The 2024 AHR Expo co-sponsored by ASHRAE and AHRI, was held Jan. 22-24 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL, concurrent with the ASHRAE Winter Conference. A total of 1,875 exhibitors spread across 527,520 square feet, and 120 free educational sessions drew 48,034 total attendees. Driven by decarbonization and green transition megatrends, this event highlighted the global refrigerant transition; adoption of heat pumps; integration of building automation systems and AI; and optimization of the energy/water nexus in applied equipment. This article recaps the response and innovation from manufacturers of chillers, cooling towers and related equipment.  

The 2024 AHR Expo drew 48,034 attendees. 

Refrigerants, Refrigerant Compressors & Chillers

“Regulations are driving change in our industry,” said Brian Dail, Application Engineering Manager, Danfoss – citing the AIM Act, Inflation Reduction Act, and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposal of rules to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures for investors. Legislation to phase-out high-GWP refrigerants is escalating, and a global refrigerant transition is underway. Starting in 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule that cuts the production of high-GWP hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants by 40%.

Kyle Fields and Eddie Rodriguez displaying a Turbocor oil-free magnetic bearing refrigerant compressor model at the Danfoss booth (left to right).

“We’re really focused on the hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) conversion. R-410A has been a workhorse in the chiller industry for a long time. We’re now going to see a pivot to R-454B,” said John Keating, Vice President and General Manager, Honeywell Refrigerants. “You will also see R-513A as a replacement for R-134A.” Global chiller company Multistack will now utilize the Honeywell Solstice R-454B in its chillers and heat pumps.

John Keating displaying Solstice R-454C, R-454A and L40X at the Honeywell booth.

“R-32 is now the refrigerant of choice for Daikin,” said James Macosko, VP Product Management, Daikin Applied. “Our Trailblazer AGZ air-cooled scroll chiller has been converted from R-410A to R-32.”

Chiller and heat pump manufacturers discussed broad capacity ranges, utilization of lower-GWP refrigerants, exceeding integrated part-load value (IPLV) efficiency standards, physical footprint optimization, centrifugal interstage refrigerant economization, and much more.

The 2024 Cooling Technology Institute (CTI) Annual Conference for manufacturers, owner-operators, and suppliers of heat rejection equipment (i.e., cooling towers, adiabatic coolers and dry coolers) was held Feb. 4 – 8 at the Westin Galleria in Houston, TX. This article will share some updates to CTI standards and acceptance test codes, synopsize the event’s educational curriculum, share perspective, and highlight products and services offered by a sampling of firms at the event’s trade show.

Jim Baker has begun his two-year term as CTI President for 2024-2025. Baker has been a member of CTI as an Owner/Operator during his time with Phillips 66, as a Manufacturer (SPX Cooling Tech), and now as a Supplier (Galebreaker Industrial). His predecessor, Ken Mortenson (SPX Cooling Tech), will continue his involvement with CTI on the Past Presidents Committee, and with the Engineering Standards & Maintenance Committee. “Jim is an excellent communicator and an important leader in our business. He is highly qualified and will do a fantastic job,” said Mortensen.

Evolving Standards and Acceptance Test Codes

CTI’s three standing committees - Engineering, Standards & Maintenance (ESM); Performance & Technology (P&T); and Water Treatment (WT) gather at the event to review, draft and update CTI’s existing and developing acceptance test codes (ATC) and standards (STD) covering thermal performance, sound, drift, materials, plume abatement, vibration, fire resistance and much more.

The CTI STD 201 Thermal Certification program and ATC 105 originated around evaporative equipment. CTI has since developed a test code for dry fluid coolers (ATC-105DS), which led to a dry certification program (STD 201RS-Dry). In the past year, CTI published ATC 105 Adiabatic, the acceptance test code for adiabatic fluid coolers. Now, CTI is in early stages of incorporating adiabatic technology into a thermal certification program, according to Scott Nevins, Director of HVAC Product Development with EVAPCO – recently appointed as Chair of the P&T Committee.

“Once the adiabatic certification program is in place, then ASHRAE can adopt the minimum efficiency standards for adiabatic equipment in 90.1,” said Nevins.

Last year, CTI announced the development of a sound certification program for evaporative and air-cooled heat rejection equipment. Now, the STD 204 Sound Certification is in the Ad-Hoc/Board Review phase. Once approved and released, the STD 204 program will begin certifying that lines of heat rejection equipment conform to manufacturers’ published sound pressure level data, using the long-standing test code for sound, ATC 128.

According to Nevins, fourteen standards or test codes were open for revision at the time of the event.

“The ATC-106 test code for mechanical draft evaporative vapor condensers is undergoing its annual revision cycle,” said Graham Nettleton, Chair of the ATC-106 Committee, and Product Development Engineer for EVAPCO.

ESM Committee leadership includes Ken Mortenson and Joe Evans, SPX Cooling Tech; James Blake, American Lightning Protection Systems; Jamie Bland, Composite Cooling Solutions; Nina Woicke (independent); and Jon Bickford, Alliant Energy. P&T Committee leadership includes Scott Nevins, EVAPCO; Jared Medlen, Mesa Associates; and Nick Mascarenhas, Baltimore Aircoil. The Water Treatment Committee leadership includes Bob Hendel, Veolia; Al Feltzin, Becht; and Pete Elliot, ChemTreat.

HFC gases are a crucial part of a functioning, modern society. From keeping groceries cold and fresh to powering the AC in people’s cars, these gases are an integral part of maintaining our safety and health. However, because these gases have high Global Warming Potential (GWP), federal and local governments are regulating HFC production and importation over the next decade and beyond.

HFC Production and Consumption Phasedown Schedule

 
Introduction to the AIM Act and Supply

The AIM (American Innovation and Manufacturing) Act was finalized by the US government at the end of 2021. This legislation introduced a phase-down plan for virgin HFC gases. From now through 2036, the US will reduce the production and importation of virgin HFCs by granting relevant businesses a set number of HFC allowances (or quota), which will decrease over time. Plus, state governments, such as in California, are introducing additional GWP-based HFC regulations. These will impact the sale, distribution, and entrance of bulk virgin HFCs or HFC blends into California commerce.

As the demand for refrigerant gases will increase, so will the demand for cooling. Businesses will still need to maintain old equipment. With diminishing availability of supply, the market will turn to reclaimed gases to make up the difference. The good news is that the AIM Act has no impact on reclaimed HFCs, meaning they can be purchased without using HFC allowances. Plus, reclaimed HFCs offer the same performance quality as virgin refrigerants. Reclaimed refrigerants must meet the same standards (AHRI-700) as virgin refrigerants, and are considered equally effective. 

 
Reclaimed Gases

The case for circular HFCs
 

Circular business models reduce waste for more efficient resource usage. By relying on existing products, we make better use of what we already have, avoiding the need to produce the equivalent quantity of virgin refrigerants. Circularity also incentivizes people to avoid leaking or venting refrigerants into the atmosphere. Turning to reclaimed HFCs enables participation in the circular economy and delivers benefits from a sustainable business model. In some cases, doing so could reduce the risk of interruptions to your business because of issues like supply chain availability.

The Hydraulic Institute (HI) is a member-based trade association group that brings together the manufacturers of pumps, motors, drives, and other pumping equipment to create standards and improve the state of the industry. In this interview, Executive Director Michael Michaud tells us more about HI’s work in the pump industry, workforce development resources and support of pump efficiency driven by the Department of Energy regulations. 

Best Practices: Please tell us about HI.

Michael Michaud: HI was founded in 1917 by a group of pump manufacturers interested in standardizing how pumps were commercialized. The first standard that HI developed was the pump test standard, which provides a basis to compare different pumps’ performance towards meeting the specified performance criteria. Today, HI maintains 36 ANSI/ HI Standards and a variety of guidebooks for various applications, including pump applications in commercial building services, pump system optimization and variable speed pumping, among many other topics as well as free white papers. Membership has grown as well, HI has over 120 members, including pump manufacturers but also suppliers of critical components for pumping systems, such as motors, drives, seals, bearings, and so on. In addition, HI has a growing group of partners who are not manufacturers but align with our core interests. Standards partners include engineering firms that design and specify pumping systems and end-users like municipal water and wastewater or chemical processing facilities. Training partners include end-users and other organizations which both contribute to and consume training through Pump Systems Matter., Pump Systems Matter (PSM) was established as a subsidiary educational organization dedicated to training people on pumps and pumping systems. Over the years, HI’s activities have also expanded into the certification of people, products, and processes as well as training. 

Michael Michaud, Executive Director, The Hydraulic Institute.

Best Practices: Tell us more about PSM.  

Michael Michaud: Pump Systems Matter (PSM), HI’s educational foundation, supports the industry regarding strategic, broad-based energy management and pump system performance optimization by providing the marketplace with training, tools, and collaborative opportunities that progress sustainability practices into normal business operations.  PSM provides product neutral training on energy efficiency, reliability, and effective applications of pump systems through an extensive catalog of live, virtual, and on-demand courses and webinars.

Best Practices: As executive director, what is your role within the Hydraulic Institute?

An industrial cooling system can comprise four separate yet linked sub-systems.

NOTE: This article in two parts will present the inescapable importance of holistic system controls in providing superior cooling systems operating efficiency.  Part 1 will present an introduction to why controls play such a critical role in cooling system operation and will review general control definitions and applications, as well as common deficiencies found in many systems.  Part 2 will describe holistic system controls and give examples of advanced control system functions and benefits; this part will also provide tips on to assess your existing controls.

Process cooling systems are mandatory components of the production infrastructure in many plants. System efficiency is second only to operational performance (i.e. meeting the process requirements) in the design and operation of these systems¹, and many companies go to great lengths to attain system efficiency. Many times, unfortunately, the actual system performance is well below the hoped for efficiency target.

This is in part because cooling systems are uniquely complicated compared to most other plant utilities.  Other systems like compressed air and vacuum typically have a single variable that is controlled (PSI or inches of vacuum, respectively)² ; some other systems are only controlled on or off as long as they perform adequately (for example, resin conveying systems, trim scrap blower systems, etc.).

It is widely recognized by cooling systems efficiency engineers that cooling systems consist of a series of linked sub-systems.  Consequently, controlling the sub-systems’ operation in a manner that effectively leverages the different aspects is crucial to realizing the highest potential efficiency.  “Holistic” system controls, i.e. controls that incorporate the interaction effects of the linked sub-systems, are the critical ingredient in realizing the highest system efficiencies.

Cooling Systems Complexity Distinctions

For many users who are not cooling system experts, the idea of linked, interconnected sub-systems may be unfamiliar.  As an example of these connected sub-systems, consider a water-cooled system with a cooling tower, tower water pumps, chiller, and chilled water pumps.  This system comprises at least four separate processes:

• Tower water heat rejection to atmosphere
• Tower water cooling of the chiller
• Internal refrigerant flow within the chiller
• Chilled water cooling of the process³

If the cooling system uses hot well / cold well tanks on both tower and chilled water, then there are six loops (i.e., tower water ([TW] cooling of the chiller becomes TW to the tower, TW to the chiller, chilled water cooling becomes two loops, etc.).  If there are other separate applications the list grows even further, such as tower water for machine cooling like air compressors, etc. separate from the chiller condenser cooling.

Even a “simple” air-cooled chiller system has several loops (condenser coil heat rejection to atmosphere, refrigerant flow within the chiller, chilled water to process, and possibly hot well / cold well loops). Even in this simple application there are efficiency impacts of condenser fan control strategy⁴, compressor design and operation (compressor type, compressors quantity, and other design characteristics), and chilled water flow design and control.

How do you replace aging cooling towers without risking disruption to a plant's continuous high-volume operation? That was the challenge at a major Midwest automotive manufacturing facility. In 1998, SUVs and minivans began rolling off the production line at the 4.5 million-square-foot facility (roughly 80 football fields under one roof), and the existing cooling towers were due to be replaced.

The cooling tower replacement was part of a $1.3 billion plant modernization project that included retooling, new equipment, and advanced manufacturing technologies, expanding capacity to 420,000 vehicles annually to meet strong demand primarily for the company's popular hybrid vehicles. 

 
The Challenge

Replacement of the enormous field-erected cooling towers was no small task, and it needed to be completed within the limited period when cooling was not required to avoid causing any downtime of plant operations. The demolition could not begin until December and the site preparation, installation, and commissioning of the new cooling system had to be completed by April. 

Before: Existing field-erected towers needing to be replaced.

The BAC Series 3000 modules were installed in only 4 days, compared to the 2-3 months required to assemble field-erected cooling towers. 

The automotive company worked with ElitAire LLC. to evaluate the technology alternatives and develop a plan. The first decision to be made was the construction method — whether to replace the existing non-BAC field-erected towers with a similar site-built system or to install a modular system built offsite in BAC’s factory. The second decision was the drive technology for the fans — whether to continue using a gear drive system or shift to direct drive technology. 

The customer’s main goal was to control risk, the risk of delays in the installation process that could cause production downtime, and the risk to worker safety, which was of paramount importance. The procurement team was also looking for a solution that was energy efficient and low maintenance to reduce costs and environmental impact. 

 
Modular System Lowers Risk

After an evaluation of the lifecycle costs and weighing the risks of various alternatives, the company selected BAC’s modular Series 3000 Cooling Tower with the direct drive ENDURADRIVE® Fan System. 

Although the company had previously installed two Series 3000 modules at a different plant location, this project was different in two respects. First, this project was significantly larger in scale. Second, whereas the previous project was a new installation, the current one involved replacement units that utilized the existing concrete cold-water basin. These differences coupled with the time constraints added complexity and risks. 

Taking these factors into account, BAC’s Series 3000 Cooling Tower was the ideal solution. The automotive plant was able to replace its existing (6) field-erected towers with (12) modular Series 3000 Cooling Towers while reusing the existing concrete cold-water basin.

In October of 2023, eight hundred sales professionals from forty-one countries attended the EVAPCO Global Sales Conference in Baltimore, MD. Under the theme “Full Spectrum Evolution,” EVAPCO celebrated the talent of its global sales network, and the evolution of its full spectrum of heat transfer solutions. This article will recount the event functions and share new developments unveiled at the EVAPCO Global Sales Conference, the first since 2017. 

View of the Baltimore Inner Harbor from the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, host of the EVAPCO 2023 Global Sales Conference.

During the Welcome Reception, attendees anticipated the days ahead filled with entertainment and training on new product lines, competitive analyses, thermal performance certification efforts and more. 

“We will never miss this Conference. The production is unbelievable, and it’s very motivational for our team. We brought fifteen of our team members here to experience this,” said Rick Hollendieck, President, Sys-Kool.

“In terms of new product innovation and customer service, EVAPCO is premier. This is the technology to be aligned with for the future,” said Jim Browe, Principal, R.F. Peck Company. 

David Fernandez (Integrated Cooling Solutions), Jim Browe (R.F. Peck Company) and Troy Reineck (EVAPCO) catching up at the Welcome Reception (left to right).

Jasmin Zelaya, Tower Enterprises and J.S. Ratté, Johnson Barrow (left to right).

The “Full Spectrum Evolution” theme refers to its evolving range of factory-assembled and field-erected evaporative, hybrid, dry and adiabatic heat transfer solutions for HVAC, industrial process, and industrial refrigeration markets. SPECTRUM is also the name of EVAPCO’s selection software. 

“We filled the spectrum. Now it’s evolving,” said Mihir Kalyani, Global Product Manager, Dry & Adiabatic Coolers. 

At the General Session, Pat Strine, Sr. Vice President, Industrial Refrigeration Sales & Marketing, welcomed all 800 attendees, including 44 new representative companies and a large contingent of international sales representatives. Strine also announced a new Versa-Split System product and EJET Ammonia DX product. Next, Bobby Becker, Global Product Manager – Cooling Towers, presented on the evolution of EVAPCO’s crossflow solutions, led by an intensive fill development program. This R&D helped launch the new XPak™ Fill product.

Rich Merrill – Director of Advanced Engineering (retired 2004), Wilson Bradley – EVAPCO Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder, Greg Kahlert – EVAPCO Board of Directors, and Jay Calkins – Executive Vice President (left to right).

The new PHW (parallel hybrid) Closed Circuit Cooler with enhanced rotated Sensi-Coil™ and CrossCool™ technologies were also introduced to complement the existing ESW4 evaporative fluid cooler line. 

Evaporative condensers are an efficient and cost-effective heat rejection solution for various applications—food and beverage refrigeration, industrial machinery cooling, and HVAC. The units work by condensing superheated refrigerant vapor inside a coil that is continually sprayed with water. As the water evaporates, fans reject the heated water vapor to the atmosphere. By lowering system condensing temperatures, evaporative condensers reduce compressor horsepower requirements, resulting in energy savings of up to 15% when compared to air-cooled systems.

A comprehensive program of routine preventive maintenance will keep refrigeration systems performing at peak efficiency, maximize system operating life, and reduce unplanned downtime due to equipment failure. It also helps to ensure reliable and safe operation, which is critically important to avoid leakage of ammonia and other refrigerants. Regular inspections are, of course, key and should be done in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations and plant preventative maintenance  schedule.  Below are general guidelines for the areas of inspection that should be part of any effective evaporative condenser preventive maintenance program. These guidelines cover inspections in 10 areas. Although maintenance frequency will depend on a variety of factors—e.g., condition of circulating water, cleanliness of ambient air, and the unit’s operating environment—each area of inspection should be performed at least annually and more frequently as recommended by the manufacturer for a particular component or as circumstances warrant.   

For each inspection, it is important to document the inspection process and all findings, the date of the inspection, the name of the person performing the inspection, any actions taken. If any additional future actions or repairs are necessary perform per manufactures recommendations or industry standards. Digital images are a useful method for documenting present conditions and demonstrating changes over time.

To ensure worker safety, all proper lock out-tag out procedures for the unit and any site safety procedures must be followed prior to beginning inspection or maintenance work.  Additionally, measures must be taken to confirm there is no refrigerant left in the coil. This is usually done by employing a vacuum system prior to entering or servicing the condenser.  Always follow industry best practices regarding the use of proper PPE and “one in-one out” procedures.

Recommended Inspection Tools

Most people carry a smartphone with a good digital camera, which is a useful tool for photographing or recording inspection findings. Other recommended tools include an infrared thermometer, an infrared camera, an ultrasonic metal thickness meter, a vibration meter (ultrasonic or accelerometer), a laser alignment tool, a multimeter for voltage and amperage, a micrometer depth gauge, and a dye penetrant test kit to detect cracks. Importantly, a complete inspection kit will also include the manufacturer’s installation, operation, and maintenance manuals and lock-out / tag out forms.

1.    Adequate anchors and supports for unit

In some companies and industries, open tanks are common features of process cooling systems [1]. In others, tanks are never or rarely seen. Why the difference? Who’s right? Should we all be using tanks or not?

This article will explore why tanks are used in cooling systems, why they might not be used in cooling systems, and finally considerations to be evaluated in determining if tanks are needed in any particular central plant cooling system. Part 2 will review specific application details for using tanks and also for tankless systems and system conversions.

Typical Chilled Water Tank System.

Why Tanks are Used

The first question to answer is why are tanks used in systems? Technically they are not part of a simple flow circuit that consists of a pump, cooling resource(s), cooling load(s), and connecting piping. Even so, tanks can perform several useful functions in cooling systems such as:

• Providing additional system volume for small systems to prevent chiller short cycling [2]
• Chiller flow stabilization in systems where the flow to cooling loads varies dramatically, such that the chiller(s) may repeatedly fault on loss of flow if not decoupled from the process cooling flow
• Chiller load smoothing for irregular or highly transient cooling loads
• Flow equalization in split cooling recirculation / process flow systems with separate loops to each part
• Physical and / or non-hydronic functions such as drain-down volume accommodation, system water loss makeup, or cooling water supply stabilization for highly sensitive applications or in unreliable cooling supply situations

There are several companies that produce high quality, well-designed tank systems that often also include pumps and their associated hydronic components. The tank systems are typically offered in addition to other cooling system components like chillers, cooling towers, etc. which together can comprise a cooling solution that is complete except for the piping to the cooling loads. These companies promote the use of tank systems and the advantages they can offer, as would be expected.

Typical Tower Water Tank System

These functional advantages are often most applicable in specific manufacturing situations. The typical applications include:

Chiller & Cooling Best Practices Magazine interviewed Glenn Brenneke, Vice President of Engineering and R&D, SPX Cooling Technologies, to discuss the Marley 100-year anniversary.

SPX Cooling/Marley has been headquartered in the Kansas City area for 100 years.

Good morning. Please describe your role with SPX Cooling Technologies.

I’ve been with SPX Cooling/Marley for 31 years. I’m the Vice President of Engineering and R&D for the global business, based at our global headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas. Working on the development of our products and technology for 3 decades means I’ve been involved in about one third of the company’s history!

Glenn Brenneke, Vice President of Engineering and R&D, SPX Cooling Technologies.

 Can you tell us about the company’s founding and evolution?

It all started with two young engineers and manufacturer’s representatives named L. T. Mart and Chester Smiley, who founded Power Plant Equipment Company in Kansas City in 1922. L. T. Mart, a mechanical engineer, was considered the inventor of the group. Together, Mart and Smiley developed and patented new spray nozzles and spray pond inventions, so innovation has been a core of the business from the beginning. When Mart and Smiley needed an original name for the business, they combined elements of their last names, and the Marley brand was born in 1924. 

In 1928, Smiley continued his role as a manufacturer’s representative, while Mart retained the patents and all products carrying the Marley name, then incorporated the business as The Marley Company. 

An early version of an atmospheric deck cooling tower, circa 1930.  

How has Marley continued to innovate its products?

Following the first patents around spray nozzles, the development of the crossflow cooling tower in the 1930s was very significant. Today, our primary Marley NC Cooling Tower line is designed in a crossflow configuration. This evolution in the layout of the heat exchanger to the fan really drives efficiency and ease of access.

Next, the Marley Aquatower® was an early factory-assembled crossflow cooling tower introduced by Marley in the 1940s. Today, factory assembly is a major part of our business. Factory assembly allows for ease of installation and the ability to package and ship the product whether it be an industrial or HVAC application. 

In the 1970s, we had an invention relative to plume abatement. Plume abatement is a technology used to reduce the visible plume discharged from a cooling tower. This parallel path wet/dry tower was a significant development to reduce plume at the time. Plume abatement technology is frequently specified for airport installations. Certainly, if plume is interrupting the view of a runway, it’s not a good thing. It’s pure water vapor, but that vapor can cause a cloud obstructing views. Plume abatement technology improves safety and also helps to make the tower and discharge less noticeable.