This article was published in ASHRAE Journal, April 2010.

Copyright 2010 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning

Engineers, Inc. Posted at www.ashrae.org. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in paper form without permission
of ASHRAE. For more information about ASHRAE Journal, visit
www.ashrae.org.

Does Energy Savings Trump Costs?

Variable Frequency Drives,

Part 1: The Technology
This five-part series will cover variable frequency drives and their applications in air condition- Figure 2 shows the elements of the
ing and refrigeration in residential and commercial buildings. The first article will cover general inverter in detail. The diode bridge shown
variable frequency drive technology. The remaining articles will cover major applications. is for three-phase ac input. The inverter
section consists of six pairs of power
By John Dieckmann, Member ASHRAE; Kurtis McKenney; transistors and freewheeling diodes.
and James Brodrick, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE While there are various ways to syn-

A
thesize a three-phase ac output from a dc
variable frequency drive (VFD) is a power electronic device that drives source, the most commonly used method
is pulse width modulation (PWM).
the common squirrel cage induction motor over a range of speeds by
As shown in Figure 3, the transistors
converting standard frequency and voltage ac power from the electric utility to are switched on and off rapidly (pulsed),
at a carrier frequency that is much higher
variable frequency, variable voltage power to energize the motor. Over the years, than the desired output frequency.
The on-time of each pulse is varied to
improvements have been made to VFDs effiency and reliabilty. They are now
generate an approximation of a sinusoi-
viable alternatives to other motor technologies. dal wave form. During the off-time of
the pulse, the inductance of the motor
Induction motors operate at a speed electronically commutated motors, are winding draws current flow through the
that is proportional to the frequency of another important class of electronically freewheeling diode such that the current
the input power (minus a small amount driven variable speed motors, used in flow is continuous and close to being
of slip that varies with the torque load on applications such as blower motors and sinusoidal.
the motor). In HVAC&R, the common refrigerant compressors. Applications for VFDs are sometimes
motor loads are refrigerant compressors, Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram classified as variable torque or con-
fans, blowers and pumps. By varying the of a typical VFD. It has four basic sub- stant torque. Variable torque does not
speed of a motor and its driven load, the systems: an ac/dc converter, a dc bus mean randomly variable torque and con-
capacity can be varied to meet the real- (also called the dc link), an inverter, and a stant torque does not mean that the torque
time cooling, heating or ventilation load. control system. Alternating current from is fixed under all conditions.
As a result, significant energy savings the electric utility is converted to dc in Variable torque refers to applications
can be realized, along with better comfort the ac/dc converter, generally a full wave where the maximum torque load on the
control. Other advantages include quieter rectifier bridge. The dc link maintains a motor decreases as the speed decreases
operation and longer equipment life as a steady dc voltage level using a capacitor from the maximum speed to lower
result of reduced average speed and soft upstream of the inverter. The inverter speeds. Centrifugal pumps, axial fans
starting of motors, which reduces the converts the dc back to ac at the frequency and centrifugal blowers are examples of
in-rush current and impact loading on and voltage level needed to drive the mo- variable torque applications in HVAC.
equipment at startup. tor at the desired speed. Constant torque refers to applications
VFDs are alternately called variable In most instances of VFD-driven mo- where the maximum required torque does
speed drives, inverters, adjustable speed tors, the ac output is three-phase to drive not fall off appreciably as the speed decreas-
drives, or adjustable frequency drives. The a three-phase motor. The control system es from the maximum. Positive displacement
focus of this article is on VFDs for induc- manages the inverter so that it produces compressors and pumps are examples of
tion motors. However, it is important to the desired voltage and frequency, and constant torque applications in HVAC.
note that brushless dc motors, sometimes generally includes fault monitoring As a general rule, a given VFD will
called permanent magnet rotor motors or features. have a higher motor power rating for

1
60 ASHRAE Journal ashrae.org April 2010
 Induction Motor
Converter ac/dc
ac Supply

dc Bus
Inverter M M

ac Source

dc Rectifier PWM Inverter

Figure 1: Block diagram of a variable frequency drive motor, M. Figure 2: Diagram of a variable frequency drive.

100
90
80
High Speed

% HP and Torque
70
60 HP
50 Torque
40 Flow
30
20
10
Low Speed 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
% Speed

Figure 3: Pulse width modulation to generate a sinusoidal waveform. Figure 4: Speed-cubed fan power relationship.

a variable torque application than for a constant torque
application.
There are numerous technical considerations and potential
pitfalls in applying VFDs, including damage from reflected
voltage waves, higher peak voltages within the motor windings,
motor noise, increased motor heating, unwanted harmonics on
the ac input line, and induced currents in the motor bearings.
ASHRAE TC 1.11, Motors and Motor Control, maintains a
chapter called Motors, Motor Controls, and Variable-Speed
Drives in the HVAC Systems and Equipment volume of the
ASHRAE Handbook (Chapter 44 in the 2008 edition). Technical
considerations of VFDs are discussed in this chapter.
In many instances in HVAC equipment, the variable fre-
quency drive is applied in a packaged system (e.g., a variable
air volume air handling unit, a variable air-volume packaged
rooftop unitary air conditioning system, or a large chiller with
a variable speed compressor), and the manufacturer of the
system has engineered the drive-motor-load-control system so
that these pitfalls are avoided.
Energy Saving Potential
According to the DOE Buildings Energy Data Book1 space
cooling, ventilation, and refrigeration in residential and com-
mercial buildings consumed 8.2 quadrillion Btus (quads) of
primary electric energy in 2006, the bulk of which is consumed
by refrigerant compressors, fans, blowers, and pumps, and
therefore can be reduced by implementing VFD technology.
Additionally, space heating in buildings consumed 1.7 quads
of primary electric energy in 2006, a percentage of which (with
the notable exception of electric resistance heating) can be
reduced by applying VFDs as well.
In the next four articles, covering the major potential applica-
tions of VFDs in HVAC&R, we will break down the potential
for energy savings in each of these areas. Here, we provide a
brief overview of three of the major ways that efficient, vari-
able speed operation of motors can save substantial amounts
of energy in HVAC&R applications.
The speed cubed fan and pump power law dictates that for
propeller fans, centrifugal blowers and centrifugal pumps in
systems with fixed-flow resistance, the air or water flow rate
will vary with the rotational speed (RPM) while the power
will vary with the cube of the speed, as shown in Figure 4.
For example at 50% of maximum speed and flow, the power
input drops to only 1/8 of the power at maximum speed. HVAC
systems operate at part load most of the time, so modulating
the flow, rather operating cyclically at full flow, can save sig-
nificant amounts of energy.
Continuous operation of cooling equipment at reduced
capacity, instead of on-off operation at full capacity, results in
less temperature lift, and hence increased compressor COP, as
shown in Figure 5.
Continuous operation of cooling equipment at reduced
capacity, instead of on-off operation at full capacity, eliminates
on-off cycling losses.
Market Factors
Acceptance of variable frequency drives was slow initially
(going back 20 or 30 years) because of three basic factors:

2
April 2010 ASHRAE Journal 61
high cost, questionable reliability, and limited experience in Condenser (On-Off) Condenser (Continuous at Half Capacity)
properly applying VFDs. 100
Over time, all of these factors have been mitigated sub-
90
stantially. Costs of full-featured, general-purpose drives
and of drives tailored for specific applications have fallen 80
significantly.
70
The reliability of VFDs has improved significantly at the
component, system, and application levels, and OEMs have 60
become more expert in applying drives cost-effectively, while
staying within reliability parameters. 50
As with any energy-saving technology, the added cost must
40
be offset by energy cost savings in an acceptable period of time Evaporator (On-Off) Evaporator (Continuous at Half Capacity)
to be attractive in the market. With simple payback periods 30
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
often less than a few years, VFDs are now in widespread use
for variable speed blower drives, for compressor drives in Figure 5: Continuous operation vs. on-off operation of cooling equipment.
large chillers, and for chiller auxiliaries.
The next column will discuss the application of VFDs to blowers 2. 2008 ASHRAE HandbookHVAC Systems and Equipment, Chap. 44.
in commercial building air-conditioning and ventilation systems.
John Dieckmann is a director in the Mechanical Systems
Group of TIAX LLC, Cambridge, Mass. Kurtis McKenney is
References
1. EERE. 2009. Buildings Energy Data Book. U.S. Department of a senior technologist with TIAX, and James Brodrick, Ph.D.,
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building is a project manager with the Building Technologies Program,
Technologies Program. http://buildingsdatabook.eere.energy.gov/. U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.

www.info.hotims.com/30303-44

3
62 ASHRAE Journal April 2010
 This article was published in ASHRAE Journal, May 2010. Copyright 2010
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers,
Inc. Posted at www.ashrae.org. This article may not be copied and/or
distributed electronically or in paper form without permission of ASHRAE.
For more information about ASHRAE Journal, visit www.ashrae.org.

VAV Energy Savings in All Operating Modes

Variable Frequency Drives,

Part 2: VFDs for Blowers
This second column in a five-part series covers application of variable frequency drives (VFDs) airflow mode, savings greater than 50%
to blowers in commercial building air-conditioning and ventilation systems. would be realized. If the indoor air system
were to run in operating modes such as
By John Dieckmann, Member ASHRAE; Kurtis McKenney; on-off flow or variable flow with dampers
and James Brodrick, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE or inlet guide vanes, the energy savings

A
would be less, but still substantial.
s discussed in last months column, a variable frequency drive (VFD) is a
In a simple VAV application, where the
power electronic device that drives common squirrel-cage induction motors air-distribution system presents a fixed
airflow resistance to the blower, the speed
over a range of speeds by converting standard frequency and voltage ac power cubed power law applies, albeit with the
caveat mentioned earlier that with the
from the electric utility to variable frequency, variable voltage power to energize
low motor loads at lower speeds, the
the motor. In HVAC, the common motor loads are refrigerant compressors, fans, motor may be operating below its peak
efficiency point.
blowers and pumps. By varying the speed of a motor and its driven load, the In many VAV applications, air is sup-
plied to the individual air diffusers at a
capacity can be varied to meet the real-time cooling, heating or ventilation load.
constant pressure to maintain sufficient
air velocity to penetrate a distance into
Because of the speed cubed blower resistances tends to be proportional to the the space, and promote mixing with the
power law, the application of VFDs to square of the flow. As a result, the flow room air. In this case, a variable area dif-
blowers for movement of indoor air and ends up being proportional to the blower fuser is used to control the airflow into
ventilation makeup air in commercial speed. Since power is proportional to flow the zone to the level needed to maintain
building HVAC systems saves significant times pressure, power is proportional to the zone temperature. As illustrated in
energy and energy costs, all while provid- the speed cubed. Figure 2, 100% of the speed cubed power
ing better comfort control. Cooling loads generally vary from the law energy savings are not realized, but
Figure 1, repeated from last months design load down to zero over a cooling the blower energy is reduced significantly.
column, illustrates the basic speed cubed season, averaging somewhere around When outdoor ventilation makeup air is
fan power law, which dictates that the 50%. Therefore, in a capacity modulated provided by a VAV air-handling system,
airflow rate will vary with the rotational system, the average conditioned airflow control measures are necessary to ensure
speed (rpm) while the power will vary rate can be around 50% of the maximum that the minimum required outdoor air-
with the cube of the speed. Blowers are airflow needed at the design load, nomi- flow is supplied as the total airflow rate
a variable torque VFD application (where nally reducing blower power to 1/8 of is reduced.
the maximum torque load on the motor the power at maximum flow. At reduced While the focus of this series of col-
decreases as the speed decreases from speed and torque load on the motor, the umns is on VFDs for induction motors,
the maximum speed to lower speeds, as combination of drive losses and reduced it is important to note that brushless dc
shown in Figure 1), a relatively simple motor efficiency result in somewhat more motors, sometimes called permanent
application for VFDs. power than 1/8, but the savings are still magnet rotor motors or electronically
The basis of the fan power law is that substantial. commutated motors, are another impor-
the pressure rise through a centrifugal The blower energy savings that result tant class of electronically driven variable
blower is proportional to the square of the depend on how the indoor air system speed motors that are used for blower mo-
speed, while at the same time, the pres- would otherwise operate. If it were to tor applications and provide essentially
sure loss through a system of fixed-flow operate in an always-on, constant volume the same energy saving benefits.

4
58 ASHRAE Journal ashrae.org May 2010
 120%
100%
90%
100%
80%
70%
hp and Torque

Pressure or Power
60% hp 80%
50% Torque
40% Flow 60%
30%
20% 40%
Pressure
10% Power
0% 20%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Power
(Speed Cubed Fan Law)
Speed 0%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Flow
Figure 1: Speed-cubed fan power relationship.
Figure 2: Blower discharge pressure and power versus airflow, with
Energy Saving Potential constant air delivery pressure at the diffusers.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Build-
ings Energy Data Book,1 space cooling, ventilation, and refrig- Of this 9.9 quads of primary electric energy, an estimated 2.4
eration in residential and commercial buildings consumed 8.2 quads are attributable to movement of indoor and ventilation
quadrillion Btus (quads) of primary electric energy in 2006, the makeup air in commercial and institutional buildings. If 10% of
bulk of which is consumed by refrigerant compressors, fans, this energy is consumed by systems incorporating VFD technology,
blowers, and pumps, and therefore can be reduced by imple- 2.1 quads remain to be used by conventional air-moving systems.
menting VFD technology. Additionally, space heating in build- As discussed previously, replacement of constant speed
ings consumed 1.7 quads of primary electric energy in 2006, blowers with VFD-driven blowers has been estimated to have
a percentage of which (with the notable exception of electric the technical potential to save 50% of this energy, or just over
resistance heating) can be reduced by applying VFDs as well. a quad or primary electricity.

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5
60 ASHRAE Journal May 2010
 While application of VFDs to blowers has been discussed
as a separate area, VFD-driven blowers are often applied in
conjunction with some method of cooling capacity modula-
tion, ranging from staged compressors to capacity modulated
chillers. Continuous operation of cooling equipment at re-
duced capacity, instead of on-off operation at full capacity,
eliminates on-off cycling losses, providing for additional
energy savings.
Market Factors
Acceptance of variable frequency drives in HVAC happened
first with HVAC blowers, for the reasons discussed above.
During the past 20 or 30 years, as the cost of VFDs has fallen,
reliability has improved, and more experience has accumulated
in properly applying VFDs, OEMs have steadily increased the
offerings of VFD driven blowers and variable air volume as
options in both packaged rooftop air conditioners and in air
handling units for chillers. One estimate suggests that about 70%
of AHUs are being specified with variable speed blower drives.2
As usual, the incremental cost payback period for VFD driven
blowers and AHUs will vary by application, but is generally
favorable for building owners and operators. The added cost
of the VFD is offset to some extent by some potential cost sav-
ings. With a VFD, the blower can be direct-driven, saving the
cost of a belt drive and subsequent costs to maintain the belt
Advertisement formerly in this space.
62 ASHRAE Journal May 2010
drive. The ability to adjust to any difference between design
and field performance simply by running the blower faster or
slower than initially estimated can save the cost of field labor to
replace pulleys to adjust the speed of the blower. Furthermore,
incentives are offered by some utilities to help ensure favorable
payback for building operators.
In addition to the energy-saving benefits, VFD-driven systems
can offer improved comfort control and lower blower noise
levels than conventional systems.
In next months column, we will discuss the application of
VFDs to HVAC chillers.
References
1. Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 2010. 2009 Buildings
Energy Data Book. U.S. Department of Energy. http://buildingsdatabook.
eere.energy.gov/.
2. Personal communication with Ronnie Moffitt, Trane Corporation,
March 22, 2010.
3. 2008 ASHRAE HandbookHVAC Systems and Equipment, Chap-
ter 44, Motors, Motor Controls, and Variable-Speed Drives.
John Dieckmann is a director and Kurtis McKenney is an
associate principal in the Mechanical Systems Group of TIAX
LLC, Cambridge, Mass. James Brodrick, Ph.D., is a project
manager with the Building Technologies Program, U.S. Depart-
ment of Energy, Washington, D.C.
Advertisement formerly in this space.
6
 This article was published in ASHRAE Journal, June 2010. Copyright 2010 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers, Inc. Posted at www.ashrae.org. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in paper form without permission
of ASHRAE. For more information about ASHRAE Journal, visit
www.ashrae.org.

Large Energy Savings Per Installation

VFDs for Large Chillers

This third column in a five-part series on variable frequency drives will cover application of VFDs to large chillers in commercial
building air-conditioning systems.

By John Dieckmann, Member ASHRAE; Kurtis McKenney; Matthew Guernsey; and James Brodrick, Ph.D.,
Member ASHRAE

U
sing variable frequency drives (VFDs) for compressor motors in large chill-
ers is a newer application than using VFDs with blowers (discussed in last
months column). VFDs are being used with centrifugal compressors and screw
compressors, the two major compressor categories for large chillers.
Applying a variable speed drive to the
compressor provides energy-efficient
capacity modulation. While the focus of
this series has been on using VFDs for
induction motors, high-speed brushless dc
motors are an important class of motors.
Such motors generally are used to directly
drive high-speed centrifugal compressors.
Large tonnage chillers generally are
capable of capacity modulation, which
enables the chiller to run continuously
while delivering constant-temperature
chilled water as the cooling load varies
from maximum to minimum design load.
The traditional methods of capacity
modulation have been:
For centrifugal compressors, prerota-
tion vanes, also called inlet guide vanes,
reduce capacity while avoiding surge, down
to around 40%. Hot gas bypass (directing
compressor discharge gas to the evaporator)
is used to reduce capacity further.
Screw compressors have been
equipped with slide valves that simultane-
ously vary the inlet displacement and the
discharge displacement, maintaining a rela-
tively constant built-in volume compression
ratio, typically modulating down to about
30% of full load before hot gas bypass is
needed for further capacity reduction.
Staged operation of multiple com-
pressors (or multiple chillers) has been
used with both types of chillers, as well
as with chillers that use other compressor
types, such as scroll or reciprocating.
Two metrics commonly used to rate the
efficiency of chillers are full-load steady
state performance and the integrated part
load value (IPLV). The IPLV metric is in-
tended to approximate typical seasonal per-
formance as the load on the chiller varies.
Figure 1 shows the air or water tempera-
ture entering the condenser versus load that
is used to determine the IPLV for air-cooled
and water-cooled chillers. In each case,
reduced load is assumed to correlate with
lower outdoor wet- and dry-bulb tempera-
ture, resulting in lower temperature of the
cooling medium entering the condenser.
The IPLV is a widely accepted metric
for comparing the seasonal average
performance of chillers. However, in
actual applications, chillers operate over
a much wider range of loads and con-
denser temperatures than the IPLV rat-
ing load-condenser temperature curves.
Reasons for operation at low load
percentage and higher condenser tem-
peratures include high ambient wet or
dry-bulb temperature coupled with low
building occupancy or low solar loading
and the general tendency to oversize
building cooling equipment. Reasons
for operation at high load percentage and
lower condenser temperatures include
high load during chiller start-up after an
unoccupied period and operation of one
of a set of multiple chillers to handle the
building part load.
The combination of chiller plant over-
sizing and the variation of the factors driv-
ing the cooling load (some of which can be
highly variable, namely weather) can result
in almost any combination of chiller load
level and condenser temperature.
Estimates suggest that more than 90%
of water-cooled chiller plant installa-
tions include multiple chillers, with
two being the most common number.1
In multiple chiller plants, operation of
any chiller below 50% load is unusual,
with a large percentage of operating time
occurring around the 75% load point or
higher.1
For multiple chiller plants, equipping
each compressor with VFD may provide
the greatest energy savings and/or opera-
tional flexibility, but it may be more eco-
nomical (or at least less capital intensive)
to apply VFD to the base load chillers or
chillers expected to operate at part-load
(swing chillers). Chillers that operate
the most hours with reduced condenser
water temperatures (i.e., reduced lift) and/
or reduced load will offer the greatest
energy cost savings potential.
Several factors account for the improve-
ment in the IPLV provided by variable
speed drives. Variable speed operation
significantly reduces, if not eliminates
altogether, the use of hot gas bypass for
continuous operation at low load. In cen-
trifugal chillers, variable speed combined
with prerotation vanes enables operation

7
58 ASHRAE Journal ashrae.org June 2010

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60 ASHRAE Journal June 2010
100F
Temperature Entering Condenser
90F
80F
70F
Water-Cooled
60F
Air-Cooled
50F
IPLV Weighting: 12% 45% 42% 1%
40F
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Load
Figure 1: Temperature of cooling air or water entering the condenser
versus load and weighting factors for IPLV determination.
closer to maximum compressor efficiency across a wide range
of operating conditions. With screw compressors, it is possible
to eliminate the slide valve, using speed variation to cover the
full operating range at higher efficiency.
There are many variables involved in determining seasonal
energy performance. However, based on informal conversa-
tions with industry engineers, the typical energy savings over
a cooling season provided by applying a VFD to a chiller is
approximately 25%.2 Additional benefits include improved
power factor and soft starting of the chiller motor, reducing
both impulse loading on the motor and large in-rush currents.
Energy Saving Potential
Space cooling in U.S. commercial buildings consumed 2.3
quadrillion Btus (quads) of primary electric energy in 2006.
Of this, an estimated 0.3 quads are attributable to centrifugal
and screw chillers in commercial and institutional buildings.
If we assume, for the sake of simplicity, that VFDs are not
widely implemented in large chillers, and that VFDs result in 25%
average energy savings over conventional single-speed chillers,
then VFD offers a technical energy savings potential for large
chillers of approximately 0.1 quads. However, one manufacturer
claims that VFDs are more prevalent now, indicating that 80% of
centrifugal chillers with a VFD option available ship with a VFD.2
This is a relatively low national energy savings potential
relative to other VFD applications. However, the number of
buildings with central chiller plants is only on the order of
100,000,4 indicating there is a large amount of energy savings
potential per installation. In large commercial buildings, the
central chiller plant is often one of the main energy end uses,
and therefore 25% savings on the chiller energy can represent
a significant reduction in the buildings overall operating costs.
The 25% savings should not be assumed for any given ap-
plication. For the reasons mentioned, the actual energy sav-
ings from using VFDs in chillers will vary widely from one
installation to the next. Some applications with significant
off-design operation may see energy reductions greater than
8
35%, while applications with multiple
chillers operating near design condi-
tions, may experience energy savings
of less than 15%.2
Energy savings estimates for a single
installation should rely on location-
specific factors, particularly weather.
Chiller energy savings should only
be modeled with respect to total chiller
plant energy savings, which would also
consider plant ancillary equipment. In
a typical water-cooled chiller plant, the
chiller accounts for approximately 85% of
the system energy.5
Market Factors
Variable speed drives can offer signifi-
cant energy savings when applied to the
right chiller applications. Also, chillers
with VFDs can exhibit improved reliability
and life as a result of an improved power
factor and soft starting of the chiller motor.
However, real energy savings tend to be
application-specific. VFDs can give the
perception of energy savings when the IPLV
formula is applied, particularly in buildings
with multiple chillers, which is generally
the case.1 High-load operating points are
noticeably more important than the IPLV
metric may indicate.1 Therefore, a more
involved modeling process is necessary to
determine the cost effectiveness of install-
ing one or more VFDs in a chiller plant.
The cost of VFD technology has dropped
substantially over the past 30 years, and in
many new designs, VFD technology is
included in the base-unit design.2 Several
geographic regions offer rebates for the
application of VFD technology.2

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References
1. Geister, R. and M. Thompson. 2009. A
closer look at chiller ratings. ASHRAE Journal
51(12):2232.
2. Communication with Johnson Controls.
3. Energy Eff iciency and Renewable
Energy. 2010. 2009 Buildings Energy Data
Book. U.S. Department of Energy. http://
buildingsdatabook.eere.energy.gov/.
4. EIA. 2003. Commercial Building En-
ergy Consumption Survey, Table B40. Energy
Information Administration, U.S. Department
of Energy. http://tinyurl.com/CBECS2003.
5. Furlong, J. and F. Morrison. Optimiza-
tion of water-cooled chillercooling tower
combinations, CTI Journal 26(1):1219.
http://tinyurl.com/CTIFurlong.
6. AHRI Standard 550/590-2003, 2003 Stan-
dard for Performance Rating of Water-Chilling
Packages Using the Vapor Compression Cycle.
7. 2008 ASHRAE HandbookHVAC Systems
and Equipment. Chapter 44, Motors, Motor
Controls, and Variable-Speed Drives.
John Dieckmann is a director, Kurtis
McKenney is an associate principal, and
Matthew Guernsey is a senior technolo-
gist in the Mechanical Systems Group of
TIAX LLC, Cambridge, Mass. James
Brodrick, Ph.D., is a project manager with
the Building Technologies Program, U.S.
Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.

9
62 ASHRAE Journal June 2010
 This article was published in ASHRAE Journal, July 2010. Copyright 2010 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers, Inc. Posted at www.ashrae.org. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in paper form without permission
of ASHRAE. For more information about ASHRAE Journal, visit
www.ashrae.org.

Fourth in a Five-Part Series

VFDs for Chiller Auxiliaries

By John Dieckmann, Member ASHRAE; and James Brodrick, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE

T
he previous two columns in this series covered variable speed drives tion for cooling tower performance, 85F
(29C) water leaving the cooling tower
(VFDs) for compressor motors in large chillers and for the blowers used in when the ambient wet bulb temperature
is 78F (26C), giving an approach tem-
air-conditioning systems for large commercial buildings. However, auxiliaries in perature difference between the leaving
water temperature and the ambient wet
chiller systems consume significant amounts of energy as well, and should not bulb temperature of 7F (3.9C).
One study 2 found that overall en-
be overlooked by users wanting to conserve energy and reduce costs. Auxiliary ergy consumption and life-cycle cost de-
creased by adding cooling tower capacity
energy use usually is not included in chiller ratings, so observation is needed to
and driving the approach down to 4F to
determine how this equipment impacts system energy use. 5F (2.2C to 2.8C), with the increase in
tower fan power more than offset by the
As shown in Figure 1, the major en- of the chiller, so reckoning the energy reduction in chiller compressor power.
ergy using auxiliaries in chilled water savings from modulating these flows is So, on balance, there is no opportunity
systems are the chilled water circulation not a simple matter of the speed cubed to realize energy savings by applying a
pump, condenser water pump, and cool- power law by itself. VSD to the cooling tower fan.
ing tower fan. For an air cooled chiller, The cooling tower fan speed could be The condenser water pump speed could
the condenser fan uses the most energy. reduced as the cooling loads and heat be reduced as the cooling loads and heat
As with blower motors, for each of these rejection decrease, reducing fan power rejection decrease, reducing pumping
auxiliaries, the potential for energy savings while keeping the cooling water tem- power while keeping the cooling water
from applying a variable speed drive derives perature leaving the tower and entering temperature rise through the chiller rough-
from the speed cubed power law (Figure 2). the chiller roughly constant. However, if ly constant. A serious limitation of this
In each case, the pump or fan is the cooling tower fan operates at constant approach is that at lower condenser water
pumping water or air though a system of speed, the cooling water temperature de- flow rates, the tendency of the water side
roughly constant flow resistance (with creases with decreasing load, decreasing of the condenser and of the cooling tower
the major exception of a height-based the condensing temperature in the chiller. fill to foul increases. With reduced water
constant head loss added to the flow In most cases, if the chiller is capable of flow, the water distribution over the cool-
resistance pressure loss). using low entering cooling water tem- ing tower fill may become uneven as well.1
Large tonnage chiller systems operate perature effectively, the saving in chiller Keeping the cooling water temperature
with capacity modulation, so that the compressor power from the lower cooling rise through the chiller roughly constant
chiller runs continuously while delivering water temperature is greater than the po- raises the condensing temperature (com-
constant temperature chilled water, as the tential cooling tower fan power savings.1,2 pared to leaving the water flow rate con-
cooling load varies from the maximum AHRI Standard 550/5903 sets standard stant, allowing the cooling water tempera-
design load down to minimal levels. As conditions for rating a water cooled ture rise to decrease as the load decreases),
the chiller modulates capacity, there is an chiller at 3 gpm/ton (0.05 mL/J) of increasing the compressor power more
opportunity to consider using VFDs to cooling capacity, with 85F (29C) en- than the pump power savings. Therefore,
modulate the supporting water and air- tering cooling water temperature to the the condenser water pump generally is not
flows, to take advantage of speed cubed condenser, based on typical practice. At a good candidate for a VFD.
law energy savings. 3 gpm/ton (0.05 mL/J), the temperature Modulating the chilled water flow
The flow rates of cooling air, condenser rise of the water from condenser inlet rate by varying the speed of the chilled
water and chilled water affect the con- to outlet is 10F (5.5C). The basis of water pump as the cooling load varies
densing and evaporating temperatures of the 85F (29C) entering cooling water does provide significant savings of the
the chiller, and the power consumption temperature is the standard rating condi- energy to operate the chilled water pump,

10
96 ASHRAE Journal ashrae.org July 2010
 without any corre-
sponding penalty in
chiller energy use or Fan

in increased mainte-
Cooling
nance requirements. Tower
The chilled water
temperature leaving
the chiller is gener- Water-Cooled Chiller
ally maintained at a Condenser
constant level. Condenser Water Pump
Therefore, reduc-
ing the chilled water Evaporator Chilled
flow as the cooling Water Pump
load falls results in AHU
an increase in the
return temperature AHU
of the chilled water
(compared to the Figure 1: Chilled-water based AC system.
return water tem-
perature with constant chilled water flow). This increases the
Advertisement formerly in this space.
average temperature difference between the chilled water and
the refrigerant evaporating temperatures, offsetting any reduc-
tion in water-side heat transfer coefficient due to the lower water
flow rate, with the net effect that the evaporating temperature
stays approximately the same.
Chilled water systems are generally closed loops that do not
steadily accumulate contaminants so water side fouling is less
likely to occur,1 though a minimum water velocity on the order
of 3 ft/s (0.9 m/s) should be maintained.

Energy Saving Potential

According to the DOE Buildings Energy Data Book,4 space
cooling in U.S. commercial buildings consumed 2.3 quadril-
lion Btus (quads) of primary electric energy in 2006. Of this,
an estimated 0.3 quads are attributable to centrifugal and screw
chillers in commercial and institutional buildings.
Total energy used by auxiliaries is approximately half the
energy used by the chiller, with the chilled water pump being
approximately one-third of this, of which nearly two-thirds,1 or
0.03 quad, could be saved with VFDs. From a national energy
perspective, therefore, the potential energy savings of 0.03 quad
is not large. However, the number of buildings with central
chiller plants is only on the order of 100,000,5 indicating there
is a large amount of energy savings potential per installation.
Of course, energy savings estimates for a single installation
should be based on hour-by-hour analysis, using application
and location specific factors.

Market Factors
Variable speed drives can offer significant, cost-effective
energy savings when applied to chilled water circulation pumps.
While adding a VFD entails an additional capital cost, simple
payback periods can be short. In one example,1 a VFD applied
to a 40 hp (392 kW) chilled water pump resulted in annual cost

11
98 ASHRAE Journal July 2010
savings of $5,800 (at $0.08/kWh). With 100%
the cost of a 40 hp (30 kW) drive being 90%
approximately $4,000, the simple pay-
80%
back period would be less than one year.
70%

hp and Torque
References 60%
hp
1. YORK International. Chiller plant 50% Torque
energy performance. HVAC&R Engineering 40% Flow
Update. http://tinyurl.com/yorkupdate. 30%
2. Furlong, J. and F. Morrison. 2005. Op- 20%
timization of water-cooled chillercooling 10%
tower combinations. CTI Journal 26(1).
0%
http://tinyurl.com/FurlongJ.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
3. AHRI Standard 550/590-2003, 2003
Speed
Standard for Performance Rating of Water-
Chilling Packages Using The Vapor Compres- Figure 2: Speed-cubed power law for fans, blowers and centrifugal pumps.
sion Cycle.
4. Energy Eff iciency and Renewable Energy Consumption Survey. CBECS Table John Dieckmann is a director in Me-
Energy. 2010. 2009 Buildings Energy Data B40. www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cbecs/. chanical Systems Group of TIAX LLC.
Book. U.S. Department of Energy. http:// 6. 2008 ASHRAE HandbookHVAC Sys- James Brodrick, Ph.D., is a project manager
buildingsdatabook.eere.energy.gov/. tems and Equipment. Chapter 44, Motors, with Building Technologies Program, U.S.
5. EIA. 2003. Commercial Building Motor Controls, and Variable-Speed Drives. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.

Advertisement formerly in this space. Advertisement formerly in this space.

12
July 2010 ASHRAE Journal 99
 This article was published in ASHRAE Journal, August 2010. Copyright 2010 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers, Inc. Posted at www.ashrae.org. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in paper form without permission
of ASHRAE. For more information about ASHRAE Journal, visit
www.ashrae.org.

Fifth in a Five-Part Series

VFDs for Residential Systems

By John Dieckmann, Member ASHRAE; and James Brodrick, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE

V
ariable-speed operation of the compressor and indoor air blower is one way Figure 1 illustrates the key aspects of
the procedure graphically. A hypothetical
to provide energy-efficient capacity modulation. This takes advantage of the design building cooling load is defined as
1/1.1 times the maximum speed capacity
speed cubed power law, as discussed in previous columns in this series. Com- at the DOE A test condition (95F [35C]
ambient, 80F/67F [27C/19C] DB/
pressors and blowers are typically designed for worst-case operating scenarios. WB indoor temperature, indicated by
the dotted circle at 95F [35C], 100%).
Residential cooling loads vary greatly. Therefore, by operating systems at levels that
That is, the air-conditioning system is
vary below design maximum, significant energy and cost savings can be achieved. assumed to be 10% oversized if the DOE
A condition is the design condition. The
Energy-efficient capacity modulation Recognizing the large energy saving building loadthe diagonal red line in
generally increases the Seasonal Energy potential of energy-efficient capacity Figure 1is assumed to be 0 at 65F
Efficiency Ratio (SEER), determined by modulation, the DOE energy test pro- (18C) ambient temperature (accounting
the DOE energy test procedure,1 by 30% cedure1 for residential central air condi- for solar load and internal heat gains) and
to 40%, compared to a system with on-off tioners includes a variable speed test and is interpolated (or extrapolated) linearly at
capacity control and the same size coils, SEER calculation procedure. The test ambient temperatures above 65F(18C).
by eliminating on-off cycle losses, using procedure is illustrative of how capacity The steady-state performance of the air
condenser and evaporator heat transfer modulation leads to energy savings. conditioner is tested at the five points
surface more effectively and reducing The SEER is determined by a bin analy- indicated on Figure 1.
average blower power (once again, the sis (Table 1), where the individual bin Testing is done at two outdoor tem-
speed cubed power law). cooling capacity and energy input for each peratures (82F [28C] and 95F [35C])
A central air-conditioning system with ambient temperature bin is determined at maximum speed (indicated by dotted
a variable speed compressor and a variable by interpolating between five test points. circles), at two outdoor temperatures at
speed blower operates with a compressor The bin cooling capacities and energy minimum speed (67F and 82F [19C
speed that matches the cooling capacity of inputs, weighted by the fractional bin and 28C]), indicated by dotted circles,
the air-conditioning system to the cooling hours, are summed, with the SEER be- and at one specified intermediate speed
load of the residence. ing the ratio of the summed capacity at 87F (31C) outdoor temperature,
The speed of the indoor air blower divided by the summed energy input.The indicated by an oval with a dotted line.
and the resulting airflow rate are varied fractional bin hours are based on average The double-dashed line in Figure 1
in tandem with the capacity, maintain- weather across the U.S. traces the bin analysis over the 65F
ing dehumidif ication capacity and The three lowest outdoor temperature to 104F (18C to 40C) range of the
taking advantage of the speed cubed bins, below 79F (26C), account for 66% outdoor temperature bins, through three
power law. of total operating hours, where the com- district cases:
If the cooling load is less than the mini- pressor and indoor blower are operating at Case I (Figure 1) applies to tem-
mum speed cooling capacity, the system the lower end of the speed range. perature bins (Table 1) where the
operates in on-off mode at the minimum Five steady-state test points are the cooling capacity at minimum speed
compressor speed. basis of interpolating to cover the range is more than the building load, re-
Operating at reduced capacity reduces of fixed and variable cooling capacity sulting in cyclic operation at mini-
the heat rejection load on the condenser, possibilities. A series of formulas in the mum speed. This is typically the
lowering the condensing temperature variable speed part of the test procedure lower two or three temperature bins.
and raising the EER of the compressor, specify how the interpolations are per- Case II applies to the temperature
a major factor in the increased SEER of formed to arrive at the appropriate value bins where continuous operation
variable capacity systems. for each of the eight temperature bins. at an intermediate speed meets the

13
66 ASHRAE Journal ashrae.org August 2010
 building cooling load. Within this
range, most of the bin hours are at
lower to medium speed, with less
than 10% of the bin hours near
maximum speed.
Case III applies to temperature
bins where continuous operation
at maximum speed does not meet
the building cooling load (only the
highest temperature bin, with only
0.4% of the total bin hours).
Energy Saving Potential
According to the DOE Buildings En-
ergy Data Book,2 space cooling in U.S.
residential buildings consumed 2.7 qua-
drillion Btus (quads) of primary electric
energy in 2006. Of this, 87%3 or 2.3 quads
are attributable to central air-conditioning
systems.
Space heating in U.S. residential build-
ings consumed 1.05 quadrillion Btus
(quads) of primary electric energy in
2006 (out of a total of 5.51 quads from
all energy sources). Of this, an estimated
0.5 quads are attributable to central heat
pump systems.
While the proportion of high-SEER
units sold is increasing,4 the majority of
the current installed base is minimum
SEER units. If high SEER, variable speed
central air conditioners and heat pumps
were used universally, the average SEER
would be increased by 50% over the cur-
rent minimum 13 SEER (and older units
with lower SEER), reducing the annual
energy use of central air conditioners and
heat pumps by approximately one-third,
or by about 1 quad.
In the highly cost-competitive residen-
tial air conditioning industry, manufactur-
ers seek the lowest cost design to achieve
a given SEER level.
There are several means to this end. In
addition to variable speed compressors
and blowers, design options to increase
efficiency include compressor capacity
staging (discrete capacity increments rath-
er than continuously variable capacity),
more effective coil heat transfer surface,
larger coils, and more efficient condenser
fans and motors.
In a survey of the central air condi-
tioner offerings of six of the major U.S.
Bin Representative Fraction of Total
Bin No.
Temperature Range Temperature Bin Temperature Bin
(j)
(F) for (F) Hours (nj/N)
1 6569 68 0.214
2 7074 72 0.231
3 7579 77 0.216
4 8084 82 0.161
5 8589 87 0.104
6 9094 92 0.052
7 9599 97 0.018
8 100104 102 0.004
Table 1: Distribution of fractional hours in temperature bins for calculation of SEER for
central air-conditioning units with a two-speed or a variable speed compressor.1
Figure 1: Test conditions for DOE energy efficiency test procedure for variable capacity
air conditioners.
manufacturers of residential central air- savings of continuous capacity modula-
conditioning systems, high SEER systems tion as provided by a variable speed drive.
(18 SEER or higher) were offered by each Comparing the maximum SEERs that are
of the six. available, a variable speed compressor
One of the six manufacturers pro- can provide several more SEER points
duced a central air conditioner using a than a two-stage compressor.
variable speed rotary compressor and
a variable speed blower, with SEER Market Factors
between 22 and 24.5. The other five As noted earlier, variable speed indoor
manufacturers achieved high SEER with blower motors are universally accepted
two compressor capacity stages, a vari- as a necessary ingredient of an ultra-high
able speed blower, and a highly efficient SEER central air-conditioning system.
condenser coil without a variable speed The added cost compared to a PSC blower
compressor. motor contributes to the cost difference
The DOE test procedure includes pro- between minimum SEER systems and
visions for two-stage or multiple-stage higher SEER systems.
compressor capacity that are similar to The limited use of variable speed
the variable speed compressor provisions. compressors in U.S. residential central
Having two capacity stages captures a air conditioners is primarily attributable
reasonable proportion of the potential to the higher applied cost of a variable

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August 2010 ASHRAE Journal 67

www.info.hotims.com/30918-27
68 ASHRAE Journal August 2010
Variable speed indoor blow-
er motors are universally
accepted as a necessary
ingredient of an ultra-high
SEER central AC system.
speed compressor and the accompanying
variable frequency drive.
Beyond the cost of the power electronics
of the VFD, additional cost factors include
measures to limit harmonic disturbances
to the incoming electric power lines and
compressor design measures needed to
provide adequate lubrication at lower
speeds. The limited number of residential
air conditioning service technicians who
are qualified to service VFDs has been
cited as an additional market barrier.
Variable speed compressors are used
in a majority of the ductless split air-
conditioning systems sold in Japan. An
advantage, lower noise levels at lower
speeds, which is generally valued more
highly in densely populated Japan, would
appear to be less highly valued in the U.S.
References
1. U.S. Department of Energy. 10 CFR
Part 430, Subpart B, Appendix M. Uniform
Test Method for Measuring the Energy Con-
sumption of Central Air Conditioners. http://
tinyurl.com/part430M.
2. Energy Eff iciency and Renewable
Energy. 2010. 2009 Buildings Energy Data
Book. U.S. Department of Energy. http://
buildingsdatabook.eere.energy.gov/.
3. Energy Information Administration.
2005 Residential Energy Consumption Survey,
Table AC2. http://tinyurl.com/recs2005.
4. Norland, J. 2006. How high will SEER
go? Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration
News. http://tinyurl.com/HowHighSEER.
5. 2008 ASHRAE HandbookHVAC Sys-
tems and Equipment, Chapter 44, Motors,
Motor Controls, and Variable-Speed Drives.
John Dieckmann is a director in the
Mechanical Systems Group of TIAX LLC,
Cambridge, Mass. James Brodrick, Ph.D.,
is a project manager with the Building
Technologies Program, U.S. Department
of Energy, Washington, D.C.
15