Jia, L;
Liu, J;
Wei, S;
Xu, J;
(2021)
Study on the performance of two water-side free cooling methods in a semiconductor manufacturing factory.
Energy and Buildings
, 243
, Article 110977. 10.1016/j.enbuild.2021.110977.
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Abstract
Buildings account for a large portion of global energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Therefore, reducing the energy demands of buildings has become a global topic for sustainable development. A central cooling system accounts for a significant part of a building’s energy consumption. This study proposes a tap water-based free cooling system that recovers heat from spaces for tap water preheating in winter. The tap water-based free cooling and cooling tower free cooling systems integrated with a water-cooled central cooling system were applied in a semiconductor manufacturing factory. Based on the whole-year operation data, the performance of the tap water-based free cooling and cooling tower free cooling systems were compared from thermodynamic, energy, environmental, and economic perspectives. The results showed that free cooling was the dominant cooling method in winter in Tianjin. Compared with the cooling tower free cooling system, the tap water-based free cooling system could provide slightly higher chilled water temperature resulting in 10% shorter operating time. The energy analysis revealed that the coefficient of performance (COP) of the tap water-based free cooling system was approximately 7.4-fold and 2.2-fold higher than that of the mechanical cooling and cooling tower free cooling systems, respectively. Using the two free cooling methods reduced electricity consumption by 6,044 MWh and reached an annual energy-saving rate of 15.1%. Furthermore, the tap water-based free cooling system saved 1.48×105 kg of natural gas for tap water preheating. Energy reductions attributed to two free cooling methods reduced CO2 emissions by 6,236 tons. The tap water-based free cooling is more environmentally friendly with a 4.4-fold greater CO2 emission reduction rate than the cooling tower free cooling method. From the economic perspective, with a short payback period (1.4 years), the tap water-based free cooling system is an attractive solution for improving the energy efficiency of central cooling systems.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Study on the performance of two water-side free cooling methods in a semiconductor manufacturing factory |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.enbuild.2021.110977 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2021.110977 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10126440 |
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