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What Type of Chiller is Best for Laboratory Use
A high-performance laboratory chiller can not only protect equipment and improve experimental efficiency, but also ensure experimental safety. This article explains how lab chillers work, their common types, key selection criteria, and usage recommendations across different scenarios to help you choose the most suitable chiller solution for experimental needs.
Why Do Labs Need a Chiller?
Laboratory chillers are generally used for the following purposes.
Equipment heat dissipation
During the continuous operation of experimental equipment such as reactors, vacuum pumps, X-ray generators, and power supply systems, the internal circuits and structural parts will generate heat. If the heat cannot be taken away in time, the equipment will continue to heat up, causing component aging, performance degradation, and even shortened service life. The chiller uses the refrigerant circulation system to remove excess heat from the equipment in time, so that the equipment is always at the optimal temperature.
Some experiments have safety risks, such as battery testing, chemical reactions, high-voltage power supplies, etc., which may cause gas leakage, thermal runaway, or even explosion at high temperatures. In these high-risk applications, chillers are both auxiliary equipment and important safety guarantees.
Precise temperature control
Precision equipment such as lasers, mass spectrometers, nuclear magnetic resonance, and electron microscopes have strict requirements on working temperature. Temperature fluctuations affect their accuracy and stability. Moreover, many experiments have very strict temperature requirements.
If the ambient temperature or equipment temperature is unstable, the experimental results will have large errors, and the consistency of the experimental results cannot be guaranteed. The chiller can maintain fluid temperature within ±0.1°C, or even ±0.05°C in some models, achieve fast and stable temperature control, and provide accurate ambient temperature for equipment and experiments.
Types of Laboratory Chillers
| Typ | Requires Cooling Water? | Suitable Scale | Temp Control Range | Noise Level | Equipment Cost |
| Air-Cooled Chiller | No | Small to Medium | Narrow | Mittel | Low |
| Water-Cooled Chiller | Ja | Medium to Large | Narrow | Low | Mittel |
| Chiller Heater Combo | Depends on Model | Medium to Large | Wide | Mittel | High |
Air-cooled chillers
Air-cooled chillers use fans to discharge the heat of the high-temperature refrigerant gas in the condenser into the air, and do not require a cooling water system. Generally, a modular design is adopted, and all components are integrated in the box, with a compact structure that saves lab space. Because it does not require a cooling tower and a water pump, it has a lower initial cost and less maintenance workload.
However, it is sensitive to ambient temperature, and when the ambient temperature is too high, it will affect the cooling efficiency. It has relatively high requirements for ventilation conditions. The fan will generate a certain amount of noise when running, and it cannot operate at ultra-low noise levels. It is not suitable for large test equipment, nor for long-term high-load operation.
Water-cooled chiller
The water-cooled chiller uses cooling water to take away the heat of the refrigerant, and then uses a cooling tower to discharge the heat in the cooling water into the air. So it needs to be equipped with a cooling tower, a water pump and pipes. Its cooling efficiency is higher than that of an air-cooled chiller, it is stable even in high ambient temperatures. Its purchase and maintenance costs are higher than those of air-cooled equipment, but its service life is longer. It is suitable for large experimental platforms.
Chiller heater combo
The Chiller heater combo has both cooling and heating functions, and can automatically activate the cooling and heating modules according to program settings. It has a wider operating temperature range, faster response speed, and higher temperature control accuracy. A chiller heater unit completely replaces two chillers and heaters, saving you space and cost. However, its structure is more complex, the initial investment is higher than that of a chiller that can only cool, and maintenance is more troublesome. It is suitable for experiments that require heating and cooling cycle control.
How to Select the Right Lab Chiller?
Before buying a laboratory chiller, you need to consider the following factors.
Chiller temperature range
For conventional experiments, a 5℃~30℃ normal temperature chiller is sufficient. For extreme experiments such as battery and material testing, a low temperature chiller (-40℃) or ultra-low temperature chiller (-80℃) is required. To avoid the high-load operation of the chiller affecting its service life, it is recommended to choose a model with a 10°C buffer beyond your required range.
Kühlleistung
Cooling capacity refers to how much heat the chiller system can take away. A 5kW chiller can remove up to 5kW of heat per hour, ensuring efficient temperature regulation. If the cooling capacity is too small, the chiller will not work. Excessive cooling capacity will cause the equipment to continue to run at low load, resulting in energy waste.
Genauigkeit der Temperaturregelung
Under conventional cooling, the temperature control accuracy is ±1℃. Scientific research analysis, drug testing, battery material research, etc. require a chiller with an accuracy of ±0.5℃ or higher.
Flow rate and head
This is a key parameter that affects the efficiency of the coolant circulation. If the pump pressure is insufficient, the output temperature is difficult to reach the set value.
Chiller coolant
Common heat transfer media include DI water, glycol-water mixture, and heat transfer oil. They have different physical and chemical properties and need to be carefully selected and proportioned according to factors such as the chiller temperature range, compatibility, and pipe material.
Lab Chiller Buying Guide by Application
Analytical Laboratory
Gas/Liquid Chromatography, UV Spectroscopy, ICP-MS and other equipment require low-noise, high-stability, and high-precision chillers. It is recommended to choose an air-cooled chiller with a closed water system and a silent design.
Material Research/Chemical Experiments
Reactors, jacket heaters and other equipment require a chiller heater combo with a large temperature control range (such as -20℃~150℃), fast temperature rise and fall, and support for setting temperature curves.
Battery Testing Laboratory
Battery pack and cell testing require a high-precision low-temperature chamber that can operate at a constant temperature for a long time. Since multiple groups of samples may be tested at the same time, it is recommended to choose a multi-channel chiller.
Medical/Biological Laboratory
Cooling centrifuges, protein freeze-drying equipment, bioreactors and other equipment require low-noise, high-precision chillers that can run constantly. Compact air-cooled machines with antibacterial materials and filtered water circuits are suitable.
Conclusion & Why Choose LNEYA
If you are shopping for a laboratory chiller, LNEYA can provide you with professional advice and customized solutions. We have rich experience in the production of laboratory refrigeration equipment. We offer a wide range of models, including air-cooled, water-cooled, and combo units. They support multi-channel, multi-temperature zone, explosion-proof, and safety function expansion to meet a variety of experimental needs.
Contact LNEYA technical consultants to get selection suggestions and solutions.
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