Energy saving study in a hotel HVAC system

Abstract

Energy conservation is one of the key issues for environmental protection and sustainable development. Currently, about 17% of the total energy is being consumed for heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration in Hong Kong. Therefore, energy saving in the HVAC systems of buildings is an important topic. In this paper, a study on the energy saving in a hotel HVAC system was carried out. The cooling load features of the hotel were analyzed. Retrofitting strategy of the HVAC system in the hotel was then designed. It included replacement of the chillers and pumps followed by adopting a newly designed control scheme based on the pattern of the cooling load. The control scheme consisted of controls of the chillers, pumps and cooling towers. An intelligent algorithm was developed to ensure the chillers work at the highest COP under different conditions. It was found that with the new system, about 63% to 74% of the chiller/pump system energy could be saved in that hotel. The result shows that for buildings such as hotels, a good control on the operation of the chillers and pumps is crucial.