According to its cooling type (type of condenser), industrial chillers can be divided into two categories: air-cooled chillers and water-cooled chillers. The air-cooling or water-cooling here refers to the way of discharging the heat generated by the chiller during the cooling process. But whether it is an air-cooled or water-cooled chiller, the cooling capacity generated is provided in the form of chilled water, so no matter what structure it is, we can call it a chiller.

Structural features of air-cooled chillers and water-cooled chillers:

All air-cooled chillers have their own cooling fans, and the condensers are finned (copper tubes are aluminum fins).

Water-cooled chillers are equipped with water-cooled condensers, generally shell-and-tube condensers, which generally need to be used with cooling water towers and cooling water pumps.

Performance comparison between air cooling and water cooling:

Advantages of air-cooled chillers: easy to install, the unit has been installed with a condensing fan, no external cooling tower, cooling water pump, saving investment. Reduce installation labor and installation cycle; more cost-effective for some small chillers. Easy to move: Compared with the water-cooled type, it has no cooling water pipe, so it is more flexible and convenient to move; it is suitable for use in areas with lack of water resources or poor water quality (high hardness or salt content).

Disadvantages of air-cooled chillers: For example, in the case of high ambient temperature, the energy efficiency is only about 88% of that of water-cooled chillers; if the user already has a cooling water tower or water pump, the investment cost of using an air-cooled chiller is higher than that of a water-cooled chiller. The water-cooled chiller is higher; the air-cooled chiller will discharge hot air to the surrounding environment when it is in use, and there will be noise from the cooling fan.

Advantages of water-cooled chillers: Compared with air-cooled chillers, the efficiency of water-cooled chillers is much higher. Even in the case of high ambient temperature, water-cooled chillers can better cool the equipment to a certain extent. cooling effect. The cooling performance is relatively stable, and it can also effectively play a certain role in throttling.

Disadvantages of the water-cooled chiller: the installation is more complicated, and it needs to be equipped with an outdoor cooling water tower and a water pump to use together, and because the water cycle is used to cool the equipment when the unit is working, it needs to do special water management, and later maintenance and maintenance costs higher.