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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

In-situ performance testing of chillers for energy analysis

Conference ·
OSTI ID:345234
 [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Architectural Energy Corp., Boulder, CO (United States)
  2. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)

The effectiveness of energy-efficiency improvements to building mechanical systems is difficult to quantify; they often require in-situ measurement of the mechanical equipment performance. This paper describes the development and evaluation of in-situ testing guidelines for chillers. The in-situ testing methods are designed to evaluate annual energy consumption and to account for part-load operations that are affected by overall system controls. A relationship between power consumption and one or more independent variables is developed for the equipment and system using a combination of direct measurements, statistical regression analysis, and manufacturers` data. Annual energy consumption characteristics are derived by combining test results with a user-specified distribution of loads. A comprehensive uncertainty analysis has been developed to estimate the overall prediction uncertainty of using in-situ testing results to evaluate annual energy consumption. The results indicate that reliable estimates of energy use can be obtained for chillers with relatively few in-situ measurements.

OSTI ID:
345234
Report Number(s):
CONF-9702141--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English