Natural Gas Cooling
It's only natural to associate natural gas with heating, but the versatility of the fuel becomes even more apparent when you realize it can be used for cooling as well. In fact, natural gas cooling technology is becoming increasingly popular within the Atlanta Gas Light service area as a way for businesses to avoid high electric bills and help preserve the environment.
Natural gas cooling is ideal for commercial facilities like supermarkets, hotels, warehouses and office buildings; and institutions like hospitals, nursing homes, churches and schools. High efficiency, gas-fired cooling equipment is also an excellent choice for factories and other industrial facilities.
There are three basic types of gas cooling systems available today: absorption, engine-driven and dessicant. To learn more about these systems email us at gasadvantage@aglresources.com.
Absorption Systems Absorption cooling systems rely on a cycle of condensation and evaporation to produce cooling. The absorption process is driven by a heat source rather than a mechanical compressor, like those used in electric chillers.
Absorption systems are available as chillers or chiller/heaters, and may be direct-fired by a gas burner or indirectly powered by another heat source (like waste heat from a cogeneration system or industrial process). These systems greatly reduce electric consumption and peak demand. In addition, absorption systems have few moving parts and need very little maintenance.
Gas absorption systems have a number of advantages over conventional electric systems:
- Lower operating and maintenance costs
- Elimination of ozone-damaging refrigerants
- Safer, quieter operation
- Smaller total space requirements
- High reliability
Engine-Driven Systems Gas engine-driven cooling systems use a mechanical process much like electric cooling systems. However, their compressors are driven by a high-efficiency gas engine instead of an electric motor. Also, the engine and exhaust heat from a gas cooling system can be recovered to efficiently produce hot water or process steam.
These systems are available in the 250 to 2,100 ton range, and are popular with installations -- like universities, hospitals and office complexes -- where natural gas engines can power centrifugal or screw chillers in central plants. Customers with smaller cooling needs can install neatly packaged compact units in sizes ranging from 15 to 800 tons.
Desiccant Systems Desiccant systems help control humidity levels by taking moisture out of the air. These systems are well suited for supermarkets, health spas, hotels, restaurants and other facilities that require low humidity levels.
Since it takes more energy to cool humid air than drier air, a cooling system must work harder to bring down the temperature when there is a greater amount of moisture in the air. By removing some of that moisture, the dessicant system works in tandem with the cooling system and reduces the customer's overall cooling costs (or allow the customer to reduce the size of the chiller needed to cool the air). This process also allows for the separate control of temperature and humidity.