Page 30 - Climate Control News Magazine June-July 2020

Cooling Tower Feature
Shutdown measures could lead to
Legionnaires’ outbreak
HVAC PROFESSIONALS MUST
BE DILIGENT TO ENSURE THEY MINIMISE THE RISK OF A LEGIONNAIRES’ DISEASE OUTBREAK ON RESTARTING
ANY FACILITY THAT HAS BEEN PARTIALLY OR FULLY SHUTDOWN.
LEGIONELLA BACTERIA CAN pro- liferate in stagnant pipework and any relaxation of COVID-19 shutdown measures could increase the risk of a Legionnaires outbreak.
Australia’s coronavirus suppression strategies have successfully controlled the escalation of COVID-19 cases.
But the suppression measures led to the shutdown of many buildings including clubs, hotels, restaurants and sports facilities. In addition, many commercial facilities moved from full occupancy at the start of March to minimal occupancy for the past 4-6 weeks.
LEFT: Cooling towers should be tested to mitigate the risk from Legionella.
HydroChem CEO, Nicholas Duncan, said ide- ally cooling water systems went into hiberna- tion, with ongoing disinfection to minimise the risk of Legionella growth within pipework.
“If not, the managers of these facilities must take additional precautions when restarting cooling systems,” he said.
“Buildings that have been partially or fully shutdown for more than a week are likely to have stagnant water in the pipework that distributes water to taps, showers and ice machines. This water presents a risk of propagating Legionella.
“We also need to be especially mindful of peo- ple at a higher risk of contracting Legionnaires’ disease – such as people who are immunocom- promised or have pre-existing health conditions.
“We recommend all water distribution sys- tems are flushed before use and Legionella testing is conducted to identify any compro- mised systems.”
As buildings are reoccupied and pedestrian activity increases, Duncan said it is important that water systems are properly recommissioned and tested to mitigate the risk from Legionella that may have developed during the shut-down.
Legionnaire’s disease presents similar symp- toms to COVID-19 such as fever, cough, short- ness of breath and potentially fatal pneumonia.
Hybrid cooler best of both worlds
A PRODUCT GENERATING a lot of interest for water efficiency is the HXV Hybrid Cooler from the Baltimore Aircoil Company (BAC).
The HXV Hybrid Cooler offers the best of both evaporative and dry cooling in a water saving and energy-efficient solution.
The HXV is ideal for maintaining peak perfor- mance for a variety of applications where water is scarce, water costs are high, uptime is critical, or plume is a concern. It is perfect for the most demanding projects, including data centres, in- dustrial, manufacturing, and HVAC.
Thanks to the power of evaporative cooling, the HXV is up to 60% more energy-efficient than air- cooled systems. BAC’s innovative combined f low technology, which combines parallel air and wa- ter paths, ensures peak system energy efficiency.
The HXV also offers up to 70% water savings
compared to traditional fluid coolers with the ability to run with reduced water during the ma- jority of the year. Even on a design day, 25% water savings can be achieved.
The HXV Hybrid Cooler also offers 25% maintenance savings compared to traditional f luid coolers. Maintenance is easy with immediate access to the cold wa- ter basin, prime surface coil, and the fan drive system. Operators can even inspect the spray distri- bution system while the unit is in operation. Maintenance costs are further reduced by virtue of 70% chemical savings.
When reliable year-round op- eration is critical, the HXV Hy-
brid Cooler offers trouble-free winter operation. Additional benefits of the HXV include unin- terrupted operation with multiple fans and op- tional redundant pumps. Longevity and corro- sion resistance are further increased with superior material options including EVERTOUGH® Construction and TriArmor Cor- rosion Protection System. For projects requiring plume abate- ment, the HXV has no plume when operating dry, and the dry coil provides natural plume
abatement when running wet. Visit www.BaltimoreAircoil.
com. ✺
LEFT: BAC’s HXV Hybrid Cooler
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