Glycol used in chilled water systems

It provides better heat transfer parameters than water, and can be mixed with water to provide a variety of heat transfer characteristics. It is used in most applications where water lines are affected by cold ambient conditions. Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of using ethylene glycol or propylene glycol in systems that have chilled water coils or hot water coils. Everyone knows when the pipes freeze they also break and start leaking.

Having antifreeze in a chilled water loop is important to prevent freezing.

Glycol systems, when used are typically restricted to those areas which could be subject to freezing due to outdoor temperatures (e.g. as used for a snow melting system). The chilled and hot water system piping in the project has been routed entirely indoors and is not subject to direct freezing from the outdoor air. Martin said two basic types of glycol are used in chillers: ethylene and propylene.

They are available in temperature ranges of -degrees to 3degrees F (-degrees to 1degrees C) and work well for chiller applications, he said. With glycol in the system, chilled water is protected from freezing in the heat exchanger. It is therefore preferable to use 1 water where there is no risk of freezing.

However, when the set point is below 10°C (48°F) there is a risk of freezing and Glycol should be added to the water.

The amount of gycol you need in your chilled system to protect against freezing and burst pipes depends on temperature, so facilities managers (or water treatment professionals do on their behalf) need to make informed judgements on dosing levels based. The initial investment in a heat transfer fluid for a water -based HVAC system is considerably less than the cost of chillers, pumps, piping and other system components. But the system’s performance, longevity, and long-term maintenance costs may well depend on which heat transfer fluid is used. Does glycol affect the efficiency of heating systems ? Real problem on small DX systems because less engineering seems to be involved. Larger Centrifugal installs chiller more likely to.

The HVAC applications that most commonly use glycol are snow and ice melting systems , ground source heat pumps, solar water heating systems , chilled water cooling systems , and in the hydronic systems that require pipe burst protection due to their location or activity level. For this reason, it should not be used in potable water or food processing systems when leakage is a possibility. Ethylene glycol is a moderately toxic chemical that has a sweet taste and can be harmful if swallowed. Industrial applications like ice rinks and factories.

There are some chilled water systems used in residential applications. However, chilled water systems in residential HVAC systems are extremely rare. Its primary use is in industrial cooling applications as freeze protection and rust inhibiting. Chilled Water System Basics.

Percentage of glycol used can be determined by a location’s lowest outdoor ambient temperature and also the temperature of the process application loop.

For freeze protection, the required concentration of inhibited glycol fluid in a system depends on the operating conditions of the system and the lowest expected ambient temperature. The reasons for not converting a closed loop hot water heating or chilled water system to a glycol system include the capital cost of the glycol —particularly for large systems , the reduced heat transfer for glycol , and the increased pump horsepower required for glycol. Most glycol beer systems are 100’ or less.

Micro Matic has the equipment for your next system – in stock! The heart of a glycol system is the power pack, a refrigeration unit chilling food grade anti-freeze ( glycol ). The chilled glycol is then pumped through insulated trunkline containing the beer lines. For closed loop chilled water systems , is treatment necessary? If so, what is the procedure for implementing chiller water treatments?

This article looks at the points that need be considered when choosing a chemical dosing system for chiller water treatment (and when one might be able to avoid them). It is very important to use the proper percentage of glycol to water in your system. Not enough glycol could lead to the system freezing up and possibly causing your chiller evaporator to rupture internally. Too much glycol will drastically reduce your chiller systems efficiency.

When a fluid needs to be quickly chilled or heated to an exact temperature, we never settle for approximations. Large chilled water plants - centrifugal. The wort is then cooled down to a temperature, usually less than 68° Fahrenheit, so yeast can be added for fermentation.

To cool down the wort, wort chillers are used , usually a plate and frame heat exchanger: either a single-stage ( chilled water only) or multiple-stage (ambient water , glycol ) heat exchanger. Let us see the comparison of DX and chilled water central air conditioning plants. DX Central Air Conditioning Plants are more Efficient In the DX type of central air conditioning plants the air used for cooling the room is directly chilled by the refrigerant in the cooling coil of the air handling unit. Glycol cooling systems uses a self-contained system, to cool data centers.

This system uses a small heat exchanger to collect heat from a type of refrigerant. Water chillers can be water -coole air-coole or evaporatively cooled. Water -cooled systems can provide efficiency and environmental impact advantages over air-cooled systems. Its impact on both design and operation of process chiller systems can be dramatic therefore understanding the basics are a must. Reciprocating water chillers use piston-type, positive displacement compressors which are found in small and medium capacity systems.

Glycol is a mixture of water and ethylene glycol. Centrifugal chillers are the most commonly used in commercial water chillers and are found in a medium and large capacity systems. Steel pipe is available in a variety of wall thicknesses with standard wall being the most common for use in chilled water systems. Glycol - water mixtures are commonly used to provide protection in closed-loop heating and cooling systems. Propylene glycol , a non-toxic, food-grade antifreeze, is the main component that’s been used for many years in food-processing systems.

Propylene glycol is combined with water to create a chilled mixture that’s pumped from the glycol power pack through the cooling lines that run parallel to your beer lines. Not only do our chillers serve HVAC systems. Expansion tanks are required in a closed loop heating or chilled water HVAC system to absorb the expanding fluid and limit the pressure within a heating or cooling system.

A properly sized tank will accommodate the expansion of the system fluid during the heating or cooling cycle without allowing the system to exceed critical pressure limits. Both systems utilize a liquid. HVAC CHILLED WATER DISTRIBUTION SCHEMES A chilled water system is a cooling system in which chilled water is circulated throughout the building or through cooling coils in an HVAC system in order to provide space cooling. Although the fluids are the lifeblood for your heat transfer applications, they can also cause corrosion within your systems. Glycol Heat-Transfer Fluids Ethylene Glycol versus Propylene Glycol Water is probably the most efficent heat-transfer fluid known.

If it did not freeze, water would be the ideal heat-transfer fluid for cooling applications. To avoid glycol inefficiency and glycol makeup systems , consider. Note that automotive grade glycol should not be used in commercial or industrial glycol systems because their corrosion inhibitors have a limited useful life and they contain silicates which can foul or plug the system.