What Is the Heat Transfer in a Chiller System

Heat does not vanish. It moves. In a chiller system heat travels from the process you care about to the outside air or cooling water. Problems happen when one link in that path underperforms. This from will walk you through the full heat transfer chain.

What is Heat Transfer?

Heat transfer means moving thermal energy from a warmer place to a cooler place. In a chiller the main modes are conduction and convection. Conduction happens inside metal parts and tubes. Convection happens when fluids carry energy from one spot to another.

Phase change plays a big role too. When refrigerant boils it takes in a lot of energy without a big rise in temperature. That is what makes the system efficient.

How Does Heat Transfer Work in a Chiller System?

Think of the system as a loop. Heat starts at the process. It moves into the chilled water loop. From there it goes into the evaporator. The refrigerant carries that heat to the condenser. The condenser dumps the heat to the cooling tower or the air. Each step must hand off energy cleanly. If any handoff is poor the whole loop loses capacity.

The working principle of LNEYA chillers, if there is an operating failure, please check each component according to the circuit diagram

Process Equipment (Load)

This is where heat is created. It can be a reactor, an industrial chiller load, a laser, or a test chamber. The device generates heat during normal operation. Chilled water or a secondary fluid picks that heat up. The temperature rise of the return water tells you how much heat the process produces.

Chilled Water Loop

The chilled water loop connects your process to the chiller. Pumps push water through the process and back to the evaporator.

Evaporator

In the evaporator the chilled water and refrigerant meet across a heat transfer surface. The refrigerant evaporates as it absorbs heat from the water. This phase change carries large amounts of energy with modest temperature change. That is why evaporator cleanliness matters.

Refrigerant Circuit

The refrigerant picks up heat as vapor and goes to the compressor. The compressor raises pressure and temperature. Compressor performance affects heat transfer indirectly. If the compressor cannot compress effectively the refrigerant will not condense well and the evaporator side suffers.

Condenser

The condenser is the place where refrigerant gives up heat. In water cooled chillers the condenser transfers heat to the condenser water. That water then goes to the cooling tower. In air cooled units fans move ambient air across coil fins and the heat leaves to the outside.

Cooling Tower or Air Side

Finally the heat leaves the plant. Cooling towers remove heat from condenser water by evaporation. Towers require water treatment and airflow management to work well. Air cooled condensers rely on ambient air.