Robust optimal design of chiller plants based on cooling load distribution

Conventional designs of chiller plants are typically based on the peak cooling loads of buildings, while only a small proportion of time in a year the cooling load of a building is at its peak level. In this paper, a robust optimal design concerning the cooling load distribution in design is proposed to select the optimal combinations of chiller plants, which have the highest probability to operate at high part load ratio (PLR) and COP. A case study on the air-conditioning system of an underground station in Hong Kong is conducted to test the robust optimal design and demonstrate the processes of determining the optimal chiller combination. The results show that the robust optimal design can ensure the selected chiller plant to operate at higher PLR and COP compared with that using a conventional design method. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.