Central Plant • Chilled Water • Steam (Optional)

Central Plant Optimizer

Commissioning-grade screening for central plants: compare baseline vs optimized setpoints and control strategies for chillers, CHW pumps, cooling towers, and optional steam. Supports quick estimates and duty-profile modeling.

Confidence: Medium

Setup

Plant typei

Total plant capacityi

1 TR ≈ 3.517 kW cooling.

Chiller counti

Minimum chiller PLRi

Chiller efficiency model

kW/ton (single value)i

Use part-load tablei

Tip: part-load performance can be significantly better than full-load for modern chillers, but varies with lift and controls.

Load profile

Monthly averages are great for quick screening. Use 24 bins for a closer approximation of duty/part-load operation.

Month	Avg load (tons)	Hours

Scenario builder

Scenarios modify setpoints and control assumptions to estimate whole-plant impact (chillers + pumps + towers + steam if enabled).

Enabled	Name	CHWS +°C	ΔT target °C	Pump mult.	Tower fan mult.	Chiller improve %	CAPEX (USD)

CHWS sensitivity (% per °C)i

Tariff (USD/kWh)i

Grid emissions factor (kg CO₂/kWh)i

Results

Best: —

Annual kWh (baseline)

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Annual kWh (best)

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Annual savings

—

Payback

—

Simple payback

Scenario	kWh/year	kW/ton (avg)	Cost/year	CO₂/year	CAPEX	Annual savings	Payback

Energy breakdown (baseline vs best)

Cost by scenario

Cumulative cashflow (best scenario)

Recommendations

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Report summary

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FAQ

What does kW/ton represent for a whole plant?

kW/ton is average electrical power per ton of cooling. For whole-plant kW/ton, this includes chillers plus pumps and towers (and other auxiliaries if you include them).

Why is ΔT improvement often a high-impact commissioning action?

Low ΔT drives high chilled water flow for the same load, which increases pump power and can force extra chiller staging. Fixing low ΔT typically improves both pumping energy and plant controllability.

Why can tower optimization change total savings direction?

Lower condenser water temperature can reduce chiller lift (improving chiller kW/ton), but it may require more fan energy. The best outcome is system-level optimum, not minimum chiller kW alone.