Cooling tower class is officially back in session, welcome to Cooling Towers 102! Before moving into new material, we will start with a review of basic cooling tower function. Cooling Towers are used to extract heat from water that is sprayed along fills that line the tower’s interior. The natural process of evaporation is artificially enacted and the extracted heat is passed out of the tower through the top in a cloud of steam. There are different types of cooling towers that use different fills and water/air distribution systems. No matter the methodology, cooling towers all serve the same purpose to extract and expel heat from water so it can be sent back into the main facility for use.  Cooling towers can also be used for air conditioning in certain scenarios.

Cooling towers effectively serve as main components for air conditioning, heating ventilation and industries that use large amounts of water for cooling, ie power plants. They are desirable because they are very cost effective for the purpose they are used for. Thousands of large scale facilities use massive amounts of water for cooling purposes. Large buildings use cooling towers in order to effectively cool and heat the entire structure.

There are risks associated with cooling towers that need to be kept in mind if employing the use of one. Cooling tower pools are prone to growing the Legionella bacteria if they are cleaned and maintained routinely and efficiently. Legionella loves heat and thrives in warm and moist environments and cooling towers provide and ideal environment for the propagation of Legionella which can cause Legionaires disease if the bacteria is breathed in. Making sure cooling towers are cleaned and maintained is of the utmost importance.

This concludes Cooling Towers 102, we shall return in time with Cooling towers 201 next term. Until then, happy cooling, students.