Challenge
A leading producer of natural health remedies and cosmetics was seeking to replace an existing chiller and increase cooling capacity at its large production site in Germany.
The company had two existing chillers – each producing 300kW of process cooling – however one of these older units had failed. With their increased cooling needs, the company initially thought it would need to replace both chillers and there were concerns about finding enough space on the factory roof to install two replacement units.
The manufacturer was also aiming to achieve energy savings through the use of free cooling. The company was already a Trane customer so was confident that Trane would be able to devise the optimal solution for its process cooling requirements.
Solution
Trane Germany worked closely with the customer to determine the required cooling capacity of its manufacturing operation. The Trane team estimated that a Sintesis Advantage CGAF 160 XE air-cooled chiller, working in combination with the remaining existing chiller, would provide overall capacity of 800kW. So there would be no need to invest in an additional replacement unit.
The CGAF chiller free cooling system completely met the manufacturer's requirements, ensuring additional operating costs reduction and reducing wear and tear of main system components.
Although space was very limited on the factory roof, the location earmarked for a third unit already had the required foundations in place and could be used for the new CGAF chiller reduced footprint.
A further challenge involved the company’s existing hydraulic system. The water pressure was too low. This flaw had affected the heat exchangers from the old unit and caused it to fail. The Trane team recommended to replace this system to enable optimal performance from the new chiller.
Results
Free cooling uses ambient air during the colder seasons rather than having to use the cooling capacity of the chiller year-round. When ambient temperatures exceed the chilled water supply temperature, chiller cooling is seamlessly initiated.
During the colder months of the year, the customer is now able to harness free cooling leading to a substantial 30% reduction in energy costs.
The high efficiency and large capacity of the new Trane CGAF chiller also means that the customer no longer needs to invest in a third unit. System temperatures are high during the factory’s manufacturing process so substantial savings can be derived from the free cooling functionality.
