What is the Major Difference between Air Cooled Chillers and Water Cooled Chillers?

Industrial processes produce significant heat, which must dissipate to protect sensitive equipment and finished products. The use of chiller systems, which can be water or air-cooled, is a well-established method of monitoring and regulating temperatures at optimal levels. This blog will contrast a water-cooled chiller system with an air-cooled chiller system.

Air Cooled Chillers vs Water Cooled Chillers

Although air-cooled and water-cooled chillers remove unwanted heat from manufacturing processes, they differ significantly. Air-cooled chillers have condensers that use ambient air to lower refrigerant temperatures. Water-cooled chillers use water's high heat capacity to facilitate refrigerant chilling.

Initial Expenses

Air-cooled chillers appear to be more expensive than water-cooled units at first glance due to their design and operation. It includes installation costs for air ducts, fans, and thermoregulation controls. You can check the chiller price in India.

Operating Expenses

Furthermore, air-cooled chiller systems use more energy to power the fans, which aids in cooling, resulting in higher electric bills.

On the other hand, water-cooled chillers have higher long-term operational costs because most of these chiller types require the installation of cooling towers.

Maintenance Fees

After accounting for chiller maintenance costs such as water quality testing, mandatory water treatment, and refrigeration system operating costs, water-cooled chiller operating costs can skyrocket.

Water chillers, unlike air chillers, require cooling towers, which necessitates costly maintenance such as condenser-tube cleaning, freeze protection, water treatment, and tower maintenance.

Capacity

Air-cooled chillers range in size from 7.5 to 500 tons. On the other hand, water-cooled chillers have a higher cooling capacity of 10 - 4,000 tons. You can buy ac online with the required capacity.

Efficiency

Water-cooled chillers outperform air-cooled models in terms of efficiency. The efficiency of an air-cooled chiller depends on the temperature of the ambient air used in its cooling system. The high temperature of the circulating cooling air will lessen the efficiency of an air-cooled chiller.

The process of repeatedly pumping air through the chiller heat exchanger to reach the desired coolant temperatures will ultimately use more energy.