Partnership+GMN Partnership

Pfannenberg Announces Partnership with GMN USA

Liquid Cooling solutions to be sold alongside spindle motors for streamlined experience

We are excited to announce a partnership with GMN USA, a supplier of machine tool spindles, drives, lubricators, and cord sets.  This collaboration will supply GMN USA with Pfannenberg’s chillers, a liquid cooling solution that will be sold as a companion product alongside GMN’s spindle motors.

“I am excited to partner with GMN. Our teams working together will bring new growth to both organizations,” commented Barb Ross, Director of Channel and Representatives at Pfannenberg.

“It is an ideal combination of GMN’s high speed spindle technology with Pfannenberg coolant chillers,” says James Wong, Director for Global NEMA Product Management at Pfannenberg. “Our chillers will regulate and maintain the temperature of the spindles to increase reliability and reduce downtime for the end user.”

“GMN prides itself on partnering with high quality suppliers. We are looking forward to a great partnership with Pfannenberg. And look forward to growing together in the US.” Commented Glenn R Ledoux Vice President of Sales, GMN USA. 

This alliance aims to better serve the machine tool industry in the US by featuring complementary products in one place. GMN USA offers a wide range of spindle support equipment in addition to Pfannenberg’s coolant chillers including oil/air lubricators, spindle drives, assemblies, and other accessories. GMN engineers provide support for both new and retrofit spindle applications based on individual customer needs.

Learn more about Pfannenberg’s liquid cooling solutions.

Learn more about GMN USA’s solutions.

The Press Release is available here.

Compact Packaged Chillers

Pfannenberg’s Compact Packaged Chillers – Efficient and Reliable

Our line of high-efficiency Compact Packaged Chillers (CCE) are an ideal centralized and cost-effective solution for use in machine tools, lasers, process control systems, and other applications where precise temperature control and reliability are critical.

Compact Packaged Chillers

Trouble-free Chillers

Our compact packaged chillers provide years of trouble-free operation. Combining durable, highly reliable components with a compact and lightweight design, these chillers offer easy transportation and consistent reliability. Their heavy-duty construction and highly serviceable design also mean reduced maintenance costs and long service life. Each chiller model comes with comprehensive equipment for easy installation and reliable operation, complete with a Hydraulic Bypass for increased protection against system failure.

Maximize Efficiency

Increasing productivity and product quality doesn’t need to come at a cost to a business’s bottom line. Utilizing our compact chillers maximizes business efficiency while reducing energy and maintenance costs. These compact chillers feature our Liquid Solutions technology with optimum corrosion resistance when used with our premix Ethylene and Propylene Glycol coolant. The chiller’s non-ferrous tank design greatly minimizes corrosion potential, additionally extending chiller life.

Capacity Options

Our compact chillers include the CCE 6301, 6401, and 6601. These models feature 2.4 kW to 6.5 kW capacity. Each CCE chiller offers standard-size features in a compact model. Plus, a single-phase power requirement makes installation a breeze in both commercial and industrial settings.

Reliable and Efficient

We offer customers unparalleled experience and high-quality components providing a high mean time between failures, and high reliability because of it. Plus, all our chillers consistently achieve top grades in energy consumption and efficiency. Centralized cooling can be achieved with a single chiller or chillers can be decentralized, with a chiller for each application. Our systems are customizable depending on application needs.

The CCE’s Smart and Precision Cooling features make these chillers a fit for applications from micromachining and precision manufacturing to scientific research and medical diagnostics. The CCE Compact Chillers offer a wide range of cooling capacities to meet a variety of application requirements.

Industry Applications

  • Lasers
  • Machine tools
  • Process control systems
  • Medical equipment
  • Food processing
  • Chemical processing
  • Pharmaceutical manufacturing
  • Semiconductor manufacturing
  • Electronics manufacturing

 

Visit https://www.pfannenbergusa.com/liquid-cooling/compact-chillers/ to learn more.

Liquid Chilling in Corrosive Environments

By Adam Wells, Solutions Engineer, Pfannenberg USA, Inc.

Protecting equipment from overheating is critically important for industrial equipment and can be especially challenging in corrosive and dirty environments. Liquid chilling units specifically engineered for such adverse manufacturing conditions have proven to be resilient to salt, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and other sour gasses as well as acidic chemicals from spray cleaners.

Heat is a single common by-product of today’s manufacturing machines that include the advanced automation technology for both high speed and high precision. Components such as spindle motors, variable frequency drives, laser and x-ray sources all require cooling to operate properly and reliably — often in hot, corrosive and dirty manufacturing environments.

With manufacturing space at a premium, machine packages have become smaller and liquid cooling has emerged as the most efficient and economical means of removing process heat. Liquid cooling is especially well adapted to hot, dirty locations where it provides a method of removing the heat from the machines without contributing additional heat into the ambient environment.

A chiller uses a refrigeration cycle to remove the collected heat from a circulating liquid. As the liquid moves through a system of tubes and pipes, it absorbs the heat generated by equipment and processes. This generated heat is then transferred by the liquid back to the chiller where it is dissipated. Fluid is cooled and sent back to the system.

Chiller Solutions for Corrosive Environments

Among the solutions available for highly corrosive environments, the preferred option is often a packaged chiller located in relatively close proximity to the point of use.

While packaged chillers have the advantage of being easier to install and maintain, requiring less piping and reducing energy consumptions, they must be built specifically for corrosive resistance to stand up in a harsh environment.

Packaged Liquid Chiller Units for Corrosive Environments

At Pfannenberg, we have specialized in development solutions with our packaged liquid chiller units for highly corrosive environments, working with pulp and paper plants, incineration facilities, swimming pool agent manufacturers, wastewater treatment plants and other challenging environments to develop and test the corrosion resistance of our chilling units.

All of our packaged liquid chiller units contain non-ferrous tanks and piping to reduce corrosion. For customers requiring an extremely durable and robust product, we offer an epoxy coated internal system option for some of our cooling products. The epoxy dipped coil and hand painted epoxy coating on all corrodible internal surfaces, along with stainless steel covers, has been proven to ensure quality of performance as well as physical appearance under very harsh operating conditions.

With these corrosion resistant products, packaged liquid chilling units — with their many advantages including energy efficiency, ease of installation and maintenance, and reduced piping requirements — can be relied upon for long-term, dependable cooling, even in dirty, corrosive environments.

Selecting a Packaged Standalone Chiller

By: Adam Wells (Solutions Engineer, Pfannenberg USA, Inc.)

 

When considering a liquid chiller system, precision and accuracy are critical for the temperature control of the application. Innovative cooling equipment is essential to regulate temperatures to ensure effective control. Find out how to select the best liquid chiller system for a given application by following the very important steps laid out here.

Calculate system size

Correct selection and sizing of the liquid chiller system for a given application can make a significant difference in reducing startup waste, achieving higher quality applications, increasing product output, and improving profitability. Calculating the size of the liquid chiller system using correct application details is critical to achieving accurate process cooling with a liquid chiller. Further, the size or capacity of a liquid chiller system must be designed to accommodate the varying workloads and ambient conditions that affect the system.

Performing sizing calculations

The three main factors for sizing are:

  • Incoming water temperature (°F) (also known as processed water temperature),
  • Required chilled water temperature (°F) (also known as the setpoint of the chiller), and
  • Flow rate (measured in gallons per minute, or GPM).

Understanding the liquid medium

Cooling processes can be handled with any one of three different mediums: water, water/glycol, or heat transfer oil. Which fluid type selected depends on the temperature the system must achieve, cooling loads, and process requirements like flow capabilities, cycle times, material, etc. In cases where pure water is not a usable medium for the application, glycol and heat transfer oil can be utilized partially to create a water-based emulsion. Cooling capacity correction factors must be made if glycol or heat transfer oil will be utilized.

Determine appropriate controls

Liquid cooling demands accuracy and reliability for temperature stabilization, while operators need easy-to-use and highly visible controls and indicating lights. Pfannenberg chillers offer microprocessor-based controls that provide control performance, visibility to operators, and are configurable to meet specific application needs. A variety of control features including flow/pressure alarms, ambient temperature alarms and remote communication options are available to ensure optimal and desired results.

Prolong the life of your liquid chiller system

Preventive maintenance procedures should regularly be performed to keep the liquid chiller system clean and well-maintained. Performing weekly, monthly, and quarterly checks will extend the life of a chiller system. Refer to the procedures provided in the manufacturer’s instruction manual. By following some basic guidelines before, during and after installation, users can extend chiller lifespan, avoid mechanical/electrical problems, and ensure that a liquid chiller system will provide a high level of efficiency and reliability throughout its lifetime.

Chillers for Industrial Automation and 3D Printing Applications

By Adam Wells, Solutions Engineer, Pfannenberg USA

In the last several years, the use of Industrial Automation and Industrial 3D Printing technology has increased seemingly exponentially. While these technologies confer major benefits in terms of efficiency, quality, cost, and lead times, they also present unique challenges in terms of protecting the sensitive electronic equipment from heat. The buildup of heat can degrade electronic devices used in these processes, thus reducing their life span and increasing total cost of ownership. These technologies require purpose-built industrial fluid cooling solutions; namely, they require chillers with streamlined design, built for a range of environmental conditions, and available on short lead times. Finding such chillers can be difficult.

Industrial fluid cooling equipment for Automation and 3D Printing environments

Rapid technological advancements over the last decade or so have dramatically increased the scope and prevalence of industrial automation and 3D printing technologies in industrial settings. Many packaging and manufacturing operations, in automotive, food and beverage, and more industries, are moving towards widespread adoption of these technologies in an effort to increase efficiency, reduce staffing needs, and improve quality. In the adoption of this technology, the demand for industrial chillers that meet the unique needs of automation and 3D printing machinery has undergone a similarly rapid period of growth. Chillers, as this article will discuss in greater detail, must be designed and sourced carefully in order to provide sufficient cooling in industrial automation and 3D printing applications.

First, I will set out a brief definition of terms to clarify the technologies this article is oriented towards:

  • Industrial automation is the use of control systems, robots, and/or information technologies to mechanize and control what has historically been human labor. Beyond simple mechanization, though, industrial automation, or IA, includes some level of autonomous process control. Examples of IA processes include CNC manufacturing, the use of robotic arms to construct and move products in manufacturing, and more.
  • 3D Printing is a specific automated process in which a physical object is constructed from a three-dimensional digital model, typically by laying down many successive thin layers of a heated and then extruded material. It brings a digital object (its CAD representation) into its physical form through a layered additive manufacturing process. Undertaken at a far larger scale than benchtop 3D printing for prototyping or hobby use, industrial 3D printing technology is a viable option for producing parts in large quantities at once, all from the same digital model.

In many cases, IA and industrial 3D printing requires the addition of chiller equipment to cool and protect electrical and mechanical components or to cool parts after manufacturing. Motors in CNC manufacturing and large robotic arms as well as motors and pumps in industrial 3D printers often require their own liquid water chillers. Similarly, manufacturing processes that utilize industrial 3D printing alongside other methods, like the printing of caps for aseptic milk containers, require chillers so that printed parts can be water-cooled for release from printing molds or before moving on to the next phase of manufacturing. In all of these cases, the chiller systems ought to be utilized with water handling systems that collect, filter, re-cool, and re-cycle water through the system in multiple cooling cycles.

Packaged chillers enable rapid project development and implementation

Industrial automation and industrial 3D printing are lauded for the benefits they confer on manufacturing processes: higher production rates, increased productivity, more efficient use of materials, better product quality, improved safety, reduced labor needs, and shorter factory lead times. As with all manufacturing methods, there are also challenges that accompany these benefits. One of the primary challenges manufacturers face is that since IA and 3D printing technologies are often implemented to increase speed and efficiency and thus reduce costs, all supplementary technology, like chillers, must also meet speed and efficiency demands. Often most challenging is shortening the initial lead time for acquiring these supplementary technologies. Manufacturers generally attempt to implement IA and 3D printing project as quickly as possible, to reap the benefits of increased efficiency, and so the 8-10 week average lead time for chiller equipment can be a major setback.

Pfannenberg, an industry leader in liquid cooling technology, has recognized the challenge that long lead times pose challenges for manufacturers looking to implement IA and 3D printing solutions in their production projects. Out of a concern for customers’ ability to solve challenges in an efficient manner, and to get projects up and running as quickly as possible, Pfannenberg has begun to offer stock delivery of chillers that are specifically designed for industrial settings like the ones needed for IA and 3D printing projects: low complexity, highly efficient, and with a high capacity-to-physical size ratio, these chillers deliver cost-effective cooling with no manufacturing and delivery lead time.

Pfannenberg’s CCE Series is an excellent example of packaged, off-the-shelf chillers available with little to no lead time. Typically featuring one to three tons of cooling, the CCE Series is ideal for the kind of small, industrial cooling most IA and 3D printing applications require. These chillers feature leading-edge fluid cooling technology, including newly redesigned condensers for more streamlined and efficient cooling operation. What’s more, they can be centralized, using a single chiller that serves multiple cooling needs, or decentralized where each application or machine has its own chiller. This enables manufacturers to tailor water and energy usage to specific process demands, and allows for greater flexibility in expanding production capacity over time.

Chiller design for harsh environmental conditions

Manufacturers must consider more than just lead time when selecting fluid cooling equipment for IA and 3D printing equipment, though. Some manufacturing and packaging environments, particularly those with more heavy-duty manufacturing processes, can pose additional challenges for chiller equipment. Though 3D printing tends to take place in slightly cleaner facilities, environmental conditions should always be considered before purchasing industrial fluid cooling equipment.

Industrial fluid cooling equipment should be designed to function well even in hot, dirty environments, and fluid cooling OEMs should work with manufacturers to determine the proper equipment and placement for that equipment in any given environment. Chillers in heavy duty manufacturing environments should be designed to withstand corrosion and buildup of dirt and grime. Pfannenberg’s chillers, for example, are powder-coated rather than painted to improve corrosion resistance, and include micro-channel condensers heat exchanger coils to resist grime buildup in dirty manufacturing environments. The chillers also feature a filter alarm to detect any decrease in performance due to air contamination.

In particularly dirty environments, or manufacturing facilities where the only available space for chillers in is a boiler room or other extremely hot environment, outdoor placement of chiller equipment may be indicated in order to maintain efficient operation. Outdoor placement is also indicated where chiller equipment may pose risks to personnel due to its loud operation or heat emission, or where size is of concern. These chillers, though, need additional environmental protections in order to be able to withstand rain, sleet, snow, sun, and more during outdoor operation.

Pfannenberg has developed the EB Series for higher-demand indoor or outdoor chiller operation; with capacities ranging from five to eight tons of cooling, these chillers are suitable for any outdoor conditions except for sustained extreme cold temperatures. While the majority of manufacturers rely on Pfannenberg’s chillers for a 10-20ºF temperature delta, the company’s engineers can also collaborate with manufacturers who have more significant cooling needs in either indoor or outdoor environments.

Conclusion

Industrial fluid cooling technology is a critical component to implementing industrial automation or industrial 3D printing systems in a wide range of manufacturing and packaging applications. In order for these IA and 3D printing projects to succeed, manufacturers need to be able to source efficient, reliable, and rugged chillers within extremely fast turnaround times. A departure from previous industrial chiller demands, the challenges faced in industrial fluid cooling for IA and 3D printing require purpose-built, leading edge, and packaged chillers that can be sourced quickly and relied upon for streamlined operation in a wide range of harsh environments.

Liquid Cooling For Induction Heating Processes

Using Chillers to Ensure the Maximum Cooling Capacity in the Smallest Possible Footprint

Traditional metal working practices are time consuming and inefficient. Heating equipment takes a lot of time and therefore also uses a lot of energy. The removal of heat is also necessary, however, in order to maintain structural rigidness as well as to solidify material in the welding process. Additionally, equipment designs need to ensure it is serviceable. Equipment requires frequent physical contact for maintenance. Safety is also a huge concern with traditional welding or heating processes.

Using Chillers in Induction Welding Processes

Convection alone cannot adequately maintain an acceptable operational air temperature when the ambient air temperature is very high. Therefore, an air-cooled liquid chiller is ideal for removing concentrated heat from process equipment. Induction solves many of the stated problems because it generates heat from within the object instead of an external heat source, saving energy and making it safer to use. Automated induction longitudinal welding is a reliable, high-throughput process.

Factors to be considered when choosing a system for cooling an induction process include cost, space availability, existing utilities, energy and water usage, equipment location, potential for freezing, reliability, and maintenance.

A smart controller in the cooling system will set the minimum and maximum water temperature with an alarm. Plus, a flow switch will trigger an alarm if the flow is too low, protecting equipment from being cooled. In addition, it will have a non-ferrous tank and piping to reduce corrosion and a thick powder coating on the stand-alone chiller, and reliable, easy-to-read fluid indication level readout.

Pfannenberg Packaged Chillers: Closing the loop for Industrial Fluid Cooling Applications

By using the proper temperature setting points, operators improve performance and increase the lifetime of devices. Highly efficient cooling technologies generate cost savings and preserve electrical equipment. Pfannenberg Inc. specializes in just this type of technology. Their air-cooled liquid chiller is ideal for removal of concentrated heat from your process equipment. Operators want to select chillers that have a small footprint for equivalent capacity which is offered in Pfannenberg Inc.’s product lines as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pfannenberg’s chillers guarantee a central and economical solution and perfectly meet the need for precise temperature control and absolute reliability. Whether it is a compact or large chiller, maximum cooling capacity in the smallest possible footprint is guaranteed thanks to the heavy-duty micro channel condensers that offer high efficiency and long service life in hot, corrosive, or dirty ambient environments.

Click here to contact our Liquid Cooling Experts!

Pfannenberg Liquid Cooling Solutions for Industrial Electronics

Sealed enclosure cooling solutions ideal for extreme indoor or outdoor environments

Lancaster, NY – Pfannenberg, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of thermal management and signaling technologies, highlights its high-efficiency liquid cooling solutions for industrial electronics. Pfannenberg EB 2.0 Large Packaged Chillers and PWS Series Air to Water Heat Exchangers provide contaminant-free, cost-effective component cooling without adding heat to the local environment.

Closed-loop liquid cooling efficiently and economically improves performance for advanced manufacturing processes and electronics in hot, dirty environments using field-proven water circulation technology. Designed to guarantee full separation of water lines and airflow paths, Pfannenberg liquid cooling systems feature integrated electronic thermostats and flow control components for accurate temperature control and superior energy efficiency. Liquid cooling offers an ideal cooling solution for spindle motors and automation drives in automotive manufacturing, power plant electronics and solar inverters in energy production, and oven controls and product coolers/dryers in pharmaceutical production, as well as for paper & printing, plastic manufacturing, and water/wastewater applications.

EB 2.0 Large Packaged Chillers

Compact Pfannenberg EB 2.0 Large Packaged Chillers allow maximum cooling capacity in the smallest possible footprint. Heavy-duty finned-tube condensers deliver high efficiency and long service life in hot, corrosive, or dirty ambient environments.

Models range up to 30 Tons, so proper capacity is available for most applications, while all units are ready to use after simple installation—requiring only piping and power. Remote start/stop capability and insulated vented polypropylene reservoir tanks for rapid heat load changes provide reliable and flexible operation.

 

Check out Pfannenberg’s EB 2.0 Large Packaged Chillers Presentation Video

 

 

PWS Air to Water Heat Exchangers

PWS air to water heat exchanger

Pfannenberg PWS Air to Water Heat Exchangers deliver energy efficiency and high cooling capacity with a maintenance-free design for indoor and outdoor applications. Featuring a closed-loop design, PWS Air to Water Heat Exchangers seal contaminants out by isolating ambient air from the internal air circuit.

These units are ideal for extreme environments such as plant washdown areas, and areas with high amounts of particulate, high ambient temperatures, or an oily or aggressive atmosphere. PWS Air to Water Heat Exchangers maintain a UL Tested NEMA Type 12/3R/4 seal against enclosure, and a stainless-steel option offers NEMA Type 4X protection.

 

If a water source is not available on site, facilities can combine Pfannenberg PWS Air to Water Heat Exchangers with Pfannenberg EB 2.0 Large Packaged Chillers for an efficient closed cooling solution.

Visit the EB 2.0 Large Packaged Chillers page and the Air to Water Heat Exchangers page to learn more.


About Pfannenberg

Established in 1954 by Otto Pfannenberg in Hamburg Germany, Pfannenberg is recognized as a leading global manufacturer of thermal management technologies within the Electro-technology Industry. In 1958 we invented the Filterfan®, which continues to be recognized worldwide as a leading product to help manage the temperature in electrical enclosures. Our business philosophy: Protecting Man, Machine and the Environment.

Reliable Enclosure Cooling for Commercial Bakeries

Customer Requirement

Pfannenberg worked with a bakery end user to develop a cooling solution for their control cabinets.  Most of the OEM equipment installed in the bakery called for air conditioners to cool the drives. PLCs and additional electronics. Most times Cooling units can be a convenient and effective method for cooling electronics, except when located in dusty, humid areas within the plant.

These AC units failed regularly and had to be replaced. This was not a sustainable solution as the customer had constant issues with clogging coils and overheating panels.

Once a panel overheated they had to either: not operate the machine, or operate the cabinets with the doors open. This would let all the contaminants that were hurting the AC units into the cabinet, damaging the drives and other components.

The Pfannenberg Solution

To use the chilled Glycol that was already present for other machine processes to provide the cooled liquid source for our PWS Air to Water Heat Exchangers.

The solution included:

  • A reliable cooling solution designed for harsh environments
  • Reduced maintenance.  Once installed the units only have just one moving part, so regular maintenance is not necessary
  • Eliminating equipment failures, means greater uptime
  • Reduced energy costs with the PWS units
  • UL Tested NEMA Type 4/4X – washdown

Customer Benefits

Pfanneneberg’s PWS Series Air To Water Heat Exchanger was the precise solution for the problems our customer experienced. Incorporating Air/Water Heat Exchangers improved performance, reduced maintenance, was energy efficient, and prevented unplanned repairs.

 

Customer Success: Chiller Solution Saves Significant Water Costs for Ink Manufacturer

Choosing the best chiller for your application is not always as simple as picking a product from a catalog. When sizing a chiller it is important to know the environment it will be in. For example, if you need a 5 ton chiller you have to determine 5 tons at a certain ambient and a certain leaving water temperature. When you change either one of these parameters you change the capacity of a chiller. For instance a 5 ton chiller operating at 65°F leaving water temperature in an ambient of 90°F will become a 4 ton chiller if operating at 50°F leaving water temperature and 90°F ambient. The same holds true for higher ambient. The capacity will be reduced significantly when the ambient increases 10°F.

Application Example: EB Chiller Startup

Pfannenberg chiller experts went to perform a startup of a Packaged Chiller at a company that manufactures all different types of inks for printing. The application consists of 3 milling machines that grind raw pigment into liquid inks. The grinding process produces heat which must be cooled to maintain the process.

Customer requirements

The company was looking for a more cost effective solution as they were using city water to cool the milling machines. After the process was cooled this water went down the drain. Since the water was not reused in the process, the customer’s city water bill was extremely high and needed to be reduced.

Pfannenberg Solution

Pfannenberg packaged chillers achieve top grades in energy consumption.

  • First, properly sized chillers help to avoid extra costs, as an undersized chiller will never be able to properly cool your application while an oversize chiller will be inefficient due to excessive power consumption.
  • Then, a chiller is a looped system which uses a refrigeration cycle to remove  heat from a circulating liquid. As the liquid moves through a system of tubes and pipes it absorbs the heat generated by equipment and processes. This generated heat is then transferred by the liquid back to the chiller where it is dissipated. Fluid is cooled and sent back into the system which resulted in a significantly reduced water bill for the customer.

Customer Benefits
The Pfannenberg chiller and installation cost was 25% less than the city water bill leaving the customer with a ROI of 8-10 months.


Need help sizing a chiller? Nothing more simple! You can start by referencing our Chiller Sizing Guide, but if this is not enough to help you choose the best option for your application, you can use our new Chiller Quote Request Form. We’ve created this new web form to allow you to easily enter detailed information about your project, connecting you directly with one of our chiller experts.

CLICK HERE TO REQUEST A CHILLER QUOTE


Topics: liquid cooling

The 6 Step Guide to Choosing the Best Chiller for your Application

Heat is a single common by-product of today‘s manufacturing machines that include the advanced automation technology required for both high speed operation and high precision. Components such as spindle motors, variable frequency drives, laser and x-ray sources all require cooling to operate properly and reliably – most often in the very adverse manufacturing environments.

With manufacturing space at a premium, machine packages have become smaller and liquid cooling has emerged as the most efficient and economical means of removing process heat. Liquid cooling is especially well adapted to hot, dirty environments, where it provides a method of removing the heat from the machine and not contributing additional heat back into the environment.


A quick guide to choosing the correct chiller:

As each industrial environment is different, Pfannenberg designed a 6-steps guide to help you select the proper chiller for your application:

Step 1: Determine the Heat Load

It is important to determine the heat load of your application to ensure the chosen chiller is big enough for the intended application.There are several ways to determine the heat load (in BTU) but understanding the process is essential to calculating an accurate heat load.


Step 2: Determine the Coolant Type, Temperature & Flow Rate

When the heat load is known, the next step is to determine the coolant, its target temperature and the flow rate that the chiller must provide to the process. This is determined by the method from which the heat is transferred from the process to the coolant and the type of coolant being used. For example, water has different characteristics than oil.


Step 3: Identify Installation Environment

In what environment the chiller will be installed? Indoor applications for example can see high temperatures and dirty atmospheres, while outdoor installations can experience both low and high ambient temperatures. This can effect chiller sizing and require accessories such as air filters, sump heaters, etc.


Step 4: Use Chiller performance curves

Now use the chiller performance curves available to select a chiller model that meets or exceeds the required capacity based on the chilled water supply temperature and the highest expected ambient air temperature. Consideration should be given to the safety margin of the application with respect to available frame sizes to maximize the value of the chiller selection. Find all Pfannenberg Chillers Performance Curves on Thermal Management Catalog.


Step 5: Check Pump performance curves

Check the pump performance curves available to ensure that the pump will provide enough pressure at the design flow rate to satisfy the application. Some liquid cooled systems have small coolant flow paths or longer distances that can have higher than average pressure losses.


Step 6: Final Selection

Finally, consider that the remaining application requirements such as power characteristics, control options, footprint, agency listing, color, etc. are met by the selected standard Pfannenberg chiller. Choosing a standard chiller will bring you greater reliability, easier service with common spare parts and global support.

>> Click here to download the PDF version of this guide.


Pfannenberg offers a versatile range of packaged chillers, ranging in sizes from less than ½ Ton to 30 Tons insuring the proper capacity available for most applications. These packaged chillers are ready to use requiring only piping and power to install as part of your solution for process cooling applications – we‘ll even provide the coolant. Ethylene & Propylene Glycol coolants, with proper corrosion inhibitors are available in a variety of packaging options – both full strength and pre-mixed. Each chiller model includes the pump, tank, refrigeration system and controls required for simple installation and reliable, efficient operation.

Our knowledgeable applications staff is always on hand to discuss the application and to make sure that a proper selection is made. With our many available equipment options we can easily customize our standard chillers to meet specific application requirements.

Contact our engineering team for more information!