How do chillers and cooling towers work?
If your business requires a specific, cool temperature to maintain or aid production, you’ll likely be familiar with industrial cooling equipment. However, if this is still new to you, there are a few essential aspects that you’ll need to consider.
You may be wondering how chillers and cooling towers work. And you may be asking yourself: “which is best for my business?”. That’s why we’ve created this mini, easy to digest guide on what both pieces of equipment are, how they work (and how they work together) and why they may be beneficial to your business. Interested? Find out everything you need below.
What is a cooling tower?
Firstly, it’s important that you understand the product before you make any decisions. So, what is a cooling tower? Generally speaking, a cooling tower is a specialist piece of equipment used to control temperatures and cool down vital machinery. It uses a process called ‘evaporative cooling’, where cooling water and air are in direct contact with each other, to lower the temperature of the hot water. This then allows small amounts of water to evaporate, and therefore continue to lower the temperature of the water circulating throughout the tower.
What is a chiller?
A chiller is also an industrial unit used to control temperature, by transferring heat from one place to another. Where cooling towers make use of the internal basin and pumps, chillers use compressors and two different types of heat exchangers – evaporator heat exchangers and condenser heat exchangers. Chillers are an essential component when it comes to regulating temperature, particularly in the food and beverage industry, oilfield production and during metal plating processes.