Choosing the right chiller for temporary applications
Introduction
Choosing the right chiller for a rental application, whether for emergency cooling, seasonal demand, or long term industrial processes, requires a clear understanding of the two main technologies: air-cooled and water-cooled chillers.
This guide offers a balanced, comparison to help facility managers, engineers, and procurement teams make informed decisions based on site conditions, rental duration, and energy efficiency.
How air-cooled chillers work
Air-cooled chillers reject heat into the air around them. They operate similarly to a large-scale refrigerator, using fans to blow air across condenser coils filled with refrigerant.
Process:
Warm fluid enters from the customer’s process.
Refrigerant absorbs heat from the fluid.
Fans blow air across the refrigerant coils, releasing heat into the atmosphere.
Cooled fluid returns to the customer’s system.
Key features:
No cooling tower required
Simplified installation
Higher ambient sensitivity (performance drops in hot weather)
Typically lower COP than water-cooled systems
How water-cooled chillers work
A water-cooled chiller uses water to carry away the heat, and that water is then cooled by another system (typically a cooling tower). A water cooled chiller features two loops; one to cool down the customer’s process water (evaporator side) and another to reject the heat (condenser side).
As water is a more efficient at absorbing heat than air, water cooled chillers require much less electrical energy than air cooled chillers
Water cooled chillers are affected far less than air cooled chillers by high ambient temperatures, making them ideal for larger or longer-term cooling needs.
Process:
Warm fluid enters the chiller.
Refrigerant absorbs heat from the fluid.
Heat is transferred to a water loop connected to a cooling tower.
Cooled fluid returns to the customer’s system.