In many climates, cooling plant energy represents a significant component of total building energy use. Buildings are primarily at part load conditions, yet most cooling plants are designed to operate most efficiently at peak load conditions. This dated design approach results in lower annual energy efficiencies.

THC has developed a revolutionary new chiller plant design and operations strategy that offers dramatically improved operating efficiencies as the plant load decreases. With a few exceptions, the Hartman Loop™ employs mechanical configuration that is very similar to traditional designs. This makes it an excellent candidate for retrofit as well as new construction.

The method of control for the Hartman Loop™ design is new and innovative. Instead of operating the various components (chiller, tower and chilled water distribution pump) as independent components, all are operated together as a single system. Chilled water and condenser water temperatures are not controlled directly in this high-performance operating concept. Instead, each component is operated such that its performance is optimized with respect to all other components and the requirements of the current load conditions of the loads. The result is annual energy consumption that can be below 50 percent of a traditionally designed high efficiency chiller plant!