The difference between air-cooled and water-cooled chillers

Air-cooled chillers and water-cooled chillers are both devices used to cool water. Their main difference lies in the way they dissipate heat.

Air-cooled chillers are widely used cooling devices, usually applied in industrial, commercial, medical, and comfort air conditioning. Its working principle is to remove heat from processed water through forced air circulation, thereby reducing the water temperature. Air-cooled chillers usually consist of compressors, condensers, evaporators, and electrical control systems. This type of chiller is usually easier to install and maintain than water-cooled chillers because it does not require water pipes or circulation pumps. However, in high-temperature environments and high-load operations, air-cooled chillers may require more energy to maintain low temperatures.

Water-cooled chillers are typically used in the industrial field of manufacturing, refrigerated air conditioning, and heat exchangers. Compared with air-cooled chillers, water-cooled chillers have higher cooling efficiency because more heat can be transferred through water circulation. However, installation requires more pipelines and water tanks, and more complicated pipelines and maintenance make its operating costs relatively high.