Bitzer has a long history with the Australian market it’s a relationship that began in the year 1960 when the first Bitzer compressors were sold through W.H. Evans.
Today, Buffalo Trident is the last true OEM coil manufacturer in Australia. In this special feature, CCN profiles the company and the products that have made this partnership so successful.
By the 1980s Bitzer had turned its attention to combating ozone depletion in the atmosphere with the release of R22 two stage compressors to replace the CFC Refrigerants R12 and R502. This was the decade when Bitzer Germany saw the potential in investing ëdown underí and went on to form Bitzer Australia Pty Ltd.
In August 1992 Bitzer strengthened its investment even further purchasing Buffalo Trident expanding its range to include heat exchange components to facilitate the development of complete solutions for Bitzer customers.
Today Buffalo Trident is the last true OEM coil manufacturer continuing to support the Australian workforce.
In 2004, Bitzer Australia embarked on the development of systems using natural occurring gases as the prime refrigerant fluid and within that year introduced the very first modern commercial Co2 freezer plant in Australia.
A year later the company established the Bitzer Australia Technology and Training Centre which has kept Bitzer at the forefront of local refrigeration market.
Bitzer Australia has created two state of the art research and development facilities in Sydney and Melbourne,
both with operational R744 systems which enables Bitzer’s engineers to thoroughly design and test all of its systems.
The latest development is the high ambient transcritical booster system designed for energy efficiency and a low carbon footprint in Australiaís harsh conditions.
Reciprocating Compressors
On the product front Bitzer has released the new Ecoline, the next generation of reciprocating compressors. It has displacements ranging from 4 to 221 cu. m/h. The new series offers increased efficiency coupled with an increased range of applications, rendering it suitable for all standard refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump technology.
Bitzer has improved the efficiency (COP) of the entire new Ecoline range by up to six per cent with medium temperature applications, and at the low condensing temperature which is important for the annual coefficient of performance by no less than 12 per cent as compared with predecessor models.
Motor version 2 is designed to be a universal compressor for medium and low temperature applications, while motor versions 1 and 3 are designed for use with heat pumps and in special applications as well as medium temperature applications with R134a.
Since its market launch in April 2013 over 100,000 new Ecoline compressors have been sold. As it is compatible with its predecessor model it can be integrated with ease into existing installations because there is no need to modify the mounting hole or change the pipe connections.
Apart from R134a, the new Ecoline series is also designed for numerous other refrigerants, including R407A, R407C, R407F, R404A/R507A and R290 and R1270. This is a great advantage, particular in light of the new content of the future EU F-Gas Regulation. Special compressors are now only needed for high-pressure refrigerants such as CO2 (R744) and R410A, and these too form part of the Bitzer range.
At the same time, Bitzer has optimised its tried-and-tested CR capacity control system which offers high flexibility and exceptional reliability with its new CRII system. The heart of the CRII system is the new hollow control piston. This new system promotes a higher switching frequency, protects the environment and reduces costs.
Depending on the operating conditions and refrigerant, a special control algorithm allows compressors to be infinitely adjusted: with the CRII, Bitzer has achieved an exceptionally wide range of control between 10 and 100 per cent for four and six-cylinder compressors.
The increased switching frequency ensures smaller fluctuations in the controlled value, temperature and pressure and, in combination with the expanded range of control, optimises system efficiency.
The CRII system is available for the Ecoline series with a capacity range of four to eight cylinders. All the cylinder heads in the Ecoline compressors 4FES-3(Y) to 6FE-50(Y), as well as the two external cylinder banks in the compressors 8GE-50(Y) to 8FE-70(Y), can be retrofitted with CRII.
Ecoline Varispeed
Bitzer’s new semi-hermetic Ecoline Varispeed reciprocating compressor features an integrated suction gas-cooled frequency inverter permitting continuously variable capacity control, thereby saving energy and cutting costs. Using suction gas to cool the operating elements of the frequency inverter ensures that electrical components remain at optimum temperature, rendering a fan superfluous.
In response to the growing importance of Co2 as a refrigerant, Bitzer is steadily extending its Co2 product range. Thus Bitzer is adding the new Type 4PTC-6K for lower displacement and Types 4DTC-25K and 4CTC-30K for higher displacements to its series of semi-hermetic refrigeration compressors for transcritical CO2 applications.
The series now ranges from 4.3 to 25.6 cubic metres of displacement per hour at 50 Hz. As such, the transcritical compressors boast energy efficiency and exceptional versatility.
Bitzer’s the only compressor manufacturer to also have its performance data certified by ASERCOM (Association of European Refrigeration Component Manufacturers). All compressors for subcritical Co2 applications and most of the compressors for transcritical applications have been integrated into the certification program.
The efficiency of the system and thus the compressor itself are worth taking a look at. With Co2, only very small amounts of direct greenhouse gas emissions are released, so that when it comes to these applications a greater focus is placed on reducing indirect emissions through energy consumption.
Screw Compressors
The OS series open type screw compressors are for commercial and industrial applications. This series is designed for universal use in large commercial or industrial applications and marine refrigeration systems. In these applications they offer high cooling capacity and performance coefficients both with and without economiser operation.
Open drive screw compressors can run on all current refrigerants and permit the parallel operation of up to six compressors. From model OS.85 upwards the screw compressors can be fitted with either three-step or infinitely variable slider controls.
The CSH & CSV series Compact Semi Hermetic Screw compressors are suitable for use in air conditioning systems, heat pumps and applications involving high condensing temperatures.
The improved oil management ensures good lubrication even at extreme ambient temperatures, as well as very good efficiency under part load. Capacity control can optionally be either in steps or infinitely variable.
Bitzer has optimised the CSV series for use in liquid chillers and heat pumps. The semi-hermetic compact screw compressor features an integrated frequency inverter for infinitely variable speed settings as well as sensors to monitor that performance is within its operating limits. This greatly facilitates the installation and safe use of the CSV series.
Scroll Compressors
Bitzer’s Orbit scroll compressors are characterised by high isentropic efficiency, low sound levels and excellent energy efficiency. The ORBIT 6 series features displacements of between 20 and 38 cubic metres per hour, while the larger Orbit 8 series is capable of between 29 and 77 cubic metres. Orbit scroll compressors are designed for use in air conditioning systems and heat pumps and for operation with the R410A refrigerant.
We have filed a patent application for the Bitzer Advanced Header Technology (BAHT), which allows scroll compressors of varying performance to be combined into tandem and trio compressor sets.
A single piping kit can be used for up to 20 different line combinations, cutting storage costs accordingly. This throws open new design options for air conditioning engineers when configuring future systems.