TABLE OF CONTENTS The design and construction of central plants for heating and cooling is one of the most challenging and interesting aspects of the HVAC design profession. Central plants range in size from small to very large, from residential to industrial utility scale. There are many areas of individual expertise and many levels of competence among designers. In this chapter we discuss several fundamental types of plants and aspects of plant design, still leaving much detail to literature and experience beyond the scope of this book. See Ref. 1 for additional discussion of the topics treated here.
Independent of the service being produced, some concerns are common to central plants.
1. Siting. Central plants preferably are located in the middle of or adjacent to the loads they serve. Distribution piping costs may loom large if primary piping runs long distances to get to the service point. On the other hand, the combining of multiple service units into one plant is the act which achieves the economy of scale and the convenience of operation, so distance is a tradeoff, but the central location is still a favored point to start. For large plants serving congested campuses, a remote or peripheral location may be preferred. This allows better access to the plant and removes plant, traffic, noise, and emissions from the more densely populated areas.
For high-rise buildings, there is the question of the basement, roof, or in between. On-grade locations have the best access. Sometimes...
