Optimal analysis of cooling tower operation schemes in typical underground railway stations of Xiamen

The cooling tower is an important part of the air conditioning system, and its operation scheme has a significant impact on the system operation energy consumption. Past researches lack long-term energy consumption analysis of different cooling tower operation modes and targeted studies considering the difference between the air conditioning load of underground railway stations and the above-ground buildings. This paper selects typical underground railway stations of Xiamen and establishes an analysis model of hourly energy consumption throughout the year based on field measured data. The long-term prediction results of the model are compared and verified by the actual energy consumption data. The calculation error is 5.09%. The prediction accuracy of the model meets the analysis requirements. The energy consumption of three common cooling tower operation schemes is analysed using the analysis model to obtain the energy saving potential of different scenarios at typical moments and a long period of the cooling season. In terms of comprehensive cost and benefit, the typical Xiamen underground railway stations should adopt a flexible number control scheme of cooling towers, and the cooling tower frequency conversion scheme is not economical.