Chilled Water Systems are usually intended for larger boats, they consist of a chiller or multiple chillers located in the engine room or machinery space that cools (or heats) a freshwater circuit, this is then pumped around the boat through insulated piping to air handlers located in the living areas that cool (or heat) the boat. There is no limitation on the amount of air handlers in a system, or on the distance from the chiller to the air handlers.
Chilled Water systems offer flexible, efficient cooling (or heating) to larger vessels, peak electrical loads are reduced by stage chillers which cut in and out automatically as and when required, this is a large advantage for very large boats which may only require small parts of the air conditioning system to be working when only crew are on the boat. Large cabins or living areas can also benefit from having several small air handlers rather than one big one as this provides a much better cooling environment with ultimate control.
Chilled Water systems are available with capacities from 16,000Btu/h to 2,000,000 Btu/h, the control systems can be networked with endless possibilities.