A cooling system in a commercial building typically consists of a Chiller (which works like a giant fridge) transferring cooling energy to water. The water is pumped around a primary circuit containing just the chiller. Energy is removed from this primary circuit to a secondary circuit around the building to Fan Coil Units and Air Handling Units. These have heat exchangers moving energy from water to air to keep you cool.
The efficiency of this entire process is complex. However by being efficient, you can make all the equipment (which is expensive) last years longer.
Areas where performance have been improved are:
- Maintenance.
- Use variable speed pumps and compressors.
- Ensuring that energy is not lost by direct heat exchange from hot to cold water. This is a surprisingly common, but unseen problem.
- Ensuring that FCUs are cool at night. Heat from HW system while fans are off can lead to damage of bearings and regular replacement of FCUs.
- Hot and cold systems are not perfectly insulated so there is always some residual energy loss. Managing this can lead to efficiency gains.
- Maximising the efficiency heat exchangers in FCUs.
- Understanding that all equipment produces energy in the form of heat and minimising this.
AM Engineering has been reducing boiler and chiller use by up to 80%, and thereby increasing lifespan by up to 5x. A chiller which may last 5 more years, may now last 25.