Evaporative Cooling: Using Water with Purpose
Support Water Conservation Efforts with Your Cooling Tower Technology.
Water is the most valuable resource on Earth, and it needs to be efficiently managed to minimize consumption. Many essential developments in our society use significant amounts of water and one of those modern processes is evaporative cooling. But, by paying close attention to water use and employing water conservation tools and methods, cooling tower operators can use water responsibly, limit its waste and even earn credits/rebates for lowering its usage.
Over the last century, Marley® has been working to improve processes and technology to limit the use of natural resources and, more recently, our team has helped develop a variety of methods to conserve water without eliminating the many benefits of evaporative cooling towers. Below are some resources, products and FAQs designed to help you limit water usage in your mechanical systems.
Resources for water conservation in cooling towers
A Review Of Evaporative Cooling’s Efficiency and Environmental Value
How To Conserve Water In Evaporative Cooling Towers (White Paper)
Cooling Tower Water Usage Calculator
CoolSpec Cooling Tower Product Configuration Tool
Products designed to lower water usage:
DT Fluid Cooler
WaterGard™ Filter
ClearSky Plume Abatement
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do evaporative cooling towers waste a lot of water?
As detailed in Power Magazine, “the purpose of a cooling tower is to conserve water. It fulfills its purpose by rejecting heat to the atmosphere by convective and evaporative heat transfer.” The only water “lost” is the pure water that is evaporated; the remaining cooled water is eventually blown down, or drained, and sent back into the water system.
The lower the heat load and/or ambient temperature, the less evaporation. The higher the system’s cycles of concentration (COC), the lower the blowdown. For more about limiting evaporation and/or blowdown, see our white paper, “How to Conserve Water in Evaporative Cooling Towers.”
Water usage will vary greatly depending on the style of tower, the application and the conditions of the water entering the system.
Do water-cooled towers use more water than air-cooled towers?
High-efficiency water-cooled towers, like the Marley NC® Everest® Cooling Tower, use far less energy on-site than air-cooled solutions, but operators of water-cooled solutions may see higher water costs and usage at their location. However, as stated in ASHRAE Journal, “the hidden reality is that air-cooled or alternative systems consume more energy on-site [AND] use substantially more water at the power generation site…”
To learn more about this, download the ASHRAE article, “A Review of Evaporative Cooling’s Efficiency and Environmental Value.” This article shows how much water is used offsite when employing less-energy-efficient technology for your mechanical system.
Can I conserve water in my existing mechanical system?
In most cases, yes! To start, operators should conduct all maintenance on their cooling tower as necessary and assure all its components are working properly and up-to-date technology is being employed. Water treatment or a water filtration system, like Marley WaterGard™, can also help raise cycles of concentration (COC) by limiting salts and minerals from entering the tower and reducing necessary blowdown.
How do I know how much water I am using or will use?
If you know the exact conditions of your specified/installed cooling solution, you can enter them into our Water Calculator. This tool can also help you identify how specific conditional alterations might help you limit water usage.
If you need help determining the conditions of your project or building, a nearby Marley representative can help you gather the right information and find the best solution for your water conservation efforts.
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