Skip to content 
7 Costly Mistakes in Industrial Cooling Systems
A common mistake in industrial cooling systems is poor ductwork design. Did you know it can waste up to 40% of energy through leaks and airflow imbalances, driving up costs and reducing performance?
Yes, cooling systems are essential for heat-sensitive industries, but common design and maintenance mistakes in these systems often prevent industries from achieving peak efficiency.
Looking for solutions? This article covers the costly industrial cooling system mistakes and expert strategies for you to prevent failures, reduce repair costs, and extend equipment lifespan.
1. Underestimating Cooling Load Requirements
Many industries install cooling systems without calculation, which stops them from understanding the cooling capacity needed. This mistake leads to businesses having an undersized or oversized system, which results in higher power usage in industrial processes.
Below are the common mistakes in cooling load requirements and actionable solutions.
The Mistakes:
⦁ An undersized refrigeration system forces cooling units to run continuously, increasing electricity costs and compressor wear, and reducing compressor lifespan by 3-5 years. It also causes temperature fluctuations and humidity swings, damaging production equipment.
⦁ Oversized systems with excess cooling capacity cools the space too quickly, which leads to short cycling—where the system frequently turns on and off in rapid cycles for cooling. This wastes fuel and increases wear on system components, adding hidden operational costs by 2-3x.
The Solutions:
⦁ Use industry-standard formulas to calculate all heat sources (machines, lighting, people).
⦁ Include factors like insulation quality, airflow dynamics, and outdoor climate conditions.
⦁ Built your cooling circuit in a way that can handle the highest heat load, particularly during hot seasons.
⦁ Choose a system with scalable options that can manage increased production in the future.
2. Poor System Layout & Airflow Management
A well-designed cooling system relies on efficient airflow management. However, poor system layout and airflow design create issues like uneven cooling, increased energy costs, and excessive wear on equipment.
Let’s explore the common poor system layout and airflow management mistakes and the applicable solutions.
The Mistakes:
⦁ Placing cooling units near walls, machinery, or storage racks can disrupt airflow and prevent cool air from reaching critical areas. This makes the cooling units work harder in order to maintain the desired temperature.
⦁ Improper duct sizing in an HVAC system for large facilities can lead to increased operational costs. Undersized, oversized, or leaky ducts create air pressure imbalances, reducing system performance and efficiency.
⦁ Inconsistent temperature distribution often leads to overheating in some areas and excessive cooling in others. This negatively impacts equipment performance and efficiency.
The Solutions:
⦁ Avoid placing cooling units and vents near walls, machinery, or high-storage areas that can block airflow. This ensures unobstructed airflow, preventing hot spots and allowing the cooling system to work efficiently while maintaining a consistent temperature throughout the area.
⦁ Ensure ducts are properly designed, insulated, and well-sealed to meet the system’s airflow requirements, maintaining consistent airflow and pressure — providing better options for system efficiency.
⦁ Use CFD simulations during the design phase to visualize airflow patterns, identify potential issues, and resolve them before implementation.
3. Using the Wrong Refrigerant
Refrigerants are vital in industrial applications. However, using a refrigerant that is not optimized for a specific system can lead to several issues. It especially affects temperature consistency and heat transfer efficiency, driving excessive electricity use and regulatory non-compliance.
Let’s dive into the impact of using the wrong refrigerant and explore practical solutions to avoid these costly mistakes.
The Mistakes:
- Many cooling systems are still using outdated or inefficient refrigerators such as R-22 (Freon), R-410A (Puron), and R-404A. These older refrigerants often require more energy to reach the same cooling level, generating higher electricity bills.
- Inefficient refrigerants often have poor thermodynamic properties. This forces the system to work harder to remove the same amount of heat, which reduces overall cooling performance.
- Outdated refrigerants have high ODP (Ozone Depletion Potential), which is very harmful to the ozone layer.
The Solutions:
- Businesses should upgrade to cost-effective cooling systems and energy-efficient refrigerants, such as R-448A, R-449A, CO₂ (R-744), Ammonia (R-717), and Hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs), and take advantage of them. These refrigerants provide better cooling efficiency, enabling your system to maintain optimal temperatures with reduced power consumption.
- Shifting to low-GWP (Global Warming Potential) alternatives is another great solution that reduces wear and tear to your system. This improves equipment lifespan and minimizes unplanned maintenance expenses.
4. Ignoring Maintenance & Monitoring
Ignoring maintenance and monitoring is a common yet costly mistake in industrial cooling. Many businesses treat maintenance as a less important task, causing lower efficiency, frequent breakdowns, and higher operational expenses.
Now, we’ll explore the usual maintenance mistakes businesses make, their consequences, and useful solutions.
The Mistakes:
- Many businesses assume that HVAC systems don’t require regular inspection to operate efficiently. As a result, dust accumulation, refrigerant leaks, and worn-out components go unseen. This forces the system to work harder, increasing costs and causing sudden breakdowns.
- Temperature and pressure sensors provide real-time data to the system, helping it to maintain optimal operating conditions. However, the use of outdated sensors may result in inaccurate readings that disrupt cooling regulations.
- Ignoring repairs and parts replacement in HVAC systems can also impact performance and equipment longevity. Strange noises like grinding or squealing often signal that equipment like belts, bearings, or motors are wearing out and require maintenance.
The Solutions:
- Businesses must implement a preventive maintenance plan. This plan includes regularly scheduled inspections, cleaning, and servicing to prevent breakdowns, optimize performance, and minimize a wide range of potential failures.
- Modern industrial cooling systems include IoT-based sensors that provide real-time diagnostics and help maintain an optimal refrigeration cycle. These sensors quickly find inefficiencies and alert maintenance teams before system failures happen.
- Business employees should learn to identify indications of cooling systems’ inefficiencies, such as higher energy bills and inconsistent cooling. This helps them spot issues early and enable quick fixes, cutting repair costs and preventing failures.
5. Overlooking Energy Efficiency
Many businesses overlook long-term investments like energy efficiency to cut early installation costs. However, this not only drives up expenses but also increases maintenance needs and negatively impacts sustainability goals
Here are some possible areas where businesses overlook energy efficiency along with their solutions.
The Mistakes:
- Many cooling systems are inefficient and still depend on fixed-speed compressors, inefficient heat exchangers, and outdated control systems. Such outdated elements drain more energy and struggle to maintain optimal cooling performance.
- Running cooling systems constantly at full power leads to unnecessary resource wastage, as poor load management fails to align cooling output with actual demand. This inefficiency forces systems to work harder than needed, consuming more power and increasing wear and tear.
- Many businesses are still dependent on manual adjustments to control their operation, which fail to respond to real-time changes in cooling demand, causing inefficiencies.
The Solutions:
- Enhance your cooling system with high-efficiency elements such as Variable-Speed Compressors, High-Performance Heat Exchangers, and energy-efficient fans. These elements adjust cooling output based on demand to reduce energy consumption and improve system lifespan.
- Businesses must integrate advanced technologies that use data, automation, and connectivity to optimize efficiency in real-time.
6. Poor Water Treatment & Quality Management
Water is essential in industrial cooling systems, including cooling towers, evaporative condensers, and closed-loop systems. Neglecting proper water treatment and quality management can lead to several problems such as scale buildup, corrosion, and biofilm growth.
For optimal performance, businesses must learn about the mistakes and solutions towards proactive steps in water treatment and monitoring.
The Mistakes:
- Businesses often neglect water treatment plans, causing minerals like calcium, magnesium, and silica to build up in the system. These minerals create scale deposits inside pipes and heat exchangers, which work as insulators and reduce heat transfer efficiency. This inefficiency forces the system to run harder, increasing resource usage and operational costs.
- Unstable pH levels, high dissolved solids, and biological contamination (e.g., bacteria, algae) can cause the development of corrosion, microbial growth, and fouling. These issues can harm system components and shorten equipment lifespan.
- Companies often fail to use the right type or dosage of water treatment chemicals, including scale inhibitors, corrosion inhibitors, or biocides. Overdosing or underdosing chemicals can do more harm than good, damaging equipment and the environment.
The Solutions:
- Industries must collaborate with water treatment specialists to design a customized plan that includes proper filtration, chemical dosing, and periodic system cleaning. A well-designed treatment plan ensures the optimization of system performance and extends equipment lifespan.
- Use automated water quality monitoring systems to monitor pH levels, conductivity, and microbial activity. Such monitoring identifies possible issues like corrosion, scaling, or microbial contamination before they arise.
- Choose the right water treatment chemicals and filtration methods to prevent scale, corrosion, and biofilm buildup. Additionally, consider investing in advanced filtration methods like side-stream filtration or reverse osmosis to remove impurities before they can cause damage.
Invest in the Right Industrial Cooling Systems for Long-Term Success
An efficient and cost-effective industrial cooling system is essential for sustainable business growth. It ensures reliable performance while supporting long-term profitability, particularly in the production of heat-sensitive goods.
To achieve these goals, industries must avoid the common mistakes mentioned in this article. And, by applying the strategies, businesses can improve system performance, enhance reliability, and ensure cost-effective operations for temperature-sensitive industries.
If you’re looking for an efficient and long-lasting industrial cooling system, it’s worth trusting the experts at AC PROREF. Our team consists of experienced engineers who know how to ensure stability, safety, and cost optimization for your cooling installation.
Industrial cooling? Only with professionals.
