Chillers make things cool. There are a wide variety of chillers, although chillers generally refer to devices that cool fluids. There are a wide variety of chillers, because there are many different fluids to cool (including air), for a wide variety of uses. One common use for a chiller is in cooling buildings. A chiller will cool water, which is circulated through a building's cooling system to keep things comfortable.
How Chillers Work
A chiller generally includes a compressor, condensor, a thermal expansion valve, and an evaporator. Absorption chillers use
heat to do the cooling, and are based on a thermal compressor, which is comprised of an absorber, a generator, a pump and
a throttle.
Chiller Uses
Chillers can be used to convert waste heat from manufacturing processes for use in cooling.
Directing chilled air into gas turbines and compressors will increase their efficiency
Chilled brine is used to create ice
Drinking water is often chilled before consumption
Chillers are essential to plasma etch processes used in semiconductor manfacturing
High-intensity lasers create waste heat, and require special chillers to function
Chillers regulate temperature in reaction vessels used by the pharmaceutical industry
MRI equipment requires careful thermal control to function, making chillers necessary
Chillers are used to cool objects being cut by machine tools
Chiller Energy Considerations
Chillers can require a great deal of energy to do their job. Chiller buyers must consider the energy cost associated
with any chiller purchase. This makes it crucial to ensure that the chiller capacity is a good match to the chilling
task.