COOLING

TECHNOLOGIES

Welcome to the United States Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) Advanced Cooling Technologies home page. Advanced cooling technologies are considered the premium alternatives for reducing the environmental impact of cooling equipment and effectively providing energy and operating cost savings. Prior to the federal passage of Title VI of the Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990, refrigerants in electric cooling equipment contained chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that have heightened environmental awareness of ozone depletion and global warming potentials.

In Fiscal Year 1995 (FY95), the total cooling capacity of existing air-conditioning equipment in the United States Army was 820,457 tons of cooling, with the majority of the air-conditioning equipment in the Army powered by electricity. The corresponding Army electrical bill was over $555M, according to the FY95 Directorates of Public Works Annual Summary of Operations. Normally, more than a third of the total electrical utility cost is attributed to operating air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment.

Of approximately 2.5 million lb of refrigerants on U.S. Army facility air-conditioning and refrigeration inventory, 55.4 percent (or 1.39 million lb) are CFC-based refrigerants, which are used in large chillers (with air-conditioning loads of over 100 tons) and refrigeration/cold storage equipment. The remaining 44.6 percent serves smaller air-conditioning loads and generally uses hydrochlorofluorocarbon 22 (HCFC-22) as the refrigerant. CFC and HCFC refrigerants are currently under production phaseout schedules, with CFC refrigerant production effectively terminated 1 January 1996 and HCFC potential phaseout scheduled as early as 2006.

Advanced cooling technologies, containing non-CFC refrigerants, are classified into three broad categories: new electrical cooling, natural gas cooling, and storage cooling. These categories are explained in more detail elsewhere on this web site, along with other links related to advanced cooling technologies.

Technical Reports:

· Performance Analysis of Natural Gas Cooling Technology at Air Force Bases: Youngstown-Warren ARS and Warner-Robins AFB, Fiscal Year 1999 (.pdf file)

· Advanced Gas Cooling Study for the Hospital at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ (.pdf file)

Other Related Links:

· CERL Fact Sheet: Diurnal Ice Storage Cooling Systems Demonstration (.pdf file)

· CERL Fact Sheet: Chiller Replacement and Thermal Storage Demonstration (.pdf file)

· Federal Technology Alert: Two-Wheel Desiccant Dehumidification System (.pdf file)

· Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency (AFCESA) Tech Data Bulletin: Natural Gas Cooling Systems, May 1996

· Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center (NFESC) Energy News Article on Natural Gas Cooling, July 1996

· NFESC Tech Data Sheet, October 1996 (.pdf file)

· NFESC Tech Data Sheet, March 1997 (.pdf file)

· NFESC Tech Data Sheet, April 1997 (.pdf file)

· Natural Gas Chiller Success Stories provided by Department of the Navy Energy Program

For more information about advanced cooling technologies, contact Chang Sohn.