Free-cooling chillers for data centers
23 of 32 vendors offer free cooling, built in or as an add-on module. 17 of them also use oil-free compressors, 20 sell air-cooled units and the highest supply water stated is 35 °C (Carrier). Compare the supply temperature and the capacity range before the free-cooling label.
| Heat rejection | Compressors | Refrigerants | Efficiency (as published) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trane | 4001 | 21,0002 | Air- and water-cooled | Oil-free magnetic-bearing centrifugal; centrifugal; variable-speed screw | R-1234ze; R-513A; R-134a; R-1233zd; R-515B | — | GVAF: SEER up to 6.55; seasonal metric, not full-load EER | 2026-11-11 |
| Daikin Applied | 3021 | 10,5511 | Air- and water-cooled | Variable-volume-ratio screw; Variable-speed oil-free magnetic-bearing | R-1234ze(E); R-515B; R-513A; R-1233zd(E) | 29.41 | Pathfinder AWV: IPLV above 22 EER; Pathfinder AWM: up to 22.7 IEER (US units) | 2026-11-11 |
| Vertiv | 3001 | 6,0004 | Air- and water-cooled | Inverter screw; oil-free magnetic-levitation centrifugal | R-1234ze; R-513A; R-515B; R-134a | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Carrier | 1701 | 3,8001 | Air- and water-cooled | Scroll; variable-speed screw; two-stage magnetic-bearing centrifugal | R-513A; R-1234ze(E); R-515B; R-32 | 353 | COP 6.75, IPLV 11.4 under AHRI (AquaEdge 19MV4) | 2026-11-11 |
| Multistack | — | 2,9891 | Air-cooled | Two-stage variable-speed centrifugal MagLev | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Smardt | 2111 | 2,5001 | Air- and water-cooled | Oil-free magnetic-bearing | R-513A; R-515B; R-1234ze; R-134a | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Uniflair (Schneider Electric) | 1,2001 | 2,5001 | Air-cooled | Oil-free magnetic-bearing centrifugal | — | 331 | EER 4.66 (Schneider Electric’s figure; rating conditions not published) | 2026-11-11 |
| APX DCS (LFB Group) | 501 | 2,4001 | — | Oil-free centrifugal; multi-scroll; inverter screw | R-1234ze; R-454B | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Midea Building Technologies | 5631 | 2,2511 | Air-cooled | Two-stage magnetic-bearing centrifugal; inverter screw | R-1234ze(E); R-513A | — | COP up to 7.11 at AHRI conditions (centrifugal line) | 2026-11-11 |
| Geoclima (Munters) | — | 2,2001 | Air-cooled | Oil-free centrifugal Turbocor with magnetic levitation | R-513A; R-134A; R-1234ze | — | R513A/R134A example: full-load EER 5.35 at 35°C ambient and 34/24°C water | 2026-11-11 |
| LG Electronics | 1,6881 | 2,1101 | Air-cooled | Semi-hermetic oil-free magnetic-bearing centrifugal, variable-speed | R-513A | — | EER 4.0 at full load, microchannel heat exchanger | 2026-11-11 |
| Airedale by Modine | 1101 | 2,0002 | Air-cooled | Oil-free centrifugal Turbocor | R-1234ze; R-134a | 262 | Up to 39% energy savings over standard methods (TurboChill DCS, vendor claim) | 2026-11-11 |
| ENGIE Refrigeration | 2501 | 2,0001 | Air- and water-cooled | Oil-free magnetic-bearing | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| STULZ | 2801 | 1,8601 | Air- and water-cooled | Screw (stepless or frequency-converter); Turbocor | R-1234ze; R-513A | 251 | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Kaltra | 2501 | 1,8501 | Air-cooled | Screw; scroll | R-134a; R-513A; R-1234ze; R-410A; R-452B; R-454B | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Mitsubishi Electric (Climaveneta) | 1,2001 | 1,7501 | Air-cooled | Magnetic-levitation centrifugal; oil-free magnetic-bearing | R-1234ze; R-515B | 263 | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Aermec | 2001 | 1,6001 | Air-cooled | Screw (NSM HWT); Turbocor magnetic-levitation (TBA/TBG) | R-134a; R-513A; R-1234ze; R-515B; R-32 | 301 | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Motivair by Schneider Electric | 351 | 1,5831 | — | Screw and scroll options | R-134a; R-410A; R-1234ze; R-513A | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Euroklimat | 1901 | 1,4001 | Air- and water-cooled | Oil-free magnetic-levitation Turbocor | R-134a; R-513A; HFO option | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Galletti | 3701 | 1,2001 | Air-cooled | Hermetic scroll | R-410A | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Swegon (BlueBox) | 2201 | 4801 | Air-cooled | Scroll | R-32 | 201 | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Clivet | — | — | Air-cooled | Magnetic, full inverter | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems | — | — | — | Centrifugal | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
The lines behind each row
All 32 vendorsHow to read the columns
Methodology- Smallest unit kW
- Lowest published cooling capacity across the chiller lines named in the 'Lines' field, converted from refrigeration tons at 3.517 kW per ton where the vendor publishes tons. Rating conditions differ by vendor and line, so compare ranges, not decimals. Blank when no line states a lower bound.
- Largest unit kW
- Highest published cooling capacity of a single chiller across the lines named in 'Lines', converted from tons at 3.517 kW per ton where needed. Project totals, multi-unit plants and announced-only products are excluded. Blank when not published.
- Heat rejection
- How the named lines reject heat: air-cooled (condenser fans), water-cooled (cooling tower or dry cooler loop) or both. Absorption chillers run on a heat source instead of an electric compressor.
- Compressors
- Compressor technologies in the named lines, as the vendor words them: scroll, screw, centrifugal, magnetic-bearing (oil-free) centrifugal.
- Refrigerants
- Refrigerants the vendor lists for the named lines. A refrigerant may be offered only on some sizes or markets; the record's sources say which.
- Max supply water °C
- Highest chilled-water supply (leaving) temperature the vendor states for a named line. A rating point is not an operating limit and is not used here. Blank when not stated.
- Efficiency (as published)
- Efficiency figures with the metric and conditions the vendor gives (EER, SEER, IPLV, COP). The metrics are not interchangeable: SEER and IPLV are weighted part-load figures, EER and COP are single points.