For comparison based on the heat transfer area of the light pipe, the investment cost of TEB AIR COOLER is more than 2 to 3 times that of the water cooler (only the hardware cost), and there are two main reasons. First, the thermal conductivity of air is much lower than that of water, which is bound to make the heat transfer coefficient drop even lower. Second, because the ambient temperature used in the design is always higher than that of water, the logarithmic mean temperature difference of TEB AIR COOLER is always lower, especially when the process medium outlet temperature is very low. Due to these two reasons, the heat transfer area required by TEB AIR COOLER is much larger than that of water cooling under the same heat load.
Compared with water coolers, TEB AIR COOLER has several important advantages:
One of them is that water is not directly used as a cooling medium, so the cost of using it on water is low, such as the cost of raw water, supplementary water, and water treatment chemicals. TEB AIR COOLER is set up so that the factory itself does not need to be close to the water source, so the heat loss and chemical pollution of the water source can be prevented. Maintenance costs are also reduced, because it is no longer necessary to frequently clean the scale, microbial fouling and deposits on the water side of TEB AIR COOLER. In addition, the corresponding pipelines have been removed, making the installation easier.
Another advantage is that TEB AIR COOLER can be operated continuously, even when the power fails, it can be operated under the condition of reduced heat exchange capacity by natural wind.
Finally, the control of the outlet temperature of the medium fluid can be accomplished by various methods, such as turning on or off the fan, using a second-gear or variable speed motor, using a self-regulating fan, and so on.
Of course, TEB AIR COOLER also has many limitations. As mentioned above, compared with water, the thermal conductivity and specific heat of air are much lower, so the initial cost of TEB AIR COOLER is much higher than that of water cooler.
In cold climates, cold-proof facilities must be added to ensure that the medium does not fall below the freezing temperature, which also increases the initial investment cost.
A more economical method is to keep the temperature difference between the outlet temperature of the medium fluid and the ambient air in the range of 10 to 15°C. In a water cooler, this temperature difference can be as low as 3 to 5°C. This shortcoming can be compensated by TEB AIR COOLER plus a post water cooler.
The above is a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of TEB AIR COOLER, I hope it will be helpful to you. Please contact us if you need TEB AIR COOLER.