How Temperature Consultations Help with Application Planning
Planning a Laboratory Project or Application?
It’s exciting to plan a new laboratory application, project, or experiment, but it can also be stressful. A lot is riding on your decisions. You have goals to meet and results in mind. You also have timing and budget considerations. There’s a lot to think about, including equipment selection. One of the critical factors you’ll want to consider early in the planning stages is the selection of your TCU (temperature control unit). Waiting too long to select the appropriate heater, chiller, or circulator can lead to problems.
The last thing you want to do is shortchange your application results by selecting the wrong temperature control equipment. This article will explore choosing and sizing a temperature control unit to ensure your project’s success. We’ll look at how the TCU affects your project and how a free temperature control consultation can improve performance. We’ll also discuss what can happen when you choose the wrong unit or wait too long to make your selection.
How the Temperature Control Unit Affects Your Application
The chiller, circulator, or TCU you use directly influences the accuracy of your test or process. When you wait until the end of the planning process to select the temperature control unit, you may be in for a few surprises. For example, you may find you need more budget, electrical work, or additional resources to run the process the way you planned. Or, you may learn that the TCU you had in mind won’t get the job done.
Temperature controllers are support devices used to manage specific temperature variables. However, don’t let the ancillary nature of this equipment mislead you into thinking that any old heater or chiller will do. Many projects have failed because they have the wrong temperature control unit.
TCU selection affects more than process temperatures; it can also affect the following factors:
Viscosity
Timing
Safety measures
The amount of space you’ll need in the lab
Data management
Operational costs for running the project
The Importance of Early Temperature Control Consultations
Sizing a temperature control unit is a science in itself. Going it alone can be tricky since there’s more to sizing and selecting a unit than knowing the temperature range. For example, let’s say you need a unit that can go to -40°C, so you look through a product catalog and find one with a temperature range from -40°C to +150°C. It’s tempting to think that you’ve found the appropriate unit. However, if that unit only offers 20W of cooling power at -40°C, you’re putting your process in jeopardy. Due to the low cooling capacity, this unit will struggle to reach and hold your desired temperature.
Getting an expert temperature control consultation from JULABO USA early in the planning process can help determine if the TCU you’re considering will work for your target temperature and desired time-to-temperature goals. In addition, knowing which TCU you’ll be using early in the planning process will help you determine additional equipment needs, operating costs, and a more precise budget. And most importantly, it will prevent you from having to start over or rework your plan.
Cooling Applications, In Particular, Require Early Consultation
TCU consultations are critically important if you’re trying to cool an application at low temperatures. We often say heating is easy; cooling is hard. The lower the temperature, the sooner you’ll want to get a temperature control consultation. It’s also fair to say that the lower you want to go with your temperatures, the more budget flexibility you’ll need for the TCU.
For example, most of our single-stage units have a low-temperature limit of -60°C, but the cooling capacity at -60°C is limited. To achieve the cooling capacity needed to reach and hold temperatures <-60 ˚C requires a dual-stage refrigeration system with two compressors. Dual-stage refrigeration systems, such as the JULABO PRESTO units, include more sophisticated refrigeration systems and components, which means they’ll cost more than a single-stage unit.
Temperature Control Unit Sizing Factor
Before selecting a temperature control unit, you’ll want to consider the following questions. How you answer these questions will determine which products will work with your process or application.
What is your desired high temperature? What is your desired low temperature?
Can the unit reach the desired set point or temperature range?
What is your ideal temperature, and how quickly are you hoping to reach it?
Do you have enough heating or cooling capacity to easily and quickly reach and maintain your desired temperature?
Which fluids or solvents are you using?
What other equipment are you using as part of the process? What are the specifications, volumes, and measurements of that equipment?
Is your process generating additional heat?
When it comes to determining the necessary heating and cooling capacities, you’ll need to know the precise mathematical formula, which means you’ll need some expert assistance, usually from the TCU manufacturer. To make it easier, JULABO USA offers an App that will do the math for you. You can download the JULABO App for Apple or Google Play devices to start calculating your heating and cooling capacities.
The Benefits of a Consultative Partner for Temperature Control
As you can see, there’s a lot to consider. Fortunately, you don’t ever have to go it alone. JULABO USA has a team of experts to help, starting with your dedicated local account manager. Your JULABO USA account manager collaborates with you and our in-house team to ensure you have a unit that supports your application and process.
Working with our consultative team means they will ask the necessary questions to determine the options. They’re also going to listen carefully to your responses and ask for clarifications to help you narrow down the product search. Once they’ve identified a few recommendations, they’ll educate you on how specific options will affect the people and processes within your organization.
These free consultations with JULABO USA will help you understand how the TCU will impact several other actors, including:
Profitability
Productivity & efficiencies
Workflows & throughputs
Safety & training
Operator & user satisfaction
Laboratory space & design
Response times & data tracking
Operating expenses
Future business goals
And more
Where to Go for Free TCU Product Consultations
JULABO USA offers personalized temperature control product recommendations for every stage of your planning process. If you’re working directly with a supplier or partner, we will support the selection of the appropriate JULABO circulator, chiller, or temperature control system to make sure you’ve thought of everything before you make your selection. Our consultations are free, so feel free to connect with your JULABO account manager, and they’ll take care of the rest.
You can find your JULABO account manager here:
We also offer direct consultations with our in-house application scientist Mark Diener. Mark holds special office hours every Tuesday and Friday from 1-3 PM ET to address your pre-planning questions and help with application solutions.
Contact Mark for a free application consultation:
Additionally, the JULABO US app is a great resource for calculating heating and cooling capacities and determining product recommendations based on your temperature and application requirements. The JULABO US app also allows you to narrow down your product search and connect directly with your JULABO account manager.
Download the JULABO USA App:
