Maintaining centralized air-conditioning for the summer

MANILA, Philippines - No matter how volatile the economic forecast of our country these days, construction boom of luxury condominiums, 5-star resort hotels and commercial malls, undoubtedly, is still on the rise. Among the indispensable provisions or services that attract potential customers is an excellent centralized air-conditioning. Believe it or not, that’s the bible truth to ordinary mortals seeking that lavish feel and comfort hanging out in these kinds of establishments.

What then makes an air-conditioning system work efficiently over a period of time?  We are witnesses to a number of malls, hotels and upscale condominiums that were once a symbol of opulence but have now become mere shadows of their past glory. Culprit: poor maintenance particularly inefficient air-conditioning system. 

A global company offers us insights to this question. ChemAqua Philippines, a wholly owned subsidiary of US based NCH Corporation located in Dallas, Texas provides service to industrial companies involved in maintenance services specializing in water treatment.

According to Lorenzo Lee, division manager of ChemAqua, little is known how this cooling system works. “Shoppers in malls, prospective hotel customers and prospective condominium unit buyers ought to know, at least in simple terms without the technical jargon, how this centralized air-conditioning works and how it will affect one’s comfort and most importantly one’s health,” Lorenzo said.

The very heart of centralized air-conditioning systems is the cooling tower. Cooling towers are heat exchangers that use water and air to transfer heat from air-conditioning systems to the outdoor environment. “Cooling towers are usually located on rooftops or other outdoor sites. Because they are frequently out of sight, they are often neglected by operation-and-maintenance technicians, resulting in lower cooling-system efficiency”, Lee said.

Cooling-tower water must be regularly treated, generally with chemicals, to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, minimize corrosion, and inhibit the build-up of scale (mineral deposits) on the heat exchangers.

“The harmful bacteria that we are trying to prevent here is a little known disease that may prove dangerous to unsuspecting elders or infants. It is called Legionella infection,” Lee added.

Legionella infection, more known as Legionnaires disease (LD), was recognized in 1976 by the World Health Organization (WHO) after an outbreak of pneumonia at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia.

Lee urged commercial establishments, hotels and luxury high rise condominiums the importance of maintaining and regularly checking their cooling towers and centralized air conditioning system in order to retain and increase customer satisfaction and prevent any perilous bacteria  or organisms that might lurk within. “Our company can assess commercial establishments on water treatment procedures of cooling towers.

Optimum conditions of their cooling towers assure building developers huge savings on electricity and expensive parts replacement for their centralized air-conditioning systems,” Lee said.

 For inquiries on ChemAqua Phil. please call (632) 687-4839 local 103 or e-mail to [email protected]. You can also visit their website at www.nch.com