Air-cooled vs water-cooled chillers, and how to choose
Compare air-cooled and water-cooled chillers on efficiency, cost, space and maintenance, and see which plant fits the way your building runs.
Air-cooled chillers reject heat to the air and are simpler to install with lower upfront cost, which suits small to medium buildings and sites without a cooling tower. Water-cooled chillers use a cooling tower, run more efficiently at scale and last longer, which suits large buildings that run long hours.
Air-cooled chillers
Lower first cost, no cooling tower and easier installation. They use more energy at large scale and are best for moderate loads or space constrained sites.
Water-cooled chillers
Higher efficiency at scale, quieter and longer life, at the cost of a cooling tower and water treatment. Best for large, high use buildings.
How to choose
Look at building size, running hours, available space, water availability and lifecycle cost, not just the purchase price. A large building that runs all day usually pays back a water-cooled plant quickly, and pairing either with variable water flow is what holds efficiency at part load.
If the plant type is still open, our chillers page sets out where each one fits.
FAQ
Which is more efficient?
Water-cooled is generally more efficient at large scale. Air-cooled can be the smarter total cost choice for smaller loads.
Do water-cooled plants need more maintenance?
They add cooling tower and water treatment tasks, which a good AMC handles.
We design both. Request a site survey for a lifecycle comparison.