Project Description

Supply of evaporative condensers to a specialized refrigeration engineering company in South Africa for its industrial ammonia refrigeration project, meeting the requirements of high heat rejection efficiency, water saving, and winter freeze protection.

Situation

A South African refrigeration engineering company with over 10 years of experience in industrial and commercial refrigeration, specializing in natural refrigerants such as ammonia (R717) and CO₂ (R744). The company is 100% Black-owned and holds ISO 9001:2008 certification. While undertaking an industrial refrigeration project, it needed high-efficiency, water-saving, and freeze-proof condensing equipment to cope with the site’s water scarcity, extreme summer heat (>40°C), and near-freezing winter night temperatures.

Task

The customer’s requirements for the evaporative condenser were:

High heat rejection efficiency to cope with South Africa’s extreme hot climate

Low drift loss to significantly reduce water consumption

Winter freeze protection to prevent spray water from freezing and causing downtime

Compact footprint to save installation space

Full compatibility with ammonia refrigeration system to ensure safety and reliability

Action

An evaporative condenser manufacturer provided a customized solution:  forced-draft evaporative condensers. Key design features included:

Forced-draft configuration (fan located at the lower air inlet) to reduce footprint and fit limited space

Dry-wet mode switching – when ambient temperature falls below a set point, the unit switches to 100% dry operation (spray pump off), completely eliminating winter freezing risk

High-efficiency evaporation and low drift loss – drift rate controlled below 0.001%

Ammonia (R717) compatibility of all materials and coil design, meeting international safety standards

The manufacturer provided full technical support, including factory testing, cross-border logistics, on-site installation guidance, and operator training.

Result

units successfully delivered and commissioned on first attempt; 12 months of continuous trouble‑free operation

42% total water saving – approximately 18,000 m³ saved annually

28% reduction in power consumption (thanks to >2,200 hours/year of dry‑mode operation)

18% improvement in system coefficient of performance (COP)

35% reduction in annual operation and maintenance costs

No freeze‑related downtime in winter

Customer expressed high satisfaction with both equipment performance and service

Numerical Core KPI Metrics

Metric Value

• Number of units delivered 2 units

• Comprehensive water saving >42% (~18,000 m³/year)

• Annual dry-mode operation >2,200 hours

• Heat exchange efficiency improvement 15%

• Power consumption reduction 28%

• Operation & maintenance cost reduction 35%

• Operating noise <65 dB

Reusable Takeaways for Promotion & Management

• Forced-draft + dry‑wet mode switching – ideal for water‑scarce regions with large temperature variations

• Compact design – suitable for retrofit projects with limited space

• 100% dry operation for freeze protection – no need for electric heat tracing

• Full compatibility with ammonia refrigeration – safe and reliable

• Cross‑border delivery and one‑stop technical support model