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Danfoss has added new 8.5 ton and 11 ton* variable-speed compressors with intermediate discharge valves to its popular VZH range, giving commercial cooling manufacturers the market’s most complete choice of variable-speed scrolls with qualified drives.
The new inverter scrolls are ideal for data center close controls and rooftop units, enabling precise, energy-efficient cooling. These compressors are also an excellent fit for rooftop units, helping OEMs meet challenging new seasonal and part-load efficiency standards, like the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) energy conservation regulations beginning in 2023. Likewise, for chillers, the Danfoss VZH range will enable OEMs develop a competitive range of systems capable of exceeding the demanding Ecodesign Lot 21 targets coming into effect in 2021.
According to Luigi Zamana, senior marketing director for Danfoss Commercial Compressors, “The extended VZH range gives OEMs the opportunity to work with a single, proven supplier of prequalified variable-speed compressor and drive packages, from four up to twenty-six tons, with scroll technology and from sixty to 400 tons with oil-free Danfoss Turbocor technology."
* @ ARI conditions, full speed (110 rps)
Variable-speed with IDVs: the key to SEER, IPLV, and IEER
Worldwide, energy-efficiency standards are increasingly based on seasonal efficiency measures like the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER), Integrated Energy Efficiency Ratio (IEER), and Integrated Part Load Value (IPLV). These standards are designed to better reflect actual load profiles.
Cooling manufacturers are therefore under pressure to improve part-load efficiency in order to satisfy DOE regulations and continue to sell units in major world markets. With their ability to continuously modulate capacity, variable-speed compressors are a key part of meeting this challenge.
Danfoss VZH scrolls go even further. They feature intermediate discharge valves (IDVs), which prevent over-compression losses that compromise efficiency in standard scroll technology under part-load conditions. The result is a significant improvement in integrated efficiency scores. Efficiency is further improved with state-of-the-art permanent magnet motors that help reduce power consumption under all operating conditions.
Tailor-made for rooftop units and IT close controls
Energy efficiency is particularly important in data center cooling applications. With round-the-clock cooling demand, each incremental reduction in power consumption has a large impact on energy bills, giving IDVs a clear advantage in making data centers more sustainable as IDVs deliver much higher system efficiency for the same cooling capacity, especially at very high evaporating temperatures (low pressure ratios) that are typical of data centers.
But servers also need precise conditions to function reliably, and variable-speed technology gives the unparalleled ability to achieve a narrow, 0.54 °F (0.3 °C) temperature window, without sacrificing power usage effectiveness (PUE).
Additionally, the VZH's extended operating map and ability to work in a wide range of conditions, makes it an obvious choice for IT close control systems, as well as rooftop units in markets where seasonal efficiency is a priority.
Prequalified packages accelerate time to market
Danfoss is able to supply properly-sized compressors and drives as a matched, prequalified and certified package. This ability dramatically accelerates the development process, allowing OEMs to bring new, more efficient units to market faster.
A road map to lower GWP
Currently, VZH compressors are approved for use with R-410A, a refrigerant with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of less than 2500. Danfoss’ commitment to lower-GWP alternatives—including its new, 3000-m2 testing facility for flammable refrigerants—means we have spelled out a clear road map for a safe, managed transition before refrigerant phase-downs commence in earnest.
