Build a diversified cooling load profile for a mixed-use development using appropriate diversity factors.
Oil, Gas & Energy
District Cooling Plant and Network Design for Hot-Climate Cities
Trains engineers to size chiller plants, thermal storage and distribution networks for district cooling schemes, and to structure the contracts and tariffs that make hot-climate networks viable.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
District cooling replaces hundreds of individual rooftop chillers with a central plant and a chilled water network, but the economics only work when the plant, storage and distribution are sized against realistic diversified load rather than the sum of individual building peaks. This course takes participants through that sizing logic step by step: building a cooling load profile from diversity factors and climate data, selecting chiller types and thermal storage that shave peak demand and defer capacity investment, and designing a distribution network sized for a workable temperature differential rather than oversized pipes. Sessions address the operational problems that erode efficiency in built networks, particularly low delta T syndrome and its causes, and cover free cooling, seawater cooling and waste heat recovery options relevant to hot-climate sites. The course then moves to the commercial side, examining how connection agreements, capacity charges and consumption tariffs are structured to recover fixed costs fairly while giving customers an incentive to return water at the design temperature. Participants finish able to size a plant and network for a given master plan, diagnose common network inefficiencies, and structure a tariff that supports both operator revenue and customer efficiency.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Select chiller technology and configuration, including electric and absorption options, for a given plant duty.
Size thermal energy storage to shift peak load and reduce installed chiller capacity requirements.
Design a chilled water distribution network sized for an economic temperature differential and pipe velocity.
Diagnose the causes of low delta T syndrome and specify corrective measures at the plant and building interface.
Evaluate free cooling, seawater cooling and waste heat recovery options suited to hot-climate operating conditions.
Structure connection agreements and tariffs that recover fixed costs while incentivising efficient customer behaviour.
Who Should Attend
Mechanical engineers designing district cooling plants and distribution networks
Utility planners evaluating district cooling for new master-planned developments
Facilities managers connecting buildings to an existing district cooling network
Energy service company staff structuring district cooling concession agreements
Municipal officials assessing district cooling as an alternative to individual chillers
Operations engineers troubleshooting efficiency losses in an operating cooling network
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Load Assessment and Plant Sizing
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Building Diversified Cooling Load Profiles
- Calculate individual building peak cooling loads from occupancy, envelope and climate data for the service area.
- Apply diversity factors that reflect non-coincident peaks across building types when sizing the central plant.
- Build an hourly load duration curve used to size base, intermediate and peak chiller capacity.
- Account for future connection growth and phasing when setting the ultimate plant capacity target.
Session 2Chiller Selection and Thermal Storage Sizing
- Compare electric centrifugal, absorption and hybrid chiller options against fuel availability and part-load efficiency.
- Configure chiller staging and sequencing to maintain efficiency across the full range of diversified load.
- Size chilled water or ice thermal storage to shift peak demand and reduce installed chiller capacity.
- Evaluate the capital cost trade-off between additional chiller capacity and thermal storage investment.
02Distribution Network Design
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Chilled Water Network Hydraulics and Pipe Sizing
- Size distribution and service pipes for an economic velocity and pressure drop across the network's design horizon.
- Select a design temperature differential and evaluate its impact on pipe diameter and pumping energy.
- Model network hydraulics under diversified simultaneous demand to confirm pressure and flow at every connection.
- Plan network topology, including looped and radial configurations, for reliability and future expansion.
Session 2Diagnosing and Preventing Low Delta T Syndrome
- Identify building-side causes of low delta T syndrome, including oversized coils and faulty control valves.
- Assess the plant-wide efficiency and capacity impact of a network operating below its design temperature differential.
- Specify building interface requirements, including valve authority and control sequences, that protect network delta T.
- Design monitoring and customer feedback mechanisms that detect and correct delta T degradation over time.
03Efficiency Technologies for Hot-Climate Operation
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Free Cooling, Seawater Cooling and Waste Heat Recovery
- Assess seasonal free cooling potential using wet-bulb temperature data for hot-climate locations.
- Evaluate seawater or treated wastewater cooling as a heat rejection alternative to cooling towers in coastal cities.
- Identify waste heat sources suitable for driving absorption chillers within an integrated energy scheme.
- Quantify water consumption trade-offs between evaporative cooling towers and alternative heat rejection methods.
Session 2Plant Optimisation and Digital Monitoring
- Implement chiller sequencing and condenser water optimisation strategies that reduce specific power consumption.
- Deploy digital monitoring platforms that track plant efficiency, network delta T and per-customer consumption.
- Use predictive maintenance data to schedule chiller and pump interventions without unplanned network outages.
- Benchmark plant performance against coefficient of performance targets used in comparable hot-climate schemes.
04Commercial Structuring and Customer Agreements
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Tariff Design and Cost Recovery
- Structure capacity and consumption charges that recover fixed plant costs while reflecting actual usage.
- Design tariff incentives that reward customers for returning water close to the design temperature differential.
- Model long-term revenue adequacy for a concession against forecast connection growth and load diversity.
- Compare tariff structures used across different district cooling markets and their effect on customer behaviour.
Session 2Connection Agreements and Concession Structuring
- Draft connection agreement terms covering committed capacity, connection charges and service level obligations.
- Allocate performance risk between operator and customer for network availability and temperature guarantees.
- Structure concession or build-own-operate arrangements between municipalities and district cooling operators.
- Plan customer transition strategies for buildings converting from individual chillers to network connection.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
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