Compare and Contrast of Products

AC Cooling Towers

The author of this report has been asked to compare and contrast two different types of air conditioning (AC) cooling towers. This report will be a professional opinion based on the literature, pricing and specifications available for the two towers under review. Of course, there are important concerns when picking an air conditioning cooling tower and having one installed including useful life cycle, maintenance costs overall, the ease in which maintenance can be completed and so forth. While cost should obviously be a concern, the length of life of an air conditioning cooling tower as well as the efficiency and other traits of the cooling tower matter just as much, if not more.

Analysis

One of the brands up for review is known as TowerTech. Their brochure includes costs but also highlights the fact that there are two main types of air conditioning cooling towers, those being closed circuit and non-closed circuit towers. TowerTech hypes the fact that the latter is actually a much better option and for a few reasons. Those reasons including less cost spent on installation, less weight of the unit, a more flexible layout, no more glycol needing to be used, easier inspection and maintenance ability and a life expectancy that is double to triple that of closed circuit cooling towers. Features of the TowerTech in particular include heavy duty pultruded FRP structure with what they call SS hardware. The variable flow nozzles on the unit are self-cleaning, the basin for the unit is entirely enclosed and the fans are bottom-mounted. One major way in which the closed-circuit units are inferior is that the non-closed units have an external heat exchanger that improves overall operation (TowerTech, 2015).

The TowerTech people offer a straight comparison between what their towers cost and what a comparable closed circuit tower would cost. Indeed, the cost differential is actually pretty small for the smaller towers but becomes noticeable for the larger ones. For example, a 250 ton TowerTech tower is only $5,000 less than a comparable closed-circuit tower. However, the rest of the differences are noticeable. The horsepower level of the fan is forty percent less, the weight of the unit is noticeable less, the ability to maintenance and access the unit is much easier and the TowerTech has triple the warranty, at least according to them. When looking at 750 ton units, the cost differential skyrockets to $25,000 (160,000 versus 135,000). The fan horsepower is also noticeably different. The weight of the unit is more than twenty-five percent less for the TowerTech unit, the maintenance is still easy and the warranty is still fifteen years as compared to the five years of the closed-circuit towers (TowerTech, 2015).

The other material the author of this report has with pricing information included is a full-on proposal to install an air conditioning cooling tower. The vendors and/or installers involved in the proposal are HCL Mechanical Services and Honeywell. The tower to be installed for this contract was a BAC PT2 two-cell cooling tower. The unit was stainless steel with an overall grade of 305 for most pieces. The overall cost of the unit came to be $274,545 with installation. However, it should be noted that the prior cooling tower was to be removed as part of the contract. There are also notes that any additional cleanup or remodeling needed to get the unit installed was not part of the contract. This would include things like asbestos remediation and the like (Emerson Swan, 2015).

The stated benefits of the unit include low environmental impact, durable construction and reliable year-round operation. The environment impact plaudits include an overall energy-efficient construction and a lesser amount of sound. The durable construction includes materials that are meant to last long and not rust. The unit is designed to withstand wind loads of up to 30 PSF and can withstand shaking of up to 2.93 g's. The year-round operation is driven by the Baltdrive Power Train System fan system. The warranty given for the unit is five years, is made up of corrosion-resistant cast aluminum sheaves and the cooling tower duty motors are designed for what is known as a "hostile environment." The installation cost of the unit is stated as being low as the entire unit is one self-contained piece of machinery. The ease of access and overall ability to work on the unit is stated as being quite good. Components of the unit include heavy duty steel panels, a Baltidrive power train (as noted above), low horsepower axial fans, a heavy-duty water distribution system, a BAC Pak Fill system made up of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a cold water basin, well-placed access doors and combined air inlet shields. It should be noted that this unit and its high price tag is for a fairly large spa facility (Emerson Swan, 2015).