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Cooling Tower

Energy-efficient fans for industrial cooling towers

Cooling towers are used to divert large amounts of excess heat generated by a process as quickly and efficiently as possible. One application for these is in big data centers, where the operation of large numbers of IT devices (e.g. servers) generates large quantities of thermal energy. In the chemical, pharmaceutical, or food industries, a cooling tower can be used to reduce the temperature of cooling water from associated technical processes.

Cooling towers produce their cooling effect through the evaporation of water. Water droplets are finely dispersed, releasing thermal energy. This warms the air, which transports the excess waste heat out of the cooling tower as it flows from the tower's top.

In order for this cooling method to work, various components inside the cooling tower must interact. In addition to a system for dispersing the cooling water, the tower includes droplet separators, troughs for catching the water, cooling fills, and fans. The cooling tower itself serves as a stable housing in which dispersal and evaporation are able to proceed precisely to plan, as undisturbed by external factors as possible.

The fan - the heart of a cooling unit

A cooling tower contains either one large or several smaller fans, which ensure a constant supply of sufficient ambient air for heat absorption. Fans for evaporative cooling units and industrial cooling towers are installed either within the cooling tower itself (centrifugal fans), where the air enters, or at the top by the air outlet (axial fans). A fan installed at the bottom pushes the air through the cooling tower, whereas an axial fan located at the top sucks the air upward in order to generate a negative pressure, which in turn ensures that more fresh air flows into the cooling tower from outside.

Energy efficiency is particularly important for cooling tower fans. In many cases, large fans with diameters of up to 5 m are used. However, there is a risk that the entire cooling system will no longer function if this one fan fails.

In recent years, a safer and also more efficient variant has become established, in which several fans with diameters between 800 and 1,250 mm are installed in the cooling tower.

A distinction is made between wet cooling towers, dry cooling towers, and hybrid cooling towers. In wet cooling towers water dispersal is achieved using filling material, which results in a high level of water consumption. In dry cooling towers, the cooling water is fed through heat exchangers while the air flowing by draws the heat out of the system. In order to improve the cooling effect, water is atomized at the air inlet to ensure that the system always contains moisture, thereby keeping it cool. Although the dry cooling tower consumes far less water, its cooling performance is more limited.

cooling system on a roof

Cooling tower fans from ZIEHL-ABEGG

In the broadly diversified product portfolio offered by ZIEHL-ABEGG you can find the right fan to ensure maximum fan and energy efficiency for every cooling tower.

The ZAplus series from ZIEHL-ABEGG is ideally suited for cooling tower use. These fans feature a plastic casing that remains rust-free even amid constant high humidity or direct contact. Water does not pose any issues for the ZAplus, and the casing of the ZAplus is UV-stable and therefore exceptionally durable. The ZAplus is available in sizes up to 1000, and can be easily and conveniently installed in cooling towers using a square adapter plate.

Another tried and tested solution for cooling towers is the high-performance, modular MAXventowlet axial fan. Its blades are modelled on an owl's wings, and the biomimetic design allows for optimal efficiency as well as exceptional acoustic performance. The MAXventowlet generates minimal noise, while the adjustable ECblue motors enable it to achieve a high output density.

Retrofitting with ZIEHL-ABEGG - hassle-free adaptation to existing units

The ZAplus fan together with energy-saving ECblue technology provide an excellent solution for cooling towers in need of an energy efficiency overhaul or a performance retrofit/upgrade. Precise controllability and Modbus monitoring make ECblue fans exceptionally efficient. They can be flexibly adapted to any requirement and installation situation, and individually configured to achieve the best operating results.

Our product highlights for cooling towers*

* These ZIEHL-ABEGG products, which are suggested as possible solutions for these applications, are purely informative and serve as a rough guide. Consequently, individual contact with our technical sales experts is necessary and advisable with regard to a specific application so that the individual use can be checked and approved with regard to the explicit conditions.