Chilled

Drinking

PSD 167
Water
Systems
Continuing Education from Plumbing Systems & Design

MAY 2010

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 CONTINUING EDUCATION

Chilled Drinking Water Systems

It is a well-known fact that water that is tepid is not as thirst quench- Table 1  Summer Tap Water Temperatures
ing as water that has been cooled to a temperature of from 40 to 50°F. City Temp., °F City Temp., °F
The 40° water is satisfactory for people in sedentary occupations, but Albany, NY 66 Muncie, IN 76
people engaged in physical activities prefer water at 50°. To the latter, Baltimore, MD 70 Newark, NJ 72
water tastes just as cool at 50° as the 40° water does to the former.
Boston, MA 74 New York, NY 70
Although some beverages, such as colas, are more palatable at tem-
Camden, NJ 58 Oakland, CA 64
peratures below 40°, the 40–50° range has proven to be more than sat-
Chicago, IL 69 Pasadena, CA 74
isfactory for drinking water. A person requires from one-half to two-
Cleveland, OH 74 Portland, OR 62
and-one-half gal of water daily to maintain a level of general good
Detroit, MI 75 Rochester, NY 68
health, depending upon the degree of physical activity in which the
individual is engaged. Duluth, MN 71 Sacramento, CA 81
Generally, public tap water temperatures range well above 50° during Erie, PA 73 St. Louis, MO 85
the summer months throughout the country. Table 1 lists the average Fort Wayne, IN 79 Salt Lake City, UT 58
summer tap water temperatures of some of the larger cities in the United Gary, IN 70 Seattle, WA 62
States. Even water from a deep well warms up in the piping distribution Hartford, CT 70 Syracuse, NY 65
system and is generally higher than 50°. Because of this, it is desirable to Indianapolis, IN 82 Toledo, OH 84
cool the drinking water in offices, factories, restaurants, schools, and the- Jackson, MS 82 Trenton, NJ 79
aters. It has been determined that drinking water that has been cooled Jackson, MI 52 Utica, NY 70
actually improves the efficiency of workers. In restaurants it increases Kansas City, KS 93 Washington, DC 75
the enjoyment of meals; in schools it improves the alertness of pupils; Lansing, MI 59 Youngstown, OH 69
and in theaters it enhances the pleasure of the show. Los Angeles, CA 76

Drinking Water Coolers

Drinking fountains should not be confused with drinking water cool-
ers. There is a definite difference between the two. A drinking fountain
delivers water at the same temperature as tap water without cooling it
in any way. Drinking water coolers are mechanically refrigerated units
consisting of a factory assembly in a structure composed of a complete
mechanical refrigeration system and having the prime purpose of cool-
ing potable water and delivering the chilled water by integral or remote
means, or a combination of both.
The capacity of a water cooler is expressed in gallons per hour
and is the quantity of water cooled in 1 hr under specific prede-
termined conditions, i.e., the temperature of the water supply to
the unit, the temperature of the delivered chilled water, and the
ambient room temperature.
There are three basic types of water coolers:
1. Bottle Type. A bottle water cooler is one that uses a 5-gal bottle
of water for storing the supply of water to be cooled and uses
a faucet or similar device for filling a glass or cup and that also
includes a waste water receptacle to catch any drippings. No
water or waste connections are required.
2. Pressure Type. A pressure type water cooler is supplied with
potable water under domestic water pressure. This water is
Figure 1  Schematic of Refrigeration Cycle
cooled by an integral mechanical refrigeration unit. The waste
Water coolers are available in water-cooled or air-cooled models.
water is piped to the drainage system. Pressure type water coolers
Specialized water coolers include the following:
utilize a faucet or similar device for filling cups or may utilize a 1. The explosion-proof type is constructed for safe operation in
valve to control the flow to a bubbler, which delivers the water in especially hazardous areas.
a trajectory, thus obviating the need of cups. 2. The cafeteria-type cooler is one that is supplied with water
3. Self-Contained Remote Type. A self-contained remote type under pressure from the domestic water system and is used
cooler is a factory assembly in one structure that employs a com- primarily in restaurants and cafeterias for rapidly dispensing
plete mechanical refrigeration system to cool potable water for chilled water into glasses or pitchers. The waste water is piped
delivery to separately installed drinking fountains. to the drainage systems.

Reprinted from Engineered Plumbing Design II, Chapter 20: “Chilled Drinking Water Systems” by A. Calvin Laws, PE, CPD, and Alfred Steele, PE, CPD.
© American Society of Plumbing Engineers, 2004.

2  Plumbing Systems & Design  MAY 2010 WWW.PSDMAGAZINE.ORG

Figure 2  Downfeed Return Loop
3. A refrigerated compartment may be provided in a water cooler.
The compartment may or may not make ice cubes. Figure 3  Upfeed Return Loop
4. Hot water may also be provided from a water cooler. A means of heat-
ing water for making instant hot beverages, soups, etc., is provided.
Water cooler installations can be categorized in four basic types:
1. Free standing
2. Flush to wall
3. Wall hung
4. In the wall (semi- or fully recessed).
Refrigeration Components
• Compressors are hermetically sealed and similar to those used in
home-type refrigerators.
• Condensers are usually of the fan-cooled type. They can be air
cooled or water cooled.
• Refrigerant flow control is generally achieved by capillary tubes
in sealed systems.
• Evaporators are generally formed by refrigerant tubing bonded to
the outside of a water circuit.
• A precooler is an energy conservation feature of many water cool-
ers. It is used to exchange heat from the supply water to the waste
water. A bubbler causes the waste of approximately 60% of the
chilled water used. This 60% flows down the waste connection to
the drainage system. A precooler pipes the incoming water piping
so there is a heat exchange relationship with the waste piping.
Another energy conserving scheme is to have the chilled waste
water subcool the liquid refrigerant. Coolers equipped with cup
fillers in lieu of bubblers are not equipped with precoolers as
there is no appreciable waste water flow. Figure 1 is a schematic
representation of the refrigeration cycle showing the various
components of the system.
Figure 4  Multi-Riser Downfeed System
Stream Regulators
A flow rate of ½ gpm from a bubbler produces the best trajectory stream. floors, utilization of a central system should be analyzed. The economic
To achieve this flow, a water cooler should always be equipped with a feasibility increases when the supply can be run behind one bank of
flow-regulating valve. fountains and the return (really supply) run behind another bank of
fountains. See Figures 2 and 3 for illustration of this type of loop service.
Central and Unitary Systems For other types, see Figures 4 and 5.
Although the need and advantages of water coolers are recognized,
In a central system, maintenance is restricted to only one piece
the layout and quantity cannot be accurately determined until the
of equipment. However, when repairs are required, chilled water is
floor plans are finalized. The floor plans affect the size and type of
unavailable for use at any of the fountains. Unless a bypass is provided
water cooler to be specified. The plans are also a determining factor
around the unit, no water is available at all.
in the feasibility of employing a central chilled water system versus the
The architect has the greatest flexibility in floor layouts when indi-
installation of unitary coolers. If the floor layout is such that it is pos-
vidual water coolers are specified; however, more compressors and
sible to locate the drinking water fixtures one above the other on most

MAY 2010  Plumbing Systems & Design  3

 CONTINUING EDUCATION: Chilled Drinking Water Systems
Table 4  Circulating System Line Loss
(Heat Gain) Approx. 1-In. Insulation
Btu/Hr/100 Ft (45°F Circulating Water)
Pipe Size Btu/Hr/Ft/°F Room Temperature, °F
(in.) (Temp. Diff.) 70 80 90
½ 0.110 280 390 500
¾ 0.119 300 420 540
1 0.139 350 490 630
1¼ 0.155 390 550 700
1½ 0.174 440 610 790
2 0.200 500 700 900
2½ 0.228 570 800 1030
3 0.269 680 940 1210

Table 5  Circulating Pump Heat Input

Motor H.P. ¼ 1
∕3 ½ ¾ 1 1½ 2
Btu Hourly 636 850 1272 1908 2545 3816 5090

Table 6  Circulating Pump Capacity

Room Temperature, °F
Pipe Size, 70 80 90
in. GPH/100 ft
 ½ 8.0 11.1 14.3
 ¾ 8.4 11.8 15.2
1 9.1 12.8 16.5
Figure 5  Multi-Riser Upfeed System
1¼ 10.4 14.6 18.7
1½ 11.2 15.7 20.2
Table
Notes:
2  Drinking Water Requirements 1. GPH/100 ft of pipe (including all branch lines) circulation rate to limit
temperature rise to 5°F (water at 45°F).
Waste and 2. Divide total gph by 60 to obtain gpm. Add 20% for safety factor.
Delivered Gal/ Consumption/ Consumption People 3. For pump head figure longest branch only.
Water Person/ Person/Hr, Only/Person/Hr, Served/ 4. Install pump on the return line to discharge into the cooling unit.
Type of Service Temp., °F Hr oz (liquid) oz (liquid) Gal 5. Makeup connection should be between the pump and the cooling
Office (cup) 45–50 0.033 4.2 4.2 30 unit.
6. Btu = gal to be cooled × temp difference × 8.3
Office (bubbler) 45–50 0.083 10.5 4.2 12
Light mfg. 45–50 0.143 18.3 7.32 7
Heavy mfg. 50–55 0.20 25.6 10.24 5 chillers are required, and all these units must be main-
Hot heavy mfg. 55–60 0.25 32.0 12.8 4 tained. To reduce the number of mechanical refrig-
Restauranta 40–45 0.1 gal/person eration units, a single unit of adequate capacity can
be installed to supply three fountains, one above the
Cafeteriaa 40–45 0.083 gal/person
other. If the unit is placed on the middle floor, circula-
Soda fountain 40–45 0.5 gal/seat
tion piping can be eliminated. The maximum distance
Theatera 45–50 1.0 gal/100 seats continuous capacity
from the unit to a fountain should be limited to 15 ft. If
Schools 45–50 same as office the branch piping is kept to the minimum size of 3∕8 in.,
Hospitals the quantity of water that must be withdrawn from the
  A. Per bed 45–50 0.083 gal dead leg before chilled water of adequate temperature
  B. Per attendant 45–50 0.083 gal
is obtained will be minimal.
Hotels 45–50 0.08 gal/hr/room
In a high-rise building, where pressures can be rela-
Public fountains, 45–50 20–35 gal/hr tively high, unless precautions are taken to maintain
amusement parks, fairs, etc.
pressures within prescribed limits, the chilled water
Dept. stores, hotel and 45–50 4–5 gal/hr/fountain
office building lobbies can become milky. The milkiness is caused by the
a Special consideration should be given to peak-load demands for this application.
entrainment of air. The appearance of the water may
cause concern to the user, but it is in no way detri-
mental to health. If the water is permitted to stand, the
Table 3  Refrigeration Load milky appearance very rapidly disappears. Proper control of pressure
Btu/Hr/Gal Cooled to 45°F and proper use of air reliefs in the piping will eliminate this problem.
Water inlet temp., °F 65 70 75 80 85 90 Central Chilled Drinking Water Design
Btu/gal 167 208 250 291 333 374 To estimate the chilled drinking water requirements for any type of
Notes: Multiply load for 1 gal by total gph. Total Btu/hr is usage load (Table 20-2 × Table 20-3) plus Btu/hr from building, determine the following:
Tables 20-4 and 20-5 plus 15% safety factor.
1. Type of building (office, school, hospital, etc.).
2. Total number of people to be served during peak period.
Determine the cooling load as follows:

4  Plumbing Systems & Design  MAY 2010 WWW.PSDMAGAZINE.ORG

1. Usage Load. Use 5 gph per outlet for average corridor and office
use. For other usages see Table 2. Use Table 3 for the Btu refrig-
eration load.
2. Circulating Line Losses. See Table 4. Include all branch lines
in calculating total length.
3. Circulating Pump Heat Input. See Table 5.
4. Total Cooling Load. Use the sum of the Btu obtained in 1,
2, and 3 above and add a 15% factor of safety. This percent-
age increase is recommended to allow for future expansion or
increased population. The total cooling load is used for specifying
the condensing unit capacity.
Circulating Pump Capacity
See Table 6. Size the pump to circulate a minimum of 3 gpm per branch
circuit or the gpm necessary to limit the temperature rise of the circulat-
ing water to a maximum of 5°, whichever is the greater value. The pump
should be located in the return line to discharge into the cooler with the
makeup water connection between the pump and the cooler.
Makeup Water Mixture
Calculate the temperature of the mixture of makeup water and circulat-
ing water. The quantity and temperature of this mixture are used as the
specified capacity of the water-cooling unit.
Storage Tank
Size the storage tank for a capacity of 50% of the usage per hour.
Piping
The piping should be sized to keep friction losses below 10-ft/100 ft of
equivalent length of run.
Example 1
Take, for instance, an office building with 60 drinking fountains, room
temperature 80°F, inlet water 75°F, chilled water 45°F, 5 branch circuits,
600 ft of 1-in. pipe, 200 ft of 1¼-in. pipe, 100 ft of 1½-in. pipe, ¾ H.P.
circulating pump.
Usage Load
(Table 3)
60 outlets × 5 gph × 250 Btu/gal = 75,000 Btu/hr
Circulating Loss
(Table 4)
600 ft 1-in. pipe @ 490 Btu/hr/100 ft
= 2,940
200 ft 1¼-in. pipe @ 550 = 1,100
100 ft. 1½-in. pipe @ 610 = 610
Circulation Pump Heat Input (¾ H.P.) = 1,908
(Table 5) _____
Total Btu/hr 81,558
15% factor of safety + 12,234 
93,792 Btu/hr
Storage Capacity
.50 × 300 = 150 gal
Circulation Pump Capacity
(Table 20-6 or 3 gpm/circuit)
5 circuits × 3 gpm = 15 gpm
or
600 ft 1-in. line: 12.8 × 6 =   76.8 gph
200 ft 1¼-in. line: 14.6 × 2 =   29.2 gph
100 ft 1½-in. line: 15.7 × 1 =   15.7 gph
121.7
Plus 15%   18.3 
140.0 gph
140 gph ÷ 60 min. = 2.3 gpm
Use 15 gpm.

MAY 2010  Plumbing Systems & Design  5

 CONTINUING EDUCATION: Chilled Drinking Water Systems

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About This Issue’s Article
The May 2010 continuing education article is “Chilled
Drinking Water Systems,” Chapter 20 from Engineered
Plumbing Design II by A. Calvin Laws, PE, CPD, and Alfred
Steele, PE, CPD.
It is a well-known fact that water that is tepid is not
as thirst quenching as water that has been cooled to a
temperature from 40°F to 50°F. However, even water from
a deep well warms up in the piping distribution system
and is generally higher than 50°F. Because of this, it is
desirable to cool the drinking water in offices, factories,
restaurants, schools, and theaters. This chapter explains
the different systems used to chill drinking water and the
fixtures used to dispense the chilled water.
You may locate this article at www.psdmagazine.org.
Read the article, complete the following exam, and submit
your answer sheet to the ASPE office to potentially receive
0.1 CEU.

PSD 167
tion from other materials may result in a wrong answer.

CE Questions — “Chilled Drinking Water Systems” (PSD 167)

1. A ________ is a fixture that delivers water at the same 7. What causes a milky appearance in the chilled water supplied
temperature as tap water. to a fountain?
a. drinking water cooler a. entrained air
b. drinking fountain b. dead legs
c. refrigerator c. poor circulation
d. none of the above d. bad refrigerant
2. What is the average summer tap water temperature in Toledo, 8. What safety factor should be used when calculating total
Ohio? cooling load?
a. 79°F a. 5 percent
b. 84°F b. 10 percent
c. 80°F c. 15 percent
d. 70°F d. 20 percent
3. Which of the following is a type of water cooler? 9. For a heavy manufacturing building, how many gallons of
a. explosion proof chilled drinking water per person per hour are required?
b. pressure type a. 0.25
c. cafeteria type b. 0.20
d. all of the above c. 20
d. none of the above
4. In a water cooler, the ________ is used to exchange heat from
the supply water to the wastewater. 10. For a hospital, what is the required delivered chilled drinking
a. evaporator water temperature?
b. precooler a. 40–45°F
c. condenser b. 45–50°F
d. compressor c. 50–55°F
d. 55–60°F
5. What flow rate from a bubbler produces the best trajectory
stream? 11. The circulating pump should be sized to limit the temperature
a. 0.25 gpm rise of the circulating water to a maximum of ________.
b. 0.5 gpm a. 0.5 degrees
c. 1.2 gpm b. 1.5 degrees
d. 2.0 gpm c. 5 degrees
d. 10 degrees
6. What should be the maximum distance from a refrigeration
unit to a drinking fountain? 12. Friction losses in the piping should be kept below ________ of
a. 5 feet equivalent length of run.
b. 10 feet a. 1-ft/100 ft
c. 15 feet b. 10-ft/100 ft
d. 20 feet c. 100-ft/10 feet
d. 100-ft/1 ft

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Chilled Drinking Water Systems (PSD 167)
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Chilled Drinking Water Systems (PSD 167)
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MAY 2010  Plumbing Systems & Design  7