A chiller is a device that is used above all in industrial contexts, where it is necessary to maintain a very low temperature in order not to cause productivity problems. The food industries, for example, need to maintain a constant temperature so as not to spoil the quality of food. This can be done with a chiller, which can be air or water. The water chiller, depending on the composition, can work in two ways: with a refrigerant or by thermoelectricity.
Water chiller with a refrigerant or through thermoelectricity?
Through the cooling process, the entire body that uses a higher temperature is the liquid that is placed in the water cooler. Inside the water chiller there is a water tank with a reserve cooled by a refrigerant through a compressor. The compressor is the most important element of the chiller, as with the refrigerant it absorbs the heat to cool the tank. Gradually, the water with the highest temperature loses its heat and becomes cold due to the chemical process. That is why it is possible to reach a lower temperature than that room temperature.
A cooler that works through thermoelectricity is based on the Peltier effect, which creates a thermoelectric cooling system by passing heat through two conductive metals that are connected by a semiconductor. This method has significant advantages, such as the absence of a means of circulation, less risks of leaks and a long life.
How water cooling works
The cooling process in the chiller can be achieved thanks to 4 elements that compose it: the compressor, the evaporator, the condenser and the expansion valves. These elements work in synergy and if one of them does not work, the whole process is blocked precisely because they depend on each other.
The compressor has the task of passing the shredder to the condenser at a higher temperature. This occurs through the use of the piston, which serves to compress the refrigerant. The quantity of gas decreases and it is possible to reach a higher pressure. The result is a smaller volume in a greater collision within a small space, which raises the average temperature of the gas molecules.
The condenser cools the temperature of the refrigerant, which passes through the coils and pipes. After losing heat through the condenser, a liquid refrigerant of moderate temperature and pressure is obtained.
The expansion valve lowers the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant even further. It absorbs the compressed liquid refrigerant in a larger space, also increasing the volume which is counterbalanced by a reduced pressure and a lower temperature, and then passes to the evaporator.
The evaporator is that element in which the hot air of the area to be cooled is sucked through a buff. This air enters through the evaporator tubes, heating them. In this way, boiling is achieved, due to the maximum temperature of the refrigerant. By absorbing the heat, it is possible to move on to evaporation, because the steam is channeled by the hydraulic system into the switch in which the cycles are always repeated continuously.
The water cooling process, a simple explanation
To understand more clearly how the cooling process of a chiller works, just think of a water dispenser, the most used chiller ever. The water is cooled by the tank thanks to a liquid refrigerant that circulates through the pipes around the tank. A gaseous refrigerant is obtained through the compressor that comes into contact with the pipes, which is then transferred to a valve for further cooling. This process occurs continuously and without stopping, causing a total cooling of the tank. Since the pipes are located around the tank, they cause a temperature difference when the refrigerant passes through the tubes. Thanks to this process, cold water is continuously deposited inside the tank. If this runs out, it will be necessary to wait some time before being able to recover it. Obviously, if one of these elements stops working, it must be replaced promptly, so as not to block the entire water cooler.
An industrial water chiller has the goal of ensuring a precise and constant temperature of the outgoing water. But it is not only useful for this, because it can also offer clean water that is not contaminated by external agents, in any weather condition. Water coolers are usually installed inside buildings, as opposed to air coolers which are installed outside, above the buildings. The water chiller is considered more powerful and performing than an air cooler, because it does not emit any noise and can be more versatile, in fact it is used both in large industries but also in smaller environments. The only consideration that must be made is that they constantly need water to function, which is the primary source of their use, so it is not advisable to install it in areas where it is difficult to find large quantities of water.