Technology | Chiller & Cooling Best Practices

Cooling Tower Direct Drive Motors Lead to Energy Efficiency Gains

By Sean Mullins, Product Manager – Laminated Frame Motors, ABB

Across industries, operators are adopting cooling tower direct drive (CTDD) motor technology. In particular, permanent magnet (PM) direct drive motors are delivering measurable improvements in efficiency, cleanliness and maintenance reduction. The change is more than a component swap; it represents a new approach to cooling tower design that reduces operating costs, supports environmental goals and improves reliability.

Read Full Story

Best Practices 2024 EXPO & Conference: Day 2 Highlights

By Troy Dreier and Brooke Jones, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

Day 2 of the Best Practices 2024 EXPO & Conference began with high-level learning sessions. For some attendees, the most important session of the conference was the expert panel on designing compressed air systems compliant with the ASHRAE 90.1 standard, which now includes compressed air systems.

[ Read Full Story ]

Best Practices 2024 EXPO & Conference: Day 1 Highlights

By Troy Dreier and Brooke Jones, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

Day 1 of the Best Practices 2024 EXPO & Conference saw the annual event’s highest attendance yet, with a record number of manufacturing plants, distributors and engineering firms. The event started yesterday, October 29th, at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta, GA, and runs until Thursday.

[ Read Full Story ]

Heat Exchanger Problem Causes and Troubleshooting

By Clayton Penhallegon, Jr., P.E., Integrated Services Group

Machine cooling high temperature problems are unfortunately all-too common in industrial plants. While the initial suspect is always the heat exchanger, there are several other factors that can be the underlying cause. Important steps can be taken to minimize the potential for heat exchanger fouling, but when problems do occur, careful examination of the machine and the system can help identify the problem efficiently and with minimal wasted effort.

[ Read Full Story ]

HVACR Cooling Products Certification Helps Rule Out Reliability Risks

By Ian Butler, Partnership Manager, Eurovent Certification

In this article, the independent third-party product certification body Eurovent Certification explains how to aim for excellence and safeguard against reliability risks by using products with proven performance.

[ Read Full Story ]

Decarbonization Hits Close to Home for Johnson Controls

By Chiller & Cooling Best Practices Magazine

Johnson Controls’ most recent decarbonization project has gone right to the heart of its 2040 net-zero commitment – working with its own Norman, Oklahoma, manufacturing facility on a chilled water plant and compressed air system upgrade that is projected to nearly halve its greenhouse gas emissions.

[ Read Full Story ]

Johnson Controls Showcases Sustainable Data Center Chiller Technologies

By Bill Smith, Chiller & Cooling Best Practices Magazine

In August 2024, Johnson Controls hosted a showcase at its Johnson Controls Advanced Development and Engineering Center (JADEC) in New Freedom, PA, to share testing and engineering capabilities of its applied HVAC equipment for data centers and semiconductor manufacturers.

[ Read Full Story ]

Chiller, Cooling Tower and Air Compressor Innovations at NPE2024

By Troy Dreier, Chiller & Cooling Best Practices Magazine

NPE2024: The Plastics Show took place in Orlando, Florida, May 2024, and Chiller & Cooling Best Practices Magazine and Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine and were there to cover the highlights. This year’s conference drew over 50,000 registrants, including 15,000 from outside the United States. Filling both buildings of the Orlando Convention Center, the conference included zones dedicated to bottling, recycling and sustainability, material science, advanced manufacturing, mold-making and packaging.

[ Read Full Story ]

Hoffman & Hoffman Grows by Following Their Customers, Staying Flexible

By Troy Dreier, Chiller & Cooling Best Practices Magazine

In Spring 2024, Chiller & Cooling Best Practices Magazine interviewed Chuck Honeycutt and Brad Davis from Hoffman & Hoffman to discuss best practices in chiller and cooling tower sales and system design. This article will explore how the company has expanded into new areas during its 75-year history. It will also explore a large cooling tower installation at a Colorado biotech.

[ Read Full Story ]

Hoffman & Hoffman Grows by Following Their Customers, Staying Flexible

By Troy Dreier, Chiller & Cooling Best Practices Magazine

[ Read Full Story ]

Hoffman & Hoffman Grows by Following Their Customers, Staying Flexible

By Troy Dreier, Chiller & Cooling Best Practices Magazine

[ Read Full Story ]

Chillers

Evaluating Process Cooling Supply Temperatures

This article will make plants aware of the energy and water use differential between CHW systems providing chilled water in a 45-60°F (7-16°C) range, and process cooling solutions at 70°F up to 120°F (21 to 49°C). The article will examine cooling resource evaluation criteria and supply water temperature specifications, then describe and compare process cooling options.

More Articles >

Cooling Towers

Midwest Machinery Replaces a Cooling Tower for Bayer Crop Science

Bayer Crop Science runs a 240-acre fertilizer production facility with areas for active ingredient and chemical intermediate production, as well as a high-active herbicide production unit. Among the multiple cooling towers at the facility was a 40-year-old field-erected, three-cell, wooden, crossflow Marley cooling tower used for rejecting heat and providing cooling for multiple processes.

More Articles >

Fluid Coolers

Water-Saving Dry Cooling Technologies for Industrial Applications

This article explores how air-cooled heat rejection systems are reshaping industrial cooling strategies as water conservation becomes a growing priority. By breaking down performance trade-offs, system configurations, and real-world sizing comparisons, it highlights when and where these technologies make the most sense. Engineers and facility managers will gain practical insights to evaluate cooling options, balance efficiency with sustainability, and make smarter long-term infrastructure decisions.

More Articles >

Dry Coolers

Adiabatic Coolers: An Evolution in Sustainable Process Cooling

Adiabatic coolers are rapidly gaining ground in plastics processing as manufacturers seek sustainable, energy-efficient alternatives to traditional cooling towers. By operating in dry, adiabatic and free-cooling modes, modern systems engineered by Frigel North America deliver up to 90% water savings, lower energy consumption and improved temperature stability for injection molding, PET, extrusion and thermoforming applications. With reduced maintenance, closed-loop protection and long-term ROI advantages, adiabatic cooling is emerging as the new benchmark for high-performance industrial process cooling.

More Articles >

Water Filtration

Water Screen Maintenance Improves Cooling Tower Efficiency

Field-erected evaporative “wet” cooling towers, combined with heat exchangers, are an economical and efficient method to dissipate large heat loads at oil and gas refineries and chemical processing plants – as long as they’re free of harmful debris. Yet many cooling towers at these facilities are highly susceptible to poor performance and costly downtime due to problems associated with debris buildup and potential for debris to pass by traditional stationary water screens during the cleaning process, clogging heat exchangers.

More Articles >

Heat Exchangers

Practical Free Cooling System Operation Techniques

Free cooling offers a highly efficient alternative to chiller-based cooling, but its success depends on effective operation and control—especially during system transitions. This article outlines practical techniques for improving the shift between chiller and free cooling modes, minimizing temperature spikes and maintaining process stability in industrial environments. It also covers strategies for enhancing chiller performance under low-temperature conditions, optimizing heat exchanger startup, setting reliable control triggers and addressing maintenance and freeze protection. With proper tuning and operation, facilities can significantly increase free cooling hours, reduce energy use and extend chiller life without risking production disruptions.

More Articles >

Cooling Controls

HydroThrift Debuts Advanced Cooling System Control Panel

The customers wanted to be able to monitor their system from a control room. They wanted to be able to see the overall view of how the system was running. The bigger thing on the backend – especially for us from an engineering perspective – was being able to do better troubleshooting and helping them without the need to be onsite.

More Articles >