Primary-only vs.

Primary-secondary
Table 6-2 summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of primary-only variable
flow
distribution systems compared to traditional (non-distributed) primary-secondary
systems.
OPTIMIZING DESIGN 6-5
Advantages of Primary-only Disadvantages of Primary-only
Reduced pump horsepower Complexity of bypass control
More effi cient pumps Complexity of staging chillers
Fewer pump connections Possible chiller trips
Lower pump energy usage Possible evaporator freezing
Lower fi rst costs Temporary high temperatures
Less plant space required
Primary-only systems always cost less and take up less space than primarysecondary systems,
and with variable-speed drives, primary-only systems also always use less pump
energy than
traditional (non-distributed) primary-secondary systems. The latter point may be
contrary to
conventional wisdom and to heavy marketing by some pump manufacturers, but it
can be
shown to be true from basic principles. Figure 6-2 demonstrates this fact for a
typical threechiller,
three-pump plant. The pump energy savings are due to:
Reduced system head as a result of the elimination of the extra set of pumps and
related
piping and devices (shut-off valves, strainers, suction diffusers, check valves, etc.).
More efficient pumps. (The primary pumps in the primary-secondary system will
be
inherently less efficient due to their high flow and low head. This can be partially

mitigated by using larger pumps running at lower speed.)

Variable flow through the evaporator, which allows flow to drop below design
flow down to some minimum flow rate prescribed by the chiller manufacturer.
(The minimum flow rate is always less than the design flow rate, and in some cases
significantly so.)
Near cube-law performance of variable-speed drives that yield significant
energy
savings for even small reductions in flow.
Even without the savings from first three bullet points above (that is, even if the
overall
pump head and efficiencies were the same and minimum flow through the chiller
were
maintained at the design flow), primary-only systems still use less pump energy
than
primary-secondary systems.
The lower energy costs and lower first costs of the primary-only system often make
it an easy
choice versus primary-secondary, but the system does have two significant
disadvantages:
Complexity of bypass control. For all but chiller plants with a large number of
chillers, some type of bypass valve will be required (Figure 4-8) in order to ensure
that minimum flow rates are maintained through operating chillers. This control is
somewhat complex.
First, it requires some means to measure flow through the chillers, such as a flow
meter or differential pressure sensor across chillers which can be correlated to flow.
In
general it is recommended that a flow meter be provided either at each chiller or at
the
common chilled water line on the chiller side of the bypass.

Second, selecting the bypass control valve and tuning the control loop is difficult
because of the very high differential pressure across it caused by its location near
the
Table 6-2:
Advantages and
Disadvantages of
Primarily-only vs.
Primary-secondary
Variable Flow
Distribution Systems
6-6 OPTIMIZING DESIGN
pumps. (This can be mitigated by placing the bypass valve out in the system near
the most remote coils. However, this increases flow through distribution piping,
which increases pump energy at low loads. Also, it increases piping heat gain if flow
is maintained in piping that might otherwise be inactive. On the other hand, placing
the valve in a remote location can prevent slugging the plant with warm water
when a remote coil starts up and may result in more stable plant control.) A
pressure
independent control valve should be considered for this application.
Third, control system programming is difficult when there are multiple chillers or
stages each requiring different minimum flow setpoints. (Note that the
pressureactivated
bypass valves commonly used in the past with constant speed pumping
systems will not work with variable speed pumping because the differential pressure
across the valve will always be less at part load so the valve will never open.)
Complexity of chiller staging. When one or more chillers are operating and
another
chiller is started by opening its isolation valve or starting its pump, flow through the

operating chillers will abruptly drop. The reason for this is simple: flow is determined
by the demand of the chilled water coils as controlled by the control valves. Starting
another chiller will not create an increase in required flow, so flow will be split
among
the active machines. If this occurs suddenly, the drop in flow will cause a nuisance
trip in the operating chillers, or may cause evaporator freezing if the safety controls
are
sluggish. To stage the chillers without a trip, active chillers must first be temporarily
unloaded (demand-limited), then flow must be slowly increased through the new
chiller by opening its isolation valve slowly. Then all chillers can be allowed to ramp
up to the required load together. (The need for slowly allowing flow to pass through
the new chiller makes it advantageous to pipe the chillers and pumps using a
headered
arrangement shown as Option B in Figure 4-14. See also the Pumps section later in
this chapter.)
The sheer complexity of the bypass and staging makes it likely that the controls will
fail
at some point in the life of the system. Thus, primary-secondary systems, despite
their
higher costs, do offer the benefit of fail-safe operation, very simple staging control,
and
no need for bypass control.
Given these considerations, primary-only systems are most appropriate for:
Plants with many chillers (more than three) and with fairly high base loads where
the need for bypass is minimal or nil and flow fluctuations during staging are small
due to the large number of chillers.
Plants where design engineers and future on-site operators understand the
complexity of the controls.
Plants for mission critical facilities like data centers and chip fabrication plants

where chiller failure could disrupt the process.

A primary-secondary system is probably a better choice for buildings where fail-safe
operation
is essential or on-site operating staff is unsophisticated or nonexistent.

Pumps
The chilled water pump is variable flow (see Pumping Basics). They are sized to
provide enough head
to circulate chilled water throughout the building. Automatic isolating valves are
provided in front of
each chiller to stop flow when the chiller is not operating. Pumps can be dedicated
to each chiller or in
the main return line, as shown in Figure 62. Common pumps allow over pumping
and sharing a spare
pump.
Bypass Line
The bypass should be sized for the minimum flow rate of the largest chiller being
used. It is only used
to provide minimum flow to a chiller when the flow requirement through the chiller
plant is less than
the chiller minimum flow.
The bypass line can be located between the chillers and the loads, as shown in
Figure 62. This is the
same location as the decoupler is in a conventional primary secondary system. The
bypass line could
also be placed at the end of the cooling loop. The bypass control valves will see a
smaller pressure
drop but there may be some additional pump work.
Alternatively, some cooling loads could use three-way valves, which would provide
the minimum flow

required. On the other hand these valves will bypass chilled water any time they are
not operating at
design load, which wastes pump work and leads to low delta T syndrome.
When flow is required through the bypass line, it must be controlled. A modulating
two or three-way
valve is required.
Variable Primary Flow Sequence of Operation
Although a variable primary flow system is no more difficult to design than a
primary secondary
system, the control sequences must be carefully thought out and commissioned. A
building automation
system (BAS) capable of variable primary flow is a must. Direct communication
between the BAS and
the chiller unit controllers is strongly recommended as well. This can be
accomplished with standard
open control protocols such as BACnet or LonTalk .
Primary Pump Control
The primary pump is controlled in the same manner as a secondary pump in a
primary secondary
system (Refer to Pumping Basics).
Modulating both the flow and temperature range through a chiller requires time for
the chiller
controller to respond. Many factors influence the rate of change of the flow
including the chiller type,
the chiller controller logic, and the actual load on the chiller at the time. Some field
adjustment of the
rate of change time should be expected during commissioning. A good starting
point is 10% change in
flow per minute. This will affect the modulating rate of the primary pumps and the
terminal unit
control valves.

Bypass Line Valve Control

It is recommended that each chiller should have a flow meter. The meter can be
used to recognize both
minimum and maximum flow constraints. Individual chiller meters allow each
chillers flow rate to
monitored, which may be advantageous in some chiller plant control concepts such
as over pumping or
deliberately operating multiple high part load efficient chillers in lieu of a single
chiller.
It is possible to use only one flow meter in the common chilled water supply line
upstream of the
bypass line. Assuming only one chiller is operating when minimum flow becomes an
issue, the flow
measured at this point would be the flow through the operating chiller.
The bypass line control valve is controlled by a signal from the flow meter of the
operating chiller.
The control system should recognize the chiller and know the minimum flow rate for
that chiller. In
most cases the chillers are all the same, and hence there is only one minimum flow
rate for the entire
76 Application Guide AG 31-003-4
chiller plant. The bypass line control valve is modulated to maintain the minimum
chiller flow. This
must be done slowly. Fast changes in the bypass line flow may cause the primary
pump control loop to
hunt as it recognizes a change in total chilled water flow.
Starting an Additional Chiller
The first step is recognizing an additional chiller is required. The BAS can use the
individual chiller
flow meter and the chiller load as indicators that another chiller is required. Another
chiller is required

when either the chiller capacity or the chiller design flow rate has been reached.
Using the maximum flow rate rather than the design flow rate will over pump the
chiller. The
pressure drop will exceed design conditions and increase the primary pump work.
The advantage of
this is that starting another chiller and its ancillary equipment (condenser pump,
cooling tower etc) is
staved off. This is a good method for counteracting low delta T syndrome.
A different approach to this is to use chillers with excellent part load performance
and deliberately
operate multiple chillers at part load. Refer to Low Delta T Syndrome.
Adding a chiller is more complicated than other chiller plant systems as explained in
the example
below. Each chiller must have an automatic isolating valve. When the chillers are all
the same size, the
valves can be two-position type. These valves must open and close slowly.