Difference Between Air-cooled Chiller And Water-cooled Chiller

How to choose between air-cooled chiller and water-cooled chiller? Air-cooled chillers and water-cooled chillers are the two most common industrial chillers, so today we will talk about the difference between air-cooled chillers and water-cooled chillers based on the main performance of the chillers, and take everyone to find out.
1. Look at the supporting equipment
Basic configuration of industrial chiller: equipped with single-chip control system, built-in compressor drying filter and expansion valve, maintenance hand valve interface and other devices, ensuring reliable and safe operation of the machine and convenient maintenance and repair.
The supporting equipment of air-cooled chiller is chilled water pump separator and water collector, while water-cooled chiller needs a special machine room cooling tower water collector and water separator. Water-cooled chiller requires more supporting equipment, and the initial investment in equipment is larger Generally speaking, air-cooled chillers of the same size are cheaper than water-cooled chillers.
2. In terms of use environment
Since there is no need to install a cooling water tower, the air-cooled chiller is suitable for environments with poor impurities, so the air-cooled chiller is noisy.
The water-cooled chiller has low noise and is suitable for environments with good water quality due to the need to install a cooling tower. If the water quality is poor, it is easy to block the water channel of the machine and cause greater economic losses.
3. In terms of refrigeration technology
Since the heat exchange efficiency of water is much greater than that of air, the energy efficiency of water-cooled chillers is 300 to 500 kcal/h higher than that of air-cooled chillers.
4. In terms of power consumption
The overall power consumption of water-cooled chillers (including the power consumption of cooling water pumps and cooling tower fans) is about 25% lower than that of air-cooled chillers.
Because the heat transfer temperature difference of the water-cooled chiller condenser is generally 4°C-8°C, while the heat transfer temperature difference of the air-cooled chiller is generally 8°C-15°C, at the same outdoor ambient temperature, the temperature of the cooling circulating water is higher than that of the cooling water. The outdoor air temperature is low, so the condensation temperature of the air-cooled unit in normal operation is much higher than that of the water-cooled unit, so that the power consumption of the air-cooled unit is greater than that of the water-cooled unit under the same cooling capacity.
5. In terms of heat dissipation
The air-cooled chiller relies on the electric fan on the top for heat dissipation, and has certain requirements on the environment: such as ventilation, humidity, temperature not higher than 40°C, air pH value, etc., while the water-cooled chiller needs to use water from the water tower to dissipate heat.
6. In terms of refrigeration technology
There are four universal wheels at the bottom of the air-cooled chiller, which can be easily moved and reduce the floor space. The water-cooled chiller needs to be connected to the cooling tower before it can be used. Therefore, the water-cooled chiller occupies a large area and needs to provide a machine room. Water-cooled chillers must be placed indoors.
7. In terms of cleaning and 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 will decline less with the generation of dirt, the cleaning cycle is longer, and the relative maintenance cost will be lower. . However, the heat transfer efficiency of the finned condenser used in the air-cooled chiller is greatly affected by the accumulation of dust and dirt. A dust filter grid must be installed in front of the finned tubes for heat dissipation, and frequent cleaning is required.
8. In terms of maintenance and repair
Due to the high operating pressure of the air-cooled chiller, it is generally installed outdoors, and the operating environment is relatively harsh. It is not as good as the water-cooled chiller in terms of maintainability and reliability. If there is an alarm or temperature control problem in the machine, it is necessary to send an engineer to check it, and make a quotation for repair according to the on-site situation, so the maintenance cost of the water-cooled chiller and the air-cooled chiller also depends on the specific situation.
Both air-cooled chillers and water-cooled chillers are widely used in the industrial refrigeration industry. If you choose a chiller in an actual factory, you still need to consider different operating environments, temperature control ranges, required cooling capacity, heat dissipation, etc. Consider all factors to choose whether to choose an air-cooled chiller or a water-cooled chiller.
To sum up, with regard to air-cooled chillers and water-cooled chillers, the two chillers have their own characteristics. For small-scale chillers, air-cooled chillers can be considered, which are economical and easy to install. For large-scale chillers, water-cooled chillers can be considered. Chiller, good heat dissipation, stable function, lower maintenance cost.