How to Choose the Suitable Chiller
To select an air cooled chiller, first of all, you need to decide where it will be installed: outdoors or indoors. If outdoors, then everything is simple – you need a standard monoblock unit with axial fans. If the chiller is installed indoors, then 2 options are possible: a unit with radial (centrifugal) fans or a machine with a remote condenser.
The first option is suitable if there is no possibility of laying a freon route through the building, or it will be too long. The second option is suitable if the noise from the fans is not critical. The next criterion by which a chiller with an air-cooled condenser is selected is in which mode it will operate: for cooling only, or for cooling and heating.
In the first case, a so-called “cold” machine will suit you, in the second – a unit with a heat pump or a “warm” chiller. A typical monoblock air-cooled chiller consists of the following main elements, each of which performs a different function:
- A compressor is an integral part of the refrigeration machine (the cost of the chiller largely depends on the type of compressor used).
- Heat exchanger for transferring heat or cold from the refrigerant (freon) to the liquid heat carrier of the air conditioning system (water or antifreeze).
- Built-in or remote hydronic module.
- Axial or radial (centrifugal) fan for blowing air around the condenser.
- Vibration damping to reduce vibration transmitted from the chiller to the support structure.
In addition, the air-cooled chiller also has the following accessories. They are the receiver, high-pressure switch, double pressure switch, shut-off valves, expansion valve, solenoid, filter drier, and sight glass.
When making a responsible decision to buy a chiller, contact the specialists. The selection of the optimal version of the refrigeration machine is a complex process. It is crucial to understand what parameters affect the final cost of equipment.