Alternative Water Source Strategies for Evaporative Cooling Systems

Across industrial and commercial facilities, evaporative cooling system design is entering a new phase. For decades, water has been treated as an assumed utility input – readily available, sufficiently consistent and relatively inexpensive. System design prioritized thermal performance, while water chemistry and treatment were addressed during operation. That assumption is no longer viable.

Evaporative cooling remains one of the most efficient and widely deployed heat rejection technologies in use today. Commercial buildings, data centers, district energy systems, manufacturing facilities, food processing plants, petrochemical operations and power generation continue to rely on evaporative equipment because of its unmatched thermal efficiency. The physics haven’t changed. What has changed is the context around water.

In many regions, water availability and water quality now directly influence whether or not a cooling system can operate reliably over its service life. Increasing freshwater constraints, rising water and sewer costs, tighter discharge regulations and heightened expectations around public health and transparency have shifted water stewardship from the margins of system design to the center of it.

Read the full article here.