Air-cooled Chillers and Water-cooled Chillers

2022/11/09 ClassificationIndustry News 247

Air-cooled Chillers and Water-cooled Chillers

There are many kinds of refrigeration equipment in daily use, but the application range of chillers is relatively wide. It can control the temperature within a specific range, and the refrigeration effect is stable, which is suitable for use in various industries. The chiller uses circulating cooling water to cool and cool industrial equipment to ensure stable, safe and efficient operation of the equipment. So what are the differences between air-cooled chillers and water-cooled chillers?

The air-cooled chiller realizes the cooling function through the cooling water of the chiller’s refrigeration cycle, and uses the fan and the air that come with the device to exchange heat. heat dissipation. The air-cooled chiller can control the temperature while maintaining stable performance. It occupies a small space and is easy to move and operate.

The water-cooled chiller cools the circulating water through the refrigeration system of the chiller, and then sends it to the equipment through the water pump and the cooling water circuit. The water-cooled chiller is relatively less affected by the environment, but the company requires a good and high-quality water source for circulating cooling. Due to the fact that it is equipped with a water tower, the water-cooled chiller occupies a large area and requires a large amount of installation and maintenance work.

The difference between air-cooled chillers and water-cooled chillers:

1. Initial investment in equipment

Since the heat exchange efficiency of water is much greater than that of air, the energy efficiency of water-cooled chillers is higher than that of air-cooled chillers. Compared with the water-cooled condenser with the same heat exchange, the air condenser has larger equipment volume, more materials and higher manufacturing cost. Even with the equipment cost of the cooling water system, the total cost of the water-cooled chiller is still about 15-20% lower than that of the air-cooled chiller. In addition, since the nominal power of the air-cooled unit is larger than that of the water-cooled chiller, the cost of power capacity expansion and electronic control equipment is also higher.

2. Performance

The heat transfer temperature difference of the condenser of the water-cooled chiller is generally 4°C-8°C, while the heat transfer temperature difference of the air-cooled chiller is generally 8°C-15°C. Under the same outdoor ambient temperature, the cooling cycle The water temperature of the water is lower than the outdoor air temperature, so the condensing temperature of the air-cooled chiller in normal operation is much higher than that of the water-cooled chiller, so that the air-cooled chiller consumes electricity under the same cooling capacity. The volume is larger than that of water-cooled chillers.

3. Equipment room

The air-cooled chiller is an outdoor machine, which can be placed on the roof of the building or on the outdoor floor. The chilled water circulation pump can also be placed with the unit without occupying the machine room. For water-cooled chillers, a machine room should be provided to ensure the normal operation and service life of the equipment including the chiller, chilled water circulation pump, and cooling water circulation pump, and cooling tower equipment should be placed on the building’s roof or outdoor floor. It can be seen that in the case where the building cannot provide a machine room, it should be a more feasible way to choose an air-cooled chiller.

4. Maintenance

The shell-and-tube condenser used in the water-cooled chiller has a small impact on the heat exchange efficiency within a certain range of dirt accumulation, so the performance of the unit decreases with the generation of dirt. The cleaning cycle is long, and the relative maintenance costs will increase Low. However, the heat exchange efficiency of the finned condenser used in the air-cooled chiller is greatly affected by the accumulation of dust and dirt. The dust filter grid must be installed in front of the cooling fin tube, and it needs to be cleaned frequently. Due to the high operating pressure of air-cooled chillers, they are generally installed outdoors, and the operating environment is relatively harsh, and they are not as good as water-cooled chillers in terms of maintainability and reliability.

5. Operating costs

Because the water-cooled chiller operates at a lower condensing temperature, the refrigeration efficiency is high, and the power consumption of the unit operation is small. Generally speaking, comparing the water-cooled chiller with the air-cooled chiller with the same cooling capacity, the overall power consumption of the water-cooled chiller (including the power consumption of the cooling water pump and cooling tower fan) is higher than that of the air-cooled chiller. about 25% lower.

It can be seen from the above introduction that air-cooled chillers and water-cooled chillers have their own characteristics. Users should comprehensively consider and choose according to various factors such as different use environments, spaces, required cooling capacity, and regions.

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