Cooling Tower Maintenance Tips for Good IAQ

 

Comprehensive and regular cooling tower maintenance saves time, energy, and money. It also extends the life space of the equipment at your facility.  IAQ, or indoor air quality is a matter of health and comfort in our large industrial and commercial buildings.

The EPA is sighting a number of factors that contribute to diminished air quality in our buildings. Some of these factors are pressure to defer maintenance and building services to reduce costs, reduce ventilation to reduce energy use, the use of tighter construction envelops, and an increase in chemical pollutants in commercial and consumer products. These factors contribute building occupants noticing and complaining about stuffy air, odors, and symptoms of discomfort of illness.

Inadequate Maintenance

Poorly maintained HVAC systems often are the problem when buildings have poor IAQ. The HVAC system can be the ideal breeding ground for the buildup of bacteria. Areas that are common to develop these problems are duct surfaces, cooling coils, and drain pans. When contractors are trying to track down the source of odors the building’s central air conditioning system should be the first place to check. This is especially true in hospitals as they are areas where a greater number of antibiotic resistant superbugs are on the rise. It is a priority to prevent these bacteria and viruses from ever taking root in centralized air management systems.

The use of ultraviolet lights can help control airborne pathogens. In this case the ultraviolet lights need to be the ultraviolet-C type. These lights utilize pathogen killing UV-C energy to inactivate the illness causing airborne pathogens. These systems can be applied to the coil systems in new systems. They can also be retrofitted to work with older technology. Not only does adding UV-C lights help cut down on germs but it also helps address diminished heat transfer or pressure drops due to coils that are fouled. Keeping the coils clean in HVAC systems makes the system run more efficiently and use less energy all year long.

While managers and building owners are aware of IAQ issues, they are also worried about the costs involved in installing and maintaining IAQ products. Some building owner are also skeptical about the claims by IAQ product manufacturers. What needs to be realized is that installing IAQ products does more than help keep air cleaner, but also helps protect air handler coils from bacteria and mold. The cost of installing UV is typically less than 15 cents per cfm. This investment cost is far less than the potential savings achieved through UV system integration. This can be as high as 10-25% in maintenance and energy savings.

Regular HVAC Cleaning

A regular maintenance program is critical to all buildings, but more so of those that use cooling towers. Cooling towers can be a breeding ground for Legionella, which causes Legionnaries’ disease. There is a high demand not only from city, but OSHA, to keep these facilties free of Legionella. The prevention of an outbreak is high priority not only to mitigate risk, but also to improve the health and well-being of building occupants.

The regular HVAC and cooling tower maintenance should include the cleaning of cooling tower basins. The basins are a prime area for the growth of legionella. This is due to the buildup of mud, dirt, and stagnation of water. This tends to develop a biofilm that supports the development of the dangerous bacteria. Cooling tower vacuums can help break up and remove d the silt and mud. This leaves cooling tower basins safer, cleaner, and simply operating more efficiently.

The fill material in cooling towers is also an area in which biofilm occurs. The regular cleaning efforts should include the removal and debris, lime scale, and other biological matter. Fill can be cleaned with pumps to improve water flow, remove scale, and slow the development of bacteria. The fill material can also be removed and upgraded. Newer designs of film help increase water to air contact time, which boosts performance.

Regular maintenance is important in prevention of legionella and bad IAQ. It also helps reduce energy costs, avoids downtime, and helps prevent equipment breakdown.  Regular maintenance is much quicker and less costly than more involved repairs. When systems fail and shut down because of problems the downtime is longer, the repairs more involved, and the cost much higher. This means proactive maintenance programs are much less expensive than waiting for something to go wrong, or people to get sick.

Schedule Your Cooling Tower Cleaning

If you have a HVAC system that is paired with a cooling tower system in the Phoenix area, All Kote is here to help. We want to help you realize the savings in regular maintenance in terms of life span of your equipment, reduce downtime due to larger scale repairs, and generally better air quality in your buildings. Regular cleaning will save you money, keep your employees and customers healthier, and it will help prevent the development of dangerous bacteria like Legionella. Give us a call today to find out how we can help you at 480-966-4446.