It can bring down your costs

For any plant owner or HVAC manager, the operating cost of an evaporative cooling system is often viewed as the most crucial deciding factor. However, the quality of the available makeup water and the operating cost of the cooling system are interconnected with each other. With a proactive water treatment program, you can keep your cooling towers and chiller condenser tubes free of scaling, bioaccumulation and corrosion. This way, you end up reducing the maintenance cycle, saving more water than ever and ensuring zero downtime that can lead to a lower total cost of ownership.

It can increase the lifespan of your cooling equipment

When you ignore available makeup water quality and choose not to implement a water treatment program, you leave your equipment more vulnerable to water-based problems. Water is a universal solvent that can dissolve many substances, including gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide. As a result, water can cause corrosion of metals, which can cause unwanted side effects for industrial uses, such as equipment damage. Hence, bad water conditions alone can cause a cooling system to lose as little as two to seven years. However, the same system could last for 15 to 20 years if the makeup water quality is consistently maintained. Hence, a water quality checkup has to be a part of your equipment selection process so you can invest in a water treatment system.

It can prevent water-related problems

As water continues to concentrate in an evaporative cooling system, the dissolved ions in makeup water end up exceeding the solubility of minerals, causing scaling and bioaccumulation. It can lead to harmful bacteria entering your cooling system from the makeup water supply. These bacteria may grow in number, creating more equipment-related problems or an outbreak of airborne microbes like Legionella. However, an automatic water treatment system like SBR continues to clean the makeup water without using harmful chemicals, thus preventing the growth of bio-organisms and keeping you free of worries.

What temperature is required?

Medical equipment requires accurate temperature control to maintain a precise temperature at +/- 1°F.

What flow rate is required?

Medical chillers require a specialized high-pressure pump to ensure fluids flow through the system effectively as the component is operating.

What is the heat load variation?

When medical imaging equipment is scanning, chillers need to handle 100% heat load at 100% for elongated run times.

What is the desired capacity output?

Shifting from a single to a dual circuit medical chiller system can cut capacity output by as much as half. So select an efficient medical chiller that will help you get the most uptime.

What level of redundancy is required?

Medical chillers require additional redundancy options, such as a city water bypass apparatus, to help keep the systems up and running.

How’s the maintenance?

There was always a concern over the use of hazardous treatment chemicals in medical chillers. Our modern technology for round-the-clock cleaning of condenser tube cleaning is Automatic Tube Cleaning System (ACCS). It automatically cleans the heat exchanger tubes in chillers while the equipment remains in operation. It also eliminates downtime while optimizing energy utilization of water-cooled heat exchangers, including chillers. Sharing his thoughts, Mr Tsur Ben David, CEO, CET Enviro said, “In the medical industry, sustainability remains a priority in choosing any powered equipment. However, the best choice depends on the decisions criteria set by the user. So, consider all factors to make sure the chiller that ultimately gets specified balances all the objectives over the long term”

Air-cooled chillers:

Used in both commercial and personal facilities, Air-cooled chillers cool fluids, exchange heat and dehumidify the air. They actively absorb heat from the processed water and then transfer this heat into the air around the chiller unit.

Used in both commercial and personal facilities, Air-cooled chillers cool fluids, exchange heat and dehumidify the air. They actively absorb heat from the processed water and then transfer this heat into the air around the chiller unit.

In this process, heat is absorbed from the chilled water circulating through the evaporator. Then, the compressor pumps the refrigerant vapour to the condenser, thus increasing temperature and pressure. To complete the cycle, the refrigerant flows over the chilled water coils and absorbs more heat.

Air-cooled chillers were mostly popular in areas where additional heat discharge is not an issue but instead works as a benefit. They are also compact and highly efficient heat exchangers, which make them ideal for supplemental, temporary applications. But now they are in a wide variety of settings including hotels, corporate events, restaurants, large-scale construction, industrial and manufacturing plants, etc.

Water-cooled chillers:

Used for large installations, water-cooled chillers are connected with a cooling tower and use a water-cooled condenser to remove excess heat. They use recirculating water from a cooling tower to condense the refrigerant. This water absorbs heat from the process and the heated water returns to the chiller.

The processed water works as a medium for heat transfers which is why water-cooled chillers can often operate more efficiently than an air-cooled chiller. They ensure more consistent performance because of the relative independence to fluctuations of the ambient temperature. Even if water-cooled chillers are more efficient than air-cooled chillers, this is only true if you look exclusively at heat exchange.

Performance: Air-cooled chillers are typically available in compact sizes, ranging from 7.5 to 500 tons. Due to their small size and output, air-cooled towers work only for small areas and facilities. Water-cooled chillers are available from 10 to 4,000 tons with output performance ranging from 35 kW to 14,000 kW. So before choosing your cooling tower, make sure to check for the surface area that needs to be cooled.

Maintenance: Air-cooled chillers do not require cooling towers to operate because they use air to remove excess heat. Water-cooled chillers require cooling towers, which increases maintenance demands such as water treatment, tube cleaning, and tower mechanical maintenance.

To overcome these challenges, systems operators use automated water treatment solutions such as SBR, which prevents fouling, biofouling, reduces downtime, cuts maintenance costs and saves water. While air-cooled towers are easier to maintain, water-cooled chillers are more sustainable and deliver higher cooling capacity with fewer units and a smaller footprint.

Durability: Air-cooled chillers are mostly outdoors and operate at higher condenser pressure while Water-cooled chillers are typically installed indoors. They are less prone to damage and operate at lower condenser fluid pressure. However, they still have a shorter lifespan of 15 to 20 years. But with innovative technology solutions like SBR water treatment and ACCS condenser cleaning system, water-cooled chillers last up to 30 years.

While cost & sustainability remains a priority in choosing any powered equipment, the above factors have to be considered too. While the water-cooled chillers are more energy-efficient, air-cooled chillers have a lower maintenance cost and several other aspects.

Yet, the best choice for the project depends on the decisions criteria that are set by you. So take all factors into consideration to make sure the chiller that ultimately gets specified balances all the objectives over the long term.

Challenges of Scale Buildup:

Scaling is a hard layer of mineral deposits precipitated from the cooling water and builds on the chiller surfaces. The precipitation of these mineral deposits is more prevalent at higher temperatures. Therefore, scale build-up usually occurs first on heat transfer tubes of chillers.

While some of the symptoms will be seen over time because scale deposits build up over time, small changes in equipment efficiencies can be the first sign of scale growth. Here are some efficiency problems that remind you to tackle your limescale problem:

In this process, heat is absorbed from the chilled water circulating through the evaporator. Then, the compressor pumps the refrigerant vapour to the condenser, thus increasing temperature and pressure. To complete the cycle, the refrigerant flows over the chilled water coils and absorbs more heat.

• Rise in operational costs (including tube or pump failures or the chiller shutting down due to high head pressure)
• Increased equipment downtime
• Increase in heating and cooling energy costs
• Loss in performance, including high head pressures or pump reading more elevated than usual

“By understanding how these issues affect your HVAC systems, and their associated cost drivers, you can make informed decisions on the proper scale and biological fouling control”. Shared Mr Tsur Ben David.

So let’s take a closer look into these signs:

A rise in operational costs

When your energy consumption is rising with no change in facility operational hours, there’s a good chance you’ve got scaling in your chillers. Scale deposits reduce the heat transfer surface on chiller systems, leading to significant increases in energy costs.

When scaling is impeding the energy coefficients, more energy is required to achieve the same level of heating or cooling. Also, the build-ups in condenser tubes mean your pumps work harder to move the same amount of fluid.

It not only increases electricity costs but may lead to premature pump failure. Increased fuel costs mean increased building operating and maintenance costs, which affect the profitability of your business.

Increase in equipment downtime

Without regular cleaning, scale deposits will eventually require complete removal for the equipment to function. And the equipment may be out of operation for days or weeks, depending on the volume of build-ups.

Unexpected downtimes van quickly cut into the operational capability of a building. If all HVAC systems serving a business are down, the business may have to shut down its operation entirely until the problem is fixed. That’s why preventing equipment downtime is one of the most significant concerns for facility managers.

All equipment experience some sort of downtime for maintenance, but when equipment downtime sharply increases for cleaning, it may be evidence of a larger scale build-up problem. You need to realize that practising correct preventative maintenance plans on chillers can prevent downtime.

Loss in performance

The performance of HVAC systems depends on the efficiency of boilers, chillers, heat exchangers or cooling towers. That’s why any performance loss is first noticed by monitoring the key performance indicators of these systems.

Scale build-up inside the chiller or heat exchanger is the main cause behind the loss of performance. It not only leads to inadequate heating or cooling results but also ends up costing too much in maintenances costs and replacement. Inadequate performance and efficiency of HVAC systems can also increase the heating and cooling costs.

While there are different methods for controlling scale build-up, they generally fall into two categories – chemical and mechanical. However, both require regular checks and will not prevent scale deposits entirely. So vigilant monitoring of system performance is required.

Said Mr Tsur Ben David, “With CET Enviro’s ACCS, you can automatically clean heat exchanger tubes while the equipment remains in operation and full production. It’s an online method that infuses some slightly oversized elastomer balls periodically into the Condenser tubes and keeps the tubes free of fouling 24×7”.

“We have designed this system to suit the specific requirements of Water Cooled chillers, with R&D done in Israel and already have more than 1000 installations across the globe” said Mr David.