The most common type of water chiller for large buildings is the centrifugal chiller, which employs a centrifugal compressor to consolidate the refrigerant. This process extracts heat from a closed loop water distribution system, as it is pumped through coils working in conjunction with air handling equipment. The captured heat is sent through a secondary open loop system and released into the environment by a cooling tower.

This technology can also be used to extract heat during the manufacturing process.