News
NEW MODULAR
FREE COOLING OPERATION CHILLER
By Benjamin Brits
The latest product from the US-manufacturer allows users to maximise advantage through a self-customised solution . Very often , the benefits of low ambient and night-time temperatures are not utilised to their full potential and thus harnessing free-cooling opportunities that are provided through naturally occurring conditions are missed .
Already gaining traction with some installations completed in the US , this technology caters primarily to high-use applications where cooling is required over many hours of the day . Particularly with the fast-advancing data centre and medical industries in South Africa , this equipment has several advantages here as an air-cooled solution saving not only water resources , its less burdening on the environment through decreased energy consumption .
“ This product is now available in South Africa and highlighting some of the unique elements are the modular design benefits : while under mechanical-cooling only , free-cooling only or hybrid cooling modes , this innovative design enables the ability to operate all components without disruption to each other ’ s function ,” says Jaco Smal – sales , service , and marketing director at AHI Carrier Toshiba South Africa .
As a custom-order-configuration product , project leads , or equipment specifiers can choose the configuration that best suits their requirement through the modular design . This may be a setup where there is a 50 / 50 split between mechanical cooling and free dry cooling or any proportion either way up to a 100 % free dry-cooling solution .
This is achieved by use and controlling of the free-cooling modules when temperatures are below a certain set point and should the said conditions be continuous for prolonged periods such as nighttime , winter months or cold periods , only the free cooling module is used in the system . As ambient temperatures increase , partial use of the mechanical cooling modules comes into play with the ability to ramp up and down the free-cooling module fans to maximise efficiency , thus producing the hybrid mode of operation . At higher temperatures , mechanical cooling units take over fully without having its performance being affected by the free-cooling design as it occurs in all other chiller designs .
“ Further advantages of this product include the separate module design that not only eliminates pressure drops compared with other systems that have stacked coils , maintenance and cleaning are also much easier . With the typical stacked coil design , the outer coil set also becomes sort of a filter where a lot of dirt or matter enters and gets stuck and this absolutely affects the equipment ’ s overall efficiency . With having a totally separate coil set on the free-cooling modules cleaning is thus easier but the separate modules also allow maintenance and repairs to be carried out without interrupting the other component – so essentially , if the free-cooling units need to be worked on , this can be done while the mechanical modules continue to work and vice versa ,” Smal adds .
Free-cooling options have become increasingly popular and appealing , not only for the obvious cost savings , but the overall search for better efficiency and sustainability options in terms of saving resources and energy consumption , particularly when equipment needs to work harder to manage a facility ’ s heat load .
“ It is important for us to continue to provide solutions that meet the needs of the client and that consider the environment . As we continue to navigate the coronavirus pandemic while still introducing new products to the local market , we have to continually adapt to the changing conditions , and so the traditional way of launching of products has to realise a new temporary method . We encourage role players to again engage with us to learn more about this latest chiller product from Carrier . We are ready to answer all of your questions ,” Smal concludes . RACA
AHI Carrier
Free-cooling options have become increasingly popular for better efficiency and sustainability aspects .
www . hvacronline . co . za RACA Journal I September 2021 5