Methods and Potential for Performance Validation of Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and Heat Pump Systems

摘要

All EU-members shall according to the EU Directive 2002/91 on Energy Performance in Buildings, before January 4, 2006, implement regulations and how air-conditioning systems with a rated capacity over 12 kW should be performance tested and who should make the test. There are so far no description on what methods to use or what competencies that will be required by the person to perform the "inspection". This paper presents a method for "Refrigeration Performance Analyzing" based on measurements in the refrigerant circuit (and for reference on the secondary sides) and an energy balance over the compressor to analyse the process including COP, capacity and all relevant parameters for evaluation of performance and optimization. The method and it's accuracy is validated by among others the Swedish Testing and Research Institute in theory and practice and has been used with good results in Sweden and other markets for almost 20 years. The increased focus on energy efficiency through the Kyoto Protocol and Directives as well as new development of hardware and software has increased the flexibility and decreased the price for equipment. New standards for data exchange and communication also make integration in Building Management Systems possible. The method is presented together with experiences in general and examples from on-site performance testing. The key advantages with the described method compared to traditional flow based performance testing is the lower sensitivity for measurements errors e.g. higher accuracy in the field and the possibility to identify not only a difference in performance but also in detail pinpointing the cause for it.