This article will take an in-depth look at air cooled chillers.
The article will bring more detail on topics such as:
This chapter provides an introduction to the fundamentals of air-cooled chillers, discussing their essential components and functional mechanisms.
Air-cooled chillers are a type of refrigeration system used to lower the temperature of fluids, working alongside a building’s air handling system. Unlike the conventional industrial chillers that require cooling towers, these chillers expel heat outside by utilizing fans. By using air to cool water and other fluids, they effectively reduce the temperatures of equipment, processes, and spaces by absorbing heat and dissipating it efficiently.
Comprising a compressor, evaporator, condenser, and expansion valve, air-cooled industrial chillers are employed in diverse environments including large industrial operations, shopping malls, industrial complexes, hotels, and medical facilities. These chillers are also ideal for locations with several buildings such as amusement parks and outdoor shopping centers, delivering reliable cooling solutions for both substantial and smaller operations.
Their compact build renders them portable, cost-effective for maintenance, and easy to install. Versatile portable air-cooled chillers are practical for large-scale events or urgent situations, resembling the simpler structure of water-cooled chillers. Most air-cooled chillers feature either screw compressors or scroll compressors.
Often known as modular chillers, air-cooled chiller units can be stacked horizontally to boost cooling capabilities, ranging from approximately 10 refrigeration tons (RT) to 550 RT. A single air-cooled chiller with scroll compressors can reach a maximum capacity of about 200 RT, while those equipped with screw compressors can hit up to 550 RT.
These units typically incorporate at least two compressors for added reliability. Should one compressor experience a malfunction, the other maintains operation, although cooling strength is lowered to 50%. Air-cooled chillers offer lower efficiency levels than their water-cooled counterparts, with an energy efficiency ratio near 1.00 kW/ton, as opposed to the enhanced efficiency observed in water-cooled chillers.
The key elements of an air-cooled chiller include:
The compressor drives the refrigerant flow within the chiller. Compressor types include screw, reciprocating, scroll, rotary, and centrifugal. Centrifugal compressors are particularly dynamic, operating differently by using an impeller to accelerate and then slowly reduce the speed of the gas to compress it, contrasting with positive displacement compressors that condense gas using mechanisms such as screws, pistons, or rotors to elevate vapor pressure.
Ideal for high-capacity uses, compressors come in three forms: hermetic, semi-hermetic, and open. In hermetic compressors, both the compressor and electric motor are encased in a hermetically sealed enclosure, typically serving low-capacity needs. Semi-hermetic compressors feature a two-part casing, allowing mid-range capacitancy, with the electric motor and compressor sharing an enclosure. Open compressors, with separated but coupled motor and compressor units, suit high-capacity applications.
This component functions as a heat exchanger, transferring heat from refrigerant to air, utilizing copper tubes with liquid refrigerant and aluminum fins to promote heat exchange. Hid efficient air-cooled chillers usually employ air-cooled condensers, while others can be evaporative or water-cooled.
In water-cooled versions, water facilitates refrigerant cooling, unlike evaporative condensers that blend both air and water to raise air temperature through water evaporation. Air aids this process by facilitating vapor removal.
The defining feature of air-cooled chillers, these fans circulate air across the condenser, extracting heat and allowing the system to restart the cooling cycle effectively.
The expansion valve finely controls refrigerant flow based on cooling load variations. By receiving and depressurizing liquid refrigerant before it enters the evaporator, it creates a backflow and transforms refrigerant into a low-pressure liquid and vapor mixture, eventually turning it into hot then cold gas as pressure rises.
Seven expansion valve types exist—thermal, low-pressure, high-pressure, electronic, and automatic, among others—each regulating refrigerant flow and helping maintain the pressure difference between condenser and evaporator while enabling refrigerant transformation inside.
The evaporator extracts heat from the refrigerant before it goes back to the condenser. It's a heat exchanger moving heat from refrigerant to water or coolant. Evaporator types include coil, shell and tube, and plate, defined by efficiency in heat transfer.
By cooling the refrigerant to gas, the evaporator allows it to absorb heat from water or air handling units. Evaporator modifications, like shell and tube, finned, and plate, aid distinct cooling applications by fostering greater contact area for efficient heat transfer.
Notably, evaporators vary in design�
This part protects the system by removing impurities and moisture. Due to clogging from extended use, replacing the filter drier periodically is necessary to ensure system longevity and efficiency.
The operational concept of air-cooled industrial chillers revolves around extracting heat from processed water within a closed-loop chilling system. These refrigeration units are essential in process cooling applications for manufacturing, plastics, food and beverage, and HVAC systems. After the chilled water circulates through the facility's air handler or process equipment, it absorbs heat and returns to the chiller. Inside the chiller’s evaporator, efficient heat exchange occurs as the liquid refrigerant absorbs the unwanted thermal energy from the water. The refrigerant evaporates over the evaporator tube bundle, turning into a low-pressure vapor.
This low-pressure refrigerant gas then travels to the compressor, where it is compressed into a high-pressure, high-temperature vapor. Next, the refrigerant moves into the air-cooled condenser coils. Here, condenser fans force ambient air across the coils, rapidly dissipating heat and condensing the refrigerant gas back into a high-pressure liquid. Installing air-cooled chillers outdoors or in a well-ventilated indoor area helps eliminate excess heat buildup, making them ideal for environments where water use is limited or not feasible.
Once heat is released from the chiller by the condenser fans, the now high-pressure liquid refrigerant is directed through an expansion valve. This valve regulates flow and reduces the refrigerant’s pressure and temperature, transforming it into a low-pressure liquid. As a continuous cycle chilling process, this cooled refrigerant returns to the evaporator, where it begins absorbing heat again. This ongoing cycle provides reliable cooling for critical equipment, industrial processes, and climate control solutions.
Modern air-cooled chiller systems offer features such as microprocessor controls, variable speed compressors, energy-efficient EC fans, and environmentally friendly refrigerants for optimized performance, energy savings, and compliance with current industrial refrigerant regulations.
Air-cooled chillers and water-cooled industrial chillers are both types of vapor compression systems commonly used to provide process cooling and commercial air conditioning. Both utilize mechanical compressors (such as scroll, screw, or centrifugal compressors) to circulate refrigerant throughout the chiller system, but the primary difference lies in how each rejects heat from the refrigeration cycle.
In water-cooled chiller systems, water is circulated through a sealed condenser and then flows to a cooling tower, where the process water is cooled via evaporation. This requires additional infrastructure, including cooling towers, condenser water pumps, and treatment systems. In contrast, air-cooled chillers use powerful condenser fans to force outdoor (or facility) air over the condenser coils, eliminating the need for a cooling tower. Because air-cooled models do not require extra water system components, they offer a more compact design, easier installation, lower upfront investment, and reduced long-term maintenance costs—making them a popular choice for many industrial, institutional, and commercial cooling applications.
While water-cooled chillers may offer higher efficiency in extremely large or hot applications, they incur extra maintenance costs and require regular water treatment. Air-cooled chillers are valued for their lower operating costs, ease of maintenance, and reliable operation in fluctuating climates. When comparing chiller technologies, consider total cost of ownership, installation requirements, energy efficiency ratios (EER), seasonal performance, and local water resource availability.
When selecting an air-cooled chiller or industrial cooling system for your facility, several key factors can impact operational efficiency, energy consumption, and system longevity:
Evaluate your process’s peak thermal load and consider environmental conditions when sizing an air-cooled industrial chiller. Air-cooled chillers are well-suited for cooler climates with significant day-night or seasonal temperature swings. Ensure the unit’s cooling capacity (measured in tons or kilowatts) meets your specific process or HVAC demands. For equipment or applications with moderate cooling loads, air-cooled chillers offer a flexible and energy-efficient solution.
Altitude plays a critical role in an air-cooled chiller’s cooling capacity. At higher elevations, thinner air means reduced heat rejection efficiency, which can decrease overall system performance. Manufacturers provide derating guidelines to adjust for high-altitude applications in industrial and commercial environments.
The choice of control system can dramatically influence energy efficiency and remote monitoring capabilities. Advanced chillers are equipped with digital or microprocessor-based controls for enhanced precision, alarm notifications, and integration into building management systems (BMS).
Industrial chillers are engineered to safely manage high refrigerant pressures. Select units with proven safety mechanisms and high-quality heat exchangers. Employing lower-pressure, environmentally friendly refrigerants (such as R410a, R134a, or next-generation HFO blends) can improve performance and reduce compliance costs with environmental regulations.
Ambient temperature significantly affects chiller efficiency and compressor energy use. For every 1°C rise in ambient temperature, air-cooled chiller capacity can decline by approximately 1%. Consider units with oversized condensers, variable-speed fans, and hot weather optimization if your operation is in a warm climate or exposed installation.
Minimize evaporator pressure drop to maximize system efficiency and reduce energy costs. Specify chillers with large-diameter or enhanced-surface evaporator designs for lower fluid friction losses, ensuring a stable and efficient cooling process.
Compact footprint is a major advantage of air-cooled chillers, which facilitates installation in dense or space-limited facilities. Make sure to confirm clearance for air flow and maintenance access during system design.
Operating noise is a significant factor for many industrial settings. Look for air-cooled chiller models engineered with low-noise fans, sound attenuating enclosures, and vibration isolation. For noise-sensitive environments, select models with guaranteed sound pressure levels below 75 dBA at 16.4 feet (5 meters).
Multiple compressor configurations provide redundancy and staged capacity control, optimizing performance under variable load conditions. Review the technical specifications to match the number of compressors to your reliability and energy efficiency goals.
Additional Considerations:
Air-cooled industrial chillers are essential components in process cooling and HVAC systems across a range of industries. These chiller systems are categorized by the type of compressor utilized, which include screw, reciprocating, scroll, rotary, and centrifugal compressors. Understanding the various types of air-cooled chillers ensures optimal selection for specific industrial cooling applications, maximizing energy efficiency, cooling performance, and system reliability.
The term "portable air cooled industrial chiller" refers to the system's standard configuration, rather than the ability to move the unit. In reality, once installed, most portable air cooled industrial chiller units are stationary and not intended for frequent relocation. This designation describes any packaged chiller system that integrates all necessary components—including the refrigeration circuit, circulating pump(s), and water reservoir—within a compact cabinet.
These air-cooled chillers are designed for plug-and-play installation, enabling fast setup for industrial process cooling, manufacturing, laboratory, or medical applications. The built-in chiller controls typically feature motor starters with a single-point electrical connection for streamlined installation. Advanced controllers on modern air cooled chillers provide automated maintenance reminders, diagnostic fault codes, technical alarms, and system alerts to minimize unplanned downtime and extend operation life. Portable chillers are available in a variety of cooling capacities, ranging from 2 to 100 tons, meeting the needs of both small and large-scale facilities.
The standard flow chiller system comes equipped with an integrated water tank. It operates within a closed-loop process cooling arrangement, where chilled water is pumped from the chiller, circulates through the equipment or heat exchanger, and returns to the unit under pump pressure, ensuring consistent coolant temperature and stable chilled water supply.
The reverse flow air-cooled industrial chiller lacks an on-board tank, instead utilizing an open-loop cooling design. With this configuration, the chiller relies on an externally situated tank or trough. Water gravity-feeds from the external reservoir to the chiller's pump, passes through the evaporator and filtration system, and is redirected back to the reservoir, making it ideal for process cooling where direct fluid recirculation is required.
Continuous flow portable industrial chiller units are engineered for high-throughput operations that require fluid temperature control in a single pass. These systems incorporate a dedicated pump, integrated tank, and secondary heat exchanger, followed by an inline filter, ensuring precise temperature management and contamination control even under demanding industrial load profiles.
Industrial stationary air cooled chillers, also called modular chiller systems, are designed for permanent installation and large commercial or industrial environments. A "stationary air cooled industrial chiller" typically does not include an integrated pump or water tank. Instead, these chillers operate as central cooling modules, connected to external pumps and reservoirs via engineered piping networks.
Each major component—chiller, pump, and reservoir—requires dedicated electrical connections and precise controls. Correct sequencing and wiring of electrical controls are critical, ensuring the chiller does not initiate the refrigerant cycle until pumped circulation is established. Stationary air cooled chillers are available in cooling capacities from 2 tons up to 200 tons, making them suitable for large-scale process cooling, industrial HVAC, plastics manufacturing, chemical processing, and other demanding chilled water applications.
Reciprocating industrial chillers utilize piston compressor technology to compress refrigerant gas. The reciprocating piston design applies incremental pressure to the gas, raising its temperature for heat exchange. Adjustable intake and exhaust valves orchestrate piston cycles, and advanced systems disengage pistons in response to part-load cooling requirements, delivering high adaptability to fluctuating heat loads. For precise temperature control, some reciprocating industrial chiller systems use a combination of hot-gas bypass and digital capacity control to match refrigeration output with user demand, though hot-gas bypass can reduce energy efficiency compared to more modern control strategies.
Reliable operation depends on correct electrical setup of each component. Reciprocating chillers are commonly used in smaller industrial facilities and laboratories, with models available from 2 to 200 tons cooling capacity. These chillers excel in process cooling where intermittent or variable workloads are present.
Rotary screw industrial chillers employ helical (screw-type) compressor technology for continuous, energy-efficient operation. The compressor features interlocking rotors inside a precision housing, reducing refrigerant volume through direct mechanical action as the helical rotors spin. This design minimizes vibration and maintenance requirements, resulting in reliable industrial refrigeration for large-scale operations.
Screw compressor chillers are favored for their robust performance and low noise characteristics. The cooling capacity of a rotary screw compressor ranges from 20 tons up to 450 tons, serving extensive industrial, commercial, and institutional applications. Capacity control is achieved using a sliding inlet valve or variable speed drive (VSD/VFD), enabling precise modulation according to real-time process or building cooling demands—an important factor for energy savings and sustainability goals.
Centrifugal compression industrial chillers leverage high-speed impellers—much like those in a centrifugal pump—to compress refrigerant efficiently. This design translates to a compact physical footprint and exceptional cooling capacities, making centrifugal chillers popular in large commercial buildings, district cooling plants, and heavy-industrial environments that require bulk chilled water supply.
Modern centrifugal industrial chillers incorporate energy-saving technologies such as variable speed drives (VSDs) and adjustable inlet guide vanes to optimize cooling performance under part-load conditions, reduce energy costs, and minimize system wear. With capacities often starting at 150 tons and scaling much higher, these chillers deliver high-efficiency cooling for a wide variety of mission-critical environments.
Frictionless centrifugal industrial chillers represent the state-of-the-art in oil-free chiller design. Similar in operation to standard centrifugal chillers, they are distinguished by the use of magnetic bearings, which eliminate mechanical friction and the need for lubrication. This results in ultra-quiet operation, reduced maintenance, and enhanced energy efficiency—key advantages in data centers, hospitals, and manufacturing facilities with sensitive environmental controls.
These chillers incorporate high-efficiency, variable-speed direct drive (DC) motors for precise energy management. Frictionless centrifugal chiller systems are available in capacities from 60 tons to 300 tons, catering to end-users requiring superior reliability, quiet operation, and maximum energy savings.
Unlike mechanical compressor-based chillers, absorption industrial chillers deliver cooling using a thermally driven refrigeration process powered by waste heat, steam, or natural gas. This technology is preferred in facilities where reducing electrical demand is a priority, or where waste heat is readily available, such as combined heat and power (CHP) plants and large manufacturing complexes. Two working fluids, most commonly lithium bromide as the absorbent and water as the refrigerant, interact through carefully controlled cycles to provide chilled water for air conditioning or process cooling needs.
The absorption refrigeration cycle starts by using thermal energy to drive off water vapor from the absorbent solution. The refrigerant vapor is then condensed to release heat before being routed to the low-pressure evaporator, where rapid vaporization absorbs heat from the chilled water circuit. The process results in efficient cooling with minimal electrical input, making absorption chillers environmentally friendly options with low greenhouse gas emissions. These systems are especially attractive for sites seeking sustainability certifications or for applications with variable energy sources.
When evaluating which air-cooled industrial chiller is best for your facility, consider critical factors such as cooling load requirements, available energy sources, installation space, maintenance preferences, and integration with existing cooling or process infrastructure. Industrial chiller manufacturers and suppliers can help with system sizing, application engineering, and life-cycle cost analysis to ensure you select the optimal chiller technology for your specific needs.
This chapter will explore the applications and advantages of air-cooled chillers.
For industrial operations, air cooled chillers are used to create heat through the use of friction, high-powered equipment, and furnaces or ovens. They are able to increase the lifespan of heavy-duty equipment by circulating cooled liquid through equipment to maintain their efficiency and productivity. Due to the fact that the food industry has strict regulations regarding the storage temperatures of ingredients and products, air cooled industrial chillers are used as a traditional cooling system for food. In the pharmaceutical field, medicines require using chilled water in the manufacturing process and precise temperature control. Industrial chiller systems have the accuracy and precision for the chilling process and can be central process chillers or compact process chillers.
Common types of pharmaceutical chillers include reciprocating, centrifugal, and absorption units. In power generation, power plants generate significant heat during electrical power production. Chillers are employed to cool components and processes by absorbing the generated heat. Medical instruments, such as CT scanners, MRI scanners, and LINAC machines, require precise temperature control to manage the heat they produce. Air-cooled chillers are utilized to maintain consistently cool temperatures, ensuring the efficient operation of critical equipment.
Air cooled chillers can be quickly integrated into existing systems, saving both time and money during installation. Their simpler setup compared to water cooled systems means installation teams require less time, resulting in significant upfront cost savings. Another advantage of air cooled chillers is their reduced number of components to maintain compared to water cooled systems. They do not require a condenser pump, cooling tower, or other complex parts, thereby lowering maintenance needs. Air cooled chillers are particularly beneficial in areas prone to drought or with limited water supply, offering a water-saving alternative to traditional systems. By using ambient air instead of water for cooling, air cooled chillers eliminate the need for water, optimizing performance. Additionally, air cooling systems do not alter ambient humidity or temperature as significantly as other chiller systems.
Air cooled chillers may have a shortened lifespan due to their outdoor location, exposing them to environmental elements such as ice, rain, snow, wind, and hail. Additionally, air cooled chillers tend to produce higher levels of noise because of the cooling fans.
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