Application of Optimization Methods to Save Energy in Plant Chillers

This paper deals with optimization methods for industrial plant chiller control systems to improve energy savings. Control systems improvements are presented for chilled water and condenser water temperature optimization and optimum heat recovery of split condensers as related to cooling tower and heating load. Optimum load allocation of parallel units such as pumps, cooling towers, and chillers are also presented. Finally, the coordination of the foregoing optimization efforts at a supervisory level is discussed. The trade-off between pumping aid compressor power is discussed to arrive at the optimum temperature settings of chilled water and condenser water. The implementation of the optimization methods in distributed control instrumentation systems is discussed.