How Temporary Cooling Towers Can Save You Money

What is a temporary cooling tower?

A temporary cooling tower is a large piece of equipment set up on a site for a specific project, such as maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) work at an industrial plant. These cooling towers are typically rented to function as chillers, and they are more compact and easier to install than large, permanent cooling towers, which weigh between eight to nine tons.

A portable cooling tower is a convenient piece of temporary equipment that can provide cooling when a plant or building's existing cooling tower shuts down and requires urgent repair or replacement.

Modular cooling towers provide more flexibility than a permanent structure, as they are more lightweight and portable for various systems and structures.

A cooling tower rental is ideal for a temporary site and can be moved to accommodate a project’s unique needs and timeline. This temporary cooling system is a great solution that differs from a permanent system as it provides greater flexibility, is cost-effective, and offers critical cooling for a specific area or process.

How do temporary cooling towers work?

Industrial cooling towers function as a fluid cooler in that the equipment produces cool air from hot water, which is evaporated through the system to remove heat from the water. This heat exchanger moves hot water that enters the cooling tower and distributes it over the surface, which removes the heat.

The remaining water at the basin is returned to the system to absorb more heat. This process continues in each cooling tower line, producing air conditioning throughout a building, plant, or enclosed space.

When do you need cooling tower rentals?

Permanent cooling tower systems are essential in providing cooling needs for many buildings and industrial facilities. However, they may not always provide adequate cooling in some situations, which makes a rental cooling tower a great option.

While the most reliable permanent systems are efficient in the cooling process, there are reasons why a portable cooling tower may be a great option:

An unexpected outage or maintenance emergency can cause a sudden shutdown, which immediately stops a cooling tower from functioning.
Permanent cooling tower systems cannot always keep up with an enclosed structure's capacity, leading to higher temperatures and ineffective overall cooling.
Scheduled maintenance means the existing cooling tower must be shut down for service, lasting anywhere from several hours to much longer if additional repairs or services are required.
When added production is required, and the existing cooling towers cannot keep up with demand, portable cooling towers are necessary to add more cooling capacity.
Temporary cooling towers are ideal for providing support as part of a contingency plan, which is essential for unforeseen situations, such as a natural disaster or an outage, which may include generators, pumps, air handlers, chillers, and other parts crucial to a facility's operations.

While temporary cooling towers are not permanent fixtures, they can provide vital cooling when regular systems fail or need urgent service or replacements. Whether you require a supplementary cooling tower or a backup plan in the event of scheduled or unplanned maintenance, there are many temporary cooling options for your facility or site.

How temporary cooling towers help prevent industrial plant downtime

When an industrial plant or facility experiences downtime, this process can result in high costs due to a loss or delay in production. In cases where a manufacturing plant experiences just a few minutes of downtime, frequent occurrences can result in accumulated losses.

Downtime in industrial plants averages around $500 per minute, which can significantly impact a company's bottom line. Unscheduled downtime is exceptionally costly because it's unexpected and leads to a significant disruption in operations.

According to Plant Engineering 2018 Maintenance Study, the leading causes of downtime include aging equipment, 44%, operator errors, 16%, and insufficient time, 15%.

When you consider the impact of lost production due to an unexpected shutdown of cooling systems, rental equipment, and tower rental services, it becomes an essential investment in safeguarding against unnecessary disruptions and a lack of cooling, especially during the high heat of the summer season.

Rental cooling towers are also ideal for temporarily replacing a permanent cooling tower that needs to be removed for repairs or a complete replacement. During this temporary cooling, the water is diverted into the rental tower unit, then circulated back into the basin.

Temporary cooling tower applications

Rental cooling towers can tie into existing cooling systems, provide a backup service, or temporarily replace them.

The following options are available to support various systems, from diverting a portion of the water to a rented cooling tower so that cooling is uninterrupted during repairs to providing additional capacity for expanded production.

Temporary cooling towers offer seamless service, including added capacity during peak demand, with the following options:

Supplemental cooling improves existing systems by diverting some hot return water from the central cooling tower into a rental tower so that the primary tower's water flow is reduced, resulting in a cooler temperature throughout the facility.
When summer temperature reaches a peak, adequate, consistent cooling can become impossible with a standard cooling tower. A pre-cooling system significantly reduces the air temperature before it moves into the air-cooled heat exchange and reduces it by up to 20 degrees in temperature.
Wastewater cooling reduces the risk to microorganisms used in the treatment process so that there is no interruption.
A complete rental cooling system is ideal for contingency planning in the event of a hurricane or catastrophic event that impairs permanent cooling tower systems. This backup plan can provide urgent cooling capacity with minimal interruption to avoid downtime or a loss in production.

Temporary cooling towers are essential in providing support for a wide range of facilities and industrial spaces, including manufacturing plants, commercial buildings, hospitals, schools, and high-rises.

Maintaining adequate cooling throughout these facilities is essential for a healthy, productive environment while providing support in the event additional capacity or a backup plan is required.

How Sunbelt Rentals can provide expert help and cooling tower rental equipment

Sunbelt Rentals offers the most extensive industrial air treatment fleet in North America. From large to small, no other equipment rental company can offer a more comprehensive selection of HVAC solutions, including cooling tower models ranging from 400 to 1,200 tons (parallelable to unlimited tonnage).

When you work with Sunbelt Rentals, you'll have access to a full range of temporary cooling towers, full turn-key setup, 24/7 on-site monitoring, and power generation solutions for any facility.

Additionally, Sunbelt offers wireless air monitoring equipment that continuously monitors and logs critical site conditions such as ambient temperature, humidity, dew point, and other factors that may impact a facility. The Sunbelt Air Monitoring System (SAMS) serves as an environmental condition logger, an air monitoring system, a carbon dioxide detector, fire or smoke alarm, or all of these at once.

Contact our industrial climate control experts to discuss your HVAC and indoor air quality needs.