For most of the time, cooling towers (CTs) of cooling systems operate under partial load conditions and by regulating the air circulation with a variable frequency drive (VFD), significant reduction in the fan power can be achieved. In Kuwait and other counties of Arabian Peninsula, reduced airflow can lead to reduction in water consumption as well, since during the summer season, the dry bulb temperature of the ambient air is higher than the incoming hot water temperature, and the air undergoes sensible cooling. This paper presents the findings of a study conducted in the Avenues mall, Kuwait. Initially, the CTs operated only at high speed, and on a typical summer day nearly one fourth of the make-up water was used for self cooling of air. The study based on measured data revealed that the use of VFD can reduce the water wastage for self-cooling of air by as much as 75% and overall water consumption by 18.6% while keeping the cooling system performance at design level.
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