| Strategy | Typical Water Saving | |----------|----------------------| | Increase cycles of concentration (via better water treatment) | 10–30% reduction in make-up | | Use side-stream filtration (reduces solids, allows higher CoC) | 5–15% | | Install automated conductivity-based blowdown controller | 15–25% | | Recover blowdown for other uses (e.g., irrigation, toilet flushing) | 20–40% of blowdown volume | | Use high-efficiency drift eliminators | 90% reduction in drift loss | | Convert to air-cooled or hybrid (dry-wet) cooling | 50–80% reduction (but higher energy/cost) | | Optimize tower fan and pump control (reduce unnecessary evaporation) | 5–10% |
Water is often perceived as "cheap," but the cost of water is rising faster than inflation in many regions. Furthermore, the cost isn't just in the water bill—it's in the . cooling tower water consumption
Several opportunities exist for reducing cooling tower water consumption, including: make-up water
Ratio of dissolved solids in circulating water vs. make-up water. Example: CoC = 5 means blowdown volume = evaporation / (CoC – 1). Higher CoC = less blowdown (saves water) but risk of scaling/corrosion. cooling tower water consumption