Airedale air-cooled chiller reaches new level of energy efficiency

Airedale’s TurboChill air-cooled high-capacity chiller is its most efficient yet. Among energy-saving features are centrifugal Turbocor with a number of cutting-edge components. Seasonal energy-efficiency ratings of up to 5.7 are said to be around 50% higher than traditional screw chilled and unparalleled for an air-cooled chiller. The Turbocor compressor itself has an EER of up to 8.0 at part load. These self-optimising compressors have variable-speed drives, so that a TurboChill has an output range from 500 to 1100 kW. The refrigerant is R134a. The cooling fans have sickle blades and EC motors. There are two sound options — quiet and super-quiet. Sound levels are said to be 5 to 7 dB(A) less than a screw compressor of similar size. Starting current is just 2 A. Up to four of these oil-free compressors enable the TurboChill to operate up to four compressors on a single circuit, intelligently managed by AireTronix controls. The single-pass evaporator offers the same performance and efficiency as a flooded evaporator, but with a much smaller refrigerant change. Optimised heat exchange and oil-free operation allow a reduced compression ratio and increased EERs of up to 10%. TurboChill chillers meets the requirement of Eurovent Class A rating and are included on the Energy Technology List.