24-Bld-A4 Building Environmental Control Systems · May 2017
Question 12 of 14: Function of a Cooling Tower
Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)
Notes on this paper
National Exams May 2017 — 07-Bld-A4, Building Environmental Control Systems (Building Engineering). 3-hour closed-book exam: Section 1 (four 20-mark essay/calculation questions) + Section 2 (ten 2-mark multiple-choice questions).
Reference texts: ASHRAE Handbook — Fundamentals (2021 ed.); ASHRAE Standard 62.1, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality (2022 ed.); McQuiston, Parker & Spitler, Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning: Analysis and Design (6th ed.); National Building Code of Canada 2020 (NBCC); National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings 2020 (NECB).
Question 2.8: Function of a Cooling Tower (2 marks)
Given/Find. Identify the cooling tower's role within a water-cooled chiller plant.
Trace the heat path. In a water-cooled chiller, high-pressure refrigerant vapour rejects its heat in the CONDENSER to a circulating condenser-water loop; that now-warm condenser water is pumped to the cooling tower.
Identify the tower's job. The cooling tower evaporatively rejects that heat from the condenser water to the atmosphere, cooling the water for return to the condenser — it does not itself touch the refrigerant or the evaporator side.
