Water Solutions with Chem-Aqua Chem-Aqua

Addressing Stagnant Water in Buildings Due to COVID-19 Shutdown

Cycles of concentration, or often stated as just cycles, is a core concept when controlling boiler or cooling tower water systems. Running cycles too high can lead scale and corrosion. Running cycles too low can lead to wasted water.

But what is really meant by the phrase “cycles of concentration?” Basically, it is telling us how many times the water in the boiler or cooling tower has been concentrated compared to the makeup water.

The next logical question may be “What do you mean by the water being concentrated in boilers or cooling towers?”

Both boilers and cooling towers function by evaporating water. In a boiler, fuel is burned to turn water into steam. In a cooling tower, evaporation occurs as air is blown across the water to remove the heat picked up from air conditioning a building or cooling a manufacturing process.

As water is evaporated in both the boiler and cooling tower systems, primarily only pure water leaves the system. Other impurities, such as calcium, sodium, and chlorides, are left behind and concentrate in the remaining liquid water. Imagine boiling a pot of water on the stove until only a fraction of the water is left. This remaining water will start to look cloudy as impurities are concentrated.

Also, as water evaporates, fresh makeup water must be added to the boiler or cooling tower system to maintain water levels so they do not run dry. As you may imagine, the makeup water brings more impurities into the system to be left behind as water evaporates.
You now may be wondering, “Why do I care about cycles of concentration?”

First, if certain impurities concentrate too much in water, they can precipitate out of solution and form insulating scale, which can lead to greater fuel consumption, higher energy costs, plugged piping, corrosion, and more. Second, there is an upper limit on where a boiler or cooling tower can be operated without forming scale. Third, operating too far below this limit only wastes water and increases the total cost of operation.

“How are cycles of concentration controlled?” Cycles are controlled by wasting or blowing down a portion of the concentrated boiler or cooling tower water and replacing it with fresh makeup water diluting the impurities.

Typically, this process is automated with controllers and monitored by periodic analytical testing.

Optimizing your cycles of concentration can help reduce wasted water, minimize scale and corrosion potential, and more.

To maximize your savings, contact Chem-Aqua today.

HVAC systems work tirelessly to heat, cool, and clean the air we breathe. But too often, critical components fail to receive regular maintenance, and the consequences are costly.

Over time, condenser, evaporator, and air handler coils accumulate dirt, grease, and bacteria from the air and environment. Without proper cleaning, this buildup compromises efficiency and effective operation.

When a unit struggles to cool air effectively, it runs overtime, shortening the overall life-span of the equipment while racking up high energy bills. In fact, according to The U.S. Department of Energy, a dirty condenser coil can increase compressor energy consumption by 30%.

More than just a burden to your budget, dirty evaporator or air handler coils can lead to bad air quality. When the coils are dirty and working poorly, the air becomes more damp and humid. Per the United States Environmental Protection Agency, humidity above 60% can lead to mold and mildew growth, a danger to human health and immune systems.

So, how do you clean your HVAC system coils safely and effectively? Because improper coil cleaning can actually damage a unit, it’s best to leave this job to the professionals. Chem-Aqua uses specific water pressure and water volume combined with a non-acid based cleaning solution, ensuring that coils are safely cleaned and enhanced.

Experience the benefit of increased air flow while extending the life of your HVAC system. Schedule regular coil cleanings with Chem-Aqua.

When it comes to air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration, energy consumption for industrial chillers is at an all time high. Typically chillers can account for over 50% of the electricity used in a single facility.

It goes without saying, that an inefficient chiller can be catastrophically wasteful and economically costly to a business, which makes monitoring this machine’s performance essential to saving money, time, and resources.

Ensure a chiller works safely and reliably every time by learning the signs of operation failure on this Water Droplet, a quick news minute from Chem-Aqua's Water Solutions podcast. In just 3 minutes, learn and understand “chiller approach temperature,” and why it’s crucial to keeping costly refrigeration equipment in peak working condition.

Outbreaks of disease are always an intriguing and worrying topic with the public, and the widespread news of some very high profile cases regarding water treatment, both in New York City and Flint, Michigan, have left people concerned about water treatment, Legionnaires disease and the need for stricter laws and better practices concerning water management technology.

On today’s inaugural episode of Water Solutions with Chem-Aqua, Daniel Litwin, the Voice of B2B, talks with Chem-Aqua Engineering Manager, Jerry Angelilli, about industrial and commercial water treatment, and what improvements have been made to the equipment itself.

Angelilli is on the Association of Water Technology’s Technical Committee and is Chair of the Boiler Subcommittee. There, he gets consistent information regarding the latest and greatest innovations in boiler technology. The focus lately has been on how the industry treats piping to protect it from corrosion, mostly using chemicals called amines to treat the steam condensation systems, as well as the boilers themselves.

There have been standard technologies and best practices for many years to protect against corrosion and scale. Namely, not putting hard water in your boiler. Hard water is water that contains a higher level of calcium and magnesium, and water with those chemicals removed is what we’ve known to call soft water. When water in a boiler concentrates as steam is made, solids are left behind, so deposit inhibitors and rust and corrosion inhibitors need to be applied to help maintain the boiler’s integrity.

Boilers are only a small example of how water technology is changing. With the integration of higher quality sensors and proactive monitoring software, treatment facilities are able to detect potential hazards earlier in the process. But as we've seen, even the slightest imbalance in pH, chemicals or water source can drastically affect the flow of clean water.

Angelilli explains how this is motivating facility manager to treat water at the end of its journey: right before it comes out of the tap. This is becoming easier as chemical treatment standards have become more efficient and accessible. Though it may seem backwards to put the responsibility to sanitize water on the end-user, the lengthy trip that water takes from its initial source to filling a glass naturally creates more chances for that water to pick up sediment, pathogens and chemicals.

(This podcast was originally conducted for MarketScale's Building Management Podcast.)
This episode of MarketScale's Building Management Podcast explores an interesting cause and effect within the industry. In the last several years, the push for more green water conservation initiatives has created an unexpected issue in home and building water supplies. With conservative toilet flushes, low-flow shower heads, and automatic sinks, water is left sitting in piping for longer periods of time, creating perfect environments for waterborne pathogens to thrive. This issue has appeared almost parallel to another evolution in the Industrial Water Treatment Industry, one that’s putting a focus on public health instead of just asset management. In this episode of the Building Management podcast, we continue our discussion on pathogens that exist within our water supplies, and how they’re causing a ripple effect that changing the Commercial, Hospitatlity, Real Estate, and Tourism industries. Chem-Aqua’s Manager of Water Risk Management Services Group, Dominck Tuzzo explains how competing interests complicate solving the pathogen problem and the risk that now presents itself to building owners and facility managers. “Man-made premise plumbing systems are the perfect breeding ground for these Opportunistic Premise Plumbing Pathogens, or OPPPs, to breed, colonize, and rapidly amplify in our building systems,” said Tuzzo. He also makes the argument that efficiency is not always the safest option for the consumer. Tuzzo elaborates on the Legionnaire’s outbreak in the 2010s, the rise in energy saving technology, and the shift in responsibility in the industry.