About The Facility
The facility is a historic, century-old, 14-story hotel that was repurposed into a mixed-use building, featuring commercial businesses on the ground floor and senior living residences on the upper floors. Due to the building’s age, legacy infrastructure, and continuous year-round occupancy, the cooling system plays a critical role in maintaining comfort, safety, and operational continuity for tenants and residents.
The Problem
The facility’s approximately 150-ton ground-floor cooling tower experienced a catastrophic failure, resulting from a combination of structural collapse, severe bundle clogging, advanced age, and long-term inadequate water treatment.
Prolonged exposure to high calcium hardness, loss of passivation, and insufficient corrosion control led to widespread erosion throughout the system. Non-copper piping suffered extensive clogging and material degradation due to both chemical scaling and biological fouling. Over time, these conditions restricted flow, reduced heat transfer efficiency, and accelerated mechanical wear.
The situation was further compounded by the loss of glycol freeze protection within the cooling tower tube bundles, which increased vulnerability to seasonal temperature swings and caused additional internal damage. Collectively, these issues resulted in a complete system failure, posing a significant risk to occupant comfort, business operations, and long-term asset integrity.
IWC's Approach
IWC Innovations designed and implemented a comprehensive, facility-approved system upgrade focused on restoring reliability, improving efficiency, and preventing future failures.
Key improvements included:
- Mechanical & Energy Efficiency Upgrades
Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) were installed on system pumps to optimize flow rates, reduce energy consumption, and minimize mechanical stress. A backup generation system was added to ensure continuous operation during power interruptions. - Piping & Distribution Improvements
Aging Schedule 40 PVC piping was replaced with Schedule 80 PVC, significantly improving durability while eliminating iron contamination sources. New valves and dedicated distribution lines were installed on each floor, allowing localized system isolation and maintenance without disrupting the entire building. - Cooling Tower Replacement
The failed tower was replaced with a new 316 stainless steel cooling tower featuring a forced-draft, counterflow design. Tonnage was slightly increased to compensate for glycol-related efficiency losses, while the improved materials and design reduced chemical demand and extended overall service life. - Phased Implementation Strategy
Piping and system upgrades were completed in controlled phases to manage costs, limit tenant disruption, and maintain partial system operation whenever possible. - Water Treatment & Monitoring Enhancements
Automated chemical feed controllers, real-time monitoring instrumentation, and bypass valves were installed to maintain proper water chemistry, protect equipment surfaces, and provide early detection of developing issues.
The Results
Improved system reliability and lifespan: Upgraded piping, a stainless steel cooling tower, and automated chemical controls eliminated corrosion and contamination issues, significantly extending equipment life.
Reduced operating costs and downtime: Variable Frequency Drives, phased piping replacements, and floor-level isolation valves improved energy efficiency and allowed maintenance with minimal system interruption.
Enhanced system monitoring and protection: Automated controllers, gauges, and bypass valves provided proactive monitoring and early issue detection, preventing future failures and unplanned outages.
Conclusion
Through a comprehensive system redesign and targeted upgrades, IWC Innovations successfully restored reliable operation, improved efficiency, and protected the facility from future failures. The project delivered long-term cost savings, reduced downtime, and extended equipment life, providing the customer with a resilient, easily maintainable cooling system built for sustained performance.
