Towards nzeb goal for newly built office buildings in Europe using high temperature cooling.

In the design phase of a building, many HVAC systems options are available to satisfy the basic requirements related to its use. The design engineer is responsible for considering various systems and recommending a system that will meet the project goals and perform as desired. In addition, high efficiency requirements are imposed to the HVAC equipments through strong regional regulation such as the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive which requires minimum efficiency of HVAC equipments in the market. In reaction, major improvements have been made by manufacturers to improve the performance of their systems and meet all these criteria. With the nearly zero energy goal for all newly constructed buildings in Europe after 2020, it seems very likely that the design of the future building should rely on today’s technology to meet these targets. The integration of High Temperature Cooling in buildings can bring a fresh perspective in this context. The study presents the sensitivity analysis of a primary system to chilled water supply temperature for a water cooled chiller with a cooling tower and a free-chilling heat exchanger. It allows a proper assessment of the impact of the chilled water temperature on the primary system performance.