Electric chiller handbook. Final report
Electric chillers have dominated the market for large commercial cooling systems due to their history of reliable, economical operation. The phaseout of CFCs and deregulation of the utility industry are two factors that significantly impact the chiller market. The CFC phaseout is resulting in the upgrading or replacement of thousands of electric chillers nationwide. In a deregulated environment, utilities are finding increasing need to provide services that can win and retain new customers. Utility representatives need current information on applying and selecting cost-effective chiller systems. The objective of this report was to develop a comprehensive handbook that helps utility technical and marketing staff, their customers, and design professionals evaluate and select the best options for chilled-water systems in commercial buildings. Investigators used a variety of industry data sources to develop market-share information for electric and gas chiller systems and to determine applications according to building age, type, and region. Discussions with chiller manufacturers provided information on product availability, performance, and ownership cost. Using EPRI`s COMTECH software, investigators performed comprehensive cost analyses for placement of large and small chillers in three representative cities. Case studies of actual installations support these analyses. Electric Chiller Handbook provides a single source of current information on all major issues associated with chiller selection and application. Key issues include chiller availability and markets, rated performance, future viability of various refrigerant options, the cost-effectiveness of alternative chillers, and chilled-water system optimization. The Handbook also describes available hardware, outlines the features and costs of gas-fired competitive systems, and provides methods and comparisons of life-cycle costing of various chiller system options. Analyses of chiller features and economics show that electric chillers are preferable to gas chillers in the large majority of applications, consistent with current market trends. Furthermore, today`s chillers offer a wide range of efficiencies and refrigerant options to serve cooling system needs for the 20-year lifetime of the chiller. Finally, new higher-efficiency models of electric chillers offer very attractive paybacks.
- Research Organization:
- Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States); Energy International, Inc., Bellevue, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 355054
- Report Number(s):
- EPRI-TR-105951-R1; TRN: AHC29924%%260
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Feb 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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