Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) contracting company 52 Engineering has completed the installation of a cooling system at tyre manufacturing company Bridgestone, in Brits, in the North West.

52 Engineering MD John Parry explains that the system was installed in a new extension of the Bridgestone factory, owing to the ambient temperatures and the equipment in the factory also generating heat.

After investigating various options, including air conditioning, the decision was made to use evaporative cooling, specifically two-stage evaporative cooling, rather than conventional evaporative cooling.

Two-stage evaporative cooling uses the cooled water from the sump and pumps it through a cooling coil to achieve lower temperatures. The system uses only 40% of the electricity of conventional air conditioning to achieve the design conditions required in the factory, explains Parry.

The heating requirements, as little as they are, benefit with the use of steam produced by the factory, further reducing electricity costs, he adds.

“The benefits of the cooling system . . . include its user-friendliness, minimal maintenance requirements and ability to provide 100% fresh-cooled air,” says Parry, adding that the air introduced into this section of the factory spills over into a section of the existing factory.

The system is maintained and serviced every three months, and entails the cleaning of the filters, draining and cleaning of the sump, ensuring that the pumps and fans are running smoothly, and checking bearing temperatures and the controls, he explains.

Maintenance might also require touching up any rust spots that might have formed in the high humidity sections of the evaporative cooler.

Introducing an effective cooling system in any business environment is intended to result in increased productivity, including through the creation of a satisfactory working environment, Parry says.

Being a member of the South African Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association, 52 Engineering provides its clients with the highest level of quality heating, ventilation and air- conditioning products.

“We provide clients with a full solution including project management, drawings, construction management, an ISO9001-certified quality management system, installation and servicing.”

He notes that 52 Engineering provides HVAC cooling systems for office buildings, medical centres, manufacturing facilities, churches, schools, substations, mines, laboratories and specialised designs solutions.

“A few of the most notable projects we have been involved in include St Helena Airport; the Olifants pumpstation, in Limpopo; the Gold Room, in Ghana; and a cooling system for a dust extractor, in Ladysmith,” he concludes.