GERMANY: Bitzer has announced a number of new products including a further extension of its Ecolite condensing units, new open drive ammonia compressors and hybrid falling film evaporators.

Among the announcements at Chillventa this week from Bitzer was the new Ecolite LHL7E condensing unit, extending the line up to 6.5kW in low temperature applications and up to 25kW in medium temperature. 

Like the extension of the range announced in July, these new units are now available for use with a full range of A2L refrigerants, including ultra-low GWP R1234ze/yf and lower GWP R455A and R454C.

All feature Bitzer’s semi-hermetic Ecoline reciprocating compressors with Varistep mechanical capacity control. The Ecolite LHL7E also offers optional heat recovery for an additional boost in system efficiency.

Bitzer is expanding its portfolio of ammonia screw compressors for industrial ammonia refrigeration systems with new OS.A105 open drive screw compressors. Three displacement volumes of 1,400, 1,700 and 2,000m3/h at 2,900rpm are in the pipeline. This displacement can be increased by a further 40% with the use of external frequency inverters. 

The new OS.A105 open drive screw compressors are equipped with the IQ module, which can be used to efficiently operate the double slider for mechanical capacity control and Vi adjustment. The sliders enable stepless adjustment of the cooling capacity between 10% and 100%.

Bitzer’s new hybrid falling film evaporators are said to combine high efficiency in full and part load with a low refrigerant charge. They come in five different housing sizes and are optimised for R134a, R1234ze and R513A. 

The company claims that the tested capacities are much better than those of fully flooded evaporators with rated load conditions and, in particular, with part load conditions. 

They satisfy the requirements of the EU Ecodesign directive and achieve the minimum level of efficiency stipulated in the directive for refrigeration systems with a capacity of over 400kW. Due to their special design, hybrid falling film evaporators also require at least 35% less refrigerant than flooded evaporators. With a capacity range of 300 to 2,000kW, they accommodate a whole host of applications – most notably, air conditioning and process cooling.

The OS.A105 compressor will be launched in 2024.