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    Low Delta-T Syndrome in Chilled Water Systems

    Uploaded by

    Mukesh Singh
    Low delta-T syndrome occurs when the actual temperature difference between chilled water supply and return is lower than the chiller's design delta-T. This can be caused by inefficient heat transfer and leads to improper chiller and pump sequencing, increased energy use, and reduced equipment life. A common trigger is oversized equipment which prevents appropriate heat transfer and lowers return water temperatures, especially during partial load conditions when bypass valves allow warmer water to mix into the return line. This decreases the actual delta-T and reduces the effective capacity of the chillers requiring more equipment to run than needed.

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    Low Delta-T Syndrome in Chilled Water Systems

    Uploaded by

    Mukesh Singh
    97 views6 pages
    Low delta-T syndrome occurs when the actual temperature difference between chilled water supply and return is lower than the chiller's design delta-T. This can be caused by inefficient heat transfer and leads to improper chiller and pump sequencing, increased energy use, and reduced equipment life. A common trigger is oversized equipment which prevents appropriate heat transfer and lowers return water temperatures, especially during partial load conditions when bypass valves allow warmer water to mix into the return line. This decreases the actual delta-T and reduces the effective capacity of the chillers requiring more equipment to run than needed.

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    low Delta-T Syndrome and required mitigation in chilled water system.

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    Low Delta-T Syndrome in chilled water systems

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    Low delta-T syndrome occurs when the actual temperature difference between chilled water supply and return is lower than the chiller's design delta-T. This can be caused by inefficient heat transfer and leads to improper chiller and pump sequencing, increased energy use, and reduced equipment life. A common trigger is oversized equipment which prevents appropriate heat transfer and lowers return water temperatures, especially during partial load conditions when bypass valves allow warmer water to mix into the return line. This decreases the actual delta-T and reduces the effective capacity of the chillers requiring more equipment to run than needed.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    97 views6 pages

    Low Delta-T Syndrome in Chilled Water Systems

    Uploaded by

    Mukesh Singh
    Low delta-T syndrome occurs when the actual temperature difference between chilled water supply and return is lower than the chiller's design delta-T. This can be caused by inefficient heat transfer and leads to improper chiller and pump sequencing, increased energy use, and reduced equipment life. A common trigger is oversized equipment which prevents appropriate heat transfer and lowers return water temperatures, especially during partial load conditions when bypass valves allow warmer water to mix into the return line. This decreases the actual delta-T and reduces the effective capacity of the chillers requiring more equipment to run than needed.

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    STO UT EN ER GY- E NE R GY E F F I C IE N CY V I E W O RI GI NAL

    FO R B UILD IN G S

    Low Delta-T Syndrome in


    chilled water systems
    July 25, 2021 by Guest Author

    Delta-T or ΔT in centralised air conditioning systems


    refers to the numerical difference between chilled water
    supply and chilled water return temperatures. If actual
    delta T at the site is less than design delta T of the
    chillers, this condition is called low delta-T syndrome.
    Low delta T syndrome can be detrimental to overall
    energy efficiency of the chiller plant as well as
    equipment life.

    Cause

    Low Delta T syndrome is typically caused by lowering of


    return chilled water temperature due to inefficient
    transfer of heat.
    :
    Effect

    Low ΔT can lead to improper sequencing of chillers


    (operating more chillers than necessary) and pumps,
    and consequently increased energy expenditures.

    Typical triggers of low delta T syndrome

    1. Oversized equipment

    If coils and vales are not sized properly, appropriate


    transfer of heat will not take place, resulting in lower
    return chilled water temperatures.

    2. Scaling and fouling of coils due to improper


    maintenance

    If maintenance is not carried out properly, heat transfer


    surfaces can get damaged which in turn affects the
    exchange of heat.

    3. Improper balancing

    Incorrect hydronic balancing can result in wasted


    pumping efforts during partial load conditions. This can
    cause lower return temperatures.

    4. Increased pumping of water

    Improper flow values can also lead to low delta t


    syndrome.

    Explanation for the effect

    The quantitative relationship between heat transfer and


    temperature change is governed by the formula:

    Q= mc ΔT
    :
    Where:

    Q= Chiller load in kW
    m= Mass flow rate of chilled water in kg/s
    C or Cp= Specific heat capacity of water= 4.186 kJ/kgK
    ΔT= Temperature difference between chilled water
    supply and return

    Consider the example of a theoretical building chilled


    water system of the following type:

    Total Design Load= 1000 TR


    No. of chillers= 4 (250 TR each)
    CHWS= 6°C (Chilled water supply temperature)
    CHWR= 12°C (Chilled water return temperature)
    Design ΔT= 12-6=6

    The building has 8 floors, each with a cooling


    requirement of 125 TR.

    Flow rate calculation:

    M=Q/ (Cp* ΔT)

    ;M= Mass flow rate of chilled water


    :
    ;Q= Heat load or in this case, total chiller plant
    capacity=1000TR

    ;Cp=4.186

    ; ΔT=6

    Thus,

    M=1000/ (4.186*6)
    =39.82 kg/s

    Convert mass flow rate to volume flow rate:

    VFR=MFR/Density
    =39.82/998.2
    =.039 m3/s=.039*60 m3/min=2.39 m3/min = 2.39*264
    GPM=631.37 ~ 632 GPM.

    Therefore, chilled water flow rate required = 632 GPM.

    Flow rate for each floor= 632/8=79 GPM

    Consider 2 cases:

    1. Operation at full load

    At full load condition, 6°C water that enters the terminal


    equipment (AHU, FCU, etc.) or ‘load’ will absorb heat
    from the load and increase its temperature to 12°C.
    Therefore all 79 GPM of chilled water supply will flow
    through the coil without bypassing across the 3-way
    valve. In this case, delta T across chiller will be 6.

    2. Operation at partial load

    At partial load, when the requirement drops to half, the


    3-way valves allow bypass of the chilled water and
    thereby limit flow through cooling coil. This bypass lets
    :
    6°C water mix directly with 12°C return line. Consider
    50% of chilled water supply is bypassed at 50% load
    (This figure is taken for simplicity of calculation. In actual
    practice more than 50% of chilled water is bypassed for
    meeting a 50% partial load.). In this case, around 39.5
    GPM of water is bypassed.

    Thus, temperature of return chilled water line reduces


    to

    (39.5*6+39.5*12)/79=9

    Actual ΔT=9-6= 3

    This new ΔT of 3 has an important implication as it has


    now changed the loaded capacity of the chillers.

    Chiller loading= ΔTA/ ΔTD

    ; ΔTA= Actual Delta T


    ; ΔTD= Design Delta T

    Chiller Loading= 9/12= 0.75

    The typical chiller which has a tonnage rating of 250 TR


    now has a usable capacity of only 75% of its original
    rating which is (.75*250) 187.5 TR.

    If 4 out of 8 floors are vacant with 0 load, the total


    cooling requirement reduces to 500 TR. This
    requirement of 500 TR can be met with 2 chillers ideally
    (250*2), but due to low delta T syndrome, chiller
    capacities are reduced and hence 3 chillers need to be
    operated to meet the load. This results in increased
    energy usage and consequently greater operational
    costs.

    Discover more from Stout Energy- Energy Efficiency for Buildings


    :
    :

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