April 12, 2006—Global growth consultants Frost & Sullivan recently named Danfoss Turbocor as the recipient of the 2006 Frost & Sullivan Technology Leadership of the Year Award in the Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration (HVAC&R) compressors market for the company’s development of a breakthrough centrifugal compressor technology.
Frost & Sullivan says that with the launch of this technology, Turbocor became the first company to design and develop an oil-free compressor and has caused a paradigm shift of the market in terms of setting an entirely new trend in technology innovation.
The compressor offers high energy efficiency (particularly at part load), quiet operation, and low vibration levels, explains F&S. One of the new technologies it uses is magnetic levitation bearings, which enable the shaft and connected impellers (the only major moving parts) to float in mid-air in Turbocor’s compressor. According to F&S, since these bearings have 500 times less friction than typical oiled bearings, they improve the efficiency and prolong the life of the product while reducing maintenance costs by as much as 50 percent.
In terms of the Integrated Part Load Value (IPLV), which takes into account the full range of a compressor’s operation and efficiency level, the Turbocor averages savings of 33 percent or more compared to competing technologies such as screw compressors, and up to 50 percent compared to reciprocating compressors, reports F&S.
For more information about the oil-free compressors, visit Danfoss Turbocor.
