CHILLER PLANT

CONTROL

MULTIPLE CHILLER CONTROLS

By: Michael J. Bitondo,

Mark J. Tozzi
Carrier Corporation
Syracuse, New York

August 1999
INTRODUCTION CHILLED WATER SYSTEMS
TWO CHILLERS EQUAL TONNAGE
In December of 1998, the American Refrigeration Institute
(ARI) released a revised standard for water cooled chillers For the purpose of this discussion, we will examine two
ARI 550/590-98. One of the major changes in the stan- types of common chilled water applications.
dard was made to the Integrated Part Load Value formula,
or IPLV. The IPLV is a calculation of predicted chiller effi- Lets first examine an application using two chillers of equal
ciency at the ARI Standard Rating Point. This efficiency tonnage. In this application, each machine is designed,
number is an estimate of how efficiently a chiller will oper- when it is operating at 100% capacity, to maintain 50% of
ate at part load conditions, based on average criteria dictat- the total building load. There is a primary and a secondary
ed by the standard. chilled water loop with a hydronic decoupler. The second-
ary chilled water pumps are equipped with VFDs, to main-
The revisions to the IPLV equation were designed to make tain a differential pressure across the supply and return of
it a more accurate representation of actual field operating the system; and two-way control valves are used on the load
conditions, such as geographic locations and building side. Figure 1 shows a diagram of this system.
types. However, because the many assumptions in the for-
mula cannot exactly match any one particular chiller instal- When the building load dictates a need for cooling, the
lation, it is still not the most accurate way to simulate an plant control first enables one chiller, referred to as the lead
actual chiller system. In fact, the ARI Standard 550/590- chiller. This chiller has a pulldown timer program to allow
98 white paper, published in ASHRAE Journal (the maga- it to cool the supply water before starting the second or
zine of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and lag machine. The lead chiller continues to ramp up to
Air Conditioning Engineers) states: meet the requirements of the load. As it reaches its full
capacity, and building load is approximately 50% (based on
Because IPLV represents an average single chiller system supply water temperature, return water tempera-
application it may not be representative of a partic- ture, delta temperature or kW%), the chilled water plant
ular job installation. It is best to use a comprehen- control system ramps the lead chiller down and enables the
sive analysis that reflects the actual weather data, lag chiller. Ramping down the lead chiller before starting
building load characteristics, number of chillers, the lag machine helps to avoid demand charges that can
operational hours, economizer capabilities, and occur when operating one chiller at full capacity while
energy drawn from auxiliaries such as pumps and enabling another. From this point on, if the building load
cooling towers, when calculating the overall chiller increases, the two chillers ramp up together as a system, to
plant efficiency. meet the building demand.

It is estimated that 86% of chillers are installed in some A load prediction calculation is incorporated into the plant
type of multiple chiller application. It is therefore impor- control to determine when the lag chiller can be disabled.
tant to understand how typical chiller systems will operate This control routine calculates a reduced cooling capacity
as a whole, particularly since many engineers will only kW setpoint based on present chiller tonnage, capacity of
assume the evaluation of a single machine, even though the lag chiller to be stopped, and adjustable deadband to
there are multiple machines in the system. Chillers will prevent short cycling.
operate very differently when placed in a system, as
opposed to a single chiller application. This paper will In addition to the chillers themselves, the chilled water
explain how typical multiple chiller systems operate and plant control system must also control the chilled water
how they are controlled. pumps (primary and secondary), condenser water pumps,
cooling tower fans, and any other devices in the system,
When using multiple chillers to maintain building load such as bypass valves and VFDs.
conditions, proper controls are critical to meet constantly
changing building requirements. The first step is to deter- Typical control of the primary chilled water pumps (see
mine the type of chilled water system needed to meet the Figure 1) is as follows: the lead chilled water pump is start-
building load requirements. A chilled water control system ed when a call for cooling is received. As the building load
should be provided, to both supervise and optimize the increases and there is an additional call for cooling, the lag
operation of the chilled water plant. All elements of the pump is enabled. It is also common practice to have a
plant must be considered, e.g., cooling towers, pumps, vari- backup chilled water pump, in case either the lead or the
able frequency drives (VFDs), heat exchangers and the con- lag pump fails.
trol valves used on the buildings air handlers.


Typical control of the primary condenser water pumps (see THREE CHILLERS TWO OF EQUAL TONNAGE,
Figure 1) is as follows: the lead condenser water pump is ONE OF LESS TONNAGE
started when a call for cooling is received. As the building
Next, lets discuss an application using two chillers of equal
load increases and there is an additional call for cooling, the
tonnage and a third chiller of less tonnage. The two larger
lag pump is enabled. It is also common practice to have a
machines are each sized to handle 40% of the total build-
backup condenser water pump, in case either the lead or
ing load. The third, smaller machine is sized for 20% of the
the lag pump fails.
building load, and is used as the lead chiller (see Figure 2).
Looking at Figure 1, lets assume the building load has two-
When the building load dictates a need for cooling, the
way valves on the cooling coils. In order to maintain an
smallest tonnage chiller is enabled. As the building load
acceptable differential pressure of the secondary water sys-
increases above 20% of total building load, the first lag
tem, there are variable speed drives for each secondary
machine is enabled. As this machine ramps up, the lead
water pump. The speed of the pumps are controlled to
machine (smallest tonnage) is disabled. If the load increas-
maintain a system differential water pressure as sensed by
es to greater than 40% of total building load, the other lag
transmitter(s) located at the end of the loop. When the sys-
machine is then enabled. The lead machine ramps down
tem is in operation the lead pump will be enabled. This
and ramps back up in conjunction with the lag machine(s).
pump will ramp up to its full speed as dictated by the sys-
If the building load increases to greater than 80% of total
tem. When this pump reaches its full output speed, after a
building load, the lead machine is re-enabled to meet the
time delay, the lag pump will be enabled. The lag pump
building load requirements.
will ramp up and follow the lead pump to maintain the
system differential.
CONDENSER WATER SYSTEMS AND cooling tower become active. If the chiller is
CONTROLS equipped with an isolation valve, the position of the
valve (open/closed) needs to be verified before starting
The condenser water system differs from the evapora-
the pump. Once flow has been established, and veri-
tor (or, cooler) system in a number of ways. The con-
fied by a differential pressure (or flow) switch, and all
denser is an open-loop system, while the evaporator is
other safety conditions are satisfied, the chiller will
closed-loop. In addition, the condenser system is typ-
start. As the chiller loads up, the heat of the refriger-
ically constant flow, while the cooler loop may be
ation cycle will be rejected to the cooling tower. As
variable flow.
the water continues to increase in temperature, the
Typically, the condenser system functions as follows: cooling tower fans are cycled on, to maintain the
the chiller requests that the condenser pump and desired temperature setpoint.

As the condenser water temperature is reduced, the CONCLUSION
chiller has less work to perform and therefore, energy
usage is reduced, increasing efficiency. A general rule Understanding how multiple chillers interact and
is: for every one degree drop in condenser water tem- work together in a chilled water system is critical for
perature, chiller efficiency will increase 2%. When anyone involved in designing, specifying or purchas-
decreasing condenser water temperature, minimum ing chiller-based HVAC systems. Knowledge of the
lift must be maintained. Lift is the amount of pres- appropriate number and tonnage of chillers, as well as
sure differential required to get the refrigerant to flow how condenser systems and controls work, is a key
from the cooler compressed by the compressor and factor in arriving at the best solution for a given
into the condenser. Insufficient lift results in the application.
refrigerant stacking up in the cooler; excessive lift
causes the compressor to surge. In addition, to thoroughly understand an application,
a comprehensive review of the many factors con-
The cooling tower is limited in the amount of heat it tributing to chiller efficiency should be considered.
can reject. This is based on the design of the cooling These include geographic and climate conditions,
tower and the outside wet bulb temperature the dif- building load characteristics, anticipated operational
ference between these two variables is called the cool- hours, economizer capabilities and predicted energy
ing tower approach. Typically, cooling towers can drawn from auxiliaries such as pumps and cooling
reduce the water temperature to within seven degrees towers. The Integrated Part Load Value (IPLV) for-
of the wet bulb. mula, while helpful as a guideline, should not be relied
on to accurately represent a particular, multiple-chiller
To optimize the efficiency and reduce the overall ener- installation.
gy costs of the condenser system, the following steps
should be taken:
SOURCES
Determine the lift requirements of the chiller. This
Mark J. Tozzi, Product Manager, Systems Group
will dictate the lowest condenser water temperature
Commercial Systems and Services
at which the chiller can operate.
Carrier Corporation
Determine the cooling tower design and approach. Phone: 315-433-4910
E-mail: [email protected]
For a new installation, consider a larger tower and/or
increasing flow, to reduce the approach factor.

Install a direct digital control (DDC) system to

calculate and control the cooling tower and fans.
 Carrier Corporation Syracuse, NY Printed in USA 0899 811-286