performance advantage of cooling towers and evaporative condenser is that the condensing temperature can reach ambient temperature wet-bulb temperature. Because the wet-bulb temperature is always equal to or less than dry bulb thermometer temperature in the cooling system can work with below the temperature of condensation and thus energy savings compared to air-cooled condenser. The absence of cooling tower that maintenance costs tend to be higher than for an air-cooled condenser and attention must be given to preventing the water from freezing in the cooling tower if surgery is necessary in cold weather. ....
One situation that recommends the use of the cooling tower is where piping the high-pressure refrigerant vapor from the compressor to the heat rejector is impractical either because of the distance or the large-size-pipe, as is the case with the low-density refrigerants used in centrifugal-compressor systems. All these considerations usually influence the use of water-cooled condensers with cooling towers on large systems and of air-cooled condensers on moderate-sized and small systems.
The evaporative condenser finds widest acceptance in industrial refrigeration systems. It has the advantage of providing low condensing temperatures in hot weather, particularly in nonhumid regions. Industrial refrigeration systems usually operate year-round; in cold weather the water is often drained and the evaporative condenser operates dry, avoiding problems of water freezing.
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