Apparatus and method for heating/cooling buildings and other facilities. An elongate pipe filled with water or other fluid medium forms a thermal gradient header having temperature zones that are progressively warmer towards one end and cooler towards the other. Multiple heating/cooling systems are connected to the header so as to draw fluid from zones that are closest in temperature to the optimal intake temperature of each system, and to discharge fluid back to the header at zones that are closest to the temperature to the optimal output temperature of each system, allowing each heating/cooling system to take advantage of the thermal output of other systems. The pipe forming the thermal gradient header may be routed back and forth in the facility to define a series of legs containing the different temperature zones. A boiler or other source may supply makeup heat to the thermal gradient header, and excess heat may be sent from the header to a ground field or other thermal reservoir for later use.

A method of cooling air includes a liquid coolant subsystem including a cool water source configured to hold water, an air cooling subsystem including an air chamber that contains air therein, an air conditioning apparatus including a heat exchanger of a liquid-to-air type having a heat sink in thermal communication, a fan assembly configured to move air along the heat sink of the heat exchanger, a thermostat, a temperature sensor, and a control circuit in electronic communication with the temperature sensor and the thermostat, a plumbing subsystem including an inlet piping component in fluid communication with heat exchanger, an outlet piping component in fluid communication with the exchanger, and a solenoid valve. The control circuit may be configured to activate the fan assembly and to open the solenoid valve, allowing for the transfer heat to water from the air moved by the fan assembly.

A hydronic system is provided that includes a primary fluid loop that includes a thermal source for heating or cooling working fluid, dual secondary fluid loops that include respective thermal loads, and a decoupler. One leg of a supply tee at an output of the source places the output in fluid communication with one end of a decoupler and, beyond the decoupler, with the input of a thermal load of a first secondary fluid loop. Another leg of the supply tee places the source output in fluid communication with the input of a thermal load in a second secondary fluid loop. One leg of a return tee at an input of the source places the input in fluid communication with the other end of the decoupler and, beyond the decoupler, with the output of the thermal load of the first secondary fluid loop. Another leg of the return tee places the input of the source in fluid communication with the input of the thermal load in the second secondary fluid loop.

A dehumidification system (1) comprising a sorption dehumidifier unit (2); a process air circuit (3) arranged to conduct a process air flow through desiccant material in the dehumidifier unit (2); a regeneration air circuit (4) arranged to conduct a regeneration air flow through desiccant material in the dehumidifier unit (2); and a heat pump (5) comprising an evaporator (6) and a condenser (7), where the system further comprises an intermediate fluid circuit (8) with a cooling fluid (C), arranged to cool the process air in a heat exchanger (9) before inlet of the process air into the dehumidifier unit (2), said intermediate fluid circuit (8) comprising a fluid pump (11) and a main conduit (8a) arranged to conduct cooling fluid (C) through the process air cooling heat exchanger (9) and through the evaporator (6) of the heat pump, and the intermediate fluid circuit (8) further comprising a flow control system (10) arranged to control the flow of cooling fluid (C) in the intermediate fluid circuit (8) to obtain a cooling fluid temperature dependent parameter value (T1) in the intermediate fluid circuit (8) upstream of the process air cooling heat exchanger (9), which corresponds to a given set-point cooling fluid temperature dependent parameter value (T1.sub.set).

A system includes a first set of coils receive coolant from a first coolant line and provide the coolant to a second coolant line. A second set of coils receive coolant from a third coolant line and provide the coolant to a fourth coolant line. A first valve regulates flow of coolant between the first and third coolant line. A second valve regulates flow of coolant between the second and the fourth coolant lines. A third valve regulates flow of coolant between the fourth coolant line and a fifth coolant line coupled to a water evaporator and a three-way valve. The three-way valve regulates flow of coolant between the fifth coolant line, the third coolant line, and a coolant input line. A fourth valve regulates flow of coolant between the second coolant line and a water condenser. A controller adjusts the valves to operate in a low temperature mode.

A system includes a first set of coils receive coolant from a first coolant line and provide the coolant to a second coolant line. A second set of coils receive coolant from a third coolant line and provide the coolant to a fourth coolant line. A first valve regulates flow of coolant between the first and third coolant line. A second valve regulates flow of coolant between the second and the fourth coolant lines. A third valve regulates flow of coolant between the fourth coolant line and a fifth coolant line coupled to a water evaporator and a three-way valve. The three-way valve regulates flow of coolant between the fifth coolant line, the third coolant line, and a coolant input line. A fourth valve regulates flow of coolant between the second coolant line and a water condenser. A controller adjusts the valves to operate in an intermediate temperature mode.

The present application discloses a control method for an HVAC system in a relatively large spatial place and the HVAC system. The HVAC system comprises an air handling unit, and the air handling unit is provided with a valve through which a fluid medium passes and a fan; and the method comprises: monitoring a return air temperature of air circulated back to the air handling unit; providing a return air temperature setpoint of the HVAC system; and performing decoupling adjustment on one of the fan and the valve, and then adjusting the other of the fan and the valve so that the return air temperature is close to the return air temperature setpoint. According to the present application, the HVAC system can operate in a steady and energy-saving way.

Aspects of the present disclosure describe a multi-layer chiller operation management framework and associated methods for managing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) multi-chiller unit operation in real time serving varying system loads. According to the present disclosure, the framework includes two layers—a first layer providing 24-hour chiller operation planning thereby optimizing chiller operation using forecasted load profiles to minimize energy consumption. To this is applied a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) based optimization. A second layer adjusts chiller operation status in real-time based on actual system load demand. Load forecasting uncertainty is cured in a hierarchical manner based on the level of load uncertainty. Two approaches are employed namely rule-based load sharing adjustment and MILP-based rolling optimization.

The cooling systems and methods of the present disclosure involve modular fluid coolers and chillers configured for optimal power and water use based on environmental conditions and client requirements. The fluid coolers include wet media, a first fluid circuit for distributing fluid across wet media, an air to fluid heat exchanger, and an air to refrigerant heat exchanger. The chillers, which are fluidly coupled to the fluid coolers via pipe cages, include a second fluid circuit in fluid communication with the air to fluid heat exchanger and a refrigerant circuit in thermal communication with the second fluid circuit and in fluid communication with the air to refrigerant heat exchanger. Pipe cages are coupled together to allow for expansion of the cooling system when additional cooling capacity is needed. The fluid coolers and chillers are configured to selectively operate in wet or dry free cooling mode, partial free cooling mode, or mechanical cooling mode.

A building envelope for a building wall, floor, or roof of a building, includes at least two shells spaced some distance apart from one another, which encloses an intermediate space therebetween, the shells including an exterior-facing shell configured to face an exterior of the building, and an interior-facing shell configured to face an interior of the building. The shells spaced apart from one another are filled with a building material and optionally include structural reinforcement and supply-engineering elements.