Winter is a great time to schedule cooling tower cleaning and chiller inspection services because your HVAC system’s chiller or cooling tower doesn’t operate as much in winter as it does in warmer seasons. It’s good to schedule chiller or cooling tower maintenance while these components rest so your system’s current operations won’t be disrupted. Let’s look at what these components do and how their maintenance improves your HVAC system.
Key Concepts
This article covers the following topics:
- Chiller vs cooling tower maintenance
- Descaling
- Tube Cleaning
- Inspections
- Cooling tower maintenance tasks
- Water treatment
- Airflow maintenance
- Chiller maintenance tasks
- A&G Services’s cooling tower and chiller maintenance services
- When chiller and cooling tower services are most useful
- Industries that use cooling tower and chiller services
Does Your System Have a Chiller or a Cooling Tower?
Chillers and cooling towers may sound like interchangeable terms for the same HVAC part, but they’re not. They both remove heat from an air conditioning system, but each does it in a different way. Here’s how they differ:
- Chillers: Chillers directly remove heat from an HVAC system’s coolant and transfer the heat to the air around it.
- Cooling Towers: Cooling towers remove heat from the water that an HVAC system’s condenser unit discharges.
Some HVAC systems use chillers, while others use cooling towers. It’s best to understand which component your system uses before you schedule maintenance for it. However, both components require these three maintenance tasks:
Descaling
Cooling tower and chiller descaling procedures prevent mineral deposits called scale from building up on these HVAC parts. Scale occurs in metal components that deal with water. When water flows through the chiller or cooling tower for extended periods, it leaves mineral deposits that hinder the component’s performance. The descaling process removes these deposits to keep your chiller or cooling tower running well.
Tube Cleaning
Both chillers and cooling towers have condenser tubes. If you don’t have it cleaned on a regular maintenance schedule, your condenser tube could develop algae, scale, slime, and other gross buildup inside of it. Regular tube cleaning keeps the condenser running smoothly and prevents those contaminants from reaching other parts of your cooling system.
Inspections
Both cooling towers and chillers need annual inspections to make sure these components haven’t developed any problems. If your technician finds any issues, they can repair them quickly to prevent disruptions to your HVAC system’s operations.
Cooling Tower Maintenance Tasks
A cooling tower deals with chilled water, so this component needs careful attention. Its maintenance tasks include:
Water Treatment
This task is one of the most important parts of maintaining your cooling tower, and it’s something that chillers don’t require. Your tower’s water treatment prevents contaminants like legionella bacteria from building up in your cooling system. This is vital, because legionella bacteria can get into people’s lungs if your system evaporates contaminated water, causing breathing problems.
Other contaminants could also get into your cooling tower’s water. Treating this water prevents harmful bacteria from dirtying your facility’s air, helping you maintain good air quality for your building’s occupants.
Airflow Maintenance
Cooling towers need air to flow through them easily. Otherwise, they run the risk of a breakdown. Your HVAC technician can check your cooling tower for proper airflow during a regular maintenance visit and remove any blockages, so air can flow smoothly through your cooling tower.
Chiller Maintenance Tasks
Since this component deals with coolant or refrigerant instead of water, commercial chiller services are more straightforward than for cooling towers. Chiller maintenance tasks include:
- Evaporator and condenser coil cleaning
- Compressor oil analysis
- Condenser oil treatments
- Wiring checks
- Load balance tests
- Refrigerant inspection and charge
- Refrigerant leak checks
These tasks prevent minor problems from turning into major ones. If you have these chiller system services done in winter, you can resolve any existing problems before you start using this component again in the summer.
Does A&G Services Offer Cooling Tower and Chiller Maintenance?
Yes, we do. We maintain both of these HVAC components, and we provide both repair and emergency services for them. These services prevent your HVAC system from developing preventable issues.
When Are Cooling Tower and Chiller Services Useful?
These services are always useful, but especially in warm weather, when your facility needs to stay cool. If you run a commercial facility that won’t stay cool, reach out to your HVAC contractor to have them examine your system. It’s possible that your chiller or cooling tower is the source of the problem, or it could be one of several problems developing in your system.
Similarly, it’s best to contact your contractor if you haven’t treated your cooling tower’s chilled water. Legionella bacteria may get into your cooling system and start circulating through your building. Your contractor can help you start treating your water to keep your occupants safe.
What Industries Use Our Chiller and Cooling Tower Services?
We provide commercial chiller and cooling tower services for the following industries:
We understand that each of these industries has its own unique needs, which is why we always customize our cooling tower and chiller maintenance services accordingly.
Maintain Your Chiller or Cooling Tower This Winter With A&G Services
Did your chiller or cooling tower operate well last summer? Even if it did, it never hurts to have your HVAC parts inspected. If you want to know whether your chiller or cooling tower is in good shape before it hits peak usage periods, reach out to us today.
