Types of Cooling Towers to Consider with Your Design Options

26 August 2016
 Categories: Industrial & Manufacturing, Blog

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When considering your cooling tower designs and options, you may be focused on the calculation and actual manufacturing end of the project. This means, that you are likely leaving a great deal up to your contractors and leaving the rest to either chance or to just tradition. By doing this, you may be overlooking the various types of cooling towers that could work for you. Here are a few types to consider before you sign off on cooling tower designs for your needs.

Natural Draft Cooling Towers

If you have duties that emit large amounts of heat then a natural draft cooling tower may be ideal for your needs. These towers are generally made of concrete and do not require a fan. The basic operation premise is that hot air will move through the tower while fresh cool air is drawn into the tower from a venting system. This venting system is located at the bottom of the tower.

Mechanical Draft Cooling Towers

If you need a cooling tower that can be grouped with pre-existing towers or with towers that are planned for future installation, a mechanical draft cooling tower may be an ideal option. This type of cooling tower allows water to flow through the tower and pass through fans that are circulating cool air. As the cool air touches the water, it cools the temperature. Cooling rates are based on the parameters of the heat and the project, so a consultation to determine the number of fans and cooling rates you will need should be considered.

Induced Draft Cooling Tower Designs

Induced draft cooling towers come in two styles. The first is a cross flow design that operates with air pushing in from the sides of the tower while heated water passes through the cool air systems to the bottom of the tower and releases back into the system. The counterflow style uses air circulating from only the bottom of the tower instead of one or both sides. The benefits of an induced draft system is the use of less forced recirculation as opposed to the draft tower counterparts.

These are just three of the types of towers to consider when you are looking at cooling tower designs for your needs. A consultation with a professional tower contractor will help you narrow down these options and more to determine what type of tower system works best for your needs.