Evaporative condenser
- Slovak term: Slovenský termín
- Heat-transfer device, in which warm water is cooled by evaporation in atmospheric air (WHO 2007).
- An evaporative condenser is a heat exchanger in which a refrigerant is cooled by a combination of air movement and water spray. (Australian Capital Territory Government 2005).
Explanation
A cooling tower is an evaporative condenser. Evaporative condensers usually incorporate an air fan for forced air movement, a circulating water pump, a water spray system and a cooling coil (World Plumbing Council Working Group 2008)
Example
An evaporative condenser in the form of a cooling tower requires water to be sprayed over the cooling coils to aid the cooling performance. Unlike an air cooled condenser which is dependent on dry bulb temperature. The capacity of the evaporative condenser is influenced by the ambient wet bulb temperature. An evaporative condenser requires a supply of good quality water for its operation. Water is continuously sprayed on to and evaporated from its cooling surfaces. The cooling capacity of a tower depends primarily on the surface area of the coils and the temperature difference between the refrigerant and the substance being cooled (Australian Government Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation 1998).
Note: Evaporative condensers have been implicated in Legionnaires disease and should not be sited near any ventilation intakes. These systems should be maintained under strict risk managed processes and backed by active regulatory standards and ongoing testing and surveillance and periodically drained and disinfected.
References
- Australian Capital Territory (2005) Cooling towers, evaporative condensers and warm
- water storage systems. Code of Practice 2005.
- Australian Government Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (1998)
- Refrigeration principles. Meat and technology Update. Food Science. Melbourne
- WHO (2007) Legionella and the prevention of legionellosis
