HVAC and cooling systems consume between a quarter and a third of total electricity consumption in an average commercial building. Furthermore, chillers are responsible for over 40% of that consumption, forming up between 10-12% of a building’s total electricity usage and presenting an opportunity for cost savings. So why do HVAC chillers rarely use an energy monitoring system for efficiency?

The problem lays in the HVAC industry approach towards the chiller efficiency and various misconceptions surrounding the topic. Most of the existing methods for HVAC systems are targeted at reducing cooling supply during on-peak periods. However, according to the study based on the real operation data in a high-rise building, peak demand for chillers occurs mostly during the period when a chiller is starting.

Such peak demand may be caused by the increase in cooling load, or the sudden starting of a constant speed chiller, or both. Most chillers, even new ones, are not operating near their rated design performance. Facility managers often may start the system with few chillers at full capacity, turning the rest of them on as demand increases. But in reality, chillers are most efficient when running at between 30% and 50% of the loading mark.

Therefore, a direct chiller power limiting control strategy is very necessary to reduce the peak demand that occurs during the short periods of chiller start. By using load shedding tactics, regular CIP methods, energy monitoring systems, sequencing multiple chillers, and gradually ramping up their usage when needed, facility managers will avoid power spikes and the hefty utility bills that come with them.

So how can we exactly know the exact amount of electricity your chiller is consuming? The easiest and most accurate method is by installing an energy monitoring system to measure both instantaneous kW or kWh over time. These systems can also monitor the quality of power being drawn, how resistive or reactive a particular unit is, and can monitor for harmonic distortion which can dictate a system’s efficiency.

CET-Enviro offers the most modern technology available today for round-the-clock power monitoring of chiller consumption. Our Energy Monitoring System (EMOS) is the most advanced and reliable system that automatically collects & analyzes data collected from the several sensors such as Flow-meters, Temperature sensors, kWh meter and then records it to the cloud storage.

The information collected at the server can be used to manage energy and operating costs on a routine basis. It continuously collects, analyzes and reports on chiller operating data through the internet facility integrated into an open system, which is essential to getting more visible data of the current electricity consumption and setting the benchmarks for expected system efficiency.

Energy Monitoring System can be integrated into existing building automation systems (BAS) and allow your chillers to work in conjunction with other parts of the system like cooling towers, VAVs, and air handling units. Doing so will allow your chillers to not only be set at the right operating power, but handle air that is optimized for temperature, humidity, and pressure. Even small changes in these parameters can noticeably improve overall chiller performance, saving up to 15% in energy consumption.