Eco-friendly cooling with hybrid dry coolers

Eco-friendly cooling with hybrid dry coolers

With the implementation of stricter laws on water use and the rising costs for water purchase and disposal, closed-loop process cooling systems are garnering interest among an expanding number of sectors. In comparison to open-loop cooling towers, a hybrid cooling system that utilises both dry cooling and evaporative cooling technologies is a more water-efficient and cost-effective option.

A hybrid dry cooler gets rid of heat by means of latent, or evaporative, heat transfer, which is its primary mechanism of operation. The closed-loop fluid in a traditional dry cooler system is cooled via sensible heat transfer, and the approach temperature of a dry cooler is based on the dry bulb. However, the approach temperature of a hybrid dry cooler equipped with evaporative cooling pads is based on the wet bulb, which accounts for the moisture in the air stream and is always lower than the dry bulb temperature. When temperatures rise, the effectiveness of hybrid dry coolers rises as well. Compared to open-loop cooling systems, where the water is always exposed to the air, hybrid dry coolers are a more cost-effective technique for water saving.

Dry coolers from VRcooler have direct evaporative pads that cool the air before it enters the cooling coils, meeting the desire of customers for more efficient, water-conserving cooling systems. The excellent evaporation efficiency and consistent media pad cleanliness of finned aluminium evaporative media solves a common issue with cellulose-based evaporative media. Saturation efficiency of the new evaporative media approaches 90% at an air velocity of 2.0m/s, while that of cellulose-based media is only around 70%.

Dry coolers from Vrcooler make use of air-to-water heat exchangers, which results in high heat transfer rates and optimal fan power usage due to reduced air pressure drops. For installations along the coast or in heavily polluted areas, extra coil protection (e-coating) is also available.