Hybrid dry coolers: a way to cool off that uses less water

Hybrid dry coolers: a way to cool off that uses less water

Closed-loop process cooling systems are getting more attention from a growing number of industries because water use rules are getting stricter and the cost of buying and dumping water is going up. A hybrid cooling system that uses both dry cooling and evaporative cooling is a good alternative to open-loop cooling towers because it saves water and works more efficiently.

The hybrid dry cooler works by getting rid of heat through latent heat transfer, or evaporative heat transfer. In a typical dry cooler system, the closed-loop fluid is cooled by sensible heat transfer, and the approach temperature is based on the dry bulb. In a hybrid dry cooler with evaporative cooling pads, the approach temperature is based on the wet bulb, which takes into account the moisture in the air stream and is always lower than the dry bulb temperature. The more efficient hybrid dry coolers are, the warmer the weather is. Hybrid dry coolers are also a cost-effective way to save water compared to open-loop cooling systems, which use a lot of water and expose the water to the air all the time.

VRcooler launched a family of dry coolers with built-in direct evaporative pads to cool the air before it goes into the cooling coils. This was done to meet customer demand for efficient cooling systems that use less water. Finned aluminium is used to make evaporative media, which has a high rate of evaporation and keeps the media pad clean, which is a common problem with cellulose-based evaporative media. At a speed of 2.0 m/s, the new evaporative media has a saturation efficiency of 90%, while cellulose-based media only have an efficiency of about 70%.

Vrcooler dry coolers use air-to-water heat exchangers, so they can transfer heat quickly and use the least amount of power because the air pressure doesn't drop much. You can also get extra coil protection (called "e-coating") for installations near the seashore or in areas with a lot of pollution.