AIR CONDITIONING In a Spin:
A 360 view of modern compressor technology in chillers
Are scrolls being written off? Have screws reached a turning point? Are centrifugals still a force to be reckoned with? Sometimes, as with compressors, balance is everything. In this article, we’ve pulled together marketing, sales and engineering experts from Airedale to give us their separate views on what the compressor market looks like in 2022.
Darren Farrar, marketing manager 2020 marked a low point in the UK chiller market in terms of volume, with less than 2000 units supplied (source: BSRIA) by manufacturers who were feeling the pinch from the pandemic and a stalling construction market. Digging deeper into the figures, it is clear that this is not just a simple case of lack of demand across the board. Other forces at play point to shifting sands in the market, with legislation and compressor technology driving change. The UK chiller market by volume has actually
been trending downwards since 2016. 2019 saw an up-tick, but then came Covid-19. Volume doesn’t tell the whole story of course; Ecodesign legislation has resulted in a move towards larger machines, with units >500kW growing their share of the market. Burgeoning sectors like data centres have also contributed towards the trend to larger chillers, with >1000kW units the norm.
In terms of compressors, fixed speed scrolls have been hit the hardest in recent years. Smaller capacities of <200kW have been replaced with inverter-driven scrolls. Markets that tend to favour the lower-cost fixed scroll option, like retail and offices, were also among the hardest hit by the pandemic. The rise of modular chillers, coupled with inverters continuing to permeate at higher capacities, will keep biting into the fixed speed scroll market. It is not all doom and gloom though; it is still the volume market leader by far and it will be a few years before this changes. Inverter screws continue to increase their share of the market and are particularly
20 February 2022 •
www.acr-news.com
strong from 200-900kW. This is where oil-free centrifugal (OFC) compressors also do battle and although the latter have traditionally been stronger on efficiency, the fact that a lot of manufacturers offering inverter screws do so with their own proprietary technology, means that price can be the deciding factor for a market still driven by contractors and up-front cost. Inverter screw versus OFC will continue to be
an interesting battle to watch as Ecodesign Tier II impacts the market. The minimum efficiency threshold has been raised and on top of that, many sectors are looking beyond current legislation and towards net-zero. Refrigerant availability and an ability to prove lower operating costs and therefore carbon footprint, will be key as we head towards the middle of the decade. Manufacturers offering a choice of refrigerants and compressor technologies, backed up with strong data on lifetime costs, will be the ones to prevail.
Jonathan Jones, sales manager As sales manager at Airedale, I have plenty of first-hand experience of the chiller market. There is, rightfully, a lot of talk in the industry around efficiency, carbon reduction and refrigerants – but what are clients actually asking for? We all love a new build project, but in reality most jobs we quote for are replacements for existing, ageing chillers. In these cases the client is often challenged with fitting an energy efficient – and therefore larger – chiller into a tight space.
Clearly things have changed with the
introduction of EcoDesign, with defined minimum efficiency standards. Often with applications <500kW, a scroll chiller is a good place to start as they provide good value for money while usually being 'just enough' for the EcoDesign legislation. In applications >500kW, the physical size of scroll chillers can become an issue. Alternatives like inverter screws and oil- free centrifugals (OFCs) offer higher capacities in smaller case sizes, in part due to their improved efficiency under part load conditions. Generally most compressor manufacturers
are offering a midpoint GWP solution to replace R410A, such as R32 (scrolls) and R513A (Inverter Screws). At larger capacities inverter screw and OFC compressors are able to take advantage of lower pressure, low GWP alternatives such as R1234ze.
I have certainly seen early concerns over offering mildly flammable A2L refrigerants dissipate as the market has become far more familiar with its application.
Unfortunately some efficiency metrics we use in the industry today don’t tend to account for operation below 20°C ambient, which isn’t really representative of the UK! Consultants, using the standard ESEER metrics available, often compare an inverter screw and OFC and favour the former. However, it’s always beneficial to undertake a full energy analysis against the building load to determine the true cost of ownership. This more accurate view often works in favour of the OFC.
By no means is the inverter screw a poor alternative, having the ability to offer efficiency
Download the ACR News app today
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
