Simulation of District Cooling Plant and Efficient Energy Air Cooled Condensers (Part I)

Abstract

In hot arid countries with severe weather, the summer air conditioning systems consume much electrical power at peak period. Shifting the loads peak to off-peak period with thermal storage is recommended. Model A of residential buildings and Model B of schools and hospitals were used to estimate the daily cooling load profile in Makkah, Saudi Arabia at latitude of 21.42°N and longitude of 39.83°E. Model A was constructed from common materials, but Model B as Model A with 5 - 8 cm thermal insulation and double layers glass windows. The average data of Makkah weather through 2010, 2011 and 2012 were used to calculate the cooling load profile and performance of air conditioning systems. The maximum cooling load was calculated at 15:00 o’clock for a main floor building to a 40-floor of residential building and to 5 floors of schools. A district cooling plant of 180,000 Refrigeration Ton was suggested to serve the Gabal Al Sharashf area in the central zone of Makkah. A thermal storage system to store the excess cooling capacity was used. Air cooled condensers were used in the analysis of chiller refrigeration cycle. The operating cost was mainly a function of electrical energy consumption. Fixed electricity tariff was 0.04 $/kWh for electromechanical counter, and 0.027, 0.04, 0.069 $/kWh for shifting loads peak for the smart digital counter. The results showed that the daily savings in consumed power are 8.27% in spring, 6.86% in summer, 8.81% in autumn, and 14.55% in winter. Also, the daily savings in electricity bills are 12.26% in spring, 16.66% in summer, 12.84% in autumn, and 14.55% in winter. The obtained maximum saving in consumed power is 14.5% and the daily saving in electricity bills is 43% in summer when the loads peak is completely shifted to off-peak period.