Process cooling systems are essential for maintaining product and process temperatures, ensuring quality control, and adhering to product specifications. This is typically done by maintaining optimal air, cooling water/glycol temperatures, and humidity levels for manufacturing processes and working conditions.

Process cooling systems are found in many industrial sectors, including chemicals, food and beverages, plastics, semiconductors, glass, metals, manufacturing assembly plants, and data centers. Generally, process cooling is accomplished via air-cooled heat exchangers (fin-fans), cooling towers, and/or chillers designed to remove heat from water/glycol, thereby generating chilled water/glycol or cool, dry air for industrial applications. In some cases, process cooling may require refrigeration and more complex chilling systems.

Process cooling systems consist of multiple components like chillers, cooling towers, pumps, and air handling unites, and operate through complex interactions with the process, requiring sophisticated controls to ensure optimum performance. System energy demands can be high, making effective management and regular maintenance critical. Adopting a system-level approach that considers the interaction and configuration of individual components is the most effective way to generate impactful energy savings.

TOP FIVE ENERGY PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR PROCESS COOLING SYSTEMS

Use variable speed drive compressors or use appropriate staging of compressors for optimum system energy performance.
Convert chilled water systems from constant to variable flow by replacing three-way with two-way control valves. Convert cooling tower fans from one-speed or two-speed to variable speed.
Install variable frequency drives (VFDs) on chilled water pumps, condensing water pumps, and cooling tower fans.
Reset chilled water supply and condensing water entering temperature setpoints based on process load and ambient wet bulb temperature.
Utilize free cooling with waterside economizers to reduce or eliminate chiller operation.

Learn more with the PROCESS COOLING INFO CARD, explore additional resources, and connect with the process cooling subject matter experts below.

Presentations

Learn about innovative, replicable process cooling and HVAC solutions and best practices implemented by Better Buildings & Better Plants partners.

Beating the Heat: Maximize Your Refrigerant Capabilities

Every organization uses refrigerants, whether for space cooling, refrigeration, or otherwise. Organizations face a variety of challenges in choosing refrigerants, inventorying and tracking refrigerants, keeping equipment running at peak performance, and reducing leaks.

GE Power - Greenville, SC HVAC Enthalpy Controls

"GE Power - Greenville, SC HVAC Enthalpy Controls" was presented by David Sudbeck from General Electric at the 2016 Better Buildings & Better Plants Summit session, "Innovative Industrial Projects: Finding Savings in Heating and Cooling Applications."

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Solutions

Learn about innovative, replicable process cooling and HVAC solutions and best practices implemented by Better Plants Challenge partners.

RING Container Technologies: Tackling Energy and Waste Reduction Projects for Significant Savings

RING implemented energy and waste reduction projects at its Decatur, IL facility, including chiller upgrades, resulting in electrical savings of over 483,000 kWh annually and energy cost savings of $42,000.

Graham Packaging Saves 7.5 Million kWh with Compressed Air and Chiller Upgrades

The Graham Packaging team identified untapped energy reduction opportunities from automating compressed air and chilled water production based on demand and adding VFDs on chiller pumps and cooling tower fans.

Owens Corning: Controls Upgrade on Process Cooling/HVAC System Optimizes Worker Comfort and Saves Energy

Owens Corning upgraded HVAC controls at two facilities located in Jackson, TN, and Amarillo, TX. The upgrades lead to an expected combined annual energy savings of at least 8,000 MWh per year.

General Motors: Chilled Water System Optimization Project

General Motors plant engineers reviewed currently available technological advances in chilled water system design and control and conducted an engineering feasibility study to determine extensive improvements that could be made to a facility's existing chilled water system piping and controls. The overall goal of the project was to upgrade the system while continuing to operate the plant and to meet a two-year simple payback with company investment and utility incentives from partners at the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Nissan: Chilled Water System Upgrades and Dashboard

Nissan invested in a facility's chilled water system by making upgrades to the existing system to improve performance and installing a dashboard platform to track the energy use of the chilled water system. The overall cost of the project was around $700,000, which provided a project payback of under two years.

Tyson Foods: DOE's Virtual In-Plant Trainings on Industrial Refrigeration Uncover Big Savings

Tyson Foods hosted two Energy Treasure Hunts at its Rogers, AR, and Carthage, MS plants. Actions taken from the energy treasure hunts directly resulted in over 3,312,000 kWh in annual energy cost savings.

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Tools

Access free software tools to help assess your facility's process cooling and HVAC system.

There are six process cooling-related calculators available through the MEASUR tool suite.

Chiller Staging

Analyze the impact of chiller staging on energy performance of chilled water systems.

Chiller Energy Performance and Temperature Reset

Analyze the impact of chiller operating parameters on energy performance.

Cooling Tower Basin Heater Energy

Analyze basin heater energy consumption.

Cooling Tower Fan Energy

Calculate cooling tower fan energy consumption.

Cooling Tower Makeup Water

Analyze cooling tower water consumption.

Psychrometric Calculator

Calculate the properties of moist air based on formulas published in the ASHRAE Fundamental Handbook.

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Webinars

Virtual Training: Process Cooling

Virtual Training delivered in July 2024 by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, focused on industrial chilled water system assessments using tools like CWSAT, 3EPlus, and demonstrating the pump assessment module within MEASUR tool to identify and quantify savings opportunities.

Better Plants Online Learning Series - Process Cooling

Chillers and cooling tower systems are necessary to keep products, equipment, and staff cool throughout the year. This session provided an overview of these systems and covered the various technologies, control strategies, and opportunities to optimize your facility's process cooling systems.

Powering Progress: Strategies for Efficient & Reliable Central Plants

Improving the energy performance of central plants can present organizational, technological, financial, and implementational challenges. This webinar shows how Better Buildings & Better Plants partners have overcome these challenges by implementing retrofit solutions. In addition, this webinar provided an overview of a new resource for optimization upgrades, retrofits, or complete replacement of a central plant.

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Subject Matter Experts

Senthil Sundarmoorthy

Technical Account Manager

sundaramoors@ornl.gov

Wei Guo

Technical Account Manager

wg6@ornl.gov

Process Cooling and HVAC

TOP FIVE ENERGY PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR PROCESS COOLING SYSTEMS

Subject Matter Experts

Senthil Sundarmoorthy

Wei Guo