Commercial building HVAC technology screening tools

Commercial building owners and managers face a complex array of HvAc technology options. Economicanalysis of the options requires consideration of technology characteristics, equipment operatingstrategies, and utility rates. The interaction among these factors is complicated, requiring structured analysis tools that go well beyond simple spreadsheets. To provide a uniform and well-tested approach, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRi) has developed COOLAID, COOLGEN and COMTECH, which are PC analysis tools for commercial building technologies. The focus of both programs is to provide analysts and engineers with a method for understanding the economic impacts of alternative technologies on equipment costs and utility bills, and for conveying these impacts to decision-makers. These programs serve as a first-level screening tools, and provide the basis for more detailed evaluations with hour-byhour building simulation models. COOLAID deals explicitly with cool storage. It is being used around the country for evaluation and marketing of cool storage systems. It allows the direct comparison of a variety of cool storage equipment options and operating strategies with conventional electric cooling systems under a broad range of utility rates. COOLGEN is a competitive assessment tool for gas cooling options. It allows evaluation of gas cooling technologies, cogeneration with heat recovery, and cogeneration with absorption cooling, and compares them with conventional cooling and heating systems. With COMTECH it is possible to evaluate a variety of electric technologies, as well as gas-based alternatives. Included are high-efficiency chillers, heat-recovery chillers and heat pumps, heat-pump water heaters, cool storage systems, gas cooling options, and cogeneration packages with or without absorption cooling. 'Me purpose of this paper is to discuss the features and uses of these programs.