Protect Your Most Liquid Asset: WATER
Safeguard against water management risks
Water is arguably the most crucial utility for any commercial or industrial building. Unfortunately, this critical resource is out of sight and, usually, out of mind. It is often only when failures occur that we realize that our water treatment model is outdated.
Engineers and public-health authorities are now pushing building operators to improve water-system maintenance. Left untreated or mismanaged, things like chillers, pipes, and air handlers run inefficiently, causing unscheduled downtime, or worse, threatening public health and safety.
We can no longer afford to stand idly by while our water systems deteriorate and pose risks to our infrastructure, our bottom line, and, most importantly, our employees and tenants.
Cooling towers are a major source of Legionnaire’s disease outbreaks, not just potable water.
Consider this: the Centers for Disease Control recently analyzed water from 196 cooling towers nationwide for Legionella, the bacteria that can proliferate in the water system of cooling towers and cause a severe and sometimes- fatal form of pneumonia. Of the 196 cooling towers analyzed, the CDC detected Legionella DNA in 164, or 84 percent, of cooling towers from across the country.
Bottom line: the potential for cooling-tower-related diseases can occur anywhere in the United States. Experts agree that keeping water systems clean is imperative in preventing Legionella and minimizing the risk of outbreaks.
You need full transparency of your water quality and energy usage.
Until now, the industry has focused on monitoring water quality and energy usage independently of one another. But it’s important to realize that energy and water are inextricably linked.
This interdependency is known as the “water-energy nexus.” The water-energy nexus plainly illustrates that the less energy you waste running your system. For example, in HVAC systems the less energy you use, the less water you need to cool your building. As water quality improves, energy efficiency improves correspondingly. It’s a win-win!
The problem is that traditional water treatment providers still believe that monthly check-ups and manual service logs suffice when it comes to water optimization. The industry must evolve, and it is starting to. New regulatory requirements, like ASHRAE Standard 188 have been developed to better document monitoring of basic water quality parameters. Although these regulations provide improvements to water management, they are still focused on point in time documentation and data analysis.
There is a better way to measure and monitor water quality and usage. A way that is dynamic, on-demand, and just-in-time. A way that delivers clarity, control, and compliance of your cooling system. A way that uses less, but delivers more.
Aquanomix’s Symphony™ delivers clarity, control, and compliance.
A software system that addresses water efficiency and water quality with impactful data about heat exchange and energy efficiency has never existed. In fact, these two previously disparate data silos are typically only checked once a month and logged manually by your service provider. By the time an issue is identified, it can be widespread and devastating.
Real-time water management software is critical to delivering full transparency of your building’s water quality and energy efficiency; guarding the equipment against scale and corrosion, and protecting building occupants from harmful bacteria like Legionella.
To fulfill this need, Aquanomix developed a software solution known as Symphony™. This software solution produces a single benchmark, know as the Nexus Number, used to show the efficiency of your water system in terms of the energy and water used. This data can be accessed anywhere in the world at any time through an intuitive platform that integrates seamlessly into your environment.
Through analytical sensors and IoT principles, Symphony™ delivers advanced data analytics that allow you to diagnose problems and track trends in real-time. You’ll see performance data related to scale, corrosion, microbiology and fouling so you can make intelligent business decisions about your plant assets before catastrophes strike.
With sound water management practices and real-time software, your risk of realizing an unplanned outage drops significantly.
For example, if your existing cooling system has 1⁄4 inch of scale in its heat exchanger, its energy consumption may be up to 40 percent higher as a result of the scale. You no longer need to wait for your annual chiller maintenance to stumble upon this. With Symphony™, you can take immediate action and get your chiller running at peak performance again before it’s too late. Our software will not only alert you of unfavorable water conditions, but will also help you prevent future build-up and costly energy fluctuations.
Most Symphony™ clients increase chiller efficiency by 10% to 35% upon installation. Our experts and engineers can help you identify your opportunities, as well as the threats to your business, and create a tailored plan to improve efficiency and manage risk, both immediate and long-term.
Symphony™ is a real-time software solution that pays for itself.
Our client solutions provide a number of benefits, such as environmental sustainability, capital asset preservation, regulatory compliance and operational readiness. In particular, Symphony™ allows you to:
1. Reduce the cost of utilities and maintenance
2. Extend equipment life
3. Minimize health risks such as Legionella
4. Assist in capturing LEED® points
5. Prevent unplanned downtime
The tangible benefits are real. The savings add up. The risks are avoided. Let Symphony™ turn compliance into a company advantage for you.