Steel industry

Water Chillers in Manufacturing

Business

Water chillers are extremely important in the manufacturing industry. Still, before going ahead to describe their significance, it will be good to give a quick description of what they are in the first instance. For those who do not know, a water chiller is a machine that has been designed to be able to remove heat from a liquid using what is known as the absorption refrigeration or vapour compression cycle.

By removing the heat from a liquid, it becomes cooler, and that explains the name: water chiller. Now the definition has been given; the next sections will focus on the importance of these machines in the manufacturing industry.

By its usefulness, water chillers have found many applications in the manufacturing industry, and that is precisely why they are considered important. The first is that water chillers increase the efficiency of machines and they can do this because while working, they generate waste heat.

However, increasing the efficiency of machines is not the only important thing about water chillers. They are also used for the cooling and dehumidification of air, and this is seen on many industrial sites. On these sites, the water chillers are crucial, and there are no easy alternatives for them when it comes to cooling fluids in such amounts and with such efficiency. Another importance of water chillers has to do with their property of being eco-friendly. Because water-cooled facilities are more environment-friendly than the air-cooled facilities.

Chemist working

Many may not be aware of this, but water chillers are almost indispensable in air conditioning systems. The cooled water is often circulated to the heat exchangers (also coils) and then circulated again to the chiller to be cooled again. Without this, air conditioners cannot function the way we know them. Water chillers are so important for air conditioning or compressing systems that when they are damaged, there is the need to make use of emergency chillers.

Also, in the manufacturing industry, water chillers are utilized for the controlled cooling of products and factory machinery in several aspects. Water chillers are used in diverse areas when it comes to the manufacturing industry. These include areas like paper processing, chemical processing, food and beverage production, welding, plastic production, pharmaceutical processing, machine tooling, and so many more.

Water chillers are also used in vacuum systems manufacturing, power supplies processing, semiconductor manufacturing, and gas cooling. In the manufacturing industry, chillers can be used in two main ways. They can be used as a central source where one main chiller is used to serve all the units. The second way is for the chillers to be used as decentralized units where every system or unit will be fixed with its chilling machine.

There is also the possibility of using both centralized and decentralized water chillers in the manufacturing sector – it all depends on the specification of the manufacturers and the products to be made. As expected, central chillers are often massive but the decentralized ones are relatively smaller.

Water chillers are important in many industries, not just the manufacturing industries. With the many benefits that they can offer the sector, there is no wonder that they are installed in most factories and offices. Water chillers are needed for certain things to run like air conditioners. Certainly, we would be lost without them.