Air Cooled Scroll Chiller

What are Air Cooled Scroll Chillers?

Air-cooled scroll chillers are cooling systems that utilise a scroll compressor and a fan to dissipate the heat. Thanks to its compact design and ease of installation and maintenance, it is the solution for small projects and low-frequency cooling needs. It does not rely on cooling towers and water pipes, making it suitable for situations where water resources are limited or where cost-effectiveness is sought.

Advantages of Air Cooled Scroll Chillers

Compact

You don’t need loads of plumbing systems and cooling towers for air-cooled scroll coolers, which are simple and compact. This allows you to use it in projects where space is at a premium or to save space in your project. And you can integrate them into your air-conditioning system without extensive changes to the existing layout and achieve more efficient cooling.

Simple Maintenance

Air-cooled scroll chillers do not require the installation of additional cooling towers and complex water treatment. During operation, the scroll design creates less friction and achieves outstanding durability. All this makes it easier to maintain.

Low Cost

Firstly, air-cooled scroll chillers have low initial cost, installation cost maintenance cost. Secondly, it is highly cost-effective. The air-cooled scroll chillers operate without water and the scroll compressors have excellent energy efficiency. This reduces your energy consumption in terms of water and electricity costs.

Scalability

You can choose a modular air-cooled scroll chiller, which is a highly flexible and scalable cooling system. This allows you to add new air-cooled scroll chillers to your system at any time as your cooling needs change, increasing the capacity and cooling capability of the entire system.

Stable Operation

Air-cooled scroll chillers produce very low noise and vibration during operation, making them ideal for noise-sensitive projects (e.g. schools, hospitals, hotels, etc.). It also maintains long-lasting operational stability and reduces downtime, thus improving your production and operational efficiency.

Intelligent Control

The air-cooled scroll chiller’s barrier monitoring, automatic protection and remote monitoring allow you to monitor the cooling process at all times with excellent reliability. Its various intelligent sensors also adjust the working efficiency to different cooling loads and provide you with precise temperature control, guaranteeing you stability in use.

Key Components of the Air Cooled Scroll Chiller

Evaporator

Water absorbs heat from the heat source and enters the evaporator, where it exchanges heat with the refrigerant. The water is effectively cooled and returned to the heat source to continue the cooling cycle, while the refrigerant is converted to a vapour after absorbing the heat and starts the refrigerant cooling cycle.

Scroll Compressor

The scroll compressor powers the entire refrigerant cycle and ensures that the cooling cycle runs smoothly. It uses two engaged helical scrolls, one of which continuously rotates around the other during operation, compressing the refrigerant vapour to high temperature and pressure. It ensures that the refrigerant passes smoothly into the condenser, where it can be recondensed and reused.

Air-Cooled Condensers

Air-cooled condensers are typically exposed to facilitate direct heat exchange between the refrigerant and ambient air, allowing the refrigerant to dissipate heat and recondense for re-entry into the cycle.

Fans

Air-cooled condensers require a fan to facilitate efficient heat exchange of the refrigerant in the condenser. The fan is responsible for blowing a constant stream of ambient air onto the exposed condenser.

Expansion Valves

Expansion valves convert medium-temperature, high-pressure refrigerants into low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerants. This allows the refrigerant to once again efficiently absorb heat and turn into a vapour again in the next cycle. Expansion valves also automatically regulate the refrigerant flow according to the current refrigeration load to minimise unnecessary losses.

Control System

The control system is the operating system you use to start, stop, and adjust your circulation chiller. It sends commands to the individual components to carry out tasks and ensures that the circulating chiller runs smoothly and safely. The control system allows you to monitor the cooling process of the circulating chiller.

Air-cooled Scroll Chillers vs. Water-cooled Scroll Chillers

Suitability for Project Size

Air-cooled scroll chillers are ideal if you are currently a small or medium-sized business or do not require frequent cooling. And you can choose to modularise your air-cooled scroll chiller and expand the cooling system whenever demand fluctuates. The water-cooled scroll chillers themselves have higher cooling capacity and efficiency, which you can choose for larger projects.

Environmental Dependence

Air-cooled scroll chillers do not depend on water for their operation, allowing you to use them in areas and projects where water is scarce. However, air-cooled scroll chillers are dependent on ambient air for heat dissipation, making them inefficient at higher ambient temperatures. Water-cooled scroll chillers, on the other hand, are not affected by ambient temperatures, making them a better choice for high-temperature environments.

Noise Levels

Both air-cooled and water-cooled scroll chillers have very low noise levels due to the quiet-running scroll compressor. However, due to the use of a fan, the fan of an air-cooled scroll chiller will make more noise compared to a water-cooled scroll chiller. Therefore, if your project is extremely demanding in terms of noise levels, then a water-cooled scroll chiller will be more than adequate.

Costs

An air-cooled water chiller has a lower initial cost, and because of its simpler construction, it is cheaper to install and maintain. This makes it an affordable choice for small to medium sized factories or temporary use. Water-cooled chillers, on the other hand, have higher initial and maintenance costs, but are more cost-effective for larger projects and long-term use. Water-cooled chillers also have a longer service life.

Applications of Air Cooled Scroll Chillers

Industrial Manufacturing

• Machining: Heat is generated during industrial manufacturing processes such as machine tool processing, plastic moulding, chip encapsulation and so on. Air-cooled scroll chillers can effectively cool and control the temperature of the manufacturing process, improving the production quality of finished products and the machining accuracy of equipment, thus reducing additional cost losses. It can also accelerate the cooling of finished products and shorten the waiting time for cooling, thus improving production efficiency.
• Equipment Cooling: High-power equipment in industry, such as lasers, generates heat during operation, leading to performance degradation or even overheating and shutdown. You can use air-cooled scroll chillers to help dissipate the heat. By maintaining the right operating temperature, you can improve the performance and extend the life of your equipment.
• Space Cooling: Air-cooled scroll chillers can be integrated into air-conditioning systems to maintain a comfortable cool temperature in the space, improving worker productivity for you.

Medical Industry

Hospitals can use air-cooled scroll chillers to provide better storage conditions for equipment and tools and to maintain a cool operating room environment. In addition, the preparation of medical drugs also requires air-cooled scroll chillers to achieve the ideal temperature range to ensure stability of formulations and qualification of drugs.

Food Industry

Whether it is the processing or storage of food and beverages, low and stable temperatures are required. Air-cooled scroll chillers not only provide rapid cooling in processing but also provide a constant and stable low-temperature environment in storage, thus ensuring the quality and safety of food and beverages.

Commercial and Architectural

You can integrate air-cooled scroll chillers into air-conditioning systems and use them in various locations such as shopping malls, airports, office buildings, schools, and more for a comfortable environment. In addition, it operates with a low noise level that does not affect customers and employees, thus improving work and operational efficiency.