How A Chiller Works
Industrial chillers are used in large commercial or industrial buildings. They are much more efficient at cooling these large spaces and work by using a de-humidification or vapor compression technology. How a chiller works is fairly complicated but we will examine is a bit more closely in this post.
How Industrial Chillers Keep It Cool
Vapor back to liquid
When operating correctly the condenser has a twofold role in the industrial chiller. The first step in a chiller is taking superheated vapor and reducing it back to liquid coolant. This process mush transfer enough head from the refrigerant to lower its temperature to convert it back into a liquid form. Once this is done the condensation may begin. The quality of the refrigerant continues to improve as the heat is transferred out of the water, or refrigerant. This process continues until the air has been completely transferred back into liquid. In a perfect world this process is complete by the time the coolant reaches the outlet of the condenser. However to prevent pressure losses and liquid flashing subcooling helps prevent issues with introducing vapor back into the system.
Cooling the hot liquid refrigerant
Even after the condensation process the refrigerant is still at a high temperature and needs to be cooled before it can be reused as a heat transfer medium. In chillers this is done by decreasing the pressure. Physics dictate that if the pressure is reduced in a space that the temperature will follow. So you can count on the temperature to follow if you reduce the pressure.
Temperature Reduction Through Lowering Pressure
To do this in the chiller restriction is a necessary part of reducing the pressure. System loads vary based on a few different elements so the system cannot regulate this depressurization process. The thermostatic expansion valve is responsible for lowering the pressure in the tanks holding the refrigerant that needs to be cooled. This is an adjustable pressure regulator that can adjust for the load of the chiller. The thermostatic expansion valve will not maintain the constant vapor pressure and is only a superheat controller. It simply provides the reduction in pressure necessary to a designated level which is determined by size load, system conditions, load demand, the compressor size, and the thermostatic expansion valve. Some systems require constant evaporator temperature. In these cases a pressure regulating valve should be added to the system. This will help maintain the pressure corresponding the saturation level.
Pressure Regulation
Pressure loss in the thermostatic value can be explained by the mixture of both states of refrigerant. Meaning that when both the liquid and vapor exist in a section of the cooling system superheating or subcooling cannot be achieved. The saturation temperature will always be directly linked to the pressure.
To remove the necessary heat some of the liquid refrigerant must be boiled. This is another process that results in lower liquid temperatures. When the chiller is working properly and subcooling is achieved the difference between the cooled refrigerant introduced into the system will increase the efficiency due to the energy decreased by the boiling of the refrigerant.
Complete Vaporization
The evaporator tubing is the final leg of the refrigerants journey through the cooling system. At this point it is a mixture of both vapor and liquid. Heat is applied to the tubing by having warm air blown over it. This process boils off the last of the liquid leaving only vapor. The last molecule of liquid should be converted to vapor at the evaporator outlet. This means that the vapor at the inlet of the compressor is sufficiently saturated.
This process continues until the space that needs cooling is at the desired temperature. Then the equipment cycles off and waits for a need for it to come back on.
Chiller Maintenance & Repair Phoenix AZ
If you have a commercial property that uses a chiller to keep the building cool you need to make sure that you are getting regular maintenance. This will help prevent repairs and promote better energy efficiency. If there are already problems we repair chillers and can provide coatings to help prevent corrosion of chiller tubes. Give us a call and find out what we can do for your chiller in the Phoenix areas. Call today at 480-966-4446.