The Costs of Not Having Your Cooling Tower Cleaned Twice a Year
When a Cooling Tower is well maintained, meaning that it is cleaned twice a year, it not only has a longer lifespan on average, but it is also less likely to experience downtime and need repairs. In addition to that, it will also use less energy when properly maintained, resulting in cost savings. The industry standard is to clean a cooling tower before the start of the cooling season and then at the end of the cooling season. But, what are the costs of not cleaning your cooling tower twice a year? Let’s explore.
The Operation Cost
There is a large amount of scale, sediment, and sludge that accumulates throughout the operational season and dormant season. If this grime isn’t removed at the beginning and end of the season, it could build up to a level that inhibits the operation of the system resulting in the potential for downtime and huge losses. Healthcare facilities are especially prone to these huge losses both monetarily and physically. Not only will the company experiencing the delay have to deal with the loss of operations, but they will also have the added cost of the repair or replacement of the system which for some companies can be in the $100,000s of thousands per hour of downtime. Much, much more than the average cost of a cooling tower cleaning between $5,000 to $15,000.
The Energy Cost
The build-up on the inside and outside of the cooling tower can lead to excessive energy costs to keep the system running. The more build-up, the harder the machine has to work and ultimately, the more energy used. This can be a major financial increase if you have multiple towers all working much harder than normal.
The Replacement Cost
On average, a new cooling tower runs anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000 and that’s just the cost of the tower itself. That doesn’t include the removal of the existing tower and the installation of the new cooling tower. Oftentimes, it takes giant cranes or helicopters to get the units on and off the rooftop which isn’t a cheap or speedy process. You can rebuild a current tower for less, but getting the parts up to the roof, many times poses the same issue and cost associations. Typical cooling towers last anywhere from 15-20 years as new installs before they require new parts, being rebuilt, or being totally replaced but this timeline is often sped up significantly when the required cleanings aren’t done.
The Health Cost
A cooling tower during its operating season is a prime breeding ground for the potentially life-threatening bacteria, Legionella. Frequent cleanings can keep the levels of this bacteria to a minimum and below a threatening level. Our team always wears proper PPE before entering a cooling tower and we strongly any building owner or tenant to not enter their cooling tower without the proper protection as Legionella is an airborne bacteria and is contracted through breathing in the aresoles.
