Steam-Powered Chiller Analysis
Summary
The goal of this analysis was to find the efficiency, overall heat rejection (or refrigeration), and other important metrics of Brigham Young University - Idaho's Central Energy Facility by interpreting data collected by university students.
Outcome
During the time of the data collection, the coefficient of performance (COP) was found to be approximately 11.6, and the chiller achieved refrigeration of about 911 tons of cooling (10.9 million BTU per hour). Additionally, the steam-powered turbine generated close to 30,000 watts (993,000 BTU per hour).
Details
The BYU-Idaho central energy facility is a cogeneration facility that provides power for the entire campus, as well as heating/cooling for the largest buildings. It has three York centrifugal steam chillers, which each have capacity for 1,000 tons of cooling. All data was collected in mid-July of 2024, during which the daily high temperature is somewhere between 80-95 degrees Fahrenheit.
Here are data and calculation tables for each component in the chiller's cycle, and a T-s diagram of the refrigeration loop.
