I have a new project to install some Water Cooled Chillers for an HVAC project. This is my first HVAC Chiller install.  Previously I have installed Chillers, but for Process Systems.

I was wondering if anyone could offer advice or tips to ease the install. 

I will be working with a very experience HVAC Engineer who will be responsible for the Air handlers for the project.

We will also be replacing the supply and return piping for the project, so any tips in that regard could be helpful.

Here are some sugestions that will allow you to generate some good will and respect as an Engineer among the Customers you have and more so among the Service Companies that have to work on your profect for the next 20 years.
Trust me, word gets around who designs the good plants and which ones are to be avoided

  1. Try to use delta P switches instead of paddle switches for proof of flow. Paddles break easily
 2. Make sure you spec that Delta P switches are wired in series with pump starter aux contacts.
   IE: Chilled water proof of flow switch should be wired in series with that pumps starter N.O. aux contact.
 3. Most Chiller manuf do not like a proff of flow coming thru a software point on a control system, should be hard wired
 4. Try to allow as much room as possible above and around the chillers as possible.  They WILL need to be overhauled eventually.  You may save them money on th footprint of the plant upfront, but when they have to have special rigging made or overhaul labor is doubled due to no clearances customers will remember who designed the plant.
5. Try to put a means of checking water side pressure as close to chiller evap and cond bundles as possible.   And do not use two seperate gages.  Use one gage and manifold together using valves, if possible.  If piping is on opposite ends, use a petes plug.  Service Guys need to know delta P across bundles to calc flows and tonnage, we don't care that the pump has gages on it, we have flow charts for the chiller not the pump curves.
    I am probably forgetting something, but these are the things that come to mind easily.  Oh, one more:  READ the IOM manual for the equip you are spec.ing.   I can not stress that enuff, that should have been #1 on the list.

However, you have more scope for energy optimization incase of HVAC chillers. You have to first decide on what kind of controls you want to incorporate into the system. You can consider the following (but not limited to) schemes.

1. Variable speed systems at chiller, primary, secondary and AHU levels. Go for two-way valves(ball valves) if you are considering variable flow systems.

2. Ambient temperature reset.

3. Splitting the quantity if your load varies drasitcally.

4. Balancing valves at inlet to chiller for parallel installations, to avoid overloading.

5. Venting pipelines from the highest points.

6. A pressure balancing tank.

7. Type of chiller to suit your load profile (turndowns).

8. Safe minimum flow lines for the pumps (i.e direct connection supply and return headers)

9. etc.,

  Good luck, I know these are not real technical things, but seem to get lost in the shuffle of designing a plant and can cause headaches on start up and comissioning.

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