Chilled Water Cooling

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Many commercial buildings use chilled water cooling systems because of their energy efficiency. In most chilled water cooling systems, the air conditioner unit resides either on the roof or behind the building. Chilled water cooling systems will often incorporate cooling towers, which improve their effectiveness. Water cooled chillers are generally designed for indoor operation, and are connected to outdoor cooling towers to release heat into the air. By using chilled water coils a chilled water cooling system cools water to between 40c and 45c. The chilled water then travels through insulated pipes to air handlers throughout the building. Chilled water cooling systems differ from air cooled chillers, which are also designed for outdoor installation. Air cooled chillers work by circulating air through a coil to force out heat. Cooling towers aren’t usually needed with air cooled chillers.

Chilled Water Cooling Towers

While chilled water cooling towers may cost more to install they can pay for themselves in energy savings over a relatively short period of time. Chilled water cooling towers work ...
... by creating a stream of low temperature water that runs through the chilled water coils of the air conditioner. It also blows air through the water causing some of the water to evaporate thus cooling the water. The cooling tower continuously adds water to the chilled water cooling system to replace the water that evaporates.

One of the advantages of a chilled water cooling system is that the refrigerant is housed in one central location, which reduces the chance of refrigerant leaks. If an emergency does occur your HVAC team will have a much easier time of addressing the leak.

Things to consider when selecting a chilled water cooling system include:

• Installation expenses
• Energy use
• Building dimensions
• Cooling loads
• Maintenance