Silent or standard cooling towers?
A determining factor in the selection of the most suitable cooling solution is the area of installation. In the case of a civil construction (hospitals, shopping centers, air conditioning systems) a solution with low acoustic impact should be chosen to avoid noise caused by the cooling tower in the environment. Therefore, we will choose a cooling equipment designed in a constructive way to have low noise emissions or, in any case, easily silenced.
If we are talking about an industrial area, the noise limits, although present as a project application, are certainly less binding. Therefore, a less specific solution can be proposed and measures adopted to minimize the noise impact.
Centrifugal or axial fans?
The right choice of fan is also a major factor in the acoustic impact of the cooling tower.
Years ago, there was a tendency to direct the choice, in the civil sector, towards evaporative cooling towers with centrifugal fans. Instead, versions with axial fans were preferred for industrial processes.
Nowadays there are evaporative towers with equally efficient and quiet axial fans to the extent that this difference is no longer so clear.
One plant, one solution: collecting information
Finally, it is also necessary to know the dimensional limits or related to other pre-established situations that can guide a choice instead of another.
For example, in the case of a replacement, there may be an existing tank or a space defined by the previous installation to which it needs to be adapted. This kind of limit is not usual, or it can be identified from an area within which the cooling system is intended.
All these aspects must be considered during the collecting data phase between Client and Supplier who is responsible for assuming a “consulting” role towards the Customer. The supplier could then configure the best possible proposal both from a technical and economic point of view.