Energy Saving by Control Optimisation of Cooling and Ventilation Plants

Heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems are typically one of the main consumers of electricity in industrial and research facilities. At the accelerator complex and experimental areas of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) this is no exception. For example, during the 2018 run period of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), these systems alone claimed 12% (75 GWh) of the total electricity consumption of this accelerator. The World climate crisis, in combination with the increasing pressure of higher energy costs, motivated CERN to identify energy saving measures as a priority for the near future. The Cooling & Ventilation (CV) group, in the Engineering (EN) Department is taking this challenge seriously and is looking how energy optimisation can be attained in its plants. This paper addresses various energy and control optimisation projects which were proposed and worked on recently by the EN-CV group. Their methodology, inherent challenges, and resulting energy savings are discussed in detail. Furthermore, emphasis is given on future initiatives that can pave the way for even more energy efficient HVAC&R plants at CERN.