Image 24: Picture of a cooling tower for illustration purpose

A cooling tower is a device that rejects waste heat into the atmosphere through the cooling of a water stream to a lower temperature (part of the hot water evaporates into the air, thereby transferring the heat). Some best practices for energy-saving in cooling towers are given below:

Image 24: Picture of a cooling tower for illustration purpose

• Analyse cooling tower and chiller performance data to determine the optimum water temperature.

• Use VSDs for cooling tower fan control. VSDs increase or decrease the speed of the fan based on the water temperature requirements.

• Turn off unnecessary cooling tower fans when loads are reduced.

• Install interlocks to prevent fan operation when there is no water flowing to and from the cooling tower.

• Periodically clean cooling tower water distribution nozzles, which may become plugged, or install new nozzles to obtain a more uniform water pattern.

• If possible, follow the manufacturer's recommended clearances around cooling towers and relocate or modify structures, signs, fences, dumpsters, etc. that may interfere with air intake or exhaust.

• Divert clean, air-conditioned-building exhaust to the cooling tower when the weather is hot.

• Assess whether cooling tower cold water basins are leaking, and re-line them (with epoxy coating) as necessary.

• Check water overflow pipes to ensure proper operating levels, adjusting the overflow pipe if necessary.

• Shut off process loads that are not in service to reduce the cooling tower’s operating load.

• Utilize blowdown for other operations. Remember, the blowdown does not have to be removed at the cooling tower. It can be removed anywhere in the piping system.