What is an air cooled chiller

An air-cooled cooler is a cooling system that can remove heat from a space by using ambient air as the heat removal medium.

To achieve this, air is used to cool water or other fluids, which then circulate through the system to absorb heat and lower the temperature of the required area or equipment.

In other words, the cooler is not responsible for producing cold: it dissipates heat, promoting the transfer of heat outside the allocated space.

Air cooled coolers have various applications: they are used for industrial processes, data center cooling, HVAC, and area cooling.

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How air cooled chiller works: a comparison between the two types of chillers

1. Air-cooled scroll and air-cooled screw chillers

The air-cooled vortex chiller is a special type of air-cooled chiller that uses a vortex compressor as the main cooling technology. On the other hand, air-cooled screw chillers use screw compressors as the main cooling technology.

Both use ambient air as a heat dissipation medium to remove heat from the space. They follow a refrigeration cycle, which starts from the compressor acting on the refrigeration gas and increasing its temperature. This marks the difference between absorption refrigerators.

Then there is the condenser, which is responsible for liquefaction. Through the expansion valve, the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant decrease, causing evaporation. Now is the time for the evaporator to absorb heat. After completing this task, the loop can be repeated.

The commonality between these two types of air-cooled coolers is that they are suitable for smaller process applications, have simple installation, and low water consumption. However, their cooling capacity and efficiency are limited, making them only suitable for small residential projects or medium-sized towers.

2. Water-cooled chillers

Water cooled chillers are an alternative to air-cooled chillers. They use specific cooling towers and can exhibit high efficiency due to the better heat transfer capability provided by the liquid.

The working principle of a water-cooled chiller unit follows the logic of an evaporator, compressor, condenser, and expansion valve. Similarly, water can serve as a coolant through the exchange of material temperature and pressure.

These solutions are suitable for higher cooling loads, such as regional heating projects. In fact, they are used for large and medium-sized structures and buildings. However, due to environmental and economic reasons, its high utilization rate of water resources must be considered. However, as we mentioned earlier, their use requires a large amount of water.

Compared to air-cooled solutions, water-cooled coolers offer several additional advantages. This includes occupying less space and reducing maintenance and repair costs.

At HOTOP, we are committed to providing the most suitable cooling and ventilation solutions for projects. export@holtop.com.cn