Earthcare’s product range
The Earthcare range of hydrocarbon chillers
Manufactured to our specifications, this range consists of some of the most efficient, quiet and reliable chillers on the market today. Used on sites across the country, these chillers have a proven record of accomplishment for solid performance and low running costs. They have the added advantage of offering unparalleled environmental performance in their sector.
The use of natural refrigerants minimises direct global warming and indirect global warming is reduced by maximising energy efficiency through a combination of factors including the favourable thermodynamic characteristics of HCs, the use of subcooling circuits, which improve the coefficient of performance (COP) and floating head pressure control that allows the condensing temperature to float as low as 20°C if ambient conditions allow, instead of the normal 40°C. This is particularly beneficial for chillers that operate year round or at night when ambient temperatures are lower. The combined effect of these energy efficiency measures will result in a potential energy saving in excess of 50% relative to chillers that operate year round without these energy saving features.
All units are available as reverse cycle heat pumps, details upon request. The larger screw compressor models use specially selected polyglycol oils, which are resistant to dilution by hydrocarbons. Tests have indicated up to an eighteen percent improvement in volumetric efficiency over conventional refrigerant and oil combinations. We predict further improvements when we finish development of our vapour injection economised screw initiative.
There is an increased demand for this type of solution because until now specifiers and users of screw compressor chillers have been restricted to choosing between expensive ammonia chillers or HFC chillers With both government departments and large corporations increasingly looking for cost effective alternatives to HFCs, these chillers are a practical demonstration that natural refrigerants can offer cost effective and practical solutions across the whole range of building services applications.
Britain’s largest ever hydrocarbon refrigerant chiller for a building services application was installed at the historic Church House building in Westminster close to the Houses of Parliament in 2007. The original Church House was built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee and the current building was opened by King George VI in 1940. The 600Kw Earthcare chiller was specified by Max Fordham consulting engineers and the installation, carried out by AMEC, involved closing two roads close to Westminster Abbey on a Saturday morning, diverting two bus routes and organising 12 vehicles to get the crane into position for siting the chiller.
Every project has to be judged on its individual merits but this is a typical real life cycle cost example:
EHS Life-cycle Analysis
| Earthcare EHS2140 | HFC134a Chiller | |
|---|---|---|
| Cooling Output kW | 625 | 625 |
| COP | 4.15 | 2.82 |
| Power Input kW | 150.6 | 221.6 |
| Run Hours | 3,000 | 3,000 |
| Load Factor % | 50 | 50 |
| Annual Energy Consumption kWh | 225,900 | 332,400 |
| Cost of Energy £/KWh | 0.063 | 0.063 |
| Annual Running Cost £ | 14,231 | 20,941 |
| Capital Cost £ | 69,830 | 60,000 |
| 10 year Running Cost £ | 142,310 | 209,410 |
| 10 year life cycle cost £ | 212,420 | 269,410 |
| 10 year saving £ | 56,990 | |
| Percentage saving % | 21.2 |
The photographs show our most recent units being installed on a DEFRA low energy building near Weybridge in Surrey:
For further information on any of the products offered by Earthcare, please get in touch.