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Used in a wide variety of applications and just about every sort of industrial building in the world, modern chilling systems work on two basic principles. These are outlined below. Working much like a domestic refrigerator, the cooling cycle is the same for both sorts of technology. Essentially, a liquid refrigerant is altered so that it becomes a gas that is located in an evaporator. Because this process of change requires energy, so heat from the local environment is absorbed. The refrigerant gas is subsequently compressed to a take on a higher pressure via a compressor. After this, it is changed back into a fluid in a condenser where it loses its heat energy. In a closed system, the cycle can be repeated many times without any regular maintenance being required.

Vapour Compression Chilling Systems

Refrigeration systems of this type typically make use of HCFC or CFC refrigerants to achieve the desired outcome. Compressors are the principal component in a vapour compression chiller. Indeed, they act just like a pump would to keep the refrigerant circulating evenly. Under the restriction of a metering device, which controls the flow of the compressed refrigerant, vapour is delivered to the system's condenser unit which then passes on the heat energy it has captured from the refrigerant. It does so to either a cooling water reservoir or, in many smaller units, to a nearby air outlet. At its simplest this sort of technology makes clever use of the drop in pressure that causes heated refrigerant fluid to change from liquid to vapour and, by so doing, it is able to absorb heat. This is due to a scientific process known as adiabatic flash evaporation.

Absorption Chilling Systems

Favoured in many large industrial settings, such as factories, absorption chilling is a refrigeration system which uses a heat source of some kind to drive the refrigeration cycle. This takes the place of the mechanical compressor found in vapour compression systems. Another key difference is that absorption chillers require two fluids to work. One is a refrigerant and the other is an absorbent, usually a solution of something like lithium bromide or ammonia. With an industrial refrigerator of this type, the liquids are separated and then mixed together in an absorption cycle. Thanks to the low level of pressure used in these systems, the refrigerant – typically normal water in this sort of chiller - can change between a gaseous and liquid state more easily it normally would. Therefore, the level of affinity between the two liquids allows for efficient absorption with its associated cooling effect.