What Is A Cooling Tower?

A cooling tower is a specialized heat exchanger that transfers heat from a high-temperature fluid to a lower-temperature fluid by bringing air and water into direct contact. It is primarily used as a cooling device for air conditioning and refrigeration.

Water that has been heated by an industrial process is pumped into the cooling towers to be exposed to air. When water meets air, it evaporates, creating a cooling action. The already cooled water comes back to absorb heat and then is pumped back to the cooling tower to be cooled once again.

Components

It has three main components: an inlet, an outlet, and a fill system with different water flow levels.

Fill System
- The filling system creates the circulation needed for the water cycle.
Inlet
- The inlet is where the water picks up heat as it enters the tower.
Outlet
- The outlet is where heated air and water enter the low-pressure zone dried by a cooled surface such as fins or a brush.

How Does It Work

The inlet and outlet are connected to a pump. The pump circulates water through the fill system, which runs through the wet part of the tower. The pipe that carries water from the pump to the fill system is called a header. Wet air is pushed up through the fill system by a fan to make direct contact with water flowing down in the wet section. The cooled water is pumped out and circulated back into the facility for further cooling and evaporation.

Where Is The Cooling Tower Needed?

Air-conditioning and refrigeration systems need to heat or cool air, fluid, or both. Air conditioners are often found in hospitals, office buildings, and schools. Refrigerators cool food for consumption.

- Air conditioning towers are used to cool air or water for an air conditioning installation.
- They are also used in facilities that require the cooling of chemicals.
- Refrigeration cooling towers are typically used in food service establishments such as restaurants or manufacturing facilities.

Benefits Of A Cooling Tower

- They are energy-saving devices.
- The use of a cooling tower reduces the amount of energy needed to cool the system.
- It features many benefits over the traditional method of using fans to provide airflow in different ways.
- In cooling towers, the heated air and water mix before entering the cooled surface, which is much more efficient than if it were fan assisted.
- Additionally, when constructed properly, there is little or no blowback from this process which causes problems for air conditioning systems with poor flow rates.

For more information on how cooling towers work, or if you are thinking of installing one, contact us today at A-Plus Quality Inc. in Toronto.

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FAQ

Why should I maintain my Furnace or AC?

An annual maintenance will extend the lifetime of your heating and cooling unit. The technician will diagnose and repair any problem with the unit before it fails, so you won't need to worry about any problems when the weather gets very hot in the summer or extremely cold in the winter.
Why is there ice building up on the copper pipes?

There can be many reasons why the refrigerant pipes are freezing up but the most common issue is low refrigerant levels. If your AC unit has ice buildup turn off the unit for at least 4 hours and call us at 416-410-0337
What is a mini-split?

By definition, and simply put, a “Split System” is a heating and air conditioning system which has two main components, the indoor unit and outdoor unit. In short, the indoor unit absorbs heat energy in the cooling mode, and the outdoor unit rejects the very heat absorbed by the indoor unit. And the cycle is repeated until the set temperature is met. Although the indoor and outdoor units are located in physically different, hence “split” locations, they are connected and operate as, one system; continuously circulating refrigerant liquid and vapor by means of interconnecting, dehydrated copper refrigerant lines, commonly referred to as a “Line Set”.
What is a heat pump?

Heat pumps use electricity to move heat from a cool space to a warm space, making the cool space cooler and the warm space warmer. During the heating season, heat pumps move heat from the cool outdoors into your warm house and during the cooling season, heat pumps move heat from your cool house into the warm outdoors. Because they move heat rather than generate heat, heat pumps can provide equivalent space conditioning at as little as one quarter of the cost of operating conventional heating or cooling appliances.
Water is Leaking on my Furnace

Water falling on to the furnace can harm your heating unit by affecting the control boards and other components enclosed in the furnace. There can be many causes to the water overflow, but the most common cases in the summer is the ice build up inside the evaporator coil due to low refrigerant level. Water build up can also be due to the evaporator coil having a crack on the base, if this is the case contact us by booking an appointment or call us today to have a technician come have a look at your unit and repair this issue before it causes excessive damage.

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What Is A Cooling Tower?

What Is A Cooling Tower?