Cooling towers are used to remove heat from a building. Cooling a stream of water to a lower temperature using evaporation does this. Large cooling towers are usually used in industries like power plants, petroleum refineries and various manufacturing facilities. They vary in size from large hyperboloid structures to smaller ones on the rooftops of shopping centers, hospitals or universities.
However, the most common application of a cooling tower is inside an HVAC system for cooling buildings.
An HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) cooling tower is used to dispose unwanted heat from a chiller. HVAC use of a cooling tower pairs the cooling tower with a water-cooled chiller or water-cooled condenser.
Cooling towers vary in size and design based on the cooling load of a building. The cooling load is determined by the size of a building from which heat needs to be extracted. The other factor that affects this design is the relative humidity of the air. This is determined by the location of the building. For example, the relative humidity in Albuquerque, New Mexico is much lower than in Atlanta, Georgia.
Routine operational maintenance is very important to achieve consistent throughput from your cooling towers. If you take a close look, most manufacturers include both good maintenance instructions as well as maintenance programs that could simplify both time and money for your operational expenses. These procedures can prevent loss of efficiency in the heat transfer section by maintaining proper water flow and airflow, as well as preventing corrosion in the cooling tower.
Maintenance frequency depends on the type of the tower, the size and external factors like geographical location of your building. PROACTIVE ANNUAL MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS
Some of the activities that you can perform are:
- Implementing strainer systems that act as filters to collect debris and minimize contact between air-borne or water-borne contaminants.
- Nozzles should be cleaned regularly to prevent clogging. Since nozzles enhance even water distribution, they should be placed where they can be easy accessed, inspected, cleaned or replaced.
- Water treatment options like water modeling, green chemical usage, filtration and softening ensures that the tower system operates optimally and achieves the needed cooling requirement. This is recommended to be done monthly unless otherwise specified by the manufacturer.
- Deep cleaning of the cooling towers involves using a cleaning chemical that circulates and flushes out of the system. Pressure washing and vacuuming also form a part of the deep cleaning process.
- Mechanical components like fans, motors and belts need to be inspected cleaned and adjusted, if necessary.
- Electrical components like capacitors and wiring should be inspected and replaced if necessary.
With increasing prices of energy and emphasis on sustainable environment, it is important to ensure that the cooler towers are designed, built, installed and makes use of proper MAINTENANCE & REPAIR SERVICES INCLUDING CLEANING
Some of the methods you can use to make efficiency improvements are :
- Water-cooled and open circuit systems consume lower energy than air-cooled alternatives.
- The cooling tower can be operated at full fan speed to allow the minimum condenser water temperature limit to be reached. Below this level, you can use a variable speed drive (VSD) to maintain a set point.
- Using a closer design approach for the cooling tower can lead to potential energy savings. The tower approach is defined as the difference between the water temperatures leaving the cooling tower minus the entering wet-bulb temperature. When a closer design approach is chosen, the resulting cooling tower provides colder water to the chiller condenser, even on a design day, which in turn reduces compressor energy.
- Fan Speed Control: According to the standards as defined by ASHRAE 90.1-2013, cooling tower fan speed must have the capability to be controlled proportional to the leaving fluid temperature or condensing temperature/pressure. This is accomplished by either the use of two-speed motors or variable speed drive technology. This can be applied on both new and existing installations.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, cooling towers are an essential component of every building. It varies in size, shape and type depending on the building’s needs. Large facilities like power plants, oil refineries and steel manufacturing plans have hyperboloid units, while most other facilities have a cooling tower in their HVAC.
The routine maintenance of the cooling towers is very important to maximize their utilization. Since cooling towers consume energy, there are multiple ways you can ensure that they are energy efficient. for source info, click here!
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