High Rise Commercial Building Case Study
DATA SUMMARY:
54% reduction in blowdown, significant chemical consumption reduction, tremendous system control
OVERVIEW
The cooling system at this 34-story office tower in San Diego supplies comfort cooling to 530,535 square feet of Class A office space. If the cooling system were to fail or experience reduced functionality, the negative impact on the tenants in the building would be significant.
The cooling system consists of a two cell 1,000 ton cooling tower providing cooled water to HVAC chillers. Because replacing a tower of this size on the roof of the building would be cost prohibitive, protection and extending the life cycle of this tower is paramount.
OUR SOLUTION
In 2019, the site opted into the Capture H2O Blended Program. This program utilizes dual alternating, high efficiency softeners on the cooling tower make up line blended with potable water to control the scaling minerals calcium and magnesium. Due to optimal equipment set up and high-quality service and attention from both the onsite and Capture teams, this building has seen:
1. Hardness kept within our set parameters (i.e., cooling tower hardness range of 120 – 240 ppm) 87% of the time, leading to tremendous scale control.
2. From March 2019 to March 2024, the average mild steel corrosion rate was 1.5617 mils/year (considered Very Good according to ASHRAE Corrosion Standards) and the average copper corrosion rate was 0.0166 mils/year (considered Excellent according to ASHRAE Corrosion Standards).
3. An average conductivity of 3,893 uS and an average cycles of concentration of 4.43. This high rise tower is blowing down only 23% of the makeup water on average. This is a 27% reduction in water consumption and a 54% reduction in blowdown to the drain.
4. Bacteria growth, measured by ATP tests, has had an average of 10.14 rlus with a maximum of 81 rlus, well within the control range.
SITE:
High Rise Commercial Office Tower
PROGRAM:
Blended
PROJECT SCOPE:
1 two-cell cooling tower providing cooled water to HVAC chillers
DATA SUMMARY:
54% reduction in blowdown, significant chemical consumption reduction, tremendous system control
SUMMARY
This downtown office tower is a model site for cooling water innovation and leadership. The Capture H2O Blended Program has led to a 54% reduction in blowdown, significant chemical consumption reduction, and tremendous system control.
