Portable vs Central Chillers

Portable Chillers

An industrial portable or packaged water chiller refers to a unique design configuration of a self-contained chiller system that combines all necessary components including – the refrigeration circuit, controls and electrics, process pump and reservoir all within a single unit. Most often a portable packaged chiller has a small footprint, is mobile and is located near the process being cooled. The capacity of these units usually range from 1 to 40 tons of cooling.

There are three different types of portable packaged chillers: air-cooled, water-cooled or remote condenser also referred to as a split system. These three types of chiller systems refer to the type of condenser used to ultimately reject the process heat.

Portable packaged chillers are useful for small process loads or where special process fluids, flows, pressures or temperatures are required. They also are ideal for test applications and for temporary use.

Self-contained
Small, mobile footprint
Capacity: 1-40 tons of cooling
Types: air-cooled, water-cooled, remote condenser
Ideal for: small process loads, test applications, temporary use

Central Chillers

An industrial central chiller is a piece of equipment used to provide cooling for multiple processes. The chiller incorporates both the refrigeration circuit and controls and is installed in conjunction with a pumping system. The pumping system can be integral to the chiller but often the two items are installed separately. Central chillers are used for higher cooling capacity requirements and offer a cost effective means to cool multiple processes without requiring a single portable chiller dedicated to each process. Central chillers are also highly energy efficient utilizing special compressor technology like oil free designs. The capacity of these systems can range from 10 to 250+ tons. The chillers are typically modular and can be added to a system in the future to expand the cooling capacity.

There are two different types of central chillers: water-cooled and remote air-cooled also referred to as a split system. These types of chiller describe the type of condenser used to ultimately reject the process heat.

Central chillers are used to support entire production facilities or large sections of facilities. They are ideal for systems that have a varying demand across the operating hours of the plant. For example, when the facility runs over the weekend, the demand is greatly reduced and the central chiller system can unload to match this demand. Then when normal operation resumes the chiller can react to meet the higher demand. This requires no infrastructure changes to the facility to accurately support this demand.

Separate pumping system required
Highly energy efficient
Capacity: 10-250+ tons of cooling
Types: water-cooled, remote air-cooled
Ideal for: entire production facilities, varying demand