Cooling plants

Every ton, accounted for.

In the Saudi climate, cooling is both mission-critical and energy-intensive. We commission chilled water plants and district cooling networks from individual chiller safeties to whole-plant sequences, then verify capacity, efficiency and kW per ton with calibrated instrumentation.

Drag to rotate
  • Chillers · Towers · ETSPlant equipment
  • kW/TR · COPEfficiency verification
  • Sequences · ControlsPlant integration

Cooling Plants & District Cooling

Tests we perform

Chillers

Water-cooled and air-cooled chillers — centrifugal, screw and scroll — from first start to performance verification.

  • Pre-start checks alongside manufacturer start-up
  • Safety trips: low evaporator temperature, high condenser pressure, flow loss
  • Evaporator & condenser flow and pressure drop
  • Capacity verification (tons of refrigeration)
  • Efficiency: kW per ton and COP at measured conditions
  • Part-load performance & capacity control response
  • Evaporator & condenser approach temperatures
  • Motor current, power quality & starter / VFD checks
  • Vibration & oil analysis baseline

Cooling towers

Induced- and forced-draft towers, with their fans, basins and water distribution.

  • Thermal performance test (approach & range)
  • Water distribution & nozzle checks
  • Fan motor current, rotation & vibration
  • Fan VFD speed control & staging
  • Basin level control, make-up & overflow
  • Gearbox, drive shaft & coupling checks
  • Blowdown (bleed-off) control verification
  • Cell isolation valves & staging

Chilled water pumps & distribution

Primary, secondary and condenser water pumping, and the networks that carry chilled water to the load.

  • Pump flow, head & power against the curve
  • Differential pressure setpoint control
  • Decoupler / bypass flow verification
  • Minimum-flow bypass operation
  • Network hydraulic balance & flow measurement
  • Pressurization unit & expansion vessel settings
  • Air & dirt separator checks
  • Pump staging & duty rotation

Heat exchangers & energy transfer stations (ETS)

Plate heat exchangers and building ETS that connect district cooling networks to customers.

  • Primary & secondary flow and temperature verification
  • Approach temperature & heat transfer rate
  • Pressure drop on each side
  • Control valve stroke & temperature control stability
  • Thermal energy (BTU) meter verification
  • Delta-T performance & low delta-T diagnosis
  • Leak & pressure tests
  • Isolation & bypass valve functional checks

Thermal energy storage

Chilled water and ice storage systems that shift cooling production to off-peak hours.

  • Charge & discharge cycle tests
  • Storage capacity verification
  • Thermocline (stratification) profile measurement
  • Diffuser & flow distribution checks
  • Ice inventory measurement
  • Charge & discharge rates against design
  • Mode transition sequences (charge, discharge, direct)
  • Tank temperature sensor calibration checks

Plant controls, sequences & water treatment

The control logic that makes a plant efficient, and the interfaces that keep it clean.

  • Chiller staging & de-staging sequences
  • Condenser water reset & tower fan optimization
  • Failure & recovery scenarios: power loss, chiller trip, pump failure
  • Sensor & flow meter verification against reference instruments
  • Plant kW/TR measurement & trending
  • Water treatment dosing, conductivity & bleed-off interface
  • Side-stream filtration operation
  • BMS / plant controller integration & alarms

Standards

Standards

  • AHRI 550/590Performance rating of water-chilling and heat pump water-heating packages
  • ASHRAE Standard 184Method of test for field performance of liquid-chilling systems
  • CTI ATC-105Acceptance test code for water cooling towers
  • ASHRAE Guideline 22Instrumentation for monitoring central chilled-water plant efficiency
  • ASHRAE Standard 150Method of testing the performance of cool storage systems
  • AHRI 400Performance rating of liquid-to-liquid heat exchangers
  • ASHRAE Guideline 0 / Standard 202The commissioning process
  • ISO 20816Mechanical vibration: measurement and evaluation of machine vibration

What you receive

What you receive

  • Chiller start-up & performance test records
  • Cooling tower thermal performance report
  • Plant efficiency (kW/TR, COP) verification report
  • Sequence-of-operation functional test records
  • ETS & energy meter verification sheets
  • Commissioning dossier with trend data

FAQ

Questions, answered

How do you verify a chiller's capacity on site?

We measure chilled water flow and supply and return temperatures with calibrated instruments, together with the chiller's electrical input, then calculate delivered capacity and efficiency at the actual operating conditions. Results are compared with the manufacturer's rated performance, taking measurement uncertainty into account, using methods aligned with ASHRAE 184.

What is kW per ton, and why does it matter?

It is the electrical power drawn for each ton of refrigeration delivered — the lower the figure, the more efficient the chiller or plant. Measuring it at component and whole-plant level shows where energy is being lost and whether control sequences are working as intended.

Can you test a cooling tower when conditions differ from design?

Yes. CTI ATC-105 sets out test conditions and methods for evaluating tower capability when actual conditions differ from design. We measure water flow, temperatures, wet-bulb temperature and fan power, then evaluate capability against the manufacturer's performance curves.

What is low delta-T syndrome?

It occurs when the difference between chilled water supply and return temperatures is smaller than designed, forcing more pumping and chiller capacity for the same cooling. We diagnose it at coil, ETS and plant level; common causes include control valves, coil fouling, poor balancing and bypass flows.

Plan your next commissioning.

Tell us about the asset, the schedule and the standard, and an engineer will scope the work with you.

Talk to an engineer