The last R. L. Deppmann Monday Morning Minutes offered suggestions for the use of a Griswold sediment separator in a variable flow tower system. The …
Domestic Water Heaters: Plate Heat Exchangers and Dual Return Condensing Boilers
Gas-fired storage type domestic water heaters are the norm in commercial and institutional buildings. Walk into any mechanical room of a larger complex and you …
Hydronic Primary/Secondary Heating-Cooling (Chiller) Changeover Systems
Once in a while, we still see the two pipe heating or cooling system with a manual or automatic changeover process that the owner uses …
Parallel Pumping in Condenser Applications (Part 1)
Applying a single constant-speed pump for each condenser in a chilled water application is a normal design for the HVAC engineer. The chiller manufacturers suggest …
Strategies for Water Use Efficiency – Cooling Tower Selection – Part V
Today’s building owner’s have many opportunities to improve water use efficiency. ASHRAE Standard 189.1 identifies a few areas to focus on reducing water use specific to cooling towers. The last four issues of Deppmann’s Monday Morning Minutes has discussed specific strategies to improve water use efficiency using current Cooling Tower and Advanced Water Treatment technology advancements in design. [Read more…]
Strategies for Water Use Efficiency – Cooling Tower Selection – Part IV
Most new chillers can now handle variable flow through the condenser providing many opportunities for operational savings. As the cooling tower is an integral part of this system, it is important to understand the effect of flow rate changes and how to insure your cooling tower can provide optimal savings while operating [Read more…]
Strategies for Water Use Efficiency – Cooling Tower Selection – Part III
In this issue, we will discuss the changing requirements specific to “cycles of concentration” in cooling tower applications. In addition, we will review the effect of increasing cycles of concentration and provide solutions to improving these results. ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010 code change effective 10.18.2013 states [Read more…]
Strategies for Water Use Efficiency – Cooling Towers – Part II
In this issue, we will discuss blow down and cycles of concentration. In addition to water emissions caused by evaporation and drift, cooling towers require blow-down to control the levels of dissolved minerals re-circulated in the cooling tower. These losses are offset or balanced by make up water to both maintain the level of water in the tower and more importantly, [Read more…]
Strategies for Water Use Efficiency – Cooling Tower Selection – Part 1
Open loop evaporative type Cooling Towers by design create emissions of evaporation and drift. Drift emissions from open-loop evaporative type cooling towers are unavoidable. Stand next to a conventional cooling tower and it feels like you might be taking a shower. The amount of drift can vary depending on tower design and will include any water treatment added (chemicals). [Read more…]
A Great Way to Fill the Piping Systems – Cooling Tower Pumps and Piping – Part 9
The Xylem Bell and Gossett manual TEH-1209 has a great detail for filling the tower water system piping. Many times the cooling tower pump is used to take water from the tower pan and fill the condenser and piping system. This can lead to pump problems due to the large flow rate of the pump compared with…