[Bldg-sim] Outdoor ice rink modeling

Thu Jun 21 08:39:14 PDT 2018

Christopher,

Yes, you could combine the indoor and outdoor rink loads into one schedule and recalculate the peak and peak fraction schedule since they’re served by the same plant. If they weren’t you could use two different ExteriorFuel:Equipment objects to provide additional detail.

I was originally going to model it explicitly in OpenStudio with the ice rink load modeled using the LoadProfile:Plant<https://bigladdersoftware.com/epx/docs/8-9/input-output-reference/group-non-zone-equipment.html#loadprofileplant> object, which has fields for a load schedule (W), peak flow rate, and flow fraction schedule. However, when I attempted to set the PlantLoop’s fluid type to a UserDefinedFluidType referencing FluidProperties:* objects for R-717 taken from the EnergyPlus dataset, the sim failed because EnergyPlus only allows water, steam, and glycol.

Matt Steen
ambient energy
303.278.1532 x 215

From: Jones, Christopher <Christopher.r.Jones at wsp.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2018 9:15 AM
To: Matt Steen <msteen at ambient-e.com>
Cc: bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org
Subject: RE: [Bldg-sim] Outdoor ice rink modeling

Thank you Matt, very helpful.

With your methodology, would you be able to add the load and schedule to the central ice plant that is also serving two indoor ice rinks?

Christopher R Jones, P.Eng.
T+ 1 416-644-0252

[cid:image001.png at 01D40941.19C3BED0]

From: Bldg-sim [mailto:bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] On Behalf Of Matt Steen via Bldg-sim
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2018 6:30 PM
To: bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org<mailto:bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org>
Subject: Re: [Bldg-sim] Outdoor ice rink modeling

Hi Christopher,

I just did this in OpenStudio/EnergyPlus, albeit not explicitly because EnergyPlus isn’t currently able to model a PlantLoop using refrigerant as the working fluid.

Here’s a summary of the system I modeled for an outdoor ~16k ft2 ice rink at a city park in Indiana.

(1) Flooded Chiller (refrigerant/brine)
(3) Compressors
(1) Evaporative Condenser (refrigerant/water)
(1) Condenser Pump
(1) Condenser Fan
(3) Brine Pumps

Here’s the methodology I used, which I plan to use to claim savings for LEED through an exceptional calculation.

 1.  Have the design engineer calculate the hourly cooling load on the plant using the weather data from the TMY file.

[cid:image002.png at 01D40941.19C3BED0]

 1.  Adjust the cooling load profile to remove loads during the months when the ice rink is not expected to typically operate (Mar – Nov).

[cid:image003.png at 01D40941.19C3BED0]

 1.  Calculate the gross COP of the plant by dividing the total cooling capacity (W) by the total HP (W) of the compressors, pumps, and fans.

 1.  Calculate the hourly electrical load of the plant by dividing the hourly cooling load (W) by the COP (W/W).

 1.  Determine the peak electrical load of the plant (W).

 1.  Calculate the hourly peak electrical load fraction by dividing the electrical load for each hour of the year by the peak electrical load, which results in a constant (greater than zero) operating schedule during the ice rink season.

[cid:image004.png at 01D40941.19C3BED0]

 1.  Adjust the peak electrical load fraction profile to account for the system cycling/staging on/off by setting fractions below 25% to zero. This was my main assumption based on the number of compressors, so adjust to fit your project.

[cid:image005.png at 01D40941.19C3BED0]

 1.  I used a Ruby script to add the annual hourly schedule as a ScheduleFixedInterval object to my model using the OpenStudio API (example<https://unmethours.com/question/14348/can-you-load-schedulefile-in-openstudio/>).

 1.  The ice rink system was modeled using the EnergyPlus object Exterior:FuelEquipment<https://bigladdersoftware.com/epx/docs/8-9/input-output-reference/group-exterior-energy-use-equipment.html#exteriorfuelequipment> with the Design Level field set to the peak electrical load in (W) and the peak electrical load fraction profile as the Schedule. For each hour of the year, the peak load value is multiplied by the peak load fraction to determine the energy use (Wh) during the simulation. I used an OpenStudio measure to add this object to the model during the simulation.

Hope that helps.

Matt Steen
Building Performance Engineer
ambient energy
1449 7th Street, Suite 440 | Denver, CO 80204
303.278.1532 x 215 | msteen at ambient-e.com<mailto:msteen at ambient-e.com>
Denver • San Francisco
Learn about our new office on MSU Denver's website here<https://insider.msudenver.edu/rising-star-aes-building-shines-with-prestigious-honor>.
[cid:image006.png at 01D40941.19C3BED0]<http://ambient-e.com/>  [cid:image007.png at 01D40941.19C3BED0] <https://www.linkedin.com/company/ambient-energy/>   [cid:image008.png at 01D40941.19C3BED0] <https://www.facebook.com/Ambient-Energy-102037989630/>

From: Jones, Christopher <Christopher.r.Jones at wsp.com<mailto:Christopher.r.Jones at wsp.com>>
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2018 1:35 PM
To: bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org<mailto:bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org>
Subject: [Bldg-sim] Outdoor ice rink modeling

Hello Simulistas,
I am working on a large community centre – swimming pools, indoor ice arenas, multi-purpose rooms, library, admin offices plus an outdoor ice rink cooled by the ice plant. I have experience modeling indoor ice rinks but not outdoor. Any ideas?

Christopher R Jones, P.Eng.
T+ 1 416-644-0252

[cid:image001.png at 01D40941.19C3BED0]

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