Thermosyphon Oil Cooling Demonstration Project

Shaun M. Seaman Chelan County PUD Energy Services P.O. Box 1231, Wenatchee, WA 98807-1231 13th Annual Postharvest Conference March 1997

The mission of Chelan County PUD Energy Services is to encourage energy efficiency through a variety of services. One service is an annual demonstration project to show the viability of a technology that is new or unfamiliar to local industry. Thermosyphon oil cooling for screw compressors is one such technology that is commonly used in the refrigeration industry, but is not common in this region. Although the technique is standard for the industry, as of January 1996, there were no thermosyphon systems in Chelan County. In the last quarter of 1996, a thermosyphon system was installed on an existing screw compressor at Trout/Blue Chelan in Chelan, Washington. Savings verification lasted over a month and was completed in February 1997. This report details the technology, the project and measured savings. Chelan County PUD Energy Services has a long history of promoting energy efficiency in the refrigeration industry. A majority of the efforts have focused on use of computer controls and strategies that can be implemented with these controls. Controls provide the first major step to comprehensive refrigeration plant efficiency. Controls alone though are not the pinnacle of efficiency for this energy intensive industry. Numerous technologies are used by the industry, which increase the efficiency of refrigeration plants. Many of these technologies are not used in Chelan County due to the high cost of implementation and relatively inexpensive power. One such technology is thermosyphon oil cooling for rotary screw compressors. According to one supplier of new screw compressor packages, 70 to 80 percent of the systems sold in the Northwest, outside of the apple industry, are equipped with thermosyphon oil cooling. A smaller percentage use liquid injection and the remainder use other means, predominately water-to-oil heat exchangers. Thermosyphon oil cooling is a passive means of cooling compressor oil using refrigerant condensate returning from the condenser. There are no power penalties associated with this method since there are no pumps and no loss of compressor capacity. Due to these facts, thermosyphon is a reliable, energy efficient means of oil cooling. Energy savings from thermosyphon are due to elimination of liquid injection and the ability to lower the pressure differential between suction and discharge. Both of these issues are discussed in the context of this report. The demonstration project approach is simple. The project is a three-way partnership between the PUD, facility and contractor. The cost of the project is split three ways with the PUD paying a majority of the cost, the facility paying a smaller amount and the contractor providing some goods or services