Baseline electrical load operation for a climate control system of a commercial building

Abstract

An embodiment of a climate control system for conditioning an interior space includes an interior space heat exchange circuit that is configured to circulate a working fluid to cool an airflow that is directed to the interior space. In addition, the climate control system includes a chiller that is configured to cool the working fluid. Further, the climate control system includes a thermal energy storage (TES) assembly further including a source of low-temperature fluid and a heat exchanger that is coupled to the interior space heat exchange circuit such that the heat exchanger is upstream of the chiller along the interior space heat exchange circuit. The heat exchanger is configured to receive a flow of the low-temperature fluid from the source to cool the working fluid to thereby supplement an output cooling capacity of the chiller.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A climate control system for conditioning an interior space, the climate control system comprising:
 an interior space heat exchange circuit that is configured to circulate a working fluid to cool an airflow that is directed to the interior space;   a chiller that is configured to cool the working fluid; and   a thermal energy storage (TES) assembly including:
 a source of low-temperature fluid; and 
 a heat exchanger that is coupled to the interior space heat exchange circuit such that the heat exchanger is upstream of the chiller along the interior space heat exchange circuit, the heat exchanger configured to receive a flow of the low-temperature fluid from the source to cool the working fluid to thereby supplement an output cooling capacity of the chiller. 
   
     
     
         2 . The climate control system of  claim 1 , wherein the chiller includes a refrigeration circuit including a compressor that is configured to operate at a plurality of different speeds to adjust the output cooling capacity of the chiller. 
     
     
         3 . The climate control system of  claim 1 , wherein the source of low-temperature fluid comprises a tank that is configured to hold a volume of the low-temperature fluid, and wherein the TES assembly further comprises a recharge chiller that is configured to reduce a temperature of the low-temperature fluid and output the low-temperature fluid to the tank. 
     
     
         4 . The climate control system of  claim 3 , wherein the TES assembly further includes one or more valves that are configured to control a flow of cold fluid to the heat exchanger. 
     
     
         5 . The climate control system of  claim 4 , further comprising a controller that is configured to:
 adjust a flow of the cold fluid to the heat exchanger; and   adjust an output cooling capacity of the chiller.   
     
     
         6 . The climate control system of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 a bus bar that is electrically coupled to the chiller and the recharge chiller; and   a solar power generation assembly that is electrically coupled to the bus bar.   
     
     
         7 . A climate control system for conditioning an interior space, the climate control system comprising:
 an interior space heat exchange circuit that is configured to circulate a working fluid to cool an airflow that is directed to the interior space;   a plurality of chillers that are configured to cool the working fluid;   a thermal energy storage (TES) assembly that is thermally coupled to the interior space heat exchange circuit via a plurality of heat exchangers that are arranged along the interior space heat exchange circuit; and   a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of chillers and the TES assembly, wherein the controller is configured to adjust an output cooling capacity of the plurality of chillers and to adjust a distribution of cooling capacity from the TES assembly to maintain an electrical load of the climate control system at or below a baseline electrical load.   
     
     
         8 . The climate control system of  claim 7 , wherein the TES assembly includes a source of low-temperature fluid that is in fluid communication with the plurality of heat exchangers, wherein the plurality of heat exchangers that are each positioned upstream of a corresponding one of the plurality of chillers along the interior space heat exchange circuit. 
     
     
         9 . The climate control system of  claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to adjust the distribution of cooling capacity from the TES assembly by adjusting a flow of low-temperature fluid from the source to one or more of the plurality of heat exchangers. 
     
     
         10 . The climate control system of  claim 8 , wherein each chiller of the plurality of chillers includes a refrigeration circuit including a compressor, and wherein the controller is configured to adjust the output cooling capacity of the plurality of chillers by adjusting a speed of the compressor of one or more of the plurality of heat exchangers. 
     
     
         11 . The climate control system of  claim 8 , wherein the source of low-temperature fluid comprises a tank that is configured to hold a volume of the low-temperature fluid, and wherein the TES further comprises one or more recharge chillers that are configured to reduce a temperature of the low-temperature fluid and output the low-temperature fluid to the tank. 
     
     
         12 . The climate control system of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 a bus bar that is electrically coupled to the plurality of chillers and the one or more recharge chillers; and   a solar power generation assembly that is electrically coupled to the bus bar,   wherein the controller is configured to operate the one or more recharge chillers so that an electrical load of the one or more recharge chillers is equal to or less than an electrical current generated by the solar power generation assembly.   
     
     
         13 . The climate control system of  claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to:
 receive weather forecast for an upcoming day; and   determine the baseline electrical load based at least in part on a maximum temperature in the weather forecast.   
     
     
         14 . The climate control system of  claim 13 , wherein the controller is also configured to determine the baseline electrical load based at least in part on a cooling capacity stored in the TES assembly. 
     
     
         15 . A method of operating a climate control system for a building, the method comprising:
 (a) receiving weather data for an upcoming day for a geographic area in which the building is located;   (b) determining a total cooling capacity available from a thermal energy storage (TES) assembly of the climate control system;   (c) determining a baseline electrical load to operate the climate control system based at least on the weather data and the total cooling capacity available from the TES assembly; and   (d) determining an output cooling capacity of a plurality of chillers of the climate control system and a distribution of cooling capacity from the TES assembly that is configured to satisfy a cooling demand of the building at an electrical load of the climate control system that is at or below the baseline electrical load.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 ,
 wherein the plurality of chillers are configured to cool a working fluid that is flowing along an interior space heat exchange circuit of the climate control system,   wherein the TES assembly includes:
 a source of low-temperature fluid; and 
 a plurality of heat exchangers that are coupled to the interior space heat exchange circuit such that each of the plurality of heat exchangers is upstream of a corresponding one of the plurality of chillers along the interior space heat exchange circuit, the plurality of heat exchangers configured to receive a flow of the low-temperature fluid from the source to cool the working fluid; and 
   wherein the method further comprises:
 (e) distributing cooling capacity from the TES assembly according to the distribution by adjusting a flow of the low-temperature fluid to one or more of the plurality of heat exchangers. 
   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 ,
 wherein each chiller of the plurality of chillers includes a refrigeration circuit including a compressor; and   wherein the method further comprises:
 (f) adjusting an output cooling capacity of one or more of the plurality of chillers by adjusting a speed of the compressor of each of the one or more of the plurality of chillers. 
   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 ,
 wherein the source of low-temperature fluid of the TES assembly comprises a tank;   wherein the TES assembly further comprises one or more recharge chillers that are configured to reduce a temperature of the low-temperature fluid and output the low-temperature fluid to the tank;   wherein the method further comprises:
 (g) determining an electrical current that is generated by a solar power generation assembly of the climate control system; and 
 (h) operating the one or more recharge chillers so that an electrical load of the one or more recharge chillers is equal to or less than the electrical current generated by the solar power generation assembly. 
   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 ,
 wherein the source of low-temperature fluid of the TES assembly comprises a tank;   wherein the TES assembly further comprises one or more recharge chillers that are configured to reduce a temperature of the low-temperature fluid and output the low-temperature fluid to the tank;   wherein the method further comprises:
 (i) determining that an electrical load of the climate control system is below the baseline electrical load; and 
 (j) operating the one or more recharge chillers so that a difference between the electrical load of the climate control system and the baseline electrical load is reduced in response to (i). 
   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the weather data includes a temperature profile for the upcoming day, wherein (c) comprises determining a baseline electrical load that is configured to provide for a complete discharge of the cooling capacity available from the TES assembly distributed over a peak period of the temperature profile for the upcoming day.