|
Cooling tower treatment and testing contracts were put out to tender during the period and a range of innovations were introduced with the new contracts. 10-25% of a commercial building's total water use is generally consumed by cooling towers through evaporation and 'bleed-off'. Our most significant advance has been working with Integra and Ecolab on the installation of remotely monitored controllers that assist in the control of chemicals, water usage, pH, bacteria and Legionella. The controllers will reduce water consumption by allowing a controlled amount of water to be lost by a linked automatic bleed off when conductivity of the water reaches its set point in the program. In one of our NSW properties we are trialling a filtration system that has the potential to extend these savings by collecting and storing this bleed off in collection tanks for use in backwashing the filters. Typically 0.1% of recirculated cooling tower water is lost through evaporation each cycle. The controllers identify any 'uncontrolled' water losses due to overflow, leaks, faulty valves etc., and thereby ensure the necessary repairs can be promptly carried out. Previously we had to rely solely on daily physical inspections and sub-meter alarms, but even then, some losses such as those associated with shutdown/startup were not always apparent. |
