The Difference Between A Chiller And A Cooling Tower?

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Whether you're in the market to replace an inefficient cooling tower, or you're purchasing one for the first time, both cooling towers and air-cooled chillers are effective solutions. However, certain machinery is better suited for specific contexts. Choosing equipment without careful consideration of your unique situation could lead to subpar performance and higher than average utility costs.

To make an informed decision, you need to understand the differences between cooling towers and air-cooled chillers in terms of price and function.

Air-Cooled Chillers Vs. Cooling Towers: What Is The Difference?

Both air-cooled chillers and cooling towers cool things down by removing heat, but they do so differently. A chiller removes heat from the coolant material and releases it into the surrounding air. In contrast, a cooling tower removes heat from the water returning from the system's condenser or heat exchanger. Which system is right for you depends on how your building is structured, how much space you have, and how powerful you need the cooling effect to be.

How Chillers Work And Which To Choose

As mentioned above, chillers draw heat directly from the system coolant. Some chiller systems use water for heat transfer, one of the most efficient cooling methods available. However, water-cooled chiller systems can be too efficient and may produce excess heat. In cold environments, this extra heat removal can make the water too cold, leading to unexpected issues.

Other types of chillers, known as air-cooled chillers, use air rather than water for the heat transfer process. Air-cooled chillers are less effective for large operations compared to water-cooled options but are an affordable and effective choice for factories that do not output significant heat. Maintenance is relatively inexpensive, and little to no water treatment may be necessary.

Industries such as microbrewing, plastics, and food processing will benefit from air-cooled chillers due to their relative efficiency and footprint compared to cooling towers.

Types of Cooling Towers to Choose From

Cooling towers are available in different styles and types. The most common are crossflow and counterflow cooling towers. As their names suggest, these towers operate by blowing air across hot water as it returns from the condenser or heat exchanger, with the main difference being the direction of the airflow.

In a crossflow tower, air cools by blowing across the hot water stream; in a counterflow tower, air blows in the opposite direction of the water flow. Some facilities successfully use induced draft cooling towers, which employ a fan to draw hot air up and out.

Paper production facilities, chemical management locations, power plants, and other energy refinement processes (such as oil, gas, and thermal power) often select cooling towers over chillers. However, you should evaluate your specific situation to determine whether industry averages apply to you or if you need a more customized solution.

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Budgeting for an Air-Cooled Chiller or Cooling Tower

Heat removal is a complex task, and the machinery you choose must be powerful enough to meet your needs. Air-cooled chiller systems are typically more affordable, with equipment costs ranging from $188,000 to $250,000 due to their smaller size. Cooling towers cost anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000 to replace, but they often come with additional hardware like water treatment systems, sand filters, and other necessary machinery. Energy ROI will play a role, as cooling towers generally operate much more efficiently than air-cooled systems (up to 100 times more efficient).

For more information, please visit working principle of cooling tower.

Choose an option appropriate for your industry. Investing in a well-constructed cooling tower now can lower your future utility bills and ensure your systems perform well under various conditions.

Trust The Experts To Help You Choose And Maintain Your Building

Choosing a cooling mechanism for your facility is a critical and costly decision. However, you don't have to stress over it. Consult the experts to learn about your options and find the cooling tower or air-cooled chiller best suited to your needs. The professionals at Tower Water are happy to walk you through the process. Reach out to learn more or schedule an appointment to get started.

How do a Chiller, Cooling Tower, and Air Handling Unit work together to provide air conditioning (HVAC) to a building? This article will cover this topic to understand the basics of HVAC central plants.

The main components of the central cooling plant are:

• Chiller
• Air Handling Unit (AHU)
• Cooling Tower
• Pumps

The chiller is typically located either in the basement or on the roof, depending on the type of chiller used. Rooftop chillers are usually air-cooled, while basement chillers are typically water-cooled. Both perform the same function: generating cold water for air conditioning by removing unwanted heat from the building. The only difference is how the chiller discards the unwanted heat.

Air-cooled chillers use fans to blow cool ambient air over their condenser to remove heat from the system; this type does not use a cooling tower. You can learn more about this system and watch the video tutorial by clicking here. For the remainder of this article, we will focus on water-cooled chillers and cooling towers.

Chilled Water:
The chiller's evaporator generates chilled water. The chilled water leaves the evaporator at around 6°C (42.8°F) and is circulated around the building by the chilled water pump. This water flows up the building to each floor through pipes known as risers, regardless of whether the water flows upward or downward.

The chilled water branches off the risers into smaller diameter pipes that head to the fan coil units (FCUs) and air handling units (AHUs) to provide air conditioning. The AHUs and FCUs are essentially boxes with fans that suck in air from the building, push it across heating or cooling coils to change the air temperature, and then return the conditioned air to the building. The chilled water enters the AHU/FCU, passes through the cooling coil (a series of thin pipes), absorbs the heat from the air blowing across it, and warms up. The air blowing across the chilled water cools down. When the chilled water leaves the cooling coil, it will be warmer at around 12°C (53.6°F). The warm chilled water then returns to the evaporator via the return riser, where a refrigerant absorbs the unwanted heat and transfers it to the condenser. The chilled water leaves cool again and is recirculated throughout the building to absorb more heat. Note: the chilled water is called "chilled water" whether it is warm or cool.

Condenser Water:
The chiller's condenser collects unwanted heat before sending it to the cooling towers. A refrigerant transfers heat between the evaporator and the condenser. Another loop of water, known as "condenser water," circulates between the condenser and the cooling tower. The refrigerant collects heat from the chilled water loop in the evaporator and transfers it to the condenser water loop in the condenser.

The condenser water enters the condenser at around 27°C (80.6°F) and collects heat as it passes through. By the time it leaves the condenser, it is around 32°C (89.6°F). The condenser water and the refrigerant never mix; they are always separated by the pipe wall, with heat transferring through the wall. Once the condenser water has passed through the condenser and picked up the unwanted heat, it heads to the cooling towers to dump this heat and return cooler, ready to collect more heat.

Cooling Tower:
The cooling tower is usually located on the roof and is the final destination for the unwanted heat in the building. The cooling tower contains a large fan that blows air through the unit. The condenser water is pumped to the cooling towers and sprayed into the airstream. Cool ambient air enters and comes into direct contact with the sprayed condenser water (in an open cooling tower), allowing the heat to transfer into the air, which is then blown out into the atmosphere. The condenser water collects and returns to the chiller's condenser, ready to collect more heat. Check out our special tutorial on cooling towers here.

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