Refrigerant Alarm Control for Chiller Room

Refrigerant Alarm Control for Chiller Room

This refrigerant alarm serves two chiller rooms and alerts operators and other staff that refrigerant has been released into the mechanical room. Chillers have a built-in pressure relief valve that will release the refrigerant in the event too much pressure builds up in the system. This prevents a possible explosion from too much pressure and also protects the equipment from a catastrophic failure that would make the chiller unusable.

Refrigerant Alarm Control for Chiller Room

Other failure scenarios that set off the refrigerant alarm include a refrigerant leak from the chiller so the alarm would alert the maintenance staff of a chiller refrigeration leak condition. Therefore, the refrigerant leak can be repaired. Refrigerant will asphyxiate humans and the alarm is required by code for obvious safety reasons. The refrigerant alarm control automatically sets off audible horns, sirens, and automatically activates exhaust fans to evacuate the refrigerant from the mechanical room.

These safety controls are also connected to a BMS or BAS system. BMS is Building Monitoring System and BAS is a Building Automation System. These systems offer precision control through microprocessors networked together over a network. These systems can be used to monitor mechanical and electrical systems including life, health, and safety systems. If problems arise, the BMS or BAS systems can alert responsible staff to resolve the issue.

Refrigerant Alarm Control for Chiller Room | Additional Safety Controls

In this situation, the refrigerant alarm control is located in a chiller room where several large chillers provide chilled water for a data center. If the chillers were to vent an unsafe amount of refrigerant the alarm would alert personnel about the issue so the room can be evacuated. Other alarms that can be found in a data center can be hydrogen alarms in battery rooms. Data centers have large banks of batteries to provide backup power in the event of a loss of utility. The batteries will keep the servers running until the backup generator can turn on and offer backup power for the servers.

High Performance HVAC

Refrigerant Alarm Control for Chiller Room