Italian manufacturer Zudek, which specializes in ammonia (R717)-based industrial systems, is planning to release a ammonia chiller next year designed for comfort cooling in the commercial HVAC market.
The chiller will be a version of Zudek’s airmatik air-cooled chiller that employs semi-hermetic screw compressors, explained Jakob Terčon, business development manager for Trieste, Italy-based company, during an interview on October 8 at the Chillventa 2024 trade show in Nuremberg, Germany.
Chillventa also featured propane (R290) chillers from companies like Secon and Euroklimat.
“Semi-hermetic screw compressors are usually used in the HVAC industry not in refrigeration, which usually work with open-type compressors,” Terčon said. The compressors will allow the chillers to be smaller and lighter, requiring less maintenance and generating less noise, he added.
In addition to the semi-hermetic screw compressors, the plug-and-play, low-charge HVAC chillers will use shell-and-tube evaporators, aluminium microchannels and EC fans. Capacities will range from 200kW to 1 MW (57 to 284TR). It can operate in ambient temperatures up to 50°C (122°F).
“Semi-hermetic screw compressors are usually used in the HVAC industry not in refrigeration, which usually work with open-type compressors.”
Jakob Terčon, business development manager for Zudek
Zudek’s current ammonia chillers are able to provide comfort cooling but the new design is intended to make them “cheaper to be more competitive with synthetic refrigerants for HVAC applications,” he said, adding, “The HVAC industry is more price sensitive than the industrial industry.” Target customers include hotels, data centers and other commercial applications.
The airmatik chiller for HVAC is “in R&D” and expected to be released next year, said Terčon.
Founded in 1990, Zudek was one of the first manufacturers in Europe to produce a compact, low-charge ammonia chiller for industrial applications. This year, Zudek was for the second time reapproved for the ATMO Approved Natural Refrigerants Label by ATMOsphere, publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com.
