Study Proves Spool Compressor Outperforms Scroll in Cooling Systems Analysis
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System-Level Analysis Conducted by the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Reveals Up to 10% Efficiency Gains and Lower Operating Temperatures.
GEORGIA – May 26, 2026 – A new comparative assessment confirms that spool compressor technology delivers significant system-level performance advantages over legacy scroll compressors in ULTRA-LOW-GWP, R1234(ze) cooling applications. The study proves that the component-level efficiency gains of spool compressors translate into measurable benefits when integrated into complete cooling systems.
Across three separate analyses, the R1234(ze) spool compressor consistently demonstrated a superior Coefficient of Performance (COP), providing efficiency improvements ranging from 2% to 10%. This boost is driven by a 4% to 11% reduction in compressor power consumption. Additionally, the spool compressor maintained lower discharge temperatures, indicating enhanced thermal reliability and operating robustness.
The testing utilized validated steady-state models based on the AHRI 540 formulation. The spool compressor maintained its efficiency advantage even under realistic, non-ideal conditions, including heavy evaporator pressure-drop penalties and application-specific configurations with equal rated cooling capacities.
The findings indicate that spool technology offers a meaningful performance edge, particularly under high ambient temperatures where power demands peak. These results support the adoption of spool compressors for high-efficiency cooling systems and future architectural optimization.
TORAD Inc.
TORAD has developed the next generation refrigerant compressor. Our patented rotary spool compressor technology is designed to enable cost effective adoption of zero global warming refrigerants across a broad range of applications.
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