Del Mar Gateway
Case Study
OVERVIEW
Del Mar Gateway is a 166,000 square foot office building owned by Prudential Financial and managed by Unire Real Estate Group. The cooling system currently in place consists of 500 tons of cooling, one cooling tower and two chillers. The owners were looking for solutions that would help reduce water waste while maintaining —or even improving —system efficiency.
CUSTOMER: UNIRE REAL ESTATE GROUP
PROJECT SCOPE: HVAC SYSTEM FOR OFFICE BUILDING IN SAN DIEGO
PROGRAM: HIGH CYCLE
DATA SUMMARY: REDUCE COOLING TOWER BLOWDOWN FROM 72% TO 4%, SIGNIFICANT DESCREASE IN CHEMICAL CONSUMPTION, EXCELLENT CORROSION RESULTS
IMPLEMENTATION
The building’s ownership team invested in two new chillers, installing them in fall of 2022. After a detergent cleaning and flush conducted by Capture H2O, the site was ready to employ the Capture H2O High Cycle Program which limits blowdown and concentrates the minerals in the cooling water.
Over a six month period (January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2023), Del Mar Gateway has:
• Increased tower conductivity from 1,356 uS to 25,000 uS.
• Increased cycles of concentration from 1.37 cycles of concentration to 25 cycles of concentration.
• Decreased blowdown from 72% (or 72 gallons for every 100 gallons of makeup) to less than 4% (or less than 4 gallons for every 100 gallons of make up).
Deploying the Capture H2O High Cycle Program with these new chillers has also led to improvements in equipment protection and health and safety.
Increasing the conductivity and the pH significantly in the cooling water created an environment that is inhospitable for bacteria growth. This protects the office tenants and facility employees from Legionella and other deadly bacteria.
This hostile-to-bacteria environment was created without a single biocide or bacteria-focused chemical. This solution makes the working conditions safer for employees while reducing operating costs.
The Capture H2O High Cycle Program uses the naturally occurring mineral Silica (SiO4) to protect the equipment from corrosion. Since implementing this system, Del Mar Gateway has experienced world-class corrosion rates. The Capture H2O High Cycle Program at Del Mar Gateway uses dual alternating, high-efficiency softeners on the makeup line to the cooling tower.
This approach removes hardness or the minerals that act as building blocks for scale. In the initial six months after installation of the Capture H2O High Cycle Program, the tower has had minimal hardness and zero visible scale.
SUMMARY
Due to the forward-looking leadership team at Unire Real Estate Group, the Capture H2O High Cycle Program, and our expert team, Del Mar Gateway has reduced cooling water waste by 70% and provided high quality protection for the newly installed chillers.
