There are distinct differences between air condensers and water condensers in several ways, and here is a detailed analysis of their differences:
Cooling medium:
Air condenser: uses air as the cooling medium to remove the heat of condensation of refrigerant vapors through the natural convection or forced flow of air.
Water condenser: water is used as the cooling medium, and the condensation heat is taken away by the heating of the water. Cooling water is generally recycled, but the system needs to be equipped with a cooling tower or a cooling pool.
How it works:
Air condenser: The refrigerant vapor enters the snake tube from the upper header, and the outer ribs of the tube are used to strengthen the heat transfer on the air side and compensate for the defect that the heat transfer coefficient of the air surface is too low. It does not require a fan, has no noise, and is mostly used in small refrigeration units.
Water condenser: The water flows inside the condenser tube, the refrigerant flows outside the tube, and the two pass through the tube wall for heat exchange. There are two common types of water condensers: shell-and-tube type and casing type, and the vertical shell-and-tube condenser has the characteristics of high heat transfer coefficient, small footprint, direct flow of cooling water and large flow rate.
Performance characteristics:
Air condenser: The structure is relatively simple, does not require water resources, and is suitable for occasions where water resources are scarce or water supply is inconvenient. However, due to the low heat transfer coefficient of air, it is usually large in volume and weight, and the heat transfer efficiency is relatively low.
Water condenser: high heat transfer efficiency, compact structure, suitable for large and medium-sized installations. However, it is necessary to pay attention to water quality problems and avoid problems such as scale and corrosion. Because the thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity of water are much higher than those of air, the condensation capacity of water-cooled condensers is large, which is suitable for systems with large cooling capacity.
Energy Consumption & Costs:
In places where cooling water is abundant, the initial investment and operating costs of water-cooled equipment are lower than those of air-cooled equipment. However, due to the high outdoor air temperature in summer, the capacity of the air-cooled refrigeration compressor needs to be increased by about 15% to achieve the same cooling capacity.
Maintenance & Maintenance:
Air condensers need to be cleaned regularly due to the ash on the surface area of the fins that will affect the heat transfer efficiency.
Water condensers need to be cleaned regularly for pipe wall dirt and pay attention to issues such as water quality and corrosiveness.
To sum up, there are obvious differences between air condensers and water condensers in terms of cooling medium, working principle, performance characteristics, energy consumption and cost, and maintenance and maintenance. The choice of condenser depends on the specific application and needs.
