Unless you are located in the northern or southern polar regions, churning away on the roof of the building in which you may work, or mounted on a pad adjacent to it, is likely an important unit of equipment. It is essential to climate control in the building, and possibly an integral heat rejection component for an industrial process. Yes, I am talking about cooling towers. While hardly glamorous, without their successful operation, much of your operation will grind to a halt.
There is substantial cost involved in the operation of a cooling tower, including energy, water, treatment chemicals, and more. Corrosion and the accumulation of fouling material can measurably reduce the overall cooling efficiency. Even modest accumulation can slash energy efficiency by 5%, increasing operating costs in a marked way.
Keeping a cooling tower operating near its design capacity requires a commitment to a regular maintenance and inspection schedule. When deficiencies are found, they should be corrected within a reasonably short time frame. Water treatment, to improve performance or reduce maintenance burden, can sometimes be overly aggressive and impart some negative side effects to the equipment. Plastic cooling towers provide a high level of resistance to even the most aggressive water treatment chemicals. Cooling towers fabricated from plastics can carry warranties extending to 20 years.
Water cooling towers are an important operational component of your infrastructure, as well as a significant continuing cost center. They should be cared for as an important appliances. Avoid choosing a “Run to failure” maintenance program.
There is much to consider when adding or replacing a cooling tower. Share your project requirements and challenges with an application specialist. Combining your process and operational expertise with their product application knowledge will produce an effective solution.