A lot of commercial buildings use water cooled chillers to deliver air conditioning since they are considerably more energy efficient than air cooled chillers, saving money. Nevertheless, achieving these efficiencies requires large amounts of water to adequately operate a cooling tower. Nearly all commercial buildings also use re-circulating chilled and heated water loops to deliver cooling and heating throughout the building. Even though not designed to frequently use water, these systems can go through considerable amounts of water if leaks of undetected. As the leading consumer of water, the buildings HVAC system is a clear target for water conservation attempts and often provides substantial savings.

Cooling towers are mechanical systems that use evaporative cooling to reject heat. For each degree (F) the water is cooled, about 0.1 % of the water dispersed through a cooling tower is lost due to evaporation. For example, a 400-ton water cooled chiller performing at a 30% load year-round needs approximately 1.9 million gallons of makeup water just to replace evaporation losses. Because dissolved minerals in the evaporated water are left behind to concentrate in the leftover water, a fraction of the tower water must be regularly released as bleed. If the water is not released as bleed, the dissolved mineral build-up in the tower water will ultimately reach a point where the mineral deposits form on waterside surfaces, in addition to the chiller condenser tubes. The main objective of a cooling tower treatment program is hindering these deposits while decreasing the need for bleed. Call Universal Tower Parts at 602-997-0403 or contact us today!