How Do Industrial Chillers Work?

If your business uses industrial machinery of any kind, it’s likely that industrial chillers will prove to be a very wise investment for your daily operations. Industrial chillers are used in a wide range of business environments, ranging from food and beverage production to injection moldings and semiconductors. 

The widespread usage, combined with a growing understanding of their benefits has seen the industry grow at a rapid rate while it is expected to surpass $13.25bn by 2026. Now is the time for your business to open its arms to their benefits.

Before making the investment, though, you might be asking: how does a chiller work? Here’s all you need to know:

What Is the Function of an Industrial Chiller?

Broken or overheated machinery costs US businesses millions of dollars every single day. In fact, research shows that machinery faults (not including boiler problems) account for one-third of all losses, surpassing $3m. In many cases, the damage is caused by overheating. An industrial chiller solves this issue by transferring heat from the equipment to a secondary location, keeping machinery at stable operating temperatures.

The process will keep the equipment at a consistent temperature while also maintaining the right pressure levels.

The Benefits of Using an Industrial Chiller Include:

• More efficient machine operations
• Reduced threat of machine failure
• Reduced maintenance requirements
• Increased energy efficiency
• Greater levels of automation

Ultimately, an industrial chiller has the ability to save time and money for the business and its staff. The final result is a more efficient operation that guarantees the highest-quality products.

How Does a Chiller Work? 3 Core Principles:

Industrial chillers use three working principles to ensure that machinery is kept at suitable temperatures throughout all operations. They are:

1. The Phase Change: In which liquid coolants turn into gas when heated and condensed back to a liquid when cooled.
2. The Heat Flow: In which energy naturally transfers itself from high-concentration environments to low-concentration environments.
3. The Boiling Point: This either increases or decreases in reflection of the liquid’s pressure at any given time.

Key Components of an Industrial Chiller System

The industrial chiller uses a process known as the refrigerant cycle (explained below) to successfully remove and treat the heat gases. To do this, it uses the following parts:

• The Evaporator: turns a refrigerant liquid into a gas through evaporation.
• The Compressor: turns low-pressure liquid into high-pressure gas.
• The Condenser: actively removes heat from the high-pressure gas.
• The Valve: treats the gas and prepares it as a liquid for the evaporator.

The Three Types Of Condensers

Industrial chillers rely heavily on the function of the condenser. While lesser-used alternatives do exist, the three main types of condensers are:

• Water-cooled industrial chillers that use an external cooling tower to cool hot gases and refrigerants back into a liquid.
• Air-cooled industrial chillers that use ambient air to reject hot gases and refrigerants while cooling heat back into a liquid state.
• Absorption industrial chillers that absorb the gas coolant and recycle the diluted solution through a heat exchange.

How Does a Chiller Work? A Step-by-Step Overview

An industrial chiller works by transferring heat away from overheated equipment using a water (or water/glycerol) solution. Thanks to the three naturally occurring principles, the heat can be transferred back and forth to the chiller.

Most industrial chillers also use a pump system and liquid reservoir to circulate the liquids and gases to/from the chiller. In essence, then, the heat is transferred away from the machinery and becomes cool due to the cooling temperature of the water or water/glycerol solution. 

Of course, in an air-cooled industrial chiller, the liquid is replaced by the ambient air, although the basic operations are largely the same. Chillers also rely heavily on the cooling refrigerant, which is responsible for facilitating the state phase changes between gases and liquids. 

This is known as the refrigerant cycle, because the compression turns the liquid into a gas and then back to a liquid. The refrigerants are chemical compounds, which will vary depending on the temperature requirements for the intended application.

Step	Component	What Happens	Result
Evaporation	Evaporator	Refrigerant absorbs heat	Cooling begins
Compression	Compressor	Pressure and temperature increase	Moves refrigerant
Condensation	Condenser	Heat is released	Refrigerant becomes liquid
Expansion	Expansion Valve	Pressure drops	Refrigerant cools

The cycle is completed by the following steps:

1. The evaporator is used to boil the heat from the process water, transforming it from a liquid to a gas. 
2. The gas then enters the compressor, where it becomes a high-pressure gas. 
3. The high-pressure gas enters the condenser where the water or air ambient is used to cool it to a liquid.
4. The high-pressure liquid enters a valve that subsequently determines how much refrigerant will be transferred back to the evaporator.

Whether you’re upgrading existing equipment or exploring chillers for the first time, KKT Chillers can help you find the perfect fit. Get in touch with us today.

Frequently Asked Questions — How Does a Chiller Work?

How does a chiller work step by step?
A chiller works by circulating refrigerant through evaporation, compression, condensation, and expansion to remove heat.

What is the purpose of a chiller?
To remove heat from a process or environment and maintain a controlled temperature.

What are the main components of a chiller?
Evaporator, compressor, condenser, and expansion valve.