How To Choose The Right Screw Chiller?

To accommodate a wide range of commercial applications, chillers come in many shapes, sizes, capacities, and efficiencies. Gas and vapor chillers and other equipment combinations are being scrutinized, while electric chillers remain a popular choice in many application facilities. Choosing the most appropriate chiller for an individual application is not necessarily complicated, but the options can be daunting for building owners looking to install a new chiller or replace an existing system.

1. Air-cooled chillers

Many screw chiller manufacturers offer a variety of air-cooled and water-cooled screw chillers, ranging in size from 10 to 5,000 tons, which are manufactured or assembled in certified facilities. Only air-cooled chillers are available as complete packages with relatively simple installation at competitive prices. No water is required on the condenser side and the customer requires minimal internal mechanical room space, but there are some drawbacks. Different efficiency levels compared to water-cooled systems. Air-cooled chillers have low installation and maintenance costs. However, their electricity costs are higher.

2. Water-cooled chillers

Traditional water-cooled screw chillers are more popular, but there is definitely still a place for air-cooled chillers. From comfort cooling to process cooling, this water-cooled single centrifugal chiller has a cooling capacity range of 250 to 3000 tons and can also be used in a variety of applications. The physical installation location is one of the biggest differences between air-cooled and water-cooled chillers. Air-cooled models located on the roof have a larger footprint than water-cooled models. Utilizing space that may be used in the construction industry, water-cooled chillers require a mechanical room somewhere in the building. These are located internally, are not affected by the external environment, have a longer life span and require cooling towers, condensate pumps and water treatment strategies.

 Water-Cooled Screw Chiller     

3. Compressors

There are three main types of compressors used in chillers. Those are

One. Scroll compressors - water-cooled and air-cooled, these are typically used in smaller packages of equipment. Efficiency tends to be somewhat lower than their counterparts, but they are also relatively inexpensive.

Bay. Screw compressors - both air-cooled and water-cooled, which fill the medium capacity range. These are larger in size and more efficient than scroll compressors.

C. Centrifugal Compressors- These offer the highest capacity and efficiency and are also the largest compressors. Typically used only in water-cooled chillers, there is usually only one compressor per chiller due to its ability to provide high-capacity cooling. For medium to large cooling load requirements and complex applications, centrifugal is more efficient.

Chiller equipment should be selected based on the size of the load/chilled water demand, efficiency, and total cost of ownership, which involves equipment cost, installation cost, ongoing maintenance cost, and savings generated, with the main component of the chiller being the compressor.

Some people need their compressor to be robust, efficient, and matched to the engine speed range, so they prefer a screw compressor. Instead of focusing on the compressor, people should focus on the chiller that delivers performance.For more information and consultation, contact us here!