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River and lake cooling sources.

Number: pap. 731

Author(s) : PETERSON J.

Summary

As reported by many sources, including the U.S. Department of Energy and their European counterparts, the demand for water and electricity are expected to increase each year with only the smallest signs of slowing. Most existing cooling equipment uses massive amounts of water and electricity to reject heat into the atmosphere. As commonly reported buildings also account for 30-50% of energy use. For long-term sustainability and efficiency, it is essential to identify and consider alternative sources to meet cooling needs. With this increasing demand for water and electricity, the necessity to consider and use alternative sources for cooling needs to be broadened beyond property lines. A method to do this is by replacing cooling equipment, which consume energy and water to reject heat to the atmosphere, with river and lake water. As a cooling source for buildings, river and lake water lowers the need for potable water for cooling as well as reducing the operating costs for buildings. Additionally this reduces the inefficiencies inherent with energy supplied by a traditional power grid. Two existing lake source cooling projects, in Ithaca, NY, USA and Toronto, ON, Canada respectively, will be reviewed for how they achieved energy efficiency by also reducing the need for chillers. The differences between conventional mechanical cooling and river and lake cooling sources are evaluated, with limits that may be encountered for particular systems and client needs. Overcoming challenges to this approach include working with regulatory agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (USA), European Union Water Framework Directive (Europe), State Environmental Protection Agency (China), and River Boards Act (India) as well as others upcoming in Latin America. The advantages and disadvantages should be evaluated for each project, including: investment costs; reliability; maintainability; and operating costs.

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Format PDF

Pages: 8 p.

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Details

  • Original title: River and lake cooling sources.
  • Record ID : 30009664
  • Languages: English
  • Source: Clima 2013. 11th REHVA World Congress and 8th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and Energy Conservation in Buildings.
  • Publication date: 2013/06/16

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