A Herculean task awaited Dieter Hildebrandt and his team at the Bitzer Kühlmaschinenbau GmbH factory in Schkeuditz at the end of 2013. With the F gas directive and the second stage of the ErP Directive slated to take effect in 2015, the entire range of condensing units was to be completely overhauled. “On the one hand, we wanted to comply with all current efficiency regulations and also design the units for future compliance with other directives,” says Hildebrandt, Manager World Condensing Unit.
On the other hand, they had to ensure backwards compatibility, which meant retaining housing dimensions and connection points. While Bitzer took care of the improvements to the heat exchanger, a strong partner was needed to deal with the fans. Thanks to years of successful cooperation, ebm-papst got the nod. Detailed requirements for noise levels, stepless control characteristics and energy efficiency soon led the project staffers to the HyBlade® EC axial fan. A positive side effect for the series with its modular design: The work done by 25 fan models in the old generation of condensing units is now done by only three HyBlade® models with 350, 400 and 500 millimeters and two different guard grilles.
Good products, top technical support and expert advice helped us make rapid progress with the project.
Dieter Hildebrandt, Manager World Condensing Unit bei BITZER
Hildebrandt is full of praise, saying “Good products, top technical support and expert advice helped us make rapid progress with the project.” Obligatory verification measurements from the aeroacoustic fan test stand at ebm-papst in Mulfingen were especially helpful. The test stand makes it possible to record air performance data and noise emissions simultaneously and provided impressive verification of the nozzle’s optimized air duct design.
Quiet power
Besides its convincing energy efficiency, the HyBlade® has a noise level up to 3 dB(A) lower – with higher performance – thanks to its sophisticated blade geometry. More than once, commissioning has demonstrated just how quiet the new condensing unit is. Hildebrandt recalls with a smile, “The customers waited intently for the fan to start, but it had already been running for a while at partial load an 70 percent power consumption!”
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