IMPROVING COOLING TOWER EFFICIENCY TO SAVE WATER & MONEY INSPIRED ENTREPRENEURS DETERMINED TO REVOLUTIONIZE AN INDUSTRY
BY
MINDY SYKES
While many people in the United States take clean, accessible water for granted, it is not difficult to imagine a future where this precious resource is scarce. We need only look at other countries to see a living example of the hardships of life with limited access to potable water. Each year, approximately 2 billion people are affected by water shortages. In addition to driving up the cost of domestic use, water shortages decrease profitability in the industrial sector, and diminish agricultural output, causing food prices to rise. As the levels of our aquifers decline, and the price of water and wastewater services continues to rise, it is imperative that we focus our attention on water conservation. According to the Earth Policy Institute (EPI), “The world is incurring a vast water deficit—one that is largely invisible, historically recent, and growing fast.” The truth is that we can survive without oil, gas, coal, or nuclear power, but we cannot survive without water. Two major concerns of the EPI are the global scale of falling water tables and the exponential characteristic of rising demand for water, population growth, and dwindling aquifer levels. In order to secure water, food, and political safety for the future, we must curb our consumption and strive to use water in increasingly efficient ways. Room for Improvement Existing infrastructure in the United States poses a large hurdle to creating a sustainable future. Our antiquated roads, pipelines, utilities, and buildings present dire complications to meeting our future transportation, water, and power needs. While we continue to promote carpooling, water efficient fixtures, and energy efficient appliances and electronics, there are many aspects of industry and agriculture that go unchecked. Cooling towers are a prime example of out-dated and inefficient water resource management. Cooling towers operate by using large quantities of water to ventilate and air-condition buildings. Water pumped into the system absorbs heat and evaporates out, leaving behind high concentrations of minerals. Chemicals are used to maintain water quality, protect infrastructure, and increase the number of times water can be safely cycled through the system—also known as cycles of concentration. There are over 800,000 cooling towers in the United States alone, and each tower typically contributes between 40-60% of a building’s water usage.
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Mark Lewis, Chief Operating Officer of ArkEnergy Group, explains, “Cooling towers are used by nearly every industry including schools, hospitals, office buildings, airports, industrial plants, and the list goes on. There are billions upon billions of gallons of water passing through cooling towers across the country. The potential for conservation and savings is enormous.” L e a k s , o v e r f l ow s , a n d i n e f f i c i e n t c y c l e s of concentration waste copious quantities of water in the United States every day. Currently, cooling tower operators do not have the information or means to effectively control their water usage. However, advancements in monitoring technologies have the potential to drastically improve water conservation efforts. Innovative Solutions ArkEnergy Group, a water monitoring solutions provider, has developed a cutting-edge monitoring service that is revolutionizing the cooling tower industry. ArkEnergy Group’s Cooling Tower Monitoring Service allows operators the opportunity to efficiently control their cooling towers—saving water and money. Riding on the same technology, their Evaporation Credit Service secures sewer credits for water that has evaporated, not draining into the sewer system. These services effectively change the way cooling tower operators use water, enabling them to save natural and economic resources. This green technology addresses conservation through targeting water-intensive structures, accurately calculating cycles of concentration, and quickly detecting leaks and overflows. Cooling tower operators are provided with instant access to critical information, enabling them to maximize the use of their water. In regard to the importance of this technology, Chris Bridges, President of ArkEnergy Group, states, “Real-time wireless remote monitoring for cooling towers will revolutionize the industry. We provide our customers access to critical information 24/7 via the internet. Decisions can be made to immediately address overflows and leaks, which can be very wasteful and costly if not corrected quickly. Given the current state of our sluggish economy and diminishing aquifer levels, saving water and money should be on the minds of every individual and business.” When an overflow occurs, water entering the cooling tower is immediately discharged into the sewer system. Overflows can go undetected for weeks, literally wasting
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hundreds of thousands of gallons of water, drastically increasing utility bills. The Cooling Tower Monitoring Service detects overflows and leaks in a matter of hours. When cooling towers are not running at optimal cycle levels, huge quantities of chemically treated water may be prematurely discharged. Lewis estimates that, “A cooling tower operator with an 800 ton tower paying utility rates of $2.50/1000gal of water and $4.00/1000gal of wastewater could save approximately $4,000 and 800,000 gallons of water per year by simply transitioning from 3 to 4 cycles of concentration. Considerably more water and money can be saved through the early detection of just one overflow. The potential for savings is staggering, as studies show that 40% of cooling towers experience upsets on a monthly basis.” ArkEnergy Group’s Cooling Tower Monitoring Service provides critical water usage data through a userfriendly dashboard featuring; a customizable range of alerts, historical usage patterns, and easily exportable data for use in spread-sheet applications. The service will be expanding to include water quality measures such as pH, ORP, and conductivity, as well as, wireless monitoring for all of a building’s water meters, conveniently centralized on the user’s dashboard. Enrolling in the monitoring program means paying for access to critical information instead of equipment, making the service both accessible and affordable. Clients do not have to worry about purchasing, leasing, installing, maintaining, or removing expensive equipment; they may simply enroll in the program and begin using the data. Putting matters into perspective, the early detection of one overflow or leak can more than offset the cost of the monitoring program for the entire year. In addition, clients may opt for the Evaporation Credit Service upgrade available in certain cities. Utility companies charge water and wastewater fees based on the amount of water going into a building. It is both inaccurate and costly to pay wastewater services for the 70-80% of water that evaporates out of the cooling tower system, especially since the cost is roughly 1.5 to 3 times more than that of water. ArkEnergy Group utilizes the data from the monitoring system, handles all of the reporting requirements and bill auditing, maintains the equipment, and works with the utility company to recover the overcharged money. The program makes saving money easy, month after month.
made the necessity of the Green Movement increasingly apparent. The goal of princetongreen.org is to become a driving force behind the movement through vetting technologies, educating consumers, promoting innovation, and deploying water and energy solutions across America. “Using advancements in technology to provide critical information that saves natural resources is at the heart of our business model,” states the organization’s founder, Robert Lockwood. In order to best serve the new energy economy, the business is modeled with GALLUP’s idea of a strengthsbased organization in mind. Essentially, princetongreen.org can effect the greatest change through leveraging its strengths in marketing and sales, finding the best green innovations, and collaborating with those companies. Lockwood captures the essence of the strengths-based green partnership with ArkEnergy Group, “When considering the entire service profit chain, it is extremely difficult to be one company that excels in every given area. A strengths-based approach to business enables each entity to focus on and leverage the area in which they are strongest. In this instance, ArkEnergy Group is able to focus on technology development and high-quality client support, while we focus on sales and marketing. Together, we are a strong and unified team.” princetongreen.org’s marketing arm and national network of energy advisors and dealers are committed to deploying this desperately needed service. Peter van Geldern, the organization’s co-founder, adds, “Because we are an outsourced sales force for green technology companies, we represent only the best. Our strengthsbased business model is performance-focused, ensuring a meritocracy whereby the best rise to the top.”
...saving water and money should be on the minds of every individual and business.
Promoting Positive Change Dwindling resources and growing consumption have
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A Brighter Tomorrow Promoting green technologies in the marketplace is imperative as we embrace sustainable practices, improving the quality of life for ourselves and our children. Leveraging strengths both at the individual and business level will serve us well as we strive to effect positive change throughout the world. Green innovations have the potential to help heal the planet, bringing about a new world of abundance, harmony, and balance. Through choosing collaboration, we share information, resources, and best practices— consciously creating a brighter future, today.
Mindy Sykes is the Editorial Director of the pg.journal.
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TO LEARN MORE... Cooling Tower Monitoring Service Program (read on-line): Cooling Tower Monitoring Program Cooling Tower Monitoring Service Program (download pdf): Cooling Tower Monitoring Program pdf Evaporation Credit Service Program (read on-line): Evaporation Credit Service e.brochure Evaporation Credit Service Program (download pdf): Evaporation Credit Service pdf file For more information, please visit our website: www.princetongreen.org
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