Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Award Date
2024
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department / School
Mechanical Engineering
First Advisor
Zhong Hu
Abstract
South Dakota State University Facilities and Services Office is facing the challenge of paying high electricity bills every year, the potential of campus growth will add more burden on the energy needed to cover this demand, especially in summer months when high cooling loads are added to the electrical loads which lead to the peak loads that costs SDSU a large amount of money. The purpose of this research is to study the feasibility of managing the peak loads to reduce energy costs by applying a suitable system that fits SDSU campus nature. The methodology used is studying the capability of shifting some loads at the peak time to the non-peak time to understand what is the maximum savings that could be achieved by this method, then discussing a system to shift this energy and analyze its costs and return on investment. It is found that using a thermal storage system for shifting the peak cooling loads could be a good fit for SDSU campus for its simplicity and reasonable payback period, also the option of adding an absorption chiller (which operates using heat) with a thermal storage tank is considered to give a flexibility of operation depending on 2 power sources instead of using electricity only, and to add more cooling capacity for potential campus growth.
Publisher
South Dakota State University
Recommended Citation
Rizkalla, Mark, "Feasibility Study of Managing Peak Cooling Loads to Achieve Energy Cost Reduction in a Northern Climate Campus" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 983.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd2/983
Included in
Rights Statement
