Dry Air Coolers: Three Applications to Know
Dry air coolers are a practical option for rejecting heat from a water or glycol circuit using ambient air. They can support temporary cooling requirements, planned projects and emergency situations across a range of commercial and industrial sites.
Below are three common applications where dry air coolers can provide an effective temporary solution.
1. Heat Load Testing
New boiler rooms and district energy centres often need to be commissioned before a permanent heat load is available.
A dry air cooler can provide a controlled method of rejecting heat during testing, helping project teams validate system performance and complete commissioning activities. This can be particularly useful when the building or wider network is not yet fully operational.
Because every project is different, we begin with a managed survey to review the required duty, temperatures, flow rates, connections and site access. We can then plan the delivery, installation and setup of a suitable temporary system.
2. Free Cooling
During colder periods, dry air coolers can use lower ambient air temperatures to cool the fluid circulating through a process system.
This approach is commonly known as free cooling. It can be suitable for process cooling applications where the required water temperature is higher than the outside air temperature.
Applications may include plastics and rubber manufacturing, production facilities and other processes that require stable temperature control. The performance available will depend on factors such as ambient conditions, fluid temperatures, flow rate and the required cooling duty.
3. Condenser Water Applications
Dry air coolers can also support condenser water circuits.
They may be connected to an existing water-cooled chiller or included as part of a temporary chiller hire package. This can help when an existing heat rejection system is unavailable, undergoing maintenance or awaiting replacement.
A temporary dry air cooler can also support planned equipment changes and commissioning works, helping maintain progress while permanent equipment is being repaired, replaced or delivered.
How Do Dry Air Coolers Work?
Dry air coolers use fans to draw ambient air across a finned heat exchanger coil. Warm fluid passes through the coil, and heat is transferred from the fluid to the surrounding air.
Unlike an evaporative cooling tower, a dry air cooler does not rely on direct contact between the process fluid and a separate water circuit. This can make it a useful option for sites looking for a closed-loop heat rejection solution.
The cooling capacity of a dry air cooler is affected by several factors, including:
- Ambient air temperature
- Entering and leaving fluid temperatures
- Fluid type and concentration
- Flow rate
- Required cooling duty
- Site layout and airflow
These details should be assessed before equipment is selected.
Dry Air Cooler Hire from Celsius Hire
Our dry air cooler hire fleet includes units with duties ranging from approximately 250 kW to 500 kW. Higher duties may be available by combining equipment, depending on the operating conditions and site requirements.
We provide dry air coolers for:
- Emergency breakdowns
- Planned maintenance
- Commissioning and heat load testing
- Temporary process cooling
- Long-term rental
- Condenser water applications
Our equipment is designed for temporary hire applications, with flexible connection options and coil manifolds that can support an efficient installation once the unit has been positioned on site.
We support each project with a managed survey, delivery, installation and setup. This allows us to consider the full temporary system rather than supplying a standalone unit without reviewing how it will operate on site.
Browse Our Dry Air Coolers
Explore our available dry air coolers and find out more about the duties and configurations we can provide for planned projects, emergency breakdowns and temporary cooling requirements.
” For this application, we supported a customer with a 500KW Dry Air Cooler requirement. Despite usually working on industrial and commercial sites, we found ourselves working for a valued M&E contractor on a large scale residential property. This stately home had an commercial sized heating and cooling system just for their property. Our client had a project to replace the water-cooled Heat Pump Chillers to provide the home with cooling, heating and hot water supply. Their scope involved replacing both the Chillers and existing Dry Air Cooler. However, the new heat-pumps had been installed and the replacement Dry Air Cooler was on a long lead time. There was pressure on getting the system commissioned and up and running so they called Celsius Hire to provide a quick turn around hire solution. We worked with our specialist HIAB contractor (PPC Transport) to lift and dispose of the old unit, replacing with our brand-new hire model. The temporary system was installed and commissioned successfully as planned, leaving a very happy contractor and end client. “
