleries.
In buildings such as casinos, restaurants and hotels there are often cooling requirements that are
unique to all entertainment venues. Entertainment venues are often places that hold many people
or often see an extremely large transfer of people. Since the amount of traffic can change quickly,
the building usually requires a rapidly changing cooling load that can change to suit each room in
the building. Because most entertainment venues are constantly growing, expandability is
desirable and necessary.
Cooling systems for hotels and casinos are often located in basement mechanical rooms and are
accessed through a narrow staircase, hallway or by elevator. Non-modular chillers have larger
physical dimensions, requiring structural alterations to the foundation walls and the construction of
an area well to allow for the delivery of the unit. Significant renovations within areas such as a
basement mechanical room, and storage areas, including the relocation of major electrical and
mechanical equipment on site would also be necessary to allow for the installation of a larger unit.
The additional construction work would nearly double the chiller installation costs and potentially
disrupt operations.
Education and Technical Institutions - universities,
colleges, schools, labs, data centres.
In most educational and technical facilities, the same problems are often encountered when it
comes to upgrading the cooling system. The systems are usually located in the basement in a
mechanical room that is small and awkward to access. These systems are often unreliable,
inefficient and would cost too much to replace even if that were possible. In some cases, a single
cooling source is responsible for supplying air conditioning to multiple buildings. These institutions
are unique in their functions for several reasons. Being designed for education and
experimentation, they have a large need for heat generating equipment such as computers and
lasers, are often in need of expansion, and require a comfortable working environment for
students, teachers, scientists, etc.
These factors make selecting the right cooling solution a challenge. The daily activities of these
institutions cannot be disrupted. The cooling system must be reliable, safe, quiet and
environmentally sound, given the nature of the work that goes on in these types of buildings. The
biggest obstacle is the matter of control. Control over the cooling, where and when it takes place,
is more important than in any other setting. Rigid standards must be in place to ensure that
normal everyday functions continue to operate without any problems. It has to be possible to cool
each room according to the needs of its occupants and equipment. Since these buildings are in
operation year round, these controls have to be in place for the entire year and capable of handling
a wide range of cooling needs.
Industrial Processes - plastics, rubber, metal working, plating, die casting, printing, food,
pharmaceutical, cosmetics, chemical and petrochemical.
It is a common mistake in any typical industrial setting to install a cooling system that is eventually
incapable of providing the required process cooling due to expansion. If you have an industrial
process where expansion is inevitable but difficult to anticipate or calculate, a modular chilling
system is the perfect answer.
Designed specifically for future expansion, with fully assembled external water piping our modular
chillers are easy to install, remove and re-install for service when required. When you expand
your process, a new module can be brought in and installed within a matter of hours with little
downtime.
Our high efficiency - high EER (energy efficiency ratio) modular chiller system is designed so that
chiller units can be field-coupled to meet large tonnage requirements with an ongoing energy
savings throughout the life of the chilling system. With a small footprint, these units occupy less
space than a larger tonnage unit or units. Our system is specifically designed for future expansions
by allowing chiller units to be added in stages to precisely match cooling load requirements.
With our microprocessor controller in each chiller and a master control unit incorporating our
exclusive "intelligent chiller control program", we can signal potential problems before they
happen, saving costly down time, and stage compressors on system temperature, thereby
accurately maintaining the leaving water temperature and saving energy by operating compressors
only as they are required.
Our control system has its own unique maintenance program operating in the background to
manage the following functions: lead-lag compressors, equalize compressor run time, totalize
compressor run time for viewing, monitor phase loss and reversal, under and over voltage, and
voltage imbalance, prevent compressor short cycling (minimum run time and off time) and stage
compressor starts so that one compressor at a time starts to ease inrush current