Investigating Hydronic System Operation

Just recently, we completed training in effective and efficient chilled water systems. For those that are unfamiliar with hydronic systems, water is cooled by a large refrigeration machine called a chiller and then circulated to fan coil units. Air is forced over the coils and the cooled water used to absorb heat from the air. The cooler air is then blown into various spaces within a building. The class focused on such topics as chiller loading, pumping systems, and flow balancing. These are important concepts because during the design phase, if consideration is incorrectly or not given to how the building load is handled, hot and cold spots within the building can result, prompting claims and lawsuits. In addition, cooling equipment could begin to “short cycle”. That is, the chillers will operate for a short time, turn off, and then restart. The cycle will continue until the problem is addressed or a failure occurs. The end result of short cycling is the severe curtailing of equipment life. Another reason for initiating claims and lawsuits. Another area
of concern is efficiency, While it is desirable to have mechanical equipment operate as efficiently as possible, sometimes that’s not always the case. Inefficiency usually manifests itself as a reduced return on investment or payback to the building owner. As with a faulty design, an insufficient payback
can also result in claims and lawsuits against the design professional as well as the general and sub-contractors. It is extremely important to have someone who knows how these systems are supposed to work when they are evaluated for faulty designs and installation.