Revolutionary cooling for schools and universities
Smardt oil-free chillers: reliable, efficient, and affordable.
A smart idea to cool schools and universities.
Selecting, installing, and operating chillers at your school or university campus poses multiple challenges: seasonal temperature changes. Building occupancy fluctuating from overflowing to empty. Keeping teachers and students comfortable. Fitting big equipment in small spaces. And reducing heating and cooling costs to keep utility bills within budget. And that’s where Smardt can help.
As the global leader in oil-free chillers, Smardt builds machines that provide an unbeatable combination of consistent performance, high reliability, energy efficiency, and precision operation. All of which puts you, the facilities manager, firmly in control of your building cooling system.
Unmatched efficiency
In lubricated reciprocating, screw, scroll, or centrifugal chillers, oil leaks into the refrigerant. From there, the oil makes its way to chiller internals, where the lubricant fouls heat transfer surfaces. According to ASHRAE Research Project 751, the accumulated oil can degrade performance by 15-25% over time. In sharp contrast, all Smardt chillers are oil-free. The elimination of lubricant prevents fouling, resulting in energy efficiency 20% to 50% higher than conventional oil chillers.
Best-in-class reliability
In conventional oil chillers, oil management systems require elaborate piping, traps, risers, and reservoirs. All of which can diminish compressor output over time. With oil-free chillers, you get rid of the lubrication systems. With no oil, no lubrication system, redundant compressors, and few moving parts, up-time is maximized. Less time is spent servicing the system. Maintenance is quicker and less labor-intensive.
Smardt oil-free chillers adjust for seasonal loads
Smardt oil-free magnetic bearings -with variable-speed motor- increase part-load efficiency IPLV as much as 40%. That makes it easy and efficient to adjust chiller load for seasonal ambient temperatures. During summer vacations and school breaks, when the buildings are sparsely populated, running at part-load helps reduce energy costs.
Go green with renewable energy
Smardt’s D-Class Chillers run on direct current from solar panels and other renewable energy sources. Producing energy efficiency gains near 15%. Elimination of fossil fuels minimizes carbon footprint. Running chillers on renewable energy can be welcome news to students, parents, professors, even the media. Should extra power from the utility grid ever be needed, an inverter converts AC to the direct current our D-Class chillers run on.
Supports campus expansion
Schools and universities often expand or add buildings, some quite sizable, to cater to growing student populations. Smardt oil-free chillers are the ideal solution for supporting existing facilities expansions or new infrastructure such as student union buildings, gymnasiums or even an observatory.
Smardt oil-free chillers boast capacities up to 3,600 tons, the largest oil-free chiller installed in North America. Custom configurations enable even our large-capacity machines to be installed in small spaces. Additional chillers can be added to provide greater capacity.
Redundant compressors
Whenever one of the compressors in your Smardt chiller needs servicing, the machine’s multiple redundant compressors take over. So your chiller continues to cool, with the desired performance and efficiency intact. You can even service the faulty compressor without taking the entire chiller offline.
Noise-reduction
Importantly, Smart oil-free chillers operate at minimal sound levels. So you don’t get noise complaints and lawsuits from disgruntled residents who live near the school. Our 115 ton Turbocor compressor produces only 70 dBA. That’s 11% quieter than screw compressors.
Lowest total cost of owner.
Investing in a Smardt oil-free chiller helps schools make good use of taxpayer money. Factors that contribute to Smardt’s low TCO include:
- Ability to switch between full and part load without compromising on performance and reliability.
- When ambient temperature is low enough, Smardt’s advanced Free Cooling feature shuts down all compressor functions except for the fans, which then cool using the refrigerant’s thermodynamics.
- Lack of a lubrication system eliminates time-consuming labor, maintaining costly spare parts inventory, and elaborate piping.
- Payback from your investment in a Smardt oil-free chiller is typically 3 years or sooner.