KALTER Industrial Dry Cooler

KALTER circulates water or water-glycol through a finned-tube heat-exchanger coil. Outdoor air moved across the surface by inverter fans absorbs thermal energy through the tubes and fins and releases it to the atmosphere. Fluid and outdoor air do not mix. Capacity is determined by fluid inlet and target outlet temperatures, flow, ambient temperature and heat-exchanger surface area.

KALTER serves industrial applications where process temperature is above ambient and heat can be rejected directly to outdoor air. Uses include hydraulic oil, mould and machine cooling in plastics and rubber; CNC, laser and welding equipment in automotive and metalworking; generators, motors, inverters and auxiliary equipment in energy; and process water in food, chemical, textile and electronics. It can also integrate with chillers for free cooling or condenser-water cooling.

A compressor chiller can cool water below ambient temperature. A dry cooler transfers process heat directly to outdoor air and its outlet temperature is limited by ambient dry-bulb temperature. If the process-water target is sufficiently above ambient, a dry cooler can operate with much less electricity. KALTER can work with a chiller for pre-cooling or free cooling where lower temperatures are required.

Dry-cooler outlet temperature depends on ambient dry-bulb and heat-exchanger approach temperature; dry operation cannot cool fluid below ambient dry bulb. Selection considers ambient design temperature, fluid inlet and outlet values, flow and glycol. As target outlet temperature approaches ambient, a larger heat-exchanger surface and greater airflow are required.

Inverter-controlled fans continuously adjust their operating speed according to outdoor temperature and the process’s instantaneous thermal load. Instead of running at full speed under all conditions, they produce only the airflow required. Reducing fan speed at low outdoor temperatures or under partial load lowers electricity consumption and noise. Inverter control also allows the outlet-fluid temperature to be managed more precisely and steadily.

Because a dry-cooler system has no compressor, its electricity consumption consists mainly of the fans and circulation pump. At suitable process and outdoor temperatures, instantaneous energy consumption can be reduced by 70–85% compared with a mechanical chiller. The actual saving is calculated using the target fluid temperature, outdoor conditions, fan power, pump consumption and annual operating hours.

Because the KALTER Series operates on a closed-circuit dry-cooling principle, normal operation creates no continuous water consumption from evaporation, blowdown or drift.

Yes. The KALTER Series can be connected to an existing chiller system in series or parallel for pre-cooling and free cooling. When outdoor conditions are suitable, the process return water can first pass through the dry cooler, reducing the cooling load that the chiller must meet. Temperature sensors, control valves and the automation system automatically direct the fluid to the dry-cooler or chiller circuit according to operating conditions.