CH-89-15-3 -- Assessments of Gas-Fired Cooling Technologies for the Commercial Sector PDF

As part of a research and development (R&D) program to develop gas-cooling technologies for applications in commercial buildings, technological assessments of various system options must be performed. The major objective of these assessments is to realistically evaluate the potential economic benefits of gas-fired technology relative to competing systems. These results provide R&D direction by identifying the better system options and setting goals for first cost, performance, and system payback.

The assessments described here are based on highly detailed data for weather, buildings, hourly cooling loads, specific utility rates, full- and part-load equipment performance, capital costs, and other parameters. Three innovative gas cooling systems are compared to a baseline of electric equipment for base-loaded and peakloaded commercial buildings in northern climates. The gas cooling systems provide relatively short payback periods (less than five years) with favorable utility rates. Further R&D on gas cooling equipment will improve its chances for applications in a wider market.