Method, System, and Apparatus for Modular Central Plant

Abstract

There is provided a system and method for a modular central plant. In one implementation, the inventive system includes a chiller unit and cooling tower that are designed to be modularly assembled, transported, and interconnected, thereby decreasing system cost and assembly time, increasing system maintainability, and improving scalability for increasing capacity at a future date. The removable wall panels and roof of an embodiment of the present invention aid in maintainability by providing enhanced access to critical system components such as the chiller assembly. The modular architecture of the present invention allows for speedy delivery and installation, and with only external electrical and water connections needed, the system can become rapidly operational.

Description

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the full benefit and priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 805,213, filed on Jun. 19, 2006, the disclosure of which is fully incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]The present invention relates generally to the cooling and heating equipment industry, and more specifically to methods, systems, and apparatus for modular central plants for providing heated and chilled water for building climate control.BACKGROUND[0003]To provide for efficient building climate control, particularly in larger buildings, chilled or heated water is typically furnished to building air handling systems from a central plant. These central plants typically incorporate one or more chiller / boiler units and cooling towers, and comprise sophisticated combinations of electrical and mechanical control systems, mechanical piping and fluid processing, pumps, fans, shelters, and engineered structural ele...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]It is an object of the present invention to improve various problems associated with the prior art. In one implementation, the inventive system includes a chiller unit and cooling tower that are designed to be modularly assembled, transported, and interconnected, thereby decreasing system cost and assembly time, increasing system maintainability, and improving scalability for increasing capacity at a future date. The removable wall panels and roof of the present invention aid in maintainability by providing enhanced access to critical system components such as the chiller assembly. The modular nature of the present invention allows for speedy delivery and installation, and with only electrical and water connections the system can become rapidly operational. The structural design of the inventive system allows for installation on either a grade or on support posts for roof installation, thereby substantially reducing the structural preparation work that is necessary to install a central plant system on site. Further, by interconnecting multiple modular components of the present invention, central plant capacity can be quickly scaled up without substantial engineering to provide optimal central plant support for buildings of any size.

Problems solved by technology

Also, in almost all cases, central plants are designed from scratch for each building application, and although many commercially available components are utilized, installation requires substantial mechanical construction, field assembly, and system integration effort at the building site.

As a result, the cost to design, deliver, and install a central plant is a major factor in the overall expense of building construction, and often impacts the schedule for building construction completion.

In the long run, however, selection of nonstandard components only serves to further drive up cost and delays building completion schedules.

Further, the schedule and cost constraints commonly imposed on central plant installation often results in the omission of features that reduce overall system maintenance and operational costs.

As a result, building owners using prior art central plant designs are faced with suboptimal long-term operational expenses.

As a further limitation of prior art central plants, capacity expansion to accommodate increased chilled or heated water demand requires expensive redesign and retrofit.

Future capacity is generally not considered in designing and installing prior art central plants, and the case-by-case reengineering of each plant for additional load is a major detriment to building owners.

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