Simulated performance of an improved district cooling system (DCS) in Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia

Abstract

District cooling system (DCS) is a popular cooling solution for many institutional applications in Malaysia due to the energy-saving advantages as compared to traditional individual on-site cooling production. However, the problem with DCS is that it’s designed on fixed parameters automation prior to its commissioning and system performance is inefficient by the inability to adapt to uncertainties during operation. Objective of this DCS study is to propose a feedback control algorithm to be implemented in a DCS in Malaysia, as well as assess the proposed algorithm for further improvement. A case study of an existing DCS in Tronoh, Perak is performed in MatLab Simulink. The existing algorithm and the proposed algorithm of improved scheduling are implemented, and the simulation results have compared. The motivation of the new algorithm developed is to see further energy-reduction optimization, especially at the TES charging hours at low demand. The simulation results show improvements in the system efficiency of increased 22.6% (weekdays) and 48.2% (weekends) with reduced overall cooling output, and system energy savings of between 18.7% (~17 MWh at weekdays) and 32.1% (~21 MWh at weekends). Simulated model compared with historical data shows that the simulation model cannot replicate the exact conditions and output values of the actual DCS, but the trend of the output data is sufficiently accurate to model the improvements of implementing feedback control.