A water chiller
[George F Van Patten. Hydroponic Basics.] is a device used to lower the temperature of water. Most chillers use refrigerant in a closed loop system to facilitate heat exchange from water where the refrigerant is then pumped to a location where the
waste heat
Waste heat is heat that is produced by a machine, or other process that uses energy, as a byproduct of doing work. All such processes give off some waste heat as a fundamental result of the laws of thermodynamics. Waste heat has lower utility ...
is transferred to the
atmosphere. However, there are other methods in performing this action.
In
hydroponics
Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing plants, usually crops or medicinal plants, without soil, by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions in aqueous solvents. Terrestrial or aquatic plant ...
, pumps, lights and ambient heat can warm the reservoir water temperatures, leading to plant root and health problems. For ideal plant health, a chiller can be used to lower the water temperature below ambient level; is a good temperature for most plants. This results in healthy root production and efficient absorption of nutrients.
In
air conditioning
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
,
chilled water Chilled water is a commodity often used to cool a building's air and equipment, especially in situations where many individual rooms must be controlled separately, such as a hotel. The chilled water can be supplied by a vendor, such as a public util ...
is often used to cool a building's air and equipment, especially in situations where many individual rooms must be controlled separately, such as a hotel. A chiller lowers water temperature to between and before the water is pumped to the location to be cooled.
[How Stuff Works: How Air Conditioners Work-Chilled-water and Cooling-tower AC Units]
/ref>
See also
*Chiller
A chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid coolant via a vapor-compression, adsorption refrigeration, or absorption refrigeration cycles. This liquid can then be circulated through a heat exchanger to cool equipment, or another p ...
* Gardening
Notes
{{Hydroculture
Hydroponics
Cooling technology
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
Mechanical engineering