Kansas City International Airport Michael Glasker, P.E. George Butler Associates, Inc.

Kansas City International Airport Pre-cast concrete frame construction, thermal glass Main hours 5 am to 11 pm –365 days a year, 24 hrs a day About 1 million square feet –3 airport terminals –1 administration office Built from 1969 to 1971

Kansas City International Airport Original Cooling System Two 2750-ton Carrier centrifugal electric chillers –installed in 1970 –estimated efficiency kw/ton –R-12 refrigerant –no refrigerant containment system Cooling towers –3 single-cell cooling towers –two speed fans operated at high speed Manual system control and operation

Kansas City International Airport Original Electricity Demand and Use

Kansas City International Airport Original Natural Gas Use Two central plant steam boilers –natural-gas fired –each 50,000 pounds of steam per hour

Kansas City International Airport Project Scenario Electricity demand charges too high Never run the second chiller, & often running at low part-load efficiencies Controls shot, using manual operation CFC refrigerant used 48-49°F discharge water temperatures, not meeting the design 42°F temperature

Kansas City International Airport Project Challenges Three retrofit phases –cooling system redesigned first –EMCS & heating system installed –building retrofits & load reductions coming later 2 month shut-down period in January & February in which to do most of phase one Must replace all chillers, cooling towers, pumps & piping, without disrupting service

Kansas City International Airport System Solutions First phase of retrofit complete last year –new chillers, cooling towers, pumps & piping Second phase of retrofit underway –new Energy Management & Control System (EMCS) –new boilers & heating distribution system Third phase, extensive terminal remodel –new energy-efficient lighting –new air handler units –asbestos abatement

Kansas City International Airport New Chillers Three 1500-ton electric chillers –more flexible staging capability than with the 2 previous, larger chillers R-134a refrigerant, no more CFC’s Efficiency –specified 0.65 kW/ton at full load –saving about 0.25 kW/ton! Meeting 42°F discharge water temperatures

Kansas City International Airport Other Cooling System Changes Cooling Towers –three new 2-cell towers –new two-speed fans for variable operation New pumps and piping –primary/secondary pumping –allows for operating flexibility New Johnson Controls EMCS –remote start/stop capability –track temperatures on computer –alarm points built into system –chose not to have automatic operation

Kansas City International Airport Upcoming Building Load Reductions Extensive building remodeling Energy efficiency measures will reduce building cooling loads –new energy efficient lighting –new air handler units with economizers More flexible cooling plant design will operate efficiently at these lower loads

Kansas City International Airport Integrated Economics to Date Second phase measures reduce project payback Third phase measures should reduce overall payback even further

Kansas City International Airport Financing Structure Paid with cash from airport funds Part of airport expansion project No financing No utility rebates used

Kansas City International Airport Phase One Project Timeline Less than 20 months to complete first phase

Kansas City International Airport Project Results No longer using CFC refrigerants Higher efficiency chillers save ~0.3kW/ton 3 smaller chillers, instead of 2 larger chillers –running closer to full-load capacities for higher efficiencies –meeting 42°F design water discharge temperature Automatic operation using EMCS More flexible cooling system will work more efficiently with upcoming terminal retrofits