Chapter 10 - Central Plants

Abstract

This chapter discusses the central plants and their production, and their advantages and disadvantages. Central plants include boilers that produce steam or hot water, and chillers that produce chilled water and cooling towers that cool the chillers. These pieces of equipment can satisfy the heating and cooling requirements for a complete building. In a central plant, the boilers and chillers are located in a single space in the building, and their output is piped to all the various air-conditioning units and systems in the building. Central plants generally require less maintenance than numerous smaller package systems, and the equipment usually has a longer life. This central plant concept can be extended to provide heating and cooling to many buildings on a campus or part of a town. The equipment for these larger systems is often housed in a separate building which reduces noise and safety issues.