Systems and methods for controlling operation of a chiller

A heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) system, comprising:

• a vapor compression system comprising a plurality of vapor compression circuits, wherein each vapor compression circuit of the plurality of vapor compression circuits comprises a compressor configured to direct a working fluid through the vapor compression circuit to establish a heat exchange relationship between the working fluid and a conditioning fluid;
• and
• a controller comprising a memory and processing circuitry, wherein the memory comprises instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to:
• receive a signal to initiate operation of the vapor compression system;
• receive sensor data indicative of operating conditions of the vapor compression system;
• determine an expected lift of the respective compressor of each vapor compression circuit of the plurality of vapor compression circuits based on the operating conditions of the vapor compression system;
• compare the expected lift to a threshold value;
• and
• control operation of the vapor compression system based on comparison of the expected lift with the threshold value.

A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium, comprising instructions executable by processing circuitry of a vapor compression system that, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to:

• receive a signal to initiate operation of the vapor compression system;
• receive sensor data indicative of operating conditions of the vapor compression system;
• determine an expected lift of each compressor of one or more compressors of the vapor compression system based on the operating conditions of the vapor compression system;
• determine a respective lower frequency limit for each compressor of the one or more compressors based on the expected lift;
• compare the respective lower frequency limit of each compressor of the one or more compressors to a threshold value;
• and
• control operation of the vapor compression system based on comparison of the respective lower frequency limit of each compressor of the one or more compressors with the threshold value.