Air Cooled Chiller VS Water Cooled Chiller

What is a Chiller?

The vapor-compression refrigeration system commonly referred to typically consists of just four core components: compressor, condenser, evaporator, and expansion valve. However, these elements represent only the fundamental framework of a chiller refrigeration system. In practical applications, we enhance these basic components with supplementary equipment and control elements according to users specific requirements.
Common auxiliary devices include: oil separators, liquid receivers, suction accumulators, oil collectors, purge units, intercoolers, valves, liquid pumps, level indicators, pressure gauges, temperature sensors, along with automatic control and regulation instruments. The integration of these auxiliary devices, instruments, and controls forms a fully functional chiller refrigeration system tailored to real-world applications.

How does a low temperature chiller work?

The operating principle of low-temperature chillers is straightforward: Water is circulated through the integrated reservoir, where a refrigeration unit actively cools it by removing heat from the system. This continuous heat extraction enables precise temperature control, meeting industrial demands for stable low-temperature environments critical to specialized manufacturing processes.
A defining advantage of these chillers lies in their exceptional temperature range. Advanced models achieve deep chilling down to -150°C, while standard units reliably maintain -120°C. This versatility makes them indispensable across industries requiring ultra-low temperatures, from chemical processing to pharmaceutical production.

What is the difference between air-cooled chillers and water-cooled chillers?

Air-cooled chillers feature integrated insulation tanks and pumps as self-contained cooling systems without external cooling towers, offering plug-and-play portability. However, their operational efficiency depends critically on ambient conditions. Since these units rely on convective airflow for heat dissipation, inadequate ventilation in installation areas directly compromises cooling performance. For applications requiring humidity-controlled cleanrooms, water-cooled chillers are strongly recommended – air-cooled models exhaust moist air through top-mounted vents during operation, which may conflict with environmental controls.

Water-cooled chillers are categorized into three configurations: open-loop, closed-loop (cabinet-style), and screw-type systems. These require auxiliary cooling towers and circulation pumps to evacuate thermal energy, ensuring optimized heat rejection efficiency for sustained high-load operations.