period one
Types of Water Chillers
notes
air-cooled or water-cooled
Efficiency
temperatureoutdoor | | dry bulb | | | |
| | | | | |
| | wet bulb | | |
| | | | |
12 | 12 | | | 12 |
midnight | | noon | midnight |
Figure 12
Water-cooled chillers are typically more energy efficient than air-cooled chillers. The refrigerant condensing temperature in an air-cooled chiller is dependent on the ambient dry-bulb temperature. The condensing temperature in a water-cooled chiller is dependent on the condenser-water temperature, which is dependent on the ambient wet-bulb temperature. Since the wet-bulb temperature is often significantly lower than the dry-bulb temperature, the refrigerant condensing temperature (and pressure) in a water-cooled chiller can be lower than in an air-cooled chiller. For example, at an outdoor design condition of 95°F [35°C] dry-bulb temperature, 78°F [25.6°C] wet-bulb temperature, a cooling tower delivers 85°F [29.4°C] water to the water-cooled condenser. This results in a refrigerant condensing temperature of approximately 100°F [37.8°C]. At these same outdoor conditions, the refrigerant condensing temperature in an air-cooled condenser is approximately 125°F [51.7°C]. A lower condensing temperature, and therefore a lower condensing pressure, means that the compressor needs to do less work and consumes less energy.
This efficiency advantage may lessen at part-load conditions because the dry-bulb temperature tends to drop faster than the wet-bulb temperature (see Figure 12). As a result, the air-cooled chiller may benefit from greater condenser relief.
Additionally, the efficiency advantage of a water-cooled chiller is much less when the additional cooling tower and condenser pump energy costs are considered. Performing a comprehensive energy analysis is the best method of estimating the operating-cost difference between air-cooled and water-cooled systems.
