What Is Precision Air Conditioning?
Precision air conditioners are devices designed for highly precise localized air conditioning. While some adjust only the air temperature, others manage both temperature and humidity.
Why Precision Air Conditioning?
Consistent indoor temperature or a constant temperature and humidity environment are critical in industrial, medical, and research facilities. Traditionally, maintaining constant conditions throughout a laboratory or workroom was common. However, recent advancements have shifted focus to precision air conditioning, which controls temperature and humidity locally and with high precision. This approach enhances accuracy and reduces running costs. Additionally, it reduces installation and construction costs since the system only needs local installation, and it simplifies changes in areas not under high-precision control.
Uses of Precision Air Conditioning
1. Production Process Applications
High-precision control of temperature and humidity is required in air conditioners used in production processes. This includes industries such as automotive, semiconductors, liquid crystals, ultra-precision processing machines, and energy-related fields like solar cells and biomass.
2. Facility Applications
Medical and biotechnology facilities, universities, private research institutes, research departments of various companies, and data centers with many heat-sensitive devices also use precision air conditioning.
Principle and Types of Precision Air Conditioning
1. Principle of Precision Air Conditioning
In a precision air conditioning unit, a refrigerant is first compressed into a high-temperature, high-pressure gas, then cooled. This cooled refrigerant is used to condition the air to a predetermined temperature. The cooled air is then heated to the supply temperature for accurate control management.
2. Types of Temperature Control Methods
- Direct Heating Control
This method warms air cooled to a specific temperature using a heater. It’s effective, but may lead to higher running costs due to increased power consumption. - Heater-less
“Heater-less” technology in precision air conditioning units combines a cooling system with a heating system, using the same refrigerant. These units heat the air, once cooled by the cooling system, to a precise temperature, thus achieving accurate temperature control.
3. Types of Refrigerant Cooling System
- Air-Cooling
The air-cooling method cools the refrigerant by applying air to it. - Water Cooling
The water-cooling type uses water to cool the refrigerant, providing more precise control than air-cooling systems. - Glycol Cooling
This method uses glycol, or other antifreeze substances, to cool the refrigerant.
4. Types of Refrigerants
Some precision air conditioning units use traditional chlorofluorocarbons as a refrigerant, while others use non-CFC refrigerants like R1234yf. Non-Freon refrigerants have a low global warming potential (GWP) and are not regulated by emission laws, eliminating the costs and labor associated with CFC management.
Applications
Precision air conditioning units are used for localized precision control of rooms in existing buildings and are available as part of application sets.
Examples include:
1. Printing Machines
Printing processes use various solvents and cream solders sensitive to temperature and humidity. Precision air conditioning helps maintain optimal conditions, preventing issues like blurring or dripping during printing.
2. Mold Press
Mold presses require precise temperature and humidity control in the powder storage to ensure quality production. Precision air conditioning is essential for both equipment and storage areas.
3. Electronic Balances
Electronic balances, used for precise mass measurements, require stable temperature and humidity conditions for the measured objects. Therefore, combining them with precision air conditioning is highly beneficial.