Although standard air conditioners are very popular, they can use a lot of energy and generate quite a bit of heat. For large installations like office buildings, air handling and conditioning is sometimes managed a little differently. Some systems use water as part of the cooling process. The two most well-known are chilled water systems and cooling tower air conditioners. Gas vs. Electric Stoves: Which is really more efficient? Magnetic Air Conditioners: A High Tech Way Of Keeping Cool What natural gas home appliances are available? Should all of my appliances come from the same manufacturer? Is stainless steel on its way out? Chilled water systems -Cooling tower technology - Because of rising electrical costs and environmental concerns, some other air cooling methods are being explored, too. One is off-peak or ice-cooling technology. An off-peak cooling system uses ice frozen during the evening hours to chill interior air during the hottest part of the day.

Although the system does use energy, the largest energy drain is when community demand for power is at its lowest. ac unit spring maintenanceEnergy is less expensive during off-peak hours, and the lowered consumption during peak times eases the demand on the power grid.energy star ac unit sizing Another option is geo-thermal heating. ac unit hoseIt varies, but at around 6 feet (1.8 meters) underground, the earth's temperature ranges from 45 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit (7.2 to 23.8 degrees Celsius). The basic idea behind geo-thermal cooling is to use this constant temperature as a heat or cold source instead of using electricity to generate heat or cold. The most common type of geo-thermal unit for the home is a closed-loop system. Polyethylene pipes filled with a liquid mixture are buried underground.

During the winter, the fluid collects heat from the earth and carries it through the system and into the building. During the summer, the system reverses itself to cool the building by pulling heat through the pipes to deposit it underground [source: Geo Heating]. For real energy efficiency, solar powered air conditioners are also making their debut. There may still be some kinks to work out, but around 5 percent of all electricity consumed in the U.S. is used to power air conditioning of one type or another, so there's a big market for energy-friendly air conditioning options [source: ACEEE].Water Cooled Refrigeration Units If using water as a condensing medium is an option for your application then you are looking in the right place. We currently offer eleven models in our WC line from 10 horsepower to 40 horsepower. Like all Mueller units R-507 is the operating refrigerant. Using water to indirectly cool your milk offers up many benefits. With no outside remote condenser to pipe the compressor to you save save huge on copper line sets.

On the Mueller WC units the water cooled condenser is neatly mounted under the compressor package making the physical footprint very compact.  Large Horsepower Complete Refrigeration Unit, Water-Cooled¹    HP ModelPart No.Chiller Capacity²            (Btu/h)Voltage    10WC10018826927        103,300  230/3    10WC10028826988      103,300    460/3                                   Large Horsepower Complete Refrigeration Unit, Water-Cooled¹    HP   ModelPart No.Chiller Capacity²            (Btu/h)Voltage    15WCU15018826989      141,500  230/3    25WCU25018826993      193,400  230/3    30WCU30018826995      231,800  230/3    35WCU35018826997      291,000  230/3    15WCU15028826990      141,500  460/3    25WCU25028826994      193,400  460/3    30WCU30028826996      231,800  460/3    35WCU35028826853      291,000  460/3    40WCU40028826999      341,100  460/3Notes:¹ R-507 refrigerant² Chiller capacities at 20˚F evaporator and 100˚

condensing temperature.• Unloader models are 45% for 15 hp; 20, 25, and 30 hp are 50%;  and 35 and 40 hp are 33%                                                         Accumulator/Heat Exchanger       HP                       Model                                 Part No.    7.5 - 10                      HX3704                                 8803438    15 - 20                      HX3639                                 8803439    25 - 40                      HX3641                                 8820090 Air conditioning costs are typically the largest part of business' energy bill. Upgrading your old cooling system to a newer, more efficient one can help offset these costs. FPL's Direct-Expansion (DX) Air Conditioning program rewards your commitment to trimming cooling costs through rebates on installation costs. It doesn't matter if you're replacing an old system, installing a DX system in a new facility or looking to upgrade to a high-efficiency model.

FPL helps you save money that can be applied to other areas of your business, allowing you to stay competitive and financially comfortable. Air, water and evaporative-cooled air conditioners and heat pumps Single vertical package air conditioners and heat pumps Variable refrigerant flow air conditioners and heat pumps, both air cooled and water cooled Computer Room cooling systems- air, water, and glycol cooled Package terminal air conditioners or heat pump systems Units that exceed the Florida Building Code Follow these simple steps to start saving with a new high-efficiency DX system: Visit the U.S. Department of Energy's website for a calculator that computes the lifetime energy cost savings for rooftop units. Contact an FPL program specialist to find out how you can qualify for an rebate.Packaged Boilers with Water-cooled Furnace A layer of insulating refractory material is a common feature of packaged boilers. Usually, this refractory lines the walls and floor of the unit, preventing damage to those parts of the boiler casing (outer wall).

But refractory is a problem area for most boilers. It must be heated up slowly to minimize thermal shock and cracking, a process that wastes fuel. In addition, it makes the unit somewhat harder to operate efficiently (for reasons that will be discussed below), and makes it harder to control NOx emissions. It is partly for these reasons that many field-erected large industrial boilers (greater than 250,000-lb/h steam capacity), or utility boilers, use water-cooled wall designs. In recent years, manufacturers of packaged boilers have modified their designs to minimize or even eliminate refractory. Rows of tubes are placed on the vertical walls of the boiler box (see drawing), and the box is welded shut. Refractory on the furnace floor is unnecessary, except for an annulus surrounding burners, and in the upper section between the evaporator tubes and roof tubes, which is an open space and has to be protected. This is one type of tubing arrangement on the front wall of a water-cooled boiler

There are several advantages of this design: Refractory is synonymous with maintenance concerns. Often the refractory has to be repaired or replaced, resulting in maintenance costs and delays. Some operators find that they must tend the refractory on an annual basis. Startup times are longer with refractory, which has to be heated up slowly to minimize cracks or thermal shock. Longer startup periods also involve fuel more consumption and cost. The startup time could be reduced by a few hours. This depends on the refractory supplier's recommendations for heat up rates. More important, the concern with refractory failures is minimal with this design. Cogeneration plants need boilers that should be started up in a few minutes. Completely water-cooled furnace design poses no additional constraints to startup rates. Effective surface area for heat transfer is reduced when refractory is used, resulting in higher furnace exit gas temperature, which causes problems for radiant superheaters.

Heat flux is lower in the furnace with more-effective radiant surface. Average Heat Flux is the energy absorbed by steam divided by the effective surface area of furnace. Heat flux is related to departure from nucleate boiling in furnaces, a condition when steam bubbles can disengage from the tubes faster than they are produced, with the result that overheating and failures can occur. Water-cooled designs give a 10-15 percent latitude in temperature or heat load when nucleate boiling is an issue. Leakage and consequent corrosion of casing can occur at the joint between water-cooled tubes and refractory-lined casings as it is difficult to ensure a leakproof enclosure due to the differential expansion between the casing and furnace walls. The casing is the outer casing of furnaces. The water-cooled tubes expand at a different rate compared to the casing, which operates at a much lower temperature. This differential expansion causes cracks and leaks at casings. The problem is exacerbated when you burn oil.

Corrosive gases leak outside and cause casing corrosion. With a water-cooled furnace, the entire furnace acts as a leakproof enclosure for combustion products and the furnace expands and contracts as a single unit with no leakage concerns. NOx formation is a function of combustion temperature. With refractory on the front wall and floor, reradiation from the refractory increases the local combustion temperature, and hence NOx is higher with refractory-lined furnaces. A water-cooled furnace offers a cooler environment for the flame, reducing its NOx formation. The reduction could be in the form of lesser FGR rates or lower NOx levels for the same Refractory in the floor of the boiler was a practice followed from the early days of boiler development when knowledge of boiler circulation was limited. Today, with several hundred boilers in operation without floor refractory, this is considered to be an unnecessary item. It reduces effective surface area and has added maintenance concerns.