Condensing
units can be categorised into three types namely water, air and combination of
both air and water based on how the heat is removed from the condensing unit.
Let us see briefly about each type.
Air Cooled Type
This
type of air-cooled types is used in small companies and for household
applications. Air cooled are suitable for low capacity which is under 20 tons
only. There are several benefits in using air-cooled condensing type units like
it does not require a separate water piping units or water disposal system.
This type is economical, and it will not have any scaling issues which is
caused by some mineral deposits. Easy to install and it gives less initial set
up cost. Thus, the overall maintenance expenses are much less when compared to
other types of the condensing unit. However, these air-cooled type has few
disadvantages as well. For instance, the compressor lifetime is relatively short
that is when more cooling is required, it will not be available or sufficient.
Also, it needs high power per ton of refrigeration.
Water cooled Type
Water
cooled type is another form of condensing unit which further is sub divided
into three categories which are ‘shell and condensing coil’, ‘double tube’, and thirdly ‘shell and tube’. The most widely used
model among these three categories is shell and tube type. These are available
from as low as two-ton capacity to a higher capacity of two or more hundred
tons. This is possible by the unique design of the model which requires only a
little power consumption per ton of refrigeration and also the compressor has a
longer lifespan when compared to a previous model that is the air-cooled type.
For a high capacity application, a water-cooling tower is generally used.
Evaporation Type
This
evaporation model is a mixture of water- and air-cooled type condensing units.
Thus, in all these types the air blows through an effective condenser coil for these conducting units which
in turn transfers the heat into the outdoor air. The presence of a
high-pressure liquid refrigerant makes the condenser coil to make a U-turn, and
it reverts to the evaporator coil.
