What is an industrial chiller?
An industrial chiller, or absorption chiller, is a machine designed to cool fluids to a controlled temperature. Typically, these fluids are water or a mixture of water and alcohol.
How industrial chillers work?
At the heart of the process is a closed-loop system. The fluid to be cooled circulates continuously within this circuit, flowing from the chiller to the machine or process and back again. The chiller acts like a thermostat, constantly regulating the fluid temperature to a predefined value known as the set point.
Within the machine or application, the fluid absorbs heat. Once heated, it returns to the chiller, which cools it back down to the desired set-point temperature, ready for another cycle.
The industrial chiller functions as a dedicated cooling system, keeping the fluid at a constant temperature to ensure optimal performance of the machinery or process.
What are the different types of chillers?
There are two main types of industrial thermo chillers:
- Closed-tank chillers: in these industrial cooling chillers, all components are, in principle, under positive pressure.
- Open-tank chillers: in these industrial cooling chillers, the tank is open to the atmosphere.
Types of industrial chillers offered by SMC
SMC offers only open industrial chillers, meaning that the upper tank is open to the atmosphere. Our industrial chillers can be installed and used both outdoors and indoors and are compatible with dual frequency (50/60 Hz) and a wide range of power supplies, ensuring seamless integration into all operations.
Our range of industrial chillers includes two main categories:
Refrigerant gas chillers
This type of water cooling chiller controls temperature through the use of a refrigerant gas circuit, which can be single-channel or dual-channel:
- Single-channel: designed to control a single cooling circuit. Standard models or rack-mounted versions are available.
- Dual-channel: designed to control two cooling circuits with different set-point temperatures.
Thermoelectric chillers
These water chillers control temperature using Peltier cells.
SMC offers chillers for cooling various types of circulating fluids, such as clean water, deionised water, aqueous glycol solutions and fluorinated fluids.
When should an industrial chiller be used for water cooling?
The use of industrial chillers provides cooling stability, contributing to improved OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) in industrial processes.
There are several situations in which it is advisable to use water cooling chillers:
- Industrial water cooling: unlike chillers, this type of cooling can cause water quality issues, as the water may come from sources such as wells or tanks and may contain algae, particles or scale.
- Cooling tower water cooling: cooling towers have unstable cooling capacity, as well as high maintenance and water treatment costs.
- Mains water (potable water) cooling: using a chiller can reduce the costs associated with supplying and discharging potable water, resulting in cost savings and improved energy efficiency.
- No cooling method available or an inadequate one: if the existing chiller is old, maintenance requirements will be high, making it advisable to consider purchasing a new one. Similarly, in new applications there may be no cooling method in place, requiring evaluation of the most suitable solution.
How to choose the right chiller for your application?
The key parameter for selecting an absorption chiller is the cooling capacity, which represents the amount of heat it can dissipate per unit of time.
Another important parameter is pump capacity, both in terms of flow rate and pressure. These two values are directly related and can be found in the “Flow–Pressure” graphs in our catalogues.
If the cooling capacity or the heat to be dissipated is not known, it is possible to calculate and size an industrial water chiller using the following data:
- Flow rate
- Supply temperature
- Return temperature
To correctly size the chiller, both the flow rate and delivery pressure must be taken into account. Additionally, the ambient operating temperature is required to fine-tune the sizing.
This sizing can be carried out manually or using calculation tools such as our chiller selection software. This tool provides both the cooling capacity curve and the pump capacity curve.
Do you need advice on selecting water cooling chillers? Contact our temperature control specialists.
