Industry expert stresses use of TSE and seawater during DC Summit

Don Eppelheimer makes a presentation

Don Eppelheimer, Global Chiller Systems Manager, Trane, attended the Second Annual District Cooling Summit held in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on April 19 and 20, and shared his expertise with participants.

Speaking during the preview of the event about multiple heat rejections systems, Eppelheimer compared and contrasted the characteristics of large aircooled, water-cooled and dry cooler radiator systems that are commonly used today.

Observing that water and power supplies are short everywhere, and Saudi Arabia is no exception, he said: “Today, there are solutions to makeup water loss, using reverse osmosis plants, condensate collection, eliminate evaporation or even better use of Treated Sewage Effluents. Chilled water systems can also be made to operate using seawater, when the installation is in proximity to the sea, as is the case in the eastern and western provinces of Saudi Arabia.”

During his visit to the region, Eppelheimer toured Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait and Dubai, where Trane customers could benefit from an interactive session held exclusively for them, between April 15 and 22.

In a seminar titled, Chiller Plant Design – An Exclusive Session With Don, he addressed gatherings of consultants, designers, specifiers and district coolinh service providers in these countries. The topics under discussion were: ‘Variable Primary Systems (a detailed coverage)’; ‘Earthwise Design (an overview)’ and ‘Refrigerant Update’.

Eppelheimer, who has been involved in the development and support of HVAC systems for Trane since 1972, and a recognised expert within the industry, reportedly garnered positive response for his presentation. According to the customer feedback received, the presentation was well structured and provided detailed and objective analysis of the topic, Trane said. It gave in-depth information about chiller operations methodology, backed by convincing documentary evidence. The interactive session on Chiller Plant Design was found to be refreshing.

As senior principal applications engineer, Eppelheimer’s areas of expertise are Variable Air Volume systems and comfort cooling, direct expansion systems piping and controls, chilmetrics, personal comfort, indoor air quality and cold air distribution. He is a member of ASHRAE and graduated from the Michigan State University in 1972, with a degree in Chemical Engineering