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Nortje says that some of the initiatives are :
• Advances in water distribution systems , fill design , cooling water treatment and airflow systems are some examples which decrease water consumption in traditional cooling towers .
• BAC hybrid cooling towers include a dry coil with an evaporative cooling tower design which can run dry , evaporative or both pending on the load and environmental conditions .
• BAC adiabatic cooling towers use a small amount of water to pre-cool air by drawing it through wet pads before it flows over finned coils hosting the cooling liquid , allowing cooling systems to operate at the same temperatures and efficiency levels of full evaporative systems .
• Technological advancements in cooling tower controls and load management have also made it possible to optimize water consumption on evaporative cooling equipment .
• BAC are continually looking at ways to increase equipment life , up time , and reduce maintenance costs by incorporating features that improve maintenance access and maintainability ; this is a key focus for us in new product development .
Regarding ongoing research and development ( R & D ), apart from what is confidential , he says that BAC has a 5 000m 2 R & D center in Baltimore , US employing more than 40 full-time engineers with many development projects in progress at any time . In general terms , the R & D teams are focused to meet the demands of customers and their applications by improving our products by :
• Higher performance efficiency
• Easier installation
• Easier maintenance
• Longer service life
• Minimising ecological impact
“ Product review is part of the innovation cycle and many of our products are in design review to improve operating efficiencies or leverage new materials of construction or manufacturing technologies ,” Nortje adds .
In terms of future trends in cooling tower technology , especially in the context of South Africa , he says this is an area of interest : “ Firstly , I believe the South African economy will emerge from the current growth challenges and the demand for cooling solutions will increase with local investment . This bodes well for the local HVAC and refrigeration industry which might work closer together to protect and grow our industry .
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RACA Journal I September 2024 www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za