The European Union’s F-gas regulation has accelerated the phase down of HFC (hydro-fluorocarbon) refrigerants this year. It is therefore incumbent on chiller manufacturers to offer equipment that works with new environmentally friendly refrigerants, according to Johnson Controls.
Christian Rudio, Director of Portfolio Management, Europe at global technology and multi industrial Johnson Controls, advised: “Building engineers, consulting engineers and contractors demand highly efficient, environmentally friendly chillers with minimal ozone depletion potential (ODP). YORK® engineers questioned every component, analysed every function and challenged every assumption.
“The result is the YORK® YZ Magnetic Bearing Centrifugal Chiller – the first chiller that is fully optimized for ultimate performance with a next generation low-GWP (global warming potential) refrigerant, delivering superior real-world performance, lower cost of ownership and a new definition of sustainability.”
The chiller is optimised for use with R-1233zd(E) refrigerant – a low-pressure fluid that is low in toxicity, non-flammable and has a GWP of 1.
Mr Rudio added: “Selecting a next-generation refrigerant for centrifugal chillers means thinking about several factors. First, there is flammability. Only a few next-generation refrigerants for centrifugal chillers are classified as non-flammable.
“The use of mildly-flammable or flammable refrigerants can be a real challenge for building owners and contractors, who were not faced with this situation with the current refrigerants.
“There is also affordability, based on the manufacturing cost of new refrigerants. Next-generation refrigerants are more complex to make which means they can be more expensive to produce compared to HFC refrigerants. But this higher cost is not an issue when the chiller is fully optimized to produce energy and operational savings that result in a fast payback.”
The YORK® YZ Magnetic Bearing Centrifugal Chiller combats a number of common issues associated with next-generation refrigerant for centrifugal chillers, such as flammability and affordability.
Because every component of the chiller has been chosen to provide the widest operating map possible, the chiller always operates at the most efficient point possible. Compared to traditional fixed-speed oil-bearing chillers, the YORKÒ YZ delivers up to 35% annual energy savings.
The compressor can operate with an entering condenser water temperature as low as 4.5°C and the fully modulating control can adjust capacity from 100% to 10% of design load, while handling leaving chilled water temperatures of 3.5°C to 21.0°C.
It can even operate when the entering condenser water temperature is below the leaving chilled water temperature. This capability – known as inverted operation – eliminates the need for a water-side economizer, thereby simplifying the system and saving money on components, piping, controls and maintenance.
A water-cooled, single-stage design, the advanced magnetic bearing technology features a single moving assembly suspended in a magnetic field that does not require lubrication, resulting in 80% fewer moving parts than traditional oil or refrigerant-lubricated drivelines.
Intelligent control is made possible by the OptiView™ Control Panel with Connected Services. This offers over 100 set points, readouts, alerts, trending reports, and more. Additionally, an analytics platform ensures that data can be securely connected for remote monitoring and predictive diagnostics, suited for predictive maintenance. The smart platform allows data to be stored in the cloud, granting access to both Johnson Controls and the customers, enabling further performance optimisation of the system.
www.york.com