Benefits of Partnering with Professionals for your Cooling Tower Needs
Learning the ins and outs of cooling tower installation, operation, and maintenance takes years in the field. The industry is constantly evolving as technology advances, so keeping up with best practices and the latest in manufacturing innovations requires dedication. For many building owners and managers, becoming a cooling tower expert is not within their capabilities – either due to time constraints or competing priorities. Luckily, there is no need to go about it alone. In fact, partnering with industry professionals is almost always the way to go. The benefits of this type of partnership are plentiful.
Choosing the Best Cooling Tower Options
Whether you are looking to construct the first cooling tower on-site or reconstruct or replace an existing one, options are plentiful. First, there is the choice between purchasing a factory-built package tower or erecting one in the field. The best option will depend on whether standard pre-fabricated models will suit your needs or if customization is needed. Field-erected cooling towers are preferred when the required heat rejection load is high – often this is the case for power plants and large manufacturing plants.
In addition to choosing prefab vs. field-erected, there are many other choices to make when selecting the best cooling tower option. Manufacturers used to build towers almost exclusively from metal. However, after years of innovation in the industry, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is now very common because of its resistance to damage from chemical treatments and ease of installation.
Likely one of the biggest choices to make when building a cooling tower is whether to use a crossflow or counterflow configuration. These two terms refer to the flow of air through the tower’s fill with respect to the flow of water. Like its name suggests, in crossflow towers, the flow of water and air run perpendicular to each other, thus crossing. In counterflow towers, water and airflow in opposite directions. Water flows down through the tower as air travels upwards.
The type of tower, including its configuration and material, is a huge decision, and one that is best made by consulting with experts. Each HVAC system is unique, so having experts on board to analyze the individual needs of a system to select the most efficient tower is the best way to go. Experts factor all aspects of the unique cooling tower application into their recommendations.
Operations and Preventative Maintenance
Choosing the right cooling tower for your building is just the first step. Ensuring that you trained operators on its functionality is just as important. Properly operating towers keeps them functioning efficiently and extends their lifespan. The same applies to regular, preventative maintenance. Identifying and mitigating minor problems before they have a chance to escalate can mean huge savings by preventing escalated, costly repairs down the road. These small issues are often difficult to identify for crew members, so having someone on board who is an expert in preventative maintenance can be a lifesaver.
When it comes to training your crew on operations, bringing in external professionals who have both operated and trained teams in the past is an excellent idea. They can assess your specific tower and create a training program to ensure operators know the proper steps to take when operating, cleaning, and repairing the unit.
One of the most crucial issues to address during tower operations is excessive drift. Drift refers to the loss of water in droplet form through the tower’s exhaust air stream. These droplets can contain chemicals and microorganisms that can be dangerous to those around them. So, ensuring a proper drift eliminator is installed and maintained keeps drift at a minimum.
While preventative maintenance can also be taught, it does take an expert eye sometimes to identify small issues before they turn into big ones. For this reason, seeking out a professional maintenance package can bring peace of mind. Depending on the heat rejection load of a tower, preventative maintenance visits should happen once or twice each year. Exact recommendations for frequency and specific needs of the tower are generally addressed in the first visit. From there, a preventative maintenance plan is put into place.
Choosing to Partner with Cooling Tower Experts
When it comes to years of experience in the field and industry knowledge regarding technology and best practices – few teams compare to the one at Cooling Tower Experts. With core values of quality and integrity, our team goes into every partnership with the goal of providing excellence to customers through our various service offerings. Since 2019, Cooling Tower Experts has been the choice partner for a large customer base – bringing technical expertise and training capabilities to offer customers a full range of cooling tower solutions and services.
We consistently challenge ourselves to stay updated on the latest innovations in the industry – always looking for ways to improve the operations and efficiency of the towers we install and maintain. We also excel in training tower operators on best practices and keeping units functioning efficiently for many years. Whether you simply need assistance with selecting the best tower for your property, or you are interested in a hands-off approach where we handle everything from design to installation to maintenance and repair – we’ve got a range of service offerings to fit all your needs. To get started on your next cooling tower project, contact us today!