Process Cooling Chillers

How to Size a Chiller

Chiller sizing starts with two important requirements: the cooling capacity your process needs and the required operating temperature. If you already know the required cooling load, enter it above and select the corresponding unit. The calculator will convert the value into commonly used refrigeration capacity units.

For preliminary chiller selection, the required temperature is also important. A chiller designed for standard process cooling may not be suitable for applications requiring significantly lower temperatures. Low-temperature applications may require a different refrigeration configuration and system design.

What Cooling Capacity Do I Need?

The required cooling capacity depends on the amount of heat that must be removed from your process. In a practical chiller selection, you should consider the process heat load, required supply temperature, operating conditions and an appropriate design margin.

If your required cooling capacity is already known, you can use the calculator above to convert it between kW, TR, HP, BTU/h and kcal/h. If you are not sure about the required capacity, LNEYA engineers can help evaluate the cooling requirement from your process conditions.

Chiller Capacity: kW vs TR

kW and TR are both commonly used to describe chiller cooling capacity. One refrigeration ton (TR) is approximately 3.517 kW of cooling capacity. The conversion is useful when comparing chiller specifications from different manufacturers or regions.

• 1 TR ≈ 3.517 kW
• 1 kW ≈ 0.284 TR
• 1 kW ≈ 3,412 BTU/h
• 1 kW ≈ 860 kcal/h

Why Operating Temperature Matters

Cooling capacity and operating temperature should be considered together. A chiller may provide different cooling performance at different supply temperatures. Therefore, when selecting an industrial chiller or low-temperature chiller, the required temperature should be specified together with the required cooling capacity.

For example, a process requiring 10 kW of cooling at 20°C and another process requiring 10 kW at -20°C have the same nominal cooling load, but they may require different chiller configurations.

Chiller Selection Guide

The calculator provides a preliminary category based mainly on the required supply temperature. It is intended for early-stage equipment selection rather than final model selection.

• Above 15°C: Standard / Industrial Chiller
• 5°C to 15°C: Industrial Chiller
• 0°C to below 5°C: Low Temperature Chiller
• -20°C to below 0°C: Low Temperature Chiller
• -40°C to below -20°C: Low Temperature / Special Low-Temperature System
• Below -40°C: Special Low-Temperature System

What Information Is Needed for Final Chiller Selection?

For a final chiller recommendation, the LNEYA engineering team may need the required cooling capacity, supply temperature, return temperature, flow rate, heat-transfer fluid, ambient conditions and application requirements. These parameters help determine the appropriate refrigeration system, heat exchanger configuration and control requirements.