Chiller control leads to savings
April 1st 2006

The Tracer Summit chiller plant control system from Trane Control Systems is said to achieve significant energy savings on chiller operation, even when chillers are controlled through a conventional building management system.

The system obtains detailed information from chillers and this is used to devise a control strategy tailored to each installation and to the strengths and limitations of each chiller. On/off switching, set point reset, modulation and scheduling are used in combination to achieve optimum performance.

In one installation running three 950kW chillers, the existing building management system was supplemented with a Tracer Summit system and the control strategy revised accordingly. This had the effect of reducing running loads from 52.8 to 25.2%, while maintaining set flow temperatures.

It has been calculated that every stop/start reduces the life of a chiller by 8 minutes. Therefore, minimising stops/starts, combined with protocols such as 'soft start' and 'soft stop', minimises mechanical wear so the plant life is extended as well as preventing energy waste.