Air-cooled chillers typically feature a rectangular shape with electrical control panels located either at one end or in the middle of the unit, often with separate high-voltage and low-voltage compartments.
Condenser coils are positioned in the upper section of the chiller with fans mounted above them, drawing air through the coils and rejecting heat upward into the atmosphere.
Condenser coil configurations vary widely across manufacturers, including vertical V-shapes, side slabs, bottom row arrangements, or multiple V-banks arranged across the chiller's length.
Compressors may be mounted directly to the frame (most common), positioned on top of the evaporator, or installed on elevated platforms depending on the manufacturer and specific model design.
The evaporator is almost always mounted at the frame level in the bottom section of the unit, providing the foundation for the refrigerant circuit design.
Many air-cooled chillers incorporate economizer circuits to enhance efficiency, with components typically mounted at the frame level alongside oil separators and other auxiliary equipment.
Some air-cooled chillers include integrated pump packages (single or dual configuration) within the frame, serving as dedicated primary pumps that interface with secondary building loops.
Remote condenser configurations allow the main chiller components to be installed indoors while the condensers are mounted externally, similar to supermarket refrigeration systems.
Remote evaporator designs position the shell-and-tube heat exchanger closer to the load source while maintaining the condensing section in its original location, though with some efficiency losses.
Process chillers represent a specialized subset of air-cooled chillers, typically smaller in capacity (5-20 tons) and designed for specific industrial applications like CNC machines, CT scanners, or manufacturing equipment.
Process chillers often incorporate insulated fluid tanks with immersed evaporator tube bundles and integrated circulation pumps to maintain precise temperature control for specialized applications.
Microchannels have increasingly replaced traditional tube-and-fin condenser coils in modern designs, though early implementations with R-134a refrigerant experienced significant leak issues with certain manufacturers.
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