HVAC
highly recommend consulting with a specialist as to the best location for a chiller. With low-profile options now available, as well as flat-pack chillers which can be assembled on-site, it may not be where you think.
2. Don’t Fit and Forget
Once you’ve decided on a chiller and had it successfully installed, that is by no means the end of the matter. As they’re often tucked away out of sight, it can be easy to forget to check on them as part of a routine maintenance regime. However, the installation of a cooling system with a refrigerant charge carries with it legal obligations under the F-Gas legislation.
By law, it’s the responsibility of the equipment’s owner to ensure good maintenance and stop leaks from equipment, and if it contains F-Gas above a certain threshold, then it must have leak checks at specific intervals. These thresholds are expressed in terms of CO2
equivalent and
take into account the amount of F-Gas in the equipment and its global warming potential. For example, equipment should be checked once a year if it contains the equivalent of five tonnes of CO2
0.3-2.4kg of certain F-Gases, and every six months if it contains the equivalent of 50 tonnes of CO2
containing 3.4-35kg of certain F-Gases.
Flat-pack chillers which can be assembled on-site.
You must also fit a leak detection system if the equipment contains F-Gas equivalent to more than 500 tonnes of CO2
,
which will alert you or your service company if a leak is detected and will double the maximum interval between leak checks. The simple way is not to leave a chiller’s ‘health’ to chance – a maintenance contract from ICS Cool Energy for example, looks after the practical as well as the legislative requirements.
3. Treat it Right
It’s a common misconception that glycol alone will take care of a water-based cooling system but in fact it’s just one part of a bigger picture. Looking after the water system in its entirety is vital in keeping a chiller running effectively. The water needs to be free from scale formation, corrosion and fouling, which can kick in astonishingly quickly if the fluid balance is incorrect, leading to poor performance, breakdowns and costly and time-consuming repairs. Extra care is needed for open systems such as a condenser water system with a cooling tower, where there’s a risk of microbial infections and Legionella.
Even with a good water treatment programme, regular cleaning is still essential. It’s also vital to look after the supporting paperwork and chiller operating log. The most convenient way of course is to leave it to the experts as part of an annual service contract – within our service contracts we take care of all the testing and all the supporting time-consuming paperwork.
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, which could be equipment containing – equipment
4. Put it to the Test
Testing and recording the results are also essential as part of performance monitoring and I would recommend a biannual test. The pH level (ideally 8.0-8.5) and water clarity (any visible debris is a sure-fire sign of a problem) are the two main ones to keep track of. I would also encourage testing from different points to get a better overview of the whole system.
5. Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail
Even with the best will in the world, sometimes essential jobs drop off the to-do list. Widely used on other commercial plant room equipment, such as industrial boilers, applying a Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) programme to a chilled water system can give FMs that extra peace of mind that if their routine gets disrupted, an engineer from the chiller’s manufacturer pays regular visits. Even for those FMs who are able to conduct regular checkups on their chiller, having periodic visits from an engineer who knows the intricacies of the equipment inside and out – even if it’s only every six months – will help flag any hidden dangers early enough to prevent long- term damage.
PPM programmes for chillers can be extended to cover leak tests and TM44 inspections, in line with F-Gas legislation, taking into account F-Gas thresholds. These thresholds take note of the quantity of F-Gas in the system and its global warming potential, ensuring maximum intervals are achieved between leak checks. Finally, they can also include emergency breakdown cover to ensure a hire replacement is on-site as soon as possible if disaster strikes.
6. Get Smart
For most FMs, a site’s Building Management Software (BMS) programme is an essential part of daily life, and provides valuable insight into the workings – and potential red flags – of the building’s mechanical and electrical infrastructure. To avoid it falling into the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ category, chiller systems can be fitted (and retrofitted) with a remote monitoring system that enables them to be integrated into the BMS.
7. Call in the Experts
Sometimes we encounter issues, such as a flash flood or once-in-a-generation storm, which throw up problems that can’t be resolved by an in-house maintenance and FM team. While these events are hard to predict, it’s best to have a contingency plan in place comprising of emergency spares and out of hours contacts, as well as easy routes for replacement equipment. In these circumstances, it can pay to call in the experts – namely the chiller manufacturer – to help you minimise downtime and get back up and running as soon as possible. Keep that key information to hand in a safe and obvious place, and if disaster does strike, you’ll be well placed to avoid any long-lasting effects.
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