When working in industries or companies responsible for equipment, it is essential to understand the industrial cooling system. This system is responsible for cooling the environment to preserve machinery, employees, and products.
However, the professional must maintain control of the cooling to achieve the ideal temperature. The cycle that encompasses the entire process involves four elements: compressors, condensers, expansion valves, and evaporators.
Are you curious to know more about the industrial cooling system? If you work as an operator of this service, continue reading and get updated on:
- Types of cooling systems;
- Factors influencing the cooling system;
- Benefits of an effective system;
- How to optimize cooling system controls.
What are the types of cooling systems?
There are many types of industrial cooling systems available in the market, and you should be familiar with some of them to identify your needs and achieve good performance.
Before moving on to the presentation of each type, let's understand what you need to analyze:
- It is essential to know the cooling capacity of the equipment;
- Pay attention to the thermal load; it must be working efficiently;
- Don't forget to consider what will be stored or cooled with this equipment;
- Consider the type of technology used and the differentiating factors of each system.
Check out the systems below and discover the best option for you:
Forced Air Cooling
It is often used in commercial settings for the preservation of beverages and food and in large cold storage facilities. Its main advantage is the increased capacity when cooling the environment.
It is called forced air because the air circulation occurs within the equipment. A set of fans propels the passage of air through the evaporator, cooling the environment.
Evaporative Cooling
The evaporative cooling system has a natural process of compressing gas with refrigerant fluid. Let's try to explain it in a straightforward way:
- The cold vapor exits a tube and creates some resistance concerning the circulation of the refrigerant fluid. As a result, the environment is cooled.
Since it does not have a very high cooling power, this system is used by bakeries. It also absorbs heat from the internal space of the evaporator.
Static Cooling
Also known as plate cooling, this system consists of coils placed behind a metal plate. The assembly forms a cold cooling plate, and despite some noise, it has a low cost in the market.
Due to its resistance to chemicals, it is used in laboratories. It is also one of the most common in Brazil, having specific circuits and motors for refrigeration or freezing purposes.
VRF Cooling
VRF stands for Variable Refrigerant Flow, a system for large spaces. This type of cooling can cool up to 64 interconnected machines through an external unit.
It is a very versatile, flexible, and modern system capable of expanding and adapting to existing structures. Among the main advantages of VRF are:
- Ability to operate multiple devices;
- Reduces energy consumption;
- Increases thermal comfort;
- Has an intelligent system to detect failures or risks;
- Allows for remote operator access.
Chiller
The air conditioning system with Chiller is based on the cooling of water and air, not just using the refrigerant fluid. Its power can reach up to 250 tons of refrigeration, much higher than split systems.
Suitable for use in large environments, the Chiller offers advantages such as low energy consumption. It has two active models in the market:
- Water-cooled chiller: versatile and economical, these devices operate quietly and are popular in hospitals and large offices;
- Air-cooled chiller: robust and durable, they are applied in industrial cooling systems and have centralized maintenance.
HVAC
The primary responsibility of this system is to ensure thermal comfort for people in the environment. The acronym HVAC stands for Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning, the central functions of climate control.
The HVAC equipment is widely used in industries, shopping malls, buildings, etc., and provides:
- Air filtration;
- Retention of dust particles;
- Reduction of fungi and bacteria;
- Air renewal;
- Decrease in allergic and respiratory cases.
What factors influence the refrigeration system?
Understanding how an industrial refrigeration system works is the first step in identifying the influencing factors. After presenting the existing models, we need to reinforce issues related to the refrigeration cycle:
- Vapor compression cycle;
- Vapor absorption cycle;
- Gas cycle;
- Stirling cycle.
As the operator responsible for the machines, it is your job to ensure that all equipment is functioning correctly. This includes knowledge related to the refrigeration process, which consists of five important concepts:
- Refrigeration: heat is removed from one space and transferred to another;
- Cooling: conducts heat so that a device reaches room temperature;
- Chilling: reduces the temperature to the freezing state;
- Freezing: the process that goes beyond chilling;
- Thermal insulation: limits the flow of heat and keeps it cool.
Therefore, the following factors are considered as influencing the refrigeration system:
- Number of people occupying the environment;
- Exposure of sunlight to the space to be cooled;
- Number of electrical devices that need to be at room temperature.
Benefits of an effective refrigeration system
Having an effective refrigeration system brings numerous long-term benefits to the company or industry. Your job is to ensure that they are achieved and measured by managers, so we have:
- Increased thermal comfort: By reaching the ideal temperature for the environment, employees will have greater thermal comfort, which will directly impact their production. Regarding the equipment, they will not need to apply much effort or overheat during the execution of activities;
- Improved oxygenation level in the environment: Not too hot, not too cold, this is the idea of having control over the refrigeration system. In this way, oxygen will stabilize at the ideal level for everyone's well-being;
- Reduced electricity consumption: Having control over the refrigeration system contributes to achieving energy efficiency and saving on consumption.
- Increased employee productivity: Being in a comfortable environment provides employees with the opportunity to carry out their activities more effectively.
Also read: 10 Tips on how to reduce energy consumption in your company!
How to optimize the controls of the refrigeration system?
By using intelligent controls developed to achieve energy efficiency for the machinery. When the professional can centralize the monitoring of the entire system, it is possible to improve performance and energy savings.
In this way, you will have access to all refrigeration equipment on a single platform. With this more detailed view, the operator will be able to:
- Adjust the settings of the entire system without having to go to the areas;
- Issue energy consumption reports and identify locations with higher expenses;
- Locate and fix problems in machines resulting from high or low temperatures;
- Standardize the control process of tools with system automation;
- Reduce environmental impacts, making the industry more sustainable.
Most technology solutions related to control and monitoring are developed with IoT (Internet of Things). Startups bet on smart features to optimize and raise awareness among companies and industries regarding environmental preservation.
Hurb invested in Squair for the optimization of natural resources in the hospitality networks. They understand that innovation is the first step toward transformation through flexible and adaptable solutions.
With operational intelligence and environmental responsibility, Squair ensures efficient operations for all segments. Whether it be commercial buildings, industries, offices, hotels, construction companies, etc., automation will provide speed and accuracy for you.
Now that you know all the information about the refrigeration system, come and get to know Squair. Surely you, as the professional responsible for monitoring and control, will find the desired effectiveness for your day-to-day work.