Water tank chillers have become a basic necessity in recent years, especially for hot climatic countries like UAE. They are widely used to maintain low temperatures required in residential, commercial, and industrial applications.
Home tank chillers are known for providing a high level of energy efficiency. These systems supply chilled water to cool products, mechanisms, and machinery. Water chillers are typically closed-loop systems which means that water is constantly circulating to be repurposed for maximum efficiency.
This blog will guide you on tank chillers. For example, how do they operate? Their types, and where you can find them? So stick to the blog till last to find answers.
Let’s dive in!
What Is Water Tank Chiller Systems?
Home tank chillers play a crucial role in ventilation, heating, and air conditioning systems. That’s why they are frequently incorporated into a wide range of residential and commercial facilities, including hotels, apartment blocks, sporting arenas, hospitals, restaurants, industrial facilities, and manufacturing plants.
In UAE and especially Dubai, home tank chillers are more prevalent in residential areas. People even have installed them in their cars to beat the heat of the desert.
How Do Tank Chillers Work?
Tank chillers provide coolant flow to the cool side of a process water system at a conventional temperature of 10˚C by leveraging the principle of vapor compression and absorption. In addition, chiller systems pump coolant through specific industrial processes, resulting in heat extraction from relevant areas of the facility. The coolant then flows back to the returns side of the process water system.
Two critical functions of water chillers include dehumidification and cooling. With chiller systems, engineers can meet industrial and commercial cooling requirements in various applications, including metal finishing, plastic processing, water cutting, medical manufacturing, food processing, residential, and welding.
Generally, chillers meet these requirements by transferring heat from an internal environment to an external one with a heat transfer device and a refrigerant. In this process, chillers account for over 50% of the total electricity consumption in seasonal periods.
Home tank chillers also contain a vapor compression mechanical refrigeration system which connects the process water system through an evaporator. This refrigeration system circulates through other components of the chiller, including the compressor, evaporator, condenser, and expansion device.
The evaporator transfers the captured heat to the refrigerant. During heat transfer, the refrigerant evaporates as it changes from a low-pressure liquid into vapor, reducing the process temperature. Lastly, the condenser changes the refrigerant back to a liquid state.
Types Of Water Tank Chillers
The tank chillers are divided into four types available for a wide range of residential, commercial, and industrial applications in the UAE.
- Air-cooled chillers
- Water-cooled chillers
- Portable chillers
- Central chillers
Air-Cooled Chillers |
Water-Cooled Chillers |
| Air-cooled chillers force air across refrigerant lines with the aid of a motorized blower like the way a car radiator works. It is equipped with condensers that utilize ambient air to reduce refrigerant temperatures. | Water-cooled chillers have a similar working principle as an air-cooled chiller. They achieve heat transfer by transferring the heat from the refrigerant vapor to the condenser water and discharging heat from the condenser water to the atmosphere at the cooling tower. |
| They are costlier at face value. | Water-cooled chillers cost less to set up. |
| Air-cooled chillers need additional space. They are a good choice for an area with a low water supply. | They can be installed in areas with minimal ventilation – making them the best choice for industries. |
Portable Chillers |
Central Chillers |
| Portable chillers with capacities ranging from 30-40 tons exhibit simple designs and low installation costs. | Central chillers have much larger capacities come in complicated designs, offer high efficiencies, and ultimately higher installation costs. |
| Portable chillers include easy transportation, ease of powering, and simple connection capabilities, making them ideal for cars in Dubai. | Central chillers can cool multiple large and variable process loads simultaneously at similar temperatures. |
How To Choose The Best Water Tank Chiller For Your Application In UAE?
1. Determine The Heat Load
It is crucial to determine the heat load of your application to ensure the chosen chiller is big enough for the intended application. There are many ways to determine the heat load but understanding the process is crucial to calculate an accurate heat load.
2. Determine The Coolant Type
The next step is to target the temperature and the flow rate that the chiller must provide to the process. This is determined by heat transfer from the approach to the coolant and the type of coolant being used.
3. Identify Installation Environment
In what environment do you want the tank chiller to be installed? Indoor applications, for instance, can see high temperatures and polluted atmospheres, while outdoor installations can experience both high and low ambient temperatures. This can affect the chiller’s size and required accessories such as a sump heater, air filters, etc.
4. Use Tank Chiller’s Performance Curve
Now use the water tank chiller’s performance curves to pick a chiller model that meets or surpasses the required capacity based on the chilled water supply temperature and the highest expected ambient air temperature.
Consider the safety margin of the application regarding frame size to maximize the value of the chiller selection.
5. Check Pump Performance Curves
Ask the home tank chiller provider to show you the pump performance curves to ensure that the pump provides enough pressure at the design flow rate to satisfy the application. Some liquid-cooled systems have small coolant flow paths or longer distances with higher pressure losses than average.
6. Final Selection
Choosing a standard tank chiller in the UAE will bring you great reliability and more accessible service with common spare parts. Consider that the remaining application requirements, such as control options, footprint, power characteristics, color, agency listing, etc., are met by the global standard. So make sure to purchase it from the best retailers such as Blue Star.
Water Tank Chiller’s Maintenance Tips
Surprisingly, home tank chillers can take up a massive chunk of your building’s utility bills. Luckily, there are specific measures you can take to maximize your chiller’s efficiency and save on energy costs.
Some of the common tips are that will make improve the performance of chiller:
- Maintaining daily logs can aid in the easy and rapid prediction of future damage to the tank chiller system.
- Periodic inspection of condenser water loops reduces the chiller’s biological growth, material scaling, and corrosion.
- Mitigate refrigerant leaks
- Regular cleaning of the chiller tubing
- Installation of variable speed drives
- Maintain an optimal chilled water flow rate to provide efficient heat exchange
- Prevention of the air inflow and moisture into the chiller system
- Constant inspection of motor and starting mechanism
The implication of these best practices will greatly impact your tank chiller operational efficiency and building operating costs. Predictive preservation and optimization of the chiller system will ultimately play a significant role in maximizing productivity.
Looking For Home Tank Chillers To Purchase?
Now you know all the primary things about tank chillers and how you can choose one for your home in Dubai.
If you want to buy home tank chillers, you may purchase Blue Star products at affordable prices. Connect with Central Trading Company is among the leading players of automotive services in Dubai and a well-known member of Al Rostamani Company, and buy the one today!
