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Unleashing the Power of Automation: How this Healthcare Facility Upgraded its Cooling Tower Control System and Saved $8000 Per Year
At a glance
A healthcare facility improved its cooling tower efficiency by upgrading to a fully automated control system. This change resulted in an annual cost savings of $8000. The change improved water treatment efficiency, reduced chemical consumption, and improved biological control.
Key metrics
55% DROP
IN CHEMICAL OPERATING COSTS
$8000
ANNUAL SAVINGS
10 MONTHS
BREAKEVEN ROI
What manual cooling tower control costs a hospital
Cooling tower heat load changes through the day and the season. A good control system measures conductivity in real time, bleeds when needed, and doses chemical in proportion to actual demand.
Older analog systems cannot do that. Chemical runs continuously whether the load is high or low. Biocide goes in on a fixed timer. The result is wasted chemical at low load, weaker protection at high load, and less reliable biological control, which matters in a healthcare setting.
This healthcare facility’s cooling towers ran on analog controllers with no real-time conductivity and little ability to calibrate.
Challenges
This Healthcare Facility relied on an analog cooling tower control system with no real-time conductivity and minimal calibration ability. Cooling water treatment chemicals were added continuously, without automatic adjustment for variable heat load. Biocide was added manually with a pre-set timer limiting the effectiveness of biological control.
Solutions
All three control panels were replaced with a web-capable controller platform with fully automated chemical addition, real-time readouts, data logging of makeup, conductivity, and inhibitor levels, and remote alarming. After upgrading the equipment, this facility switched to a more efficient chemical, AQUAGUARD 508, and adopted alternating biocides with different dose rates for improved biological control.
Results
Reduced Chemical Usage
New improved chemistry, stability and control, resulted in reduced chemical usage, substantial cost savings, and better biological control.
Break-Even ROI in only 10 Months
Equipment upgrades and water treatment program changes resulted in significant reduction of chemical use and $8000 in annual program savings.
- Scale and corrosion inhibitor volume reduced by 80%
- Biocide volume reduced by 45%
- Water treatment chemical operating cost reduced by 55%
Data
AQUAGUARD 508 is an innovative treatment focused on protecting your equipment, reducing water consumption and ultimately reducing your operating and maintenance costs. AQUAGUARD 508 is specially formulated to prevent the corrosion of steel, galvanized metals, yellow metals such as copper or brass and their alloys while also effectively controlling scale by dispersing any suspended solids and preventing deposition.
Frequently asked questions
What control system replaced the analog panels?
All three panels were replaced with a web-capable controller with automated chemical feed, real-time readouts, data logging of makeup, conductivity and inhibitor levels, and remote alarms.
What chemistry changes were made?
The facility moved to Aquaguard 508 and adopted alternating biocides with different dose rates.
How much did chemical use drop?
Scale and corrosion inhibitor volume dropped 80%, and biocide volume dropped 45%.
What were the savings and payback?
Water treatment chemical operating cost fell 55%, about $8,000 a year. The upgrade reached break-even in 10 months.