Absorption chillers use heat instead of electricity to cool and have various types including solar, water, gas, and bromide. They work similarly to traditional air conditioning systems but use different methods to generate power. Solar and gas absorption chillers are more efficient than electric systems, while bromide vapor absorption chillers use water and lithium bromide to cool.
An adsorption or absorption chiller is a cooling system that uses heat instead of electricity to cool something. There are many industrial uses for absorption chillers, including cooling manufacturing facilities and utilizing waste heat. The different types of absorption chillers are solar, water, gas and bromide with steam.
The process for cooling a building with an absorption chiller is similar to that used by conventional air conditioning systems in that there are compressor, condenser, and evaporator equipment within the system. The refrigerant, usually Freon®, is under pressure and builds up heat in the compressor. As the pressure and heat build, the liquid is converted into a gas to vapor. The gas then moves to the condenser where the heat dissipates and is transformed back into a liquid.
The cooled liquid is conveyed to the evaporator, where it turns into a gas and extracts heat from the air; fans blow fresh air into the building. The gas moves from the evaporator to the compressor and the process begins again. In traditional air conditioning systems, this process is carried out with the use of an electrically powered pump.
In a solar absorption chiller, solar panels are placed on the roof of a building to collect heat from the sun. The accumulated heat is then used to heat the liquid in the air conditioning system. As the liquid heats up, it turns to vapor and flows through the system in the same way as conventional systems. The main difference is that instead of using an electric pump, the liquid is heated by the sun.
In a gas absorption chiller, the pump is driven by a natural gas line connected to the system. When the system is turned on, natural gas activates the pump to flow refrigerant through the compressor. These systems work more efficiently than electric air conditioning systems, but are still more expensive to operate than solar varieties. In areas where sunlight is not available for long periods of time, a gas absorption chiller is more often used.
In a bromide vapor absorption chiller, the coolant is water instead of Freon®. The system also contains a saline substance, usually in the form of lithium bromide. The heat from a generator pump causes the water to separate from the lithium bromide and turn into steam. As the vapor rises in the absorber and cools, it mixes with the lithium bromide and becomes noticeably colder. This is due to the extreme atmospheric pressure inside the absorber.
Under normal conditions, water vaporizes at 212°F (100°C), but inside the absorber, water can vaporize up to 46°F (8°C). This low temperature allows the water to cool rapidly as it leaves the absorber. The chilled water then moves through the evaporator, where fans cool the air as it flows over the evaporator coils containing the chilled water and out into the building.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
