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Chiller Performance Validation

Broad Chillers are Factory Tested.

In North America, it became common to perform test electric chillers in the 1980s when manufacturers were making great strides in improving energy efficiency.

When CFCs and HCFC were phased out through the Clean Air Act in the 1990s many customers requested proof of performance as the switch to new HFC refrigerants yielded performance that was less predictable.

The history of Absorption Chillers in North America was to never run a unit test before shipment. There were various explanations of why this was “not a good idea”. The primary obstacle was the cost to set up a test stand that could deliver a wide variety of thermal heat sources to prove performance at a specific customer requirement.  Another factor was time on the test stand that was required to perform an absorber test.  To charge a chiller with LiBr Solution typically takes much longer than a chiller that requires chemical refrigerants. Water is the refrigerant in an absorber and when mixed with LiBr the “solution” is typically removed before shipment as modern absorption chillers are put under a protective nitrogen charge.

Over the years this lack of factory testing resulted in many projects that did not meet customer expectations with regard to design tons or Coefficient of performance (COP).

The demands of high-performance buildings today can be met regardless of what chiller technology is applied in the facility.

The Benefits of Factory Testing:

Owner:  Ensures the chiller will yield the operating performance characteristics as designed.   It can also be a great opportunity for the operator to learn about the unit which will be cooling or heating the building and to become an expert in the operation of the absorber.

Design Engineer:  The only way to really validate that the chiller supplied is meeting the design specification requirements. Field testing can be extremely challenging and expensive to replicate.

Contractor: Lowers risk of system issues and eliminates field verification of chiller performance which can be very time intensive and difficult to accomplish.

What you will see on your visit:

1. Processing Center
2. Laser Cutting Machine
3. Digital Cutting Machine
4. Digital Tube Bending Machine
5. Tube Sheet Robotic Welding
6. Robotic Shell Welding System
7. Welding Robot Working Stations
8. Auto-Submerged Arc Welding
9. Absorption Chiller Production Line
10. Robot Painting Lines
11. Whole Unit Shot-Blasting
12. Optical Emission Spectrometer
13. Auto Material Testing Machine
14. Whole Unit Testing Platform
15. Atomic Absorption Spectrometer
16. Helium Inspection System
17. Control Cabinet Testing