Procurement of the new compressor took 2-days and resulted in two days of downtime and lost productivity on three computer controlled production lines resulting in a $500,000 per day production loss (Note: lost production cost will vary depending upon product and production process).The computer room experienced computer failure due to overheating and the company was forced to replace the failed computer equipment while running production at reduced capacity until the chiller was back on-line.Second Level Chiller Failure (characteristics & cost implications) Eventually, the debris load completely fouled the chiller coils resulting in a second level of failure which had a catastrophic impact on the business: In process cooling applications where a chiller supports production, fouled coils have other ramifications such as the overheating of production equipment which can cause product quality problems and even failure of the equipment, (e.g., process computer control equipment, robotic welding systems, injection molding systems, press equipment, etc.) bringing production to a grinding halt.Ī 20 ton chiller used to cool a computer control room of a major automotive parts manufacturer becomes fouled and is in need of cleaning but because the maintenance department was short handed, they didn’t have the time to perform the maintenance when it was needed hence maintenance was put-off for an unspecified period of time. Split Coil System with a Dirty Inner Coil Unless you monitor the chiller kW draw with an energy management system or with a separate metering device, you will most likely learn about the problem when it’s hot and you are unable to maintain chilled water and/or environmental temperatures, when you see your energy consumption sky-rocketing or when your compressor fails. While tenant and employee discomfort manifests itself during occupancy periods, the energy penalty occurs during all hours of operation (during both part-load and full-load operation). (Compressor is being stressed under dirty coil conditions – system is overheating).Ĭhillers suffering from high-head pressure conditions pass the impact along in the form of tenant discomfort, customer complaints, a reduction in employee productivity and higher energy costs. Compressor keeps cycling off and on under high head pressure.Unit runs longer and works harder to achieve set temperature points.Increased kW draw coupled with a reduction in cooling tonnage capacity.Reduced cooling capacity (caused by poor air-flow through the coils).Higher operating compressor head pressure (caused by elevated refrigerant pressure resulting from restricted air-flow and poor heat exchange).It is commonly known throughout the HVAC industry that even the slightest coil fouling leads to what can be described as the first level of failure which is distinguished by the following characteristics:įirst level Chiller Failure (characteristics) In situations where the maintenance department is busy or understaffed, coil cleaning is likely to be deferred beyond the time when maintenance is actually required by the equipment. However when you combine the fact that most chillers and condensing units are situated in low traffic locations and out of sight (i.e., behind buildings, hidden behind walls, on rooftops, etc.,) with the fact that the coil cleaning portion of the maintenance process is an unpleasant and time consuming task, chiller and condensing unit maintenance isn’t one of those jobs that most maintenance engineers look forward to. Process Chillers & Condensing Coil Maintenanceīalancing Deferred Maintenance Risks With Maintenance and Budgetary DecisionsĪs most facilities and maintenance engineers know, proper maintenance on chiller and condensing units is critical to efficient, trouble free operation.
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