Spa Centre
A thermal water chiller gets an upgrade for even greater energy efficiency
Project description
A spa centre in the Auvergne region of France, which welcomes more than 430,000 people a year, is suffering from excessively high water temperatures, risking health problems, as well as overconsumption of water resources resulting in waste and extra costs.
During heatwaves, with temperatures exceeding 35°C, the production capacity of the Carrier chiller installed around ten years ago proved ineffective due to temperature and space constraints (space available around the chiller to encourage the recycling of hot air). With the centre's water no longer able to be regulated at a temperature that complied with health standards (not exceeding 12°C, with a tolerance of 14°C) and was suitable for the treatments offered, excessive watering was required, which proved to be very costly and damaged the condensers of the cooling unit due to heavy scale deposits.
As a result, as well as wasting resources and energy, this temperature control malfunction risked causing health problems, due to the development of bacteria in water that was too hot. Faced with these challenges, the spa decided to upgrade its water cooling installations by calling on Carrier Service BluEdge®.
Technologies
After a full audit, Carrier Service BluEdge® installed an adiabatic system.
This adiabatic pre-cooling solution is suitable for all types of air-cooled chillers, air-cooled condensers, heat exchangers, rooftop units and refrigeration units.
As part of our customer's spa centre, the adiabatic system is mounted outside, in front of the condensers to be cooled.
Advantages
The adiabatic system has a number of advantages:
- Reduces refrigeration unit energy consumption by up to 37%
- Up to 41% increase in the refrigeration unit's capacity
- It provides 100% protection for air-cooled condensers
- No risk of scale forming on the condenser
- No risk of legionella in the water mist
- 100% condenser protection
- Keeps heat exchangers clean, ensuring low outlet temperatures and reduced pressure throughout the system
The challenges
Maintaining the perfect temperature of the spa water and preserving water resources.
Carrier proposed a BluEdge® upgrade solution to improve energy efficiency and overcome the effects of the heatwave without having to automatically water the outdoor condensers, risking their deterioration .
By installing an adiabatic system on the existing installation, Carrier has not only enabled the thermal water process to be cooled, but also helped save water and energy.
Challenges and solutions
The solution adopted was to enable the establishment to operate normally during heatwaves (cooling of the thermal water process) while making significant water and energy savings: lowering the inlet air temperature to the condensers to between 11° and 15°C depending on the ambient temperature and humidity.
