Ammonia Chillers
Ammonia Chillers
(OP)
I have been tasked to become the Ammonia Chiller expert in our office. We do consulting MEP work, and the client wants to look into Ammonia Chillers. I've been looking up information on the internet regarding the pros and cons of ammonia use, but was wondering if anyone had some: websites, books, code criteria, etc..., I could look up to learn more about these systems. I'm just looking for some help in collecting information to become familiar with this type of system.





RE: Ammonia Chillers
Not an area to go into lightly. I was once asked to do the same thing for a previous company. It did not go very far once I discovered the additional layers of safety and regulation required. I assume you are talking about split systems for food processing or other refrigeration systems. Although in many respects it's just a refrigeration system with evaporators, condensers, compressors, etc., the properties of R717 require special attention (e.g. pipe needs to be steel and not copper). Leak detection and the response thereof is also a major factor.
RE: Ammonia Chillers
RE: Ammonia Chillers
RE: Ammonia Chillers
the only real reason to use ammonia in hvac is when you have outrageously large capacity demand. this does not apply to small absorption chiller which are bought mostly for marketing purposes.
if you don't plan to dedicate your future career to ammonia engineering, convince your boss to seek for outside help.
RE: Ammonia Chillers
The responses above are great, and are being taken seriously, but right now determining the safety requirements is key. A saving grace also is that I don't believe that there will be enough ammonia in the chiller room to warrant meeting the EPA guidelines. This building should be well below the 10,000 lbs limit.