Unlocking Savings and Efficiency: The Power of Cooling Tower Evaporation Credits
Facility managers and building owners, if your water bills are eating into your budget, especially with cooling towers or irrigation systems, evaporation credit, aka sewer credits, can be a lifeline. But there’s more to monitoring than just slashing sewer charges. Let’s dive into why these credits, paired with real-time monitoring, are a must-have for smart operations.
The Deal with Water and Sewer Billing
Utilities charge for sewer based on water entering your building, assuming about 90% goes to the sewer. So, 100k gallons in means you’re billed for 90k gallons out. This works for typical setups—think sinks and toilets. But cooling towers and irrigation? They mess with that math big time.
Cooling Towers: Where Water Vanishes
Cooling towers, vital for HVAC in large buildings, evaporate a ton of water, think $40,000 worth annually, per a Houston report. That’s water not hitting the sewer, yet utilities often charge you as if it does.
Irrigation Systems: Another Credit Opportunity
Irrigation is similar. Sprinklers water your grounds, not the sewer. Without credits, you’re paying sewer fees for water that’s soaking into the soil.
How Evaporation Credits Work
Sewer credits adjust for water that evaporates or stays out of the sewer. For cooling towers, you track:
- Makeup water: Fresh water added to the system.
- Blowdown: Water is drained to control mineral buildup.
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Evaporation: Makeup Water - Blodown
Subtract blowdown from makeup, and you’ve got evaporation. Report that to your utility, and they’ll cut your sewer bills, sometimes dropping that 90% assumption to 50% or less. Irrigation credits follow a similar logic, proving water goes to landscaping.
Beyond Credits: Catching Costly Issues
Here’s the kicker, monitoring for credits does double duty. Cooling towers average 2-3 issues a year, each wasting 100,000 to 300,000 gallons of water. That’s a massive hit to your wallet. Real-time monitoring, like Nowi Sensors’ solution, spots these problems instantly, stopping waste before it spirals. Plus, it prevents scaling—mineral buildup that damages towers and reduces efficiency, jacking up energy bills.
Navigating Utility Headaches
Utilities are a mixed bag. Some offer a one-time billing tweak after you submit data. Others want monthly evaporation reports, demanding precise monitoring. Finding the right utility contact? Good luck—it's a maze of transfers and delays. Mess up the data, and you’re facing audits or rejected claims. It’s a pain for busy facility managers.
Why It Matters
Skipping credits means overpaying for sewer on water that’s evaporated or in the ground. Add potential savings from catching cooling tower issues, and you’re looking at tens of thousands annually $40,000 just from evaporation in Houston, plus avoided waste and energy costs. It’s a slam dunk for efficiency and budgets.
Nowi Sensors Has Your Back
Nowi Sensors’ monitoring solution tracks makeup, blowdown, and irrigation in real-time, generating utility-ready reports. No manual logs, no guesswork. We catch issues fast, prevent scaling, and save you water and energy costs. Plus, we handle utility red tape, connecting you with the right people. Let us lighten your load.
Evaporation credits and proactive monitoring are your ticket to big savings. Reach out to your utility today—it’s an easy win.