Indianapolis Power and Light- Tom Noonan

ENERGY FINANCING GROUP INC.                    

RE: Update on Preliminary Findings at IPL

Indianapolis Power & Light maintains a 3-story building on North Arlington Street on the east side of Indianapolis. This serves as their meeting and monitoring equipment center, as well as having offices and equipment warehouses.

The Arlington chiller is a York Model YCRKOO-46 120-ton unite used to cool water circulated to air handling units which cool this facility. It was installed in 1989, and is maintained under a service agreement with York. Due to the very cautious nature of IPL and the skepticism of York it was agreed to have the York personnel who service this 120 ton unit to do the Hy-Save installation, under our guidance. Thus, Energy Financing Group contracted with York in October to install two Hy-Save #850-IND LPA pumps: one for the lead 50 ton reciprocating compressor, the other on the lag 70 ton reciprocating compressor. Each compressor is connected by individual refrigeration circuits to air cooled condensing units located on the roof.

This being IPL's metering and monitoring equipment, there was an abundance of available equipment. Tonnage produced was measured through chiller operating logs printed out on four-hour intervals by the chiller control panel. Power draws were measured by IPL's load and voltage group. A BMI multimeter was set up to monitor the chiller, and separate Esterline Angus chart recorders were set up to record amperage draws by the condensing units. Also, York mounted their own monitoring equipment.

The 10 day Pre test was conducted in late October--the most beautiful stretch of Indian Summer we have had in some time. On November 10, the Hy-Save pumps were turned on and the arctic conditions began. Nonetheless, we managed to get some comparable readings. Equal load conditions indicate a 45% reduction in compressor power draw. Also, the 8-10% increase in suction pressure does indicate an increase in the system's cooling capacity.

Further testing will be conducted this spring by IPL. They then plan to publish a full scale report. In the interim, please feel free to contact Tom Noonan of EFG in Indianapolis (317) 849-0492 for any further information.

YORK INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS
RECIPROCATING CHILLERS
UNIT TAG: CH-1
MODEL YCRKOO-46

NO. OF UNITS: 1
MODEL: YCRKOO
COOLING CAPACITY: 120 Tons Refrigeration 126kw
CHILLED LIQUID: Water
LIQUID FLOW: 290gpm
ENTERING TEMP: 55.0 F
LEAVING TEMP: 45.0 F
COOLING FOULING FACTOR: .0005
PRESSURE DROP: 10.5 ft.

REMOTE CONDENSER MODELS: Air Cooled
DESIGN SATURATED DISCHARGE TEMPERATURE: 125 F
COMPRESSOR HEAT REJECTION: 1849 mbh
UNIT POWER VOLTAGE (3ph, 60hz): 460 volts
UNITE FULL LOAD AMPS: 188

MINIMUM COMPRESSOR CAPACITY: Single Power Supply -- 214
MAXIMUM DUAL ELEMENT FUSE SIZE: Single Power Supply -- 300
POWER DISCONNECT SWITCH SIZE: Single Power Supply -- 200 A@ 600V

TEST DESCRIPTION
Hy-Save LPA pumps are represented locally by Tom Noonan of Energy Financing Group (EFG). Tom approached us to see if IPL would be interested in learning about the technology, and perhaps hosting a demonstration site. He indicated that he also had either already contacted other Indiana utilities, or had plans to. As talks evolved, a decision was made by Energy Financing Group, IPL Demand Side Management, and IPL Facility Management to pursue a trial installation on Arlington's chiller.

The Arlington chiller is a York Model YCRKOO-46 120 ton unit used to cool water circulated to air handling units which cool the facility. It was installed in 1989, and is maintained under a service agreement with York. It was agreed by all parties to work with York's service arm to install the Hy-Save pumps in order to keep all contracts and insurance agreements in place. EFG contracted with York to install two Hy-Save #850-IND LPA pumps; one for the lead 50 ton reciprocating compressor, the other on the lag 70 ton reciprocating compressor. Each compressor is connected by individuals refrigeration circuits to air cooled condensing united located on the roof.

The pumps were installed in October. To accurately measure variations in energy consumption per ton of refrigeration produced, it was decided to use a one week period for both "pre" and "post" test periods. The system was valved to include pump operation on November 10. Tonnage produced was measured through chiller operating logs printed out on four-hour intervals by the chiller's control panel, done by Arlington maintenance personnel. Power draws were measured by IPL's load and voltage group under Bill Jones' direction. A BMI multimeter was set up to monitor the chiller, and separate Esterline Angus chart recorders were set up to record amperage draws by the condensing units.

IPL test equipment provided direct records of KW draw by time graphically. To convert chiller log readings to tons of cooling produced, the following formula was used:

(Chiller entering water temp ( F) - Chiller leaving water temp ( F))

All units cancel but tons. KW draw at the same time was divided by tons to derive KW / ton, a measure of efficiency for the chiller.

Copies of pictures of the test installation, including the LPA pumps and all piping revisions, are attached for reference. Also attached is a brief schematic of the piping changes made to the system, provided EFG.

TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION
LPA pumps are designed to make basic changes to the thermodynamic cycles through which refrigeration and air conditioning systems remove heat. The pumps are retrofitted in the refrigerant liquid (cool) line between the condenser and expansion valve. Hy-Save claims that this allows systems to operate at lower head pressures, which means that the compressor has to do less work to change the pressure of the refrigerant gas (hot) line. Hy-Save claims operating savings (KWh) from 8-50% based upon a number of installations throughout the country. E-Source, the Colorado technology assessment organization, makes more conservative savings estimates of 6-15%. Hy-Save also claims increases in system cooling capacity in some cases, and reductions in maintenance expenses.

RESULTS
One week "Pre" and "Post" test periods were used in order to maximize the number of valid readings for comparison. This was fortunate, because lapses in recording procedures and unusually cool weather made for fewer than expected readings. However, six quite comparable readings were available. They are summarized below:

York literature for the chiller is attached. It shows full load requiring 126 KW for 120 tons, or 1.05 KW/ton.

Average reductions for the three comparison points show a 45% reduction in compressor power draw while providing the same tons of cooling. Condenser fan readings were essentially a wash, as the fans operate on a three speed basis and no significant deviation was recorded. Results on the operating pressures of the chiller compressor both pre and post tests support these findings.