Chillers - Bigger HP more savings? not true ..

[BarraCuda™]

Many of us believed that the higher the horsepower rating (HP), the shorter the operation time and the lower the cost. The HP ratings can be the compressor rating only or the overall rating.


Atman 1/2HP (overall) -compressor 1/4HP
Wattage 320watts

Artica 1/2HP (compressor) - overall 1.56HP
Wattage 616watts


Assuming artica chiller runs 6hrs/day and atman 12hrs/day..

Artica -
2.8A X 220V = 616watts
(616watts x 6hrs x 30 days)/1000 = 110.88kWh
110.88kWh x $0.1508/kWh = $16.72/month

Atman
(320watts x 12hrs x 30 days)/1000 =115.2kWh
115.2kWh x $0.1508/kWh = $17.37/month

Difference in running cost
$17.37 - $16.72 = $0.65 savings/month.

Cost of chiller
Atman = $600
Artica = $1700

Difference in chiller cost
$1700 - $600 = $1100

Break even period
$1100 / $0.65/month = 1692 months = 141years!

__________________________________________________ __________

Assuming artica chiller runs 6hrs/day and atman 24hrs/day..

Atman running cost
$17.37 X 2 = $34.74/month

Difference in running cost
$34.74 - 16.72 = $18.02/month

Break even period
$1100 / $18.02/month = 61months = 5years!

Basically it means that you will need at least 5yrs to recover the cost on the purchase of the artica chiller VS its operating efficiency. (On the assumption that the Atman chiller is very inefficient (running non stop for 5years)

You do the maths, Artica chiller have an overall rating of 1.56HP and Atman with 0.5HP. So having a bigger chiller doesnt mean more cost savings ...

(Note. This is based on the assumption that the Atman chiller cooling a 190g tank with 2x250watts MH + 2x24watts T5 + 130watts external pump.)

IMO, using chiller output capacity (BTU) rather than HP is a more realistic and reasonable comparison.

sad enough, many leading brands r not true rated..

wat i know...

resun cl-650 - 650W
PC 1/2 hp - abt 420W

nice comparison there...
looking for a quiet and power saving chiller for my 150gallon..
any recommandation?

150G??? tat's big.

budget??

erm..trying to save up,so see if i need to save up how much...but must be less power consuming as possible!

think i'm not good 2 tell u which will suit ur preferrence, as i oni tried 2 b 4.

ruling out those x types(artica,teco..), majority of the rest r not true rated in terms of HP. examples r A***n, R*** **l**f, E****.........

i personally switch fr resun 2 pacific coo is simply b cos of how the chiller is built. i know it b cos i know the ppl behind it.

oic,ok let other bros advise me in this..thanks bro.

bro ReDDeviLs,

I don't know why it is that lots of S'poreans seem to like to use box chillers when split unit chillers are so much more efficient and cost-effective.

I seem to recall posting something along these lines sometime back, but here it is again.

What you need is a titanium drop-in coil, or a titanium heat exchanger - figure about S$350-400 for this for a 1/2HP unit. This can be coupled to anything from a 1/2HP to 1HP outdoor unit aircon compressor. This should be available easily and cheaply from the aircon shops, 2nd hand. Just get it serviced and the gas refilled. Here in Malaysia, a 2nd hand 1HP compressor is about RM400. Then get a digital controller and sensor, which costs about RM120-150 here, depending on make.

Then get an aircon contractor to hook up the whole thing for you, by connecting the copper tubing to the titanium coil, set up the controller properly and it's a go.

The cooling capacity? With the above config., you can easily cool a 2000 litre tank to 20C, without overworking it. On a smaller config of a 1/4HP coil combined to a 1/2HP compressor, the same 2000 litres of water takes 6 hours to cool from 27C to 25C, then turns off for 8 hours before the temp. reaches 27C again. Of course with smaller tanks, the on-off times are more frequent.

Another eg., with the 1HP + 1/2HP combination, a 5'X1.5'X2' tall tank takes 15 min. to cool from 27 to 25, and stops for 1 hour before kicking in again.

Originally Posted by ReDDeviLs

nice comparison there...
looking for a quiet and power saving chiller for my 150gallon..
any recommandation?

Originally Posted by deep_end

bro ReDDeviLs,

I don't know why it is that lots of S'poreans seem to like to use box chillers when split unit chillers are so much more efficient and cost-effective.

I seem to recall posting something along these lines sometime back, but here it is again.

What you need is a titanium drop-in coil, or a titanium heat exchanger - figure about S$350-400 for this for a 1/2HP unit. This can be coupled to anything from a 1/2HP to 1HP outdoor unit aircon compressor. This should be available easily and cheaply from the aircon shops, 2nd hand. Just get it serviced and the gas refilled. Here in Malaysia, a 2nd hand 1HP compressor is about RM400. Then get a digital controller and sensor, which costs about RM120-150 here, depending on make.

Then get an aircon contractor to hook up the whole thing for you, by connecting the copper tubing to the titanium coil, set up the controller properly and it's a go.

The cooling capacity? With the above config., you can easily cool a 2000 litre tank to 20C, without overworking it. On a smaller config of a 1/4HP coil combined to a 1/2HP compressor, the same 2000 litres of water takes 6 hours to cool from 27C to 25C, then turns off for 8 hours before the temp. reaches 27C again. Of course with smaller tanks, the on-off times are more frequent.

Another eg., with the 1HP + 1/2HP combination, a 5'X1.5'X2' tall tank takes 15 min. to cool from 27 to 25, and stops for 1 hour before kicking in again.

apparently that the way it goes in malaysia. i agree with deepend on split unit chillers.

unfortunately, i bought a chiller (CL280 resun) as i did not want to break a hole on the wall in my dad's living room.