Industrial chillers are important for maintaining the right interior temperature in medium-to-large-scale industrial settings. Their designs follow the industry standards for regulatory compliance.
You must have a clear idea of the different types of chiller compressor used in industrial chillers before choosing one. The core mechanism of these compressors is what the chillers rely on for a constant output. Let us know what a compressor is and how it works first.
What is a Chiller Compressor?
A chiller compressor uses a refrigerant for cooling. It compresses the refrigerant at high pressure and makes it absorb heat. This heat absorption cools down air or water running in a chiller.
After absorbing heat, it passes to the condenser to lose it. The refrigerant cools down and goes back to the compressor. This cycle is repeated until the internal atmosphere reaches the desired temperature.
There are four types of chiller compressor used in industrial chillers. Here is an overview of their core mechanism of compressing and cooling.
Types of Chiller Compressors
- Screw Compressor
A screw compressor is mainly used in air and water-cooled industrial chillers. Its mechanism of compressing refrigerant is the screwing motion. The screw motion is where a rotor with helical groves rotates on an axis.
Two such helical rotors create a void and push a refrigerant to compress it. The compressor seeks heat due to this action and sends cool air to the internal environment. This type of compressor is used in:
- Manufacturing
- Chemical processing
- Central HVAC
- Printing
- Automobile manufacturing
- Centrifugal Compressor
A centrifugal compressor uses an impeller for high-speed rotation. This impeller increases the velocity of a refrigerant within the compressor. This pressure is due to the centrifugal force of a compressor that compresses a refrigerant.
The refrigerant then passes through a diffuser at high pressure. Once it hits the expansion valve, it cools down and re-circulated to the compressor back.
Centrifugal compressors are generally used in chillers with large-scale cooling capacities. Hence, you can find them in:
- Large commercial complexes (shopping malls)
- Data centres
- District cooling systems
- Power plants
- Sports facilities
- Food & beverage
- Textile
- Airports
- Scroll Compressors
A scroll compressor is a simple yet effective type of compressor. It uses two interleaved scrolls where one is fixed and the other one moves in an orbiting motion. It means a scrolling action is created where the refrigerant gets trapped.
The refrigerant faces immense pressure and gets compressed within the pockets of a scroll compressor. When the pressure increases, the refrigerant is pushed toward the centre of the scrolls. It then exits the compressor unit and continues with the cooling system.
This type of compressor allows a continuous and reliable cooling effect. It can handle a steady cooling load for:
- Hospitality
- Residential HVAC
- Hospitals
- Commercial spaces
- Retail markets
- Reciprocating Compressor
A reciprocating compressor uses a piston-crankshaft mechanism. A refrigerant enters inside a piston chamber. A piston moves back and forth to compress it. The downward motion of a piston creates a vacuum that draws the refrigerant in. The upward motion compresses the refrigerant.
This reciprocating action is driven by a crankshaft that converts rotational energy into the linear motion of a piston. A chiller offers precise control over the compressing action of a piston in a reciprocating chiller. It is used in:
- Chemical processing
- Manufacturing
- Food and beverages
- Commercial spaces
- Hospitals
- Data centres
- Pharmaceutical units
- Research units and laboratories
Table of Comparison: Types of Chiller Compressors
Now that you have a clear idea, here is a table of comparison to assist you in choosing the right compressor.
| Compressor Type | Cooling Mechanism | Cooling capacity | Efficiency | Applications |
| Screw Compressor | Uses two interlocking helical rotors to compress refrigerant | Medium to high | High | Ideal for continuous operation in industrial settings |
| Centrifugal Compressor | Uses a high-speed rotating impeller to increase refrigerant velocity and pressure | High | Highly efficient at full load | Suitable for large-scale applications like power plants and commercial buildings |
| Scroll Compressor | Utilizes two interleaved scrolls, one fixed and one orbiting, to compress refrigerant | Low to medium | Very efficient, especially in steady loads | Common in HVAC systems, particularly where quiet operation is desired |
| Reciprocating Compressor | Employs a piston-driven mechanism for compressing refrigerant | Low to medium | Variable, depending on the load | Versatile for varying loads; used in diverse industrial applications |
Choose the Right Compressor with Tempcon: Your Industrial Chiller Partner
Contact us if you want assistance in calculating the heat load capacity and compressor types. Our team will understand your requirements and explain the types of chiller compressors. You can then make an informed decision by considering your heat load and cooling capacity of chillers.
