Heat is a home’s worst enemy. Appliances produce it. Daily activities generate it. If unchecked, however, cooling has to remove it. Without that removal, temperatures rise, leading to discomfort, higher energy bills, and costly repairs.
Let’s look at some common industrial cooling challenges and how to troubleshoot them.
Equipment Doesn’t Cool Down Enough
Most industrial cooling systems are sized to meet a set cooling load. As time goes on, however, that cooling load changes. More appliances get added. Family usage increases. Existing cooling systems are overstressed trying to keep up.
When cooling demand exceeds supply, equipment temperature rises above the intended threshold. This stresses compressors, fans, and electrical parts. It also causes faster wear and tear on equipment. An AC unit meant to last 10 years could wear out in as few as seven if it routinely overheats.
Addressing this issue starts with knowing your cooling load. Auditing your home to determine how much cooling is really needed is the first step to adequate cooling. Many homes don’t do this and instead wonder why they have problems.
Fouling and Scaling Occur Inside Cooling Equipment
Almost every industrial facility uses some type of water-cooled processing equipment. Cooling towers, chillers, air-conditioning units, heat exchangers—all rely on water to absorb heat.
The trouble with water is that it contains minerals, sediment, and biological material. As water runs through the system, it deposits these materials on the inside of pipes and cooling components. This process is known as fouling and creates an insulating barrier that prevents heat exchange.
Scale refers specifically to fouling caused by mineral deposits. Calcium and magnesium are the main culprits here. Scale creates hard crusts on the inside of pipes that can be tough to remove. Left alone, scaling can decrease efficiency by up to 25 percent. One study found scales just 1 millimeter thick decreased thermal efficiency by 10 to 25 percent.
Routine water treatment and annual cleaning can mitigate fouling and scaling. Without it, fouling slowly robs your system of efficiency one season at a time.
Coolant Leakage and Fluid Loss
Leaks are every facility manager’s nightmare. Over time, hoses, couplers, seals, and gaskets wear down. Suddenly you’ve got fluid draining from your system and everyone scrambles to find where the leak is coming from.
Leaks cause more problems than just fluid loss. The loss of coolant means your system doesn’t have as much thermal transfer capacity. The fluid that remains has to work overtime to achieve the same results, accelerating wear on other equipment like pumps.
In some cases, coolant leaks may cause safety hazards. Slips and falls happen when liquid pools on the floor. Depending on what type of coolant your facility uses, leaks can also cause environmental harm or expose workers to toxic chemicals.
Coolant leaks should always be on your regular maintenance checklist. Pressure tests, visual inspections, and flow monitoring can alert you to leaking coolant.
Insufficient airflow causes problems in industrial cooling as well. Too little airflow through vents and cooling equipment causes hot spots to develop. Hot spots may not affect the rest of your facility, but they will damage equipment in their immediate area.
Airflow can be improved by rearranging furniture or adding additional vents. Chronic airflow problems may require you to redesign the airflow throughout your home.
Indoor cooling systems suffer from blocked vents the same way outdoor units do. If furniture is moved, or new walls are added that change the path of air vents, this could cause problems with airflow.
Seasonal Changes Create Stress
Most cooling systems are sized to handle “average” conditions. But facilities rarely operate in average conditions all year. Summer brings higher-than-average temperatures. That requires cooling systems to work harder to keep indoor temperatures at a safe threshold.
Regions with hotter summers experience this issue every season. Cooling towers, for instance, reject heat by sending warm water through the tower and into the air. As water heats the air, it evaporates and takes the heat with it. However, if humidity levels are high (common in summer), less water will evaporate. This limits the cooling tower’s ability to cool the water traveling through it when demand is highest.
Winter presents an opposite but equally challenging problem. Facilities often reduce cooling during winter months to cut energy costs. But many chillers and cooling systems can’t adjust down enough without causing issues. Condensation and thermal shock may damage equipment if cooled surfaces become too cold.
To combat seasonal swings, build versatility into your cooling process. Setpoints can be adjusted based on season. Supplemental cooling systems may be helpful in some facilities. Running maintenance checks before summer and winter arrives can also help minimize damage during seasonal shifts.
Old Cooling Systems Aren’t Built for Today’s Demand
This challenge is self-explanatory. Many facilities today were built decades ago. Back then, they weren’t asked to run at the same capacity or match today’s energy efficiency standards. Even with regular maintenance, older equipment becomes less efficient as it gets older.
Old cooling systems cannot be upgraded to take advantage of newer monitoring technology either. This lack of data means problems go unnoticed until an entire system fails. Then, the cost of repairs is much higher than they would have been had the problem been detected early.
There’s no denying that buying new cooling equipment is expensive. However, the cost savings associated with newer, more efficient equipment can make replacement the obvious choice. New equipment runs more efficiently, doesn’t require as much maintenance, and can be equipped with sensors to prevent unexpected breakdowns.
Return on investment for new cooling equipment can be realized in just a few years through reduced energy bills and avoidance of unplanned downtime.
UK Case Study: Food Processing Facility Cooling Failures
A commercial food production facility based in Nottingham began suffering cooling failures across their production floor every summer.
Overview
The business was using an aging chiller-based solution that had not been replaced for over 12 years.
The Issues
For several summers they struggled with:
- Temperature creeping up during afternoon shift
- Equipment overheating alarms tripping on packaging machines
- Cold air hot spots around the production floor
- Production line shutdowns due to temperature sensitivity
Maintenance checked and found the system was running at 150%+ of its initial design capacity. Expansion of the production floor had slowly crept beyond the cooling system’s capabilities.
Findings
The team identified a number of problems including:
- Insufficient cooling output for the size of the facility
- Extreme scaling within cooling lines
- Blocked airflow around new production machines
- Older units not putting out enough cooling capacity
Solution
Management decided to:
- Add supplementary cooling units to spread peak load
- Begin a water treatment programme to reduce scaling
- Re-design airflow around machines where possible
- Install monitoring controls to measure temperature & pressure
Results
After just 3 months:
- Production floor temps were down 3-5°C during peak times
- Equipment didn’t overheat as often
- They expect cooling efficiency to increase by 15-20%
- Production lines experienced less downtime
Takeaways
Their system wasn’t broken — just overstressed and undersized
They had fouling and scaling they weren’t aware of
Fixing airflow made a huge difference and didn’t require replacing machines
Monitoring allowed them to react before failures occurred
Final takeaway? Learn from this. Industrial facilities are just like houses. London offices, grocery warehouses in Manchester all run into cooling problems because of stress on the system, bad airflow, and year-over-year inefficiency. Not because chillers suddenly stop working on their own.
FAQ’s
What are common problems with industrial cooling?
Insufficient cooling capacity, fouling & scaling, coolant leaks, poor airflow, temperature stress, and aging equipment are some of the most common issues we see with industrial cooling systems.
Why does my industrial cooling feel like it’s not working?
More often than not there will be multiple causes for your cooling system to run poorly. Things like system overload, blocked airflow, low coolant, or older systems that aren’t sized correctly for your building are all possible causes.
What is fouling and scaling?
Fouling occurs when sediment, minerals, and even bacteria accumulate inside pipes and heat exchangers. The resulting layer acts as insulation and decreases efficiency while driving up energy usage.
How much does scaling decrease efficiency?
Scaling is caused by minerals like calcium and magnesium building up inside cooling lines. Something as small as a 1mm layer can decrease efficiency by 10-25%.
How often should I service my industrial cooling system?
It’s recommended that most systems are serviced at minimum twice per year. Once before summer and once before winter. If your system is on high-demand, consider servicing filters and coolant levels more frequently.
Can bad airflow damage my equipment?
Yes. When airflow is restricted, hot spots can occur. These hot spots can cause surrounding equipment to overheat and cut its operating life down dramatically.
Why does my industrial cooling system struggle during summer?
Summer months not only stress a system with higher temperatures, but also higher humidity. Humidity also decreases the effectiveness of evaporative cooling.
Should I upgrade my old cooling system?
Absolutely! Older cooling systems are inefficient, expensive to maintain and repair, and often can’t keep up with your facilities’ cooling needs. By upgrading you can save on energy costs, avoid breakdowns, and eliminate unexpected downtimes.
How do I make my facility cooler?
Start by eliminating hot and cold spots caused by blocked airflow. From there you can treat your water to prevent/minimize scaling, upgrade old equipment, and install controls to monitor temperatures and pressures.
Final Words
Every facility will face cooling challenges at some point. Cooling systems require maintenance and a proactive approach to troubleshooting. Fouling, leaks, blocked airflow, seasonal stresses, and old equipment can all be managed with the right attitude.
It almost always costs less to address a small problem before it gets big. Preventative maintenance and cooling strategies aren’t just good for your cooling systems. They keep your equipment, your production schedule, and your bottom line humming along nicely too.
