C H A P T E R T H I RT Y-F I V E

H EAT E XTRACTION E VAPORATORS , C HILLED

WATER , E CONOMIZERS AND T HERMAL S TORAGE

he object of a refrigeration cycle is to produce a

cooling effect, to maintain environmental or process
conditions at desired levels. In the cycle, heat is extracted
from the space or medium being cooled to the refrigerant
in the evaporator. This is sometimes referred to as the
cold-, low- (pressure) or suction-side of the cycle. The
evaporator may provide direct or indirect heat extraction
from a space or process. For large facilities and large
processes, brine or chilled water usually serve as the indirect cooling medium.
This chapter focuses on the evaporators and chilled
water systems, with emphasis on chilled water distribution
systems and design strategies. Also included is a discussion
of other types of cooling optimization strategies including
water-side economizer cycles, to obtain "free" cooling
effect when ambient conditions permit, and thermal energy storage to reduce peak electric demand and/or balance
system operation.

secondary cooling medium that circulates between the

loads and a central refrigerant-to-liquid evaporator, or
cooler. Upon exiting the cooler, the chilled water is distributed to coils housed in air handling units (AHUs) or
to other air conditioning or process heat exchangers.
The liquid cooler is a shell-and-tube heat exchanger of
either the flooded or dry type. In a flooded cooler, the
refrigerant is vaporized on the outside of bare or augmented surface tubes that are submerged in evaporating
liquid refrigerant within a closed shell. Refrigerant may be
metered by a float valve or orifice with flooded systems.
Evaporators are said to be dry when a portion of the evaporator area is used for superheating the refrigerant.
Refrigerant flow to the evaporator is controlled by a thermal expansion valve in response to superheat in the return
line from the evaporator coil. Typically, this is set at about
10F (6C) of superheat to assure gas inlet to the
compressor to avoid compressor damage due to liquid

LIQUID COOLERS
In the refrigeration process, heat is transferred from
the medium being cooled to the refrigerant as it changes
phase in the evaporator. A refrigerant-to-air, or direct
expansion (DX), evaporator is typically used with smaller vapor compression systems with a higher-pressure
refrigerant, such as HCFC-22, CFC-12, and HFC-134a.
The DX evaporator shown in Figure 35-1 is a finned-tube
coil over which air is passed and thereby cooled.
Large central
air conditioning or
process cooling systems with multiple
terminal units use a
brine or chilled
water cooling system because it is
impractical to circulate large volumes of refrigerant
throughout a facility. In this case, the
Fig. 35-1 Illustration of Fin-Tube Evaporator. chilled water serves
as an indirect or
Source: The Trane Company

Copyright 2003 by The Fairmont Press.

Fig. 35-2 Direct-Expansion Shell-and-Tube.

Source: The Trane Company

Fig. 35-3 Cooler (Evaporator) for Centrifugal Chiller.

Source: Carrier Corp.

Combined Heating, Cooling & Power Handbook: Technologies & Applications

carryover. Figure 35-2 shows a direct-expansion shell-andtube evaporator.

Figure 35-3 is a cutaway schematic of an evaporator
(or cooler) used with a centrifugal chiller. Notice the eliminator which, in this case, is a series of parallel plates used
to trap liquid droplets ahead of the compressor. Also
notice the marine water box, which is sometimes used to
allow for easier inspection and cleaning of heat exchanger
tubes.

CHILLED WATER TEMPERATURE

AND

FLOW

Chilled water supply and return temperature are a

function of the cooling load and flow rate, commonly
measured in gallons per minute (gpm) or liters per minute
(lpm). The temperature differential (T) between supply
and return temperature can be calculated in English units
as:
(Btu/h)cooling
T(F ) =
8.33 lbm/gal x 60 min/h x gpm x SG x Cp
(35-1)
and in SI units as:
kWr
T(C ) =
1 kg/liter x 60 min/h x lpm x SG x Cp
(35-2)
Where:
SG = Specific gravity of fluid, which is assumed to be 1
Cp = Specific heat of fluid in Btu/lbm F, kJ/kg C or
kWh/kg C [it is assumed to be 1 Btu/lbm F
(4.187 kJ/kg C or 1.16 Watt-h/kg C)]
Based on a T of 10F, required flow rate is determined to be 2.4 gpm/ton (2.6 lpm/kWr ) as follows:
(12,000 Btu/h)cooling/ton
8.33 lbm/gal x 60 min/h x 10F x 1 x 1

= 2.4 g pm/ton
(2.6 lpm/kWr )

Increasing the T to 15F (8.3C), for example,

would result in a reduced flow rate of 1.6 gpm/ton (1.7
lpm/kWr ).
If the flow rate and supply temperature are held constant in an operating system, the return temperature will
fall as facility load is reduced. Under part-load conditions,
there is an opportunity to conserve energy by allowing the
supply water temperature to increase. This reduces the
energy input requirement for a given load level by minimizing the pressure differential between the evaporator
and the condenser. This is called chilled water reset.
In an air conditioning application, the ability to reset
chilled water supply temperature is limited by the AHUs
capacity to control humidity at the higher water tempera-

ture. In a large, diverse facility, available reset will be

limited by the AHU or zone with the most severe cooling
or dehumidification requirement.
Chilled water supply temperatures can be adjusted
manually or automatically. Commonly, higher supply
temperatures are used in spring and fall months, when
both the temperature and the humidity of outside air are
generally reduced. Automatic controls can provide a varying reset based on specified conditions, such as AHU coil
valve position, outside air temperature and humidity, supply air, or indoor conditions.

CHILLED WATER PIPING

DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

The most common multiple chiller systems involve

parallel piping configurations designed for constant flow.
Chilled water flows through all chillers whenever the system is operating and an identical T is maintained across
each machine. Typically, three-way control valves are used
at terminal units to maintain constant system flow by
bypassing coils during periods of part-load. There are several limitations with this configuration:
Pump energy is wasted due to system operation at
constant full flow.
Cooler tubes are subject to unnecessary wear and
fouling.
Supply temperature control is limited as supply water
from operating and off-line chillers is mixed.
Consider the example of two identical chillers
designed to provide supply water at 44F (6.7C) with a
10F (5.5C) temperature rise. Under typical operating
conditions, at 40% of design load, one chiller is operating
at 80% capacity with 44F (6.7C) supply temperature
and an 8F (4.4C) temperature rise. Due to mixing, the
minimum supply temperature leaving the two-chiller
plant is 48F (8.9C), which may not provide adequate
dehumidification in all areas of the facility. Energy consumption is also penalized, because chilled water reset is
not possible for the operating chiller. Reducing supply
temperature, by operating both chillers at 40% load,
could further penalize energy consumption due to the
need for added condenser water pumping and, possibly,
hot gas bypass to allow chiller operation at low-load.
Inactive chillers can be isolated when individual
chilled water pumps are provided for each unit. A common parallel chiller configuration includes the use of a
bypass line, with differential pressure control designed to
maintain constant flow to operating chillers under varying

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Copyright 2003 by The Fairmont Press.

AND

Heat Extraction Evaporators, Chilled Water, Economizers and Thermal Storage

load conditions. Two-way control valves can be used with

this approach.
When two chillers are connected in series, as shown in
Figure 35-4, a constant supply temperature can be maintained, even when only one chiller is operating. Overall
refrigeration energy efficiency is improved, because the
first chiller is able to operate at a higher leaving water temperature.
Consider operation of a mixed (or hybrid) system that
includes an absorption chiller and a vapor compression
chiller. Because the COP of the absorption chiller is
improved more than that of the vapor compression chiller
at high evaporating temperature, the absorption unit is
placed first in sequence. Also, since absorption chillers are
limited to a minimum supply temperature of about 40F
(4.4C), lower supply temperatures can be obtained by
locating the vapor compression chiller downstream of the
absorption unit.
In addition to thermodynamic performance considerations, relative chiller loading may be varied based on other
factors, such as prevailing time-of-use energy rates. For
example, during peak electric rate periods, the temperature differential across the absorption chiller could be
increased to reduce load on the electric-driven chiller.
Absorption chiller load could then be decreased during
off-peak periods when electricity prices are low.
A disadvantage of the series arrangement is that the
system experiences head loss (and tube wear) through offline chillers under part-load conditions. As with the parallel arrangement, series systems can be adapted for variable
flow with a bypass that maintains constant flow through
the chillers.

Chilled
Water
Supply

Constant Flow
Pump

Chilled
Water
Return

Fig. 35-4 Series Flow Configuration.

PRIMARY/SECONDARY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

In a typical primary/secondary system, there are two
separate pumping loops: a primary loop for the chillers
and a secondary loop for distribution to various facility

loads. The chillers, operating on the primary system, can

be cycled, staged, and loaded in the most efficient configuration. The primary circulator pumps are matched to the
individual flow and head of each chiller, and when a
chiller in a multiple unit configuration is inactive, its
pump is off. The secondary distribution system operates at
variable flow based on load requirements. Typically, multiple variable speed pumps are used under differential
pressure control.
Primary/secondary piping arrangements increase capital costs, but can often produce significant pumping
energy savings, particularly in systems that experience a
wide range of load variation. A number of variations can
be used for multiple chiller systems.
In the most basic arrangement, shown in Figure 35-5,
a bypass line decouples the chiller (primary) flow
from the distribution system (secondary) flow. The
bypass line is located so that all chillers operate at the
same discharge and return temperature. When the
secondary system pump is at part-load, flow is
reduced and the bypass line allows a portion of the
primary flow to bypass the secondary system. Chillers
share load equally and constant supply temperature
can be maintained.
A modification of this basic arrangement, shown in
Figure 35-6, locates the bypass line so as to create a
lead chiller, which can be fully loaded before the second chiller is brought on-line. This arrangement may
be preferable when there is an operational advantage
to using a designated chiller to meet base loads.
A more sophisticated arrangement, shown in Figure
35-7, locates the bypass between two chillers. A valve
is installed between each chiller and the bypass, allowing either chiller to operate as lead unit. This arrangement can be particularly effective with mixed chiller
systems. Consider, for example, a hybrid system consisting of an absorption chiller and an electric chiller,
with the absorption unit providing baseload cooling
during peak electrical rate periods and the electric
chiller providing baseload cooling during off-peak
periods.
Historically, flow variation through chillers was
severely limited by design parameters. Hence,
primary/secondary systems were the only reasonable alternative available for capturing pump energy savings
through variable system flow. However, current designs do
allow for a relatively large variation in flow through
chillers. This allows a single (primary) pump to operate
with a variable flow rate, enabling the capture of significant

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Copyright 2003 by The Fairmont Press.

Combined Heating, Cooling & Power Handbook: Technologies & Applications

pump energy savings. While this configuration does not

offer the full range of flow variation achievable with a primary/secondary system, it does offer the potential for
energy savings to be achieved at a far lower capital cost.
Chilled
Water
Supply

Variable Flow Drive

Auto Switch Over

Constant
Flow

Chilled
Water
Return

Fig. 35-5 Basic Primary/Secondary Configuration.

Chilled
Water
Supply

Bypass

Priority
Chiller

Constant
Flow

Constant
Flow

Variable Flow
Drive
Auto Switch
Over

Chilled
Water
Return

refrigeration systems.
In many localities, depending on the particular cooling process, there are periods during the course of the year
when ambient wet-bulb temperature will be sufficiently
depressed to permit the cooling tower (or other heat rejection system) to produce a low enough water temperature
to satisfy the facility cooling requirement. Supply water
temperature can also usually be raised during free cooling
operation in air conditioning applications, because overall
load, and particularly dehumidification load, is reduced as
a result of cool and/or dry ambient air conditions.
Direct water-side free cooling, illustrated in Figure
35-8, bypasses the chiller completely and allows condenser water to flow directly to the load. Typically, the chilled
water pump is bypassed and only the condenser pump is
used. It is critical to ensure that the raw condenser water
from the tower or body of water does not contaminate the
relatively clean chilled water circuit. This system is often
referred to as a strainer cycle, indicating the need for a
strainer or filter. Cooling tower freeze protection is also a
concern, and variable-speed fans as well as basin heating
are often required. While it has proven effective in a number of field applications, the stringent operating requirements and risks associated with this approach have limited
its use.

Fig. 35-6 Primary/Secondary Priority Loading Configuration.

Cooling Tower

Chilled
Water
Supply
Bypass
Electric
Chiller

Variable
Flow Drive
Auto
Switch Over

Absorption
Chiller

Cooling
Load
Condenser

Constant
Flow
Valves

Full-Flow
Filter

Chilled Water
Pump

Chilled
Water
Return

Fig. 35-7 Primary/Secondary Variable Priority Loading

Configuration.

Fig. 35-8 Direct Water-Side Free Cooling Configuration.

Source: The Trane Company

WATER-SIDE ECONOMIZER CYCLE

(FREE COOLING) APPLICATIONS
Free cooling, or economizer cycle, applications take
advantage of favorable outdoor temperatures to meet air
conditioning or process cooling load requirements.
Water-side free cooling involves the use of heat rejection
systems to produce chilled water without operation of

Indirect water-side free cooling, illustrated in Figure

35-9, is a common approach that is accomplished by the
inclusion of a heat exchanger to separate the heat rejection
and chilled water circuits. Available free cooling is somewhat reduced due to the temperature differential across
the heat exchanger, although efficient plate-and-frame

664
Copyright 2003 by The Fairmont Press.

Evaporator

Condenser
Pump

Constant
Flow

Heat Extraction Evaporators, Chilled Water, Economizers and Thermal Storage

standard operation. Figure 35-10 is a schematic representation of a vapor compression system designed to operate
as an isolated indirect free cooling loop.
An additional water-side free cooling method, known
as thermal-siphon or refrigerant migration, is accomplished by allowing the chiller itself to function as a heat
exchanger. When the condenser water is at a lower temperature than the chilled water, it is sometimes possible for
the refrigerant to reject heat absorbed from the chilled
water to the condenser water without mechanical compression. A small refrigerant pump may be used. Care
must be taken when switching to normal compressor
operation, since condenser water must be brought up to
safe operating temperatures.

Cooling Tower

Heat
Exchanger

Cooling
Load

Condenser

Evaporator

Condenser
Pump

Chilled
Water
Pump

Fig. 35-9 Indirect Free Cooling Configuration, with Heat

Exchanger. Source: The Trane Company

units are generally used. The pumping energy requirement

is also greater with indirect free cooling, since both condenser water and chilled water pumps are required and the
heat exchanger presents additional head to be overcome
by the pumps.
The transition between chiller and free-cooling operation deserves attention in any application. In temperate
climate regions, cooling tower water temperatures in the
range of 40 to 45F (4 to 7C) are required for free cooling, while the minimum acceptable chiller condenser
water temperature is often above 55F (13C). When
chillers are started, controls are required to maintain condensing temperature above this lower limit as the temperature of the cooling tower circuit rises. A multiple cooling
tower array can allow cells that operate on free cooling to
be isolated from cells that provide heat rejection in

Heater

Compressor
Cond

Load

Evap

Condenser
Water Pump

Chilled
Water Pump

Fig. 35-10 Schematic Representation of Indirect Water-Side FreeCooling System.

THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE

Thermal energy storage (TES) involves the capture of
thermal energy generated during one time period for later
use during another. TES has been used for decades in one
form or another for space and process heating and cooling
applications. There are many types of TES applications.
Examples include storage of solar heat for night heating,
storage of heat recovery-generated hot water for use as
needed for fluctuating loads, storage of ice in winter for
use in summer, and storage of a cooling medium generated by an electric chiller during off-peak periods for use
during peak periods.
TES may involve sensible or latent storage. Sensible
storage is accomplished by raising or lowering the temperature of storage media, such as water or solids, without
producing a phase change. Latent storage is accomplished
by a phase change of the storage media, typically from
liquid to solid, such as water/ice or salt hydrates.
For heating applications, water, oils, phase change
media (such as eutectic salts), and solids (such as rock or
brick) are most commonly used. For cooling applications,
water and phase change media, including both ice and
eutectic salts, are typically used. Other latent-heat types of
cool storage media include carbon dioxide (CO2), which
is used for applications such as low-temperature food
freezing, and liquid nitrogen, which is used for cryogenic
operation conditions.

REFRIGERATION-CYCLE TES TECHNOLOGY

OVERVIEW
For refrigeration and air conditioning applications, all
TES systems operate on the same fundamental concept:
the cooling equipment produces a refrigeration effect

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Combined Heating, Cooling & Power Handbook: Technologies & Applications

(direct or indirect), either to meet the load or to be added

to storage. The storage system either accepts excess cooling capacity or supplies it to meet the load. The load may
be served directly by the cooling system or the storage system. Figure 35-11 is a simplified schematic representation
of a basic TES system. Descriptions of the three most
common cool storage systems follow, and a fourth is
briefly mentioned.

Liquid Systems
Liquid (water) storage is usually the simplest for heating and cooling applications. In cooling applications,
liquid storage may be applied with a wider range of refrigeration systems than can ice systems, including LiBr-type
absorption chillers. The high specific heat of water, which
is approximately 1 Btu/lbm F (1.16 Wh/kg K), makes
it well suited for TES. Above ground tanks are commonly
made of steel and buried tanks are commonly made of
concrete.
The principle advantages of chilled water storage systems are simplicity and the ability to operate chillers at or
close to normal supply (suction) temperatures. The ability
to operate at relatively high supply temperatures results in
greater chiller performance.
A principle disadvantage of water storage is the
immense storage equipment size and space requirement.
Given the temperature differential range between stored
and supplied chilled water, which is limited to 10 or 20F
(6 or 11C), chilled water storage requires a very large
amount of storage volume. With hot water storage systems, however, a far greater temperature differential can be
used, resulting in a lesser volume requirement for equivalent amounts of stored energy.
Another disadvantage of water storage systems is the
tendency for mixing or temperature blending of the water
returning to storage and the colder stored water. There are

Chiller

Building
Air Flow

Pump

Cooling Coil

Temperature
Control Valve

Storage
System

Fig. 35-11 Schematic Representation of Basic TES System.

several techniques to limit mixing, although they add to

system cost. Water storage systems are also subject to
problems associated with lower than desired return water
temperatures and the potential for leaks in large concrete
installations. They also require chemical treatment and filtering systems.

Ice Systems
The high heat of fusion of ice 144 Btu/lbm (0.093
kWh/kg) makes it an excellent storage medium. Three
common types of ice storage systems are ice builder
systems, ice harvesting systems, and ice slurry systems.
Ice builder systems may operate with DX systems or
brine (typically 25% ethylene glycol/75% water)
chiller systems. The refrigerant or brine coils, which
are submerged in a water storage tank, freeze the
water in their immediate vicinity. The water then
melts when warm return water is introduced to the
tank. Primary concerns with any type of refrigerant
coil system are 1) minimizing bridging of ice between
coils to promote water circulation and increase
exposed ice surface area and 2) creation of the minimal necessary ice thickness to reduce compressor
loading during the build cycle. Typical storage
systems use plastic containers filled with deionized
water and an ice nucleating agent placed in a steel,
concrete, fiberglass, or polyurethane tank. The inventory of available ice can be determined by measuring
the water volume and adjusting for the expansion to
ice (about 9%).
Ice harvesting systems consist of an ice producing
section and an ice/water storage section. Ice is accumulated on the outside of the evaporator in the ice producing section and then drops to storage as hot gas is
passed through the evaporator to break the bond
between the ice and the evaporator wall. Typical cycle
intervals are about 30 minutes. Since the ice floats on
water and does not completely displace its own volume,
inventory of available ice must be determined by water
conductivity or heat balance methods.
Ice slurry systems use a brine solution, which is
cooled to its freezing point where ice crystals form in
its fluid film. The slurry portion is pumped to storage,
where it forms a floating porous ice pack, and the
remaining concentrated solution is re-cooled. The
process is continuous, with the brine solution continually circulating through the evaporator until the
desired stored capacity is reached as indicated by
temperature measurement of the solution in storage at

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Heat Extraction Evaporators, Chilled Water, Economizers and Thermal Storage

equilibrium conditions. An advantage of this system

is that no defrost cycle is required.
A primary advantage of ice versus water storage is that
size requirements are much lower. Storage space requirements for ice systems are generally less than one fifth those
of chilled water systems. Ice systems are also less subject to
problems associated with lower than desired return water
temperatures.
A major disadvantage of ice systems is decreased cooling system performance due to the need to produce the
lower refrigerant (suction) temperatures required for ice
making. As discussed in Chapter 37, the performance of a
vapor compression system depends on the saturated suction and discharge pressures of the compressor. The suction temperature is a function of the inlet and outlet
supply temperature and the discharge is a function of
ambient conditions. As the entering water temperature
drops, the capacity of the system drops and the temperature differential increases. This results in a requirement for
more energy input per ton-h (or kWhr) output. Another
disadvantage is that ice storage tends to present more
complications than water storage with respect to generation, storage, discharge, and control.

Eutectic Salts
Eutectic salts change phase at various temperatures.
The most commonly used eutectic salt consists primarily
of sodium sulfate, which has a heat of fusion of 41
Btu/lbm (0.026 kWh/kg) and freezes and melts at about
47F (8C). Other types of eutectic salts may have a higher heat of fusion. Systems typically consist of containers
stacked in a tank with small clearances for chilled water to
circulate. A principal advantage is that cool storage can be
generated with typical chilled water temperatures in excess
of 40F (4C). Their advantage versus ice is that they can
operate more efficiently because they do not have to
produce such low temperatures. Their advantage over
water is that they require half of the space (significantly
more space than ice). Their primary disadvantage is
significantly higher capital cost than conventional water
or ice storage systems.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Although not common, CO2 systems are sometimes useful for very cold applications, such as commercial food
freezing. CO2 has a triple thermodynamic equilibrium
point of 70F (57C) at about 60 psig (5.2 bar), which
makes it a somewhat unique storage medium because it is

used as a solid, liquid, or gas. It can be used as a vapor

compression refrigerant, a liquid refrigerant, and a solid
storage medium. Though not as dense a storage medium
as ice, CO2 typically requires less than one-third the storage space of chilled water. The advantage of a CO2 system
is its compatibility with very low temperature refrigeration
applications. The disadvantages are complexity of operation and significantly higher capital cost than conventional water or ice storage systems.

TES APPLICATIONS
TES applications can be classified into four basic categories: load shifting, downsizing equipment, intermittent
use to improve system performance, and excess capacity
storage.

Load Shifting
Load shifting involves generating thermal energy
during periods when energy costs are lower and storing it
for use when energy costs are higher. This type of application is used almost exclusively with electric motor-driven
vapor compression systems. The basic concept is to generate thermal energy in the form of ice, chilled water, or
other media during off-peak periods when electricity costs
are low, and use it during peak periods when electricity
costs are high. This can be particularly effective in eliminating peak electric demand charges.
Over the past two decades, these applications were a
major focus of electric utility demand-side management
(DSM) and marketing programs. The impetus for the customer is operating cost savings resulting from replacing
the use of high-cost peak cooling season electric usage
with low-cost off-peak usage. The impetus for the electric
utility has been to limit utility system peak demand
and/or to retain loads that might otherwise be lost to nonelectric technologies. Given the reduced emphasis on
DSM, due to the evolving process of deregulation and/or
the condition of excess generation capacity in many
regions, utility support for this technology application has
recently declined. However, with the trend toward
increasingly stratified electricity rates, load shifting
remains an effective technology application for many
facilities, even absent additional utility incentives.
Systems may be designed for full storage where all
of the peak cooling requirements are served by storage; or
partial storage where only a portion of the peak cooling load is met by storage, with the rest served directly by
the refrigeration-cycle machine. Frequently, partial storage

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Combined Heating, Cooling & Power Handbook: Technologies & Applications

applications are more cost-effective because of their lower

capital cost. With full storage, more refrigeration machine
and/or storage capacity is required.
In a typical partial storage system for a host facility
with a one-shift operation, the refrigeration machine
operates at part load during peak periods and at full load
during off-peak periods to generate storage. In most cases,
it is necessary for the host facility to be on a time-of-use
(TOU) electric rate for electric-driven thermal storage to
be cost-effective. However, for the remainder of the electric loads, more traditional, less time-differentiated rates
are preferable for one-shift operations, since they cannot
fully benefit from extensive low-cost off-peak usage. If a
rate change is necessary, the facility must consider any
negative economic impact on the remaining electricity
purchases that result.
Facilities with three-shift operations, such as hospitals
and industrial plants, can effectively use storage if their
off-peak cooling requirement is significantly lower than
their peak requirement. In cases where such facilities have
high load factors and require similar or only slightly lower levels of cooling during off-peak rate periods, excess
refrigeration machine capacity may be required. This
strategy may prove financially acceptable if redundant
capacity is desired and considered an added benefit.
The large reliance on the specific characteristics of the
electric rate structure can be an application-limiting factor. In cases where the rate structure features either offpeak demand billing or where a demand charge is assessed
to any portion of off-peak demand that exceeds the peak
demand, the economic benefits of the load shift may be
somewhat limited. Moreover, should the rate structure
change, which is always a possibility given the dynamics of
todays rapidly changing electricity market environment,
long-term returns on the investment could be diminished
since system selection and operations are so closely
dependent on the specific (predictable) rate structure. It
may therefore be beneficial to consider a long-term agreement on the rate structure with the utility. Given these
risks, load-shifting TES systems still offer a good measure
of operating flexibility, allowing facilities to dispatch storage and limit the use of electricity during the most costly
periods of the day. With the advent of real-time-pricing
(RTP) type rates, the ability to reduce electricity consumption during periods of very high market pricing provides a strong measure of financial security, though
electricity market volatility does make system selection

and operational strategy a difficult challenge.

Figure 35-12 shows a 3.3 million gallon stratified
water thermal storage system tank used at a Veterans
Medical Center to balance energy demand during peak load
periods. With a 12F (5.6C) temperature rise, a
system of this capacity can store about 27,500 ton-h
(97,000 kWhr ) of cooling capacity. This could eliminate
the operation of a 5,500 ton (19,300 kWr ) chiller over a 5
hour daily peak period or the same capacity chiller operating over an 8 hour peak period with a 62.5% load factor.

Downsizing Equipment
Given the short duration of design cooling load conditions, the limited use of storage can typically reduce
refrigeration machine capacity requirement by providing
cooling during those limited peak hours. Thus, the refrigeration machine and system auxiliaries, such as the cooling tower and condenser pump, can be sized at a capacity
lower than that of a facilitys full peak requirement. The
stored cold thermal energy, generated during off-peak load
periods, can then be used during peak load conditions to
make up the capacity deficit. With the trend toward market-based RTP electric rates, the availability of a limited
amount of storage capacity may prove economical by providing the ability to eliminate the few most costly kWh
purchased on a given day. As with other load shifting
strategies, it is, however, difficult to predict the optimal
amount of storage capacity.
This strategy can be employed with virtually any type
of refrigeration system. It can also be used when load
growth has exceeded the current chiller or boiler capacity,
or both. Storage can be employed permanently, or as a
stop-gap measure until load growth is significant enough

Fig. 35-12 3.3 Million Gallon Stratified Thermal Energy Storage

Water Tank. Source: Carter & Burgess, DoE/NREL

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Heat Extraction Evaporators, Chilled Water, Economizers and Thermal Storage

to warrant investment in added capacity.

Intermittent Use to Improve System Performance

Storage of thermal energy for intermittent use can
improve performance of systems that would otherwise
cycle frequently or operate often under very low loads. In
both heating and cooling system applications, equipment
cycling and/or operation under very low loads often
results in decreased overall system performance.
In cases where equipment does cycle on and off due
to low load conditions, cycling frequency can be reduced
as run time is extended to charge the storage system. In
other cases, limited cycling can be induced in conjunction
with storage as an alternative to constant low load operation. The system generates cold (or hot) water and then
cycles off for a lengthy period, which can improve efficiency and limit auxiliary equipment run time.
Equipment with significant auxiliary usage, such as singlestage absorption systems, can be run at full load for shorter intervals rather than at part load for longer intervals.
Further, as peak demand setting periods approach, the
unit can be cycled off to limit peak demand.
Limited storage can also be used to balance a closedloop water-source heat pump system when heating and
cooling loads are not exactly coincidental. A relatively
small tank can provide significant benefits. Another application is for cooling units (or boilers) that must be operated to serve only a small load for a given period of the day
on a consistent basis. Under this circumstance, it may be
effective to charge storage during normal (higher load)
operation and shut off the cooling unit (or boiler), allowing storage to serve the small (off-peak) load.

Excess Capacity Storage

Storage of available thermal energy in excess of the
amount that can be used during a given time period for
use during periods when there is sufficient demand may
allow this energy to be used rather than wasted. One of
the most common uses of TES is to capture available thermal energy during periods when supply is greater than
demand, which often is the case in heat recovery applications. The stored thermal energy is then metered in accordance with demand and, therefore, not wasted. This
strategy is commonly used with solar heating systems and
combustion engine applications that recover heat in the
form of hot water. An example is a cogeneration-cycle system that operates to meet an electric or mechanical load
during a low thermal load requirement period. While it
may not be economical to operate the system and reject all
of the heat, it may be economical to operate the system

and store recovered heat.

While storage is typically in the form of hot water for
these types of applications, there are cases in which it
makes sense to use cool storage produced by heat recovery-driven cooling equipment. When heat recovery is in
the form of steam, it may be effective to use the steam in
an absorption chiller or steam turbine-driven chiller to
generate cool storage, which can then be used to serve
cooling loads as they occur. While typically a greater
amount of energy can be stored in the form of hot water
than chilled water, generating cool storage may also permit equipment downsizing, as described above.

EVALUATION OF TES APPLICATION

OPPORTUNITIES
The economic performance analysis of potential TES
applications should compare the cost of the storage equipment, minus any avoided capital costs, and the cost of
generating or capturing the stored thermal energy with
the alternative purchase and/or generation of that energy
during the appropriate use period. Following are several
factors that should be included in the evaluation of TES
application opportunities.
Operating at lower suction temperatures to produce
colder temperatures as required with many TES systems
reduces cooling unit performance and capacity and, therefore, increases energy usage. This is most significant with
ice storage systems. Conversely, in some cases, during the
off-peak periods in which the system operates to charge
the storage tanks, ambient conditions may be cooler and
or less humid. This allows for a lower condensing temperature and, therefore, an efficiency gain.
Operation with reduced chilled water distribution
temperatures can provide capital and operating cost benefits. In new construction, opportunities should be evaluated for designing a lower temperature chilled water
distribution system. Capital cost savings may be achieved
with smaller capacity pipes, ducts, pumps, and fans.
Operating cost savings may be achieved through reduced
pump and fan energy requirements. Caution should be
taken in retrofit applications to account for all redesign
costs, including, where applicable, fan, pump, pipe, and
duct modifications and the installation of pipe and duct
insulation. Partial storage systems often allow for the purchase of less refrigeration machine (i.e., chiller) capacity
and associated heat rejection equipment. If, for example,
the peak load is 6,000 tons (21,000 kWr ) and this can be
satisfied with a 3,000 ton (10,500 kWr ) chiller plus storage,

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Combined Heating, Cooling & Power Handbook: Technologies & Applications

the savings on the additional 3,000 tons of chiller capacity

and associated condenser pump, fan, and cooling tower
capacity can offset much, if not all, of the thermal storage
system capital cost.
Counterbalancing the prospective benefits of potentially
reduced distribution system capital and operating costs are
capital costs associated with added storage system pumping,
water treatment and filtering costs, and maintenance
requirements. The opportunity cost of allocating space for
storage and the cost of any additional landscaping or structural modifications should also be considered. Ice storage
systems are fairly large; cold water systems are extremely
large. In the case of large concrete water storage systems,
consideration should be given to the potential for leaks. The
use of at least two partitions should be considered to allow
for simultaneous operation and repair.
Sizing of storage capacity and predicting how much to
store each day is difficult as a result of continually changing
load requirements. If storage is undersized, the refrigeration
machine may have to operate under peak conditions. If an
electric-driven refrigeration machine is brought on line to
serve the unintended need for peak operation, an electric
demand may be set (under a demand sensitive electric rate),
thus reducing the savings associated with load shifting. If a
system is oversized, the refrigeration machine may operate

inefficiently under very low loads.

Factors such as plant diversity and tenant use can further complicate prediction of required storage capacity. As
with other peak-shaving technologies, it should also be
assumed that, periodically, the system will be out of service
during peak demand periods. In the case of electric-driven
systems operating under a load-shifting strategy, this may
also necessitate peak refrigeration machine usage and could
result in the incidence of peak demand charges.
As noted above, another risk associated with electric
load shifting applications is that the system design and selection of the optimal amount of storage is so highly dependent on the specific electric rate structure. A system design
that produces optimal economic performance under one
rate structure may produce inferior economic performance
under another. The dramatic changes occurring in the electricity industry, therefore, present uncertainty risk to loadshifting applications. Still, the application may remain very
useful if electric rates experience further stratification
between peak and off-peak periods, or move toward RTP.
While perhaps more limited storage capacity will be required
and the optimal amount may be difficult to determine, the
ability to eliminate the most costly electricity purchases may
become even more valuable over the next decade.

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Copyright 2003 by The Fairmont Press.