What factors should be considered when selecting a refrigeration compressor?

As a key equipment in the cold room refrigeration system, the compressor plays a core role in refrigeration engineering. Its main responsibility is to compress the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant gas returned from the evaporator. Through this process, the mechanical energy is converted into the internal energy and pressure energy of the refrigerant, causing the refrigerant temperature to rise significantly and become a high-temperature and high-pressure state.

According to the different working principles and structures, cold room compressors mainly include rotor compressors, scroll compressors, screw compressors, and piston compressors. This article will focus on piston compressors, which are one of the earliest types of compressors and compress refrigerants through the reciprocating motion of the piston in the cylinder.

What are the advantages of piston compressors? What factors should be considered in the selection? The answer is revealed below.

Advantages of piston compressors

The reporter learned that piston compressors have the following advantages:

1. High efficiency. Piston compressors can adapt to different refrigerants and have higher efficiency, especially for small cold storage systems.

2. Strong environmental adaptability. Piston compressors can handle a very wide range of pressures and are suitable for cold room applications that require a high pressure ratio. They can also be used under deep freezing or extreme temperature conditions. They can work within a large range of exhaust volumes and can adapt to refrigeration needs under different load and pressure conditions.

3. Low maintenance cost. Piston compressors have a long service life and are durable. The compressors are easy to operate and maintain, parts are easy to replace, and parts are in sufficient supply on the market.

Selection of piston compressors

It is crucial that the cold room compressor operates efficiently, which determines the refrigeration effect and energy efficiency of the entire cold room system. To this end, the following factors should be considered.

Refrigeration capacity matching:

The required refrigeration capacity needs to be calculated based on factors such as the design temperature of the cold room, the type and quantity of stored items, and the heat load. Ensure that the compressor's refrigeration capacity can cover the highest peak demand, especially in the hot summer season.

Working condition adaptability:

According to the changes in the working conditions of the cold room, such as seasonal temperature fluctuations, the frequency of entry and exit of stored items, etc., select a compressor that can flexibly adjust the energy output. For large cold rooms, multi-stage compression or parallel units may need to be considered.

Economy and energy efficiency:

Consider the balance between initial investment cost and operating cost, including energy consumption, maintenance costs and life cycle costs. Choosing energy-efficient compressors can reduce long-term operating costs.

Maintenance convenience:

The compressor's wearing parts and spare parts should be easily accessible and easy to maintain and replace on site.

Safety and reliability:

The compressor should have good safety protection measures, such as overload protection, temperature monitoring, etc. It is also very important to choose a reliable, well-known brand and a compressor with good after-sales service. Well-known brands usually have higher manufacturing quality and performance standards, and provide better after-sales service and technical support, which can ensure the long-term stable operation of the compressor.