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A chilled water plant optimization program has been implemented on central plants at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Due to the conflict conclusions drawn by other researchers, there was a debate on the advantage of applying variable condenser water flow control sequence. A calibrated component-based model is used to evaluate the energy savings potential with variable condenser water flow control sequence. The simulation result indicates that maximum achievable energy savings at the load profile of case study plant is only 1.03%. If counting the requirement of cooling tower minimum water flow, the energy saving will be negative which means the annual power consumption may increase by 3.4%. Considering the increased complex of control sequence, it is not recommended to implement variable condenser water flow control sequence for case study project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A desiccant wheel integrated with condenser water cooling and geothermal energy from depleted hydrocarbon wells is investigated using an empirical desiccant wheel model to simulate the dehumidification performance. This system reduced the simulated yearly energy input required to cool and dehumidify 1 cfm (1L/s) of outside air by 43.1% compared to the use of cooling coils in College Station, TX. The yearly CHW energy and cost savings in a 202,467 ft² (18,809 m²) case study building are 2,436 MMBtu (2,572 GJ), and $37,183, with a 21.2% reduction in total CHW energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]