Chillers have become an essential HVAC component of a wide variety of commercial facilities, including hotels, restaurants, hospitals, sporting arenas, industrial and manufacturing plants, etc. The industry has long recognized that chiller systems represent the single largest consumer of electrical usage in most facilities.
A chiller works on the principle of vapor compression or vapor absorption. Chillers provide a continuous flow of coolant to the cold side of a process water system at a desired temperature of about 50°F (10°C). The coolant is then pumped through the process, extracting heat out of one area of a facility (e.g., machinery, process equipment, etc.) as it flows back to the return side of the process water system.
Water-cooled chillers feature a water-cooled condenser connected with a cooling tower. They have commonly been used for medium and large installations that have a sufficient water supply. Water-cooled chillers can produce more constant performance for commercial and industrial air conditioning because of the relative independence to fluctuations of the ambient temperature.
Air-cooled chillers rely on a condenser cooled by the environment air. Thus, air-cooled chillers may find common application in smaller or medium installations where space constraints may exist. An air-cooled chiller can represent the most practical choice in scenarios where water represents a scarce resource.
