Real-Time Monitoring Matters
Cooling towers are integral parts of a water system, yet many facilities only sample the water quality of these key components periodically. That approach can easily miss critical deviations that can quickly escalate into costly problems, major breakdowns, and system failures.
Real-time monitoring is a better practice because it proactively addresses operational issues before they become unmanageable. This article examines the inherent challenges of cooling tower operations and the ways real-time monitoring minimizes risks across the board.
Understanding cooling tower operations
Cooling towers remove excess heat generated by industrial processes, air conditioning systems, or other equipment into the ambient air via evaporation. But excess water loss through evaporation, drift (small water droplets swept in the exiting air), blowdown (controlled discharge of concentrated water), basin leaks, and overflow can affect the performance and longevity of cooling towers. If these processes are not adequately managed, unchecked water loss can lead to a cascade of problems:
Degraded water quality as the concentration of sediments and impurities increases, causing scaling and corrosion
Reduced efficiency as poor water quality hinders the cooling process, reducing evaporation and requiring more energy to remove heat
Damaged water system components as a higher concentration of impurities accelerates corrosion within the cooling tower, leading to costly maintenance and replacements
Serious health risks to building occupants, as the poor-quality water is a breeding ground for harmful bacteria like Legionella
It is difficult to predict the rate of water lost by these processes, as cooling tower operations are influenced by several external factors, including temperature fluctuations, varying cooling loads, and external contaminants. Without real-time insights into these dynamics, a facility’s cooling tower is at high risk of damage and failure.
Benefits of real-time cooling tower monitoring
Real-time monitoring offers immediate feedback, which is a game-changing solution to the problems of cooling tower operations. This data accurately gauges the cooling tower's water chemistry, unlike traditional monitoring methods that can only give a snapshot at fixed intervals.
By continuously tracking key metrics, real-time monitoring allows for early detection when problems are still manageable. That information enables facilities to keep water quality within specific parameters by proactively preventing the accumulation of impurities, sediments, and microbial growth and safeguarding the system components against scaling, corrosion, and contamination.
This approach minimizes system downtime and prevents major breakdowns.
Furthermore, real-time monitoring systems can offer continuous insight into more than just water chemistry, such as energy usage patterns. This valuable data enhances decision-making, allowing facility managers to run water systems more efficiently.
24/7 water management with Aquanomix
Given the benefits real-time monitoring offers, facilities need to upgrade their systems with technology that can closely track water systems 24/7, such as the Symphony™ Software by Aquanomix.
Symphony is the only third-party, cloud-based software platform that uses smart sensors to precisely measure key metrics, which provide real-time analytics alerting you to precursor conditions that could lead to major issues. With a glance, you can quickly assess your cooling tower's overall health and potential risks. Moreover, this solution can track upcoming service visits and simplifies record keeping so you don’t have to manually analyze complicated charts — saving time and money.
That data is the key to optimizing your cooling tower’s performance, preserving capital assets, enhancing regulatory compliance, conserving water and energy, and reducing your environmental footprint.
To learn more about Symphony’s greener, more efficient water management approach, visit Aquanomix today.