Dew Point Evaporative Comfort Cooling Energy and Water Projects Demonstration Plan SI-0821 TP-7A40-56256-1 November 2012 Jesse Dean, Lesley Herrmann, Eric Kozubal, and Jesse Geiger (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Mark Eastment (Eastment Consulting Inc.) Steve Slayzak (Coolerado) Link to Summary Report NOTICE This manuscript has been authored by employees of the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC (“Alliance”) under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308 with the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”). The work described in this report (NREL/TP-7A40-56256) was funded under task number WFG7.1000. This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof. Available electronically at http://www.osti.gov/bridge Available for a processing fee to U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors, in paper, from: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information P.O. Box 62 Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0062 phone: 865.576.8401 fax: 865.576.5728 email: mailto:[email protected] Available for sale to the public, in paper, from: U.S. Department of Commerce National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 phone: 800.553.6847 fax: 703.605.6900 email: [email protected] online ordering: http://www.ntis.gov/help/ordermethods.aspx Printed on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 10% post-consumer waste. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to thank the ESTCP project team members for their creativity, persistence, and willingness to support this project. Scott Clark, the Energy Program Coordinator for Fort Carson, was instrumental in setting up the demonstration and has provided countless hours assisting with the installation of the data acquisition system and multiyear performance testing. Fort Carson engineers worked with the project partners to design and integrate the Coolerado units into five facilities and designed an innovative rain water catchment system for four units at the Theater. Mountain Energy Partnership provided invaluable assistance with the design and installation of the data acquisition system, as well as data analysis support. Onsite heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning technicians diligently recorded operation and maintenance activities and provided valuable insights into operation and maintenance costs of the units. Several members of the Coolerado team, including Tim Heaton, Steve Slayzak, Leland Gillian, and Daniel Zube, also went out of their way to accommodate the, requests of the Fort Carson and NREL staff members. Various members of NREL’s Commercial Buildings Research team, including James Page, Andrew Parker, Michael Deru, and Brent Griffith, provided laboratory and field testing assistance and modeling support. Finally, the project would not have been possible without financial support from ESTCP program, whose members also provided valuable insights into the types of data analysis procedures and results that would be most beneficial to DoD facilities and engineers. iii ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AHU air handling unit ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Btu British thermal units cfm cubic feet per minute CT current transducer CoC cycle of concentration COP coefficient of performance CRAC computer room air-conditioning DAS data acquisition system DAT discharge air temperature DC-kW direct-current kilowatt DEC direct evaporative cooler, direct evaporative cooling DoD U.S. Department of Defense DX direct expansion EA exhaust air EAT exhaust air temperature ECM electronically commutated motor EER energy efficiency ratio eGrid Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database EISA Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 E.O. Executive Order ESTCP Environmental Security Technology Certification Program EUI energy use intensity HMX heat mass exchanger hp horsepower HVAC heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning IEC indirect evaporative cooler, indirect evaporative cooling IEER integrated energy efficiency ratio kW kilowatt kWh kilowatt-hour L liter MCDB mean coincident dry bulb MMBtu million British thermal units NERC North American Reliability Corporation NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory NPV net present value OA outside air OAR outside air ratio OAT outside air temperature ppm parts per million RA return air RAT return air temperature iv RH relative humidity RMSE root mean square error RTU rooftop unit SA supply air SAT supply air temperature SHR sensible heat ratio SP static pressure SPP simple payback TDS total dissolved solids TTF Thermal Test Facility TMY typical meteorological year W Watt v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................................... III ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................................................... VI LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................... X LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................. XIV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 4 1.1 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................. 4 1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE DEMONSTRATION ................................................................................ 4 1.3 REGULATORY DRIVERS ............................................................................................................ 5 2.0 TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................... 6 2.1 EVAPORATIVE COOLING ........................................................................................................... 6 2.2 TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................ 7 2.2.1 How It Works ........................................................................................................................... 8 2.2.2 Products ................................................................................................................................ 12 2.3 TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT .............................................................................................. 13 2.4 ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF THE TECHNOLOGY .............................................. 14 2.5 COOLERADO DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................ 16 2.6 COOLERADO APPLICATIONS .................................................................................................. 17 2.6.1 Through-the-Wall Zone Cooler ............................................................................................. 17 2.6.2 Outside Air Pre-conditioner .................................................................................................. 18 2.6.3 Zone Cooler with Return Air ................................................................................................. 19 2.6.4 Integrated into Air Handling Unit Mixing Boxes .................................................................. 20 3.0 PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................. 22 3.1 IMPROVE COMFORT PROVIDED BY EVAPORATIVE COOLING ....................................... 23 3.2 PROVIDE HIGH-EFFICIENCY COOLING ................................................................................ 23 3.3 SUSTAIN HIGH COOLING PERFORMANCE ........................................................................... 24 3.4 MINIMIZE WATER CONSUMPTION ........................................................................................ 24 3.5 MAINTAINABILITY ................................................................................................................... 24 4.0 FACILITY/SITE DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................. 25 4.1 FACILITY/SITE LOCATION AND OPERATIONS ................................................................... 26 4.1.1 Training Facility ..................................................................................................................