Impact of energy-conservation measures on cooling load and air-conditioning plant capacity

Energy conservation measures have been in practice in Kuwait since 1983, through a well defined code of practice enforced by the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW). Additional energy-efficient products and techniques developed thereafter, however, have not been introduced as the electricity is highly subsidized and the code has not been modified. Application of some of the cost-effective energy-conservation measures and use of cool storage for peak-power shaving have been carried out as a demonstration project in a two-storeyed building housing the Center for Speech and Audio Therapy (CSAT). As a first step, the cooling load of the building was reestimated using an energy simulation computer program and proper design specifications. It was found to be 31.4% lower than the original estimated load of 161.3 tons of refrigeration (RT, 1 RT=3.517 kW of heat absorption), which is equal to 567.3 kW. Use of energy-efficient windows and cooling recovery units were found to be cost-effective and resulted in a final building load of 64.5 RT. Finally, ice storage was incorporated to meet 50% of the peak cooling-load.