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Comparison of advantages and disadvantages between closed cooling towers and open cooling towers

Author： Views: Time:2025-09-16

　　The advantages of closed cooling towers

　　1. Due to its fully enclosed circulating cooling system, a closed cooling tower has a relatively stable circulating water quality. There are no impurities entering the cooling pipeline system, and there is no risk of equipment being blocked by pollutants, resulting in pipeline blockage; Can ensure the design service life of the cooled equipment, high system efficiency, and stable long-term operation

　　2. Closed cooling towers use soft water circulation for cooling, and there is no scale formation at high temperatures, which can cause scaling in the cooling pipeline system;

　　3. Closed cooling towers have a small footprint, do not require excavation of water tanks, are easy to locate, save water, and reduce energy consumption

　　4. It can directly cool media such as water, oil, alcohol, quenching liquid, salt water, and chemical liquid, with no loss of media and stable composition;

　　5. Due to the use of closed loop, the medium is not affected by the environment and will not pollute the environment;

　　6. Water saving is very significant: the system is designed with a starting point of 12 ℃, so below this temperature, direct air cooling can achieve the expected cooling temperature, and the water-saving effect is obvious, especially suitable for water scarce areas in the north.

　　7. Significant energy saving and considerable benefits: The closed cooling tower is a multi module type, which achieves an optimal ratio of system power and cooling effect without using a frequency converter, effectively reducing power consumption and making up for the high initial investment cost in a short period of time.

　　8. Energy saving and emission reduction: The electronic control system has automatic capacity control function: when the outdoor temperature is low, while ensuring that the outlet water temperature is ≤ the working temperature, higher energy saving requirements can be achieved by automatically controlling the number of fans and spray pumps.

　　9. Easy maintenance: Low maintenance costs can significantly reduce maintenance expenses and time.

　　Disadvantages of Closed Cooling Towers

　　1. Due to the extensive use of copper coils with high heat transfer performance but expensive prices, closed cooling towers are generally more expensive than open cooling towers.

　　2. The initial investment is higher than that of an open cooling tower, but the investment can be recovered in a short period of time through the two operating costs of water and electricity conservation.

　　The advantages of open cooling towers

　　1. Simple structure, low cost, easy maintenance and repair, etc

　　Disadvantages of open cooling towers

　　1. Circulating softened water results in significant losses and high electricity consumption.

　　2. Regular replacement of fillers is also a labor-intensive and costly task;

　　3. The initial investment is lower than that of a closed cooling system, but the later operational investment in water and electricity is higher.

　　4. During operation, a large amount of outdoor sandstorms and dust enter the circulating softened water, making the water quality unstable and increasing the possibility of scaling inside the cooled equipment; And it is easy to block the cooling tower packing, reduce heat transfer efficiency, and increase maintenance workload; After stopping the pump for maintenance of the system, before restarting, a large amount of cleaning agent and pre film agent need to be added because the pipeline has been emptied and the inner wall of the pipeline has been oxidized; The lifespan of the cooled equipment will be shortened;

　　5. An underground water tank needs to be excavated, and the equipment has a large amount of water evaporation and high power consumption during use, making it a commonly used cooling equipment in the early days. However, due to the fact that the fan motor and blades of the open cooling tower are exposed to the air, the noise during operation is relatively high; Due to its open system, the cooling tower may experience water drift during operation, resulting in water loss. It is necessary to regularly replenish water, which can also contaminate the cooling water to a certain extent, leading to a decrease in water quality. Additionally, external debris can also enter the cooling water, causing water pollution; The pressure loss of cooling water in open cooling towers is higher than that in closed cooling towers.

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