Cooling tower cleaning: why every 6 months saves more than it costs

Most plant managers know cooling towers need cleaning. Few know just how fast a tower loses efficiency when it does not get one.

A 100 TR tower running 12 hours a day in Pune's climate accumulates around 2–4 mm of scale and biofilm on the fills inside 6 months. That layer acts like an insulator on the heat-transfer surface — the water sheets that should release heat into the air just slide off the deposits, untouched. We have seen towers that should be giving an 8°C drop deliver only 5°C, simply because the fills were dirty.

What that looks like on your electricity bill: the chiller compressor has to run longer to compensate. We typically see a 10–20% increase in chiller load on a neglected tower. On a 100 TR system in Pune at ₹9/unit, that's roughly ₹40,000 to ₹70,000 of extra electricity per month — far more than the cost of cleaning the tower twice a year.

What a proper cleaning includes: • High-pressure jet washing of every fill pack — both sides • Basin desludging — algae, mud and rust scraped and removed • Louver cleaning — the screens that air enters through • Drift eliminator inspection — these often crack and let water escape • Distribution tray inspection — clogged nozzles spray unevenly • Fan inspection — bearings, belts, blades

What it does NOT include in our standard scope (but we will quote separately if needed): • Fill pack replacement when fills are physically damaged or warped • Chemical descaling for very heavy scale (separate booking) • Fan motor replacement

Best frequency for Pune conditions: • Process cooling (factories, foundries, plastics): every 3 months • HVAC cooling (hotels, hospitals, malls): every 6 months • Office/light commercial: every 6 months, with a basin check at 3 months

A small detail worth mentioning: Legionella bacteria thrive in dirty cooling towers, and Indian hospitals and large hotels now treat this as a real audit risk. Regular cleaning is the single most effective control.

If your tower has not been cleaned in over 6 months, ask for a site visit. We can usually tell from the basin alone whether you are losing money on every shift.