Application of solar collectors to control the visible plume from wet cooling towers of a commercial building in Hong Kong: A case study

This communication presents a case study on the application and utility of solar collectors heating system to control the visible plume from wet cooling towers of a huge commercial building. The visibility of plume from cooling towers depends on the weather conditions, specially, the temperature and relative humidity of the ambient air. Although the ambient temperature is the main parameter for the visibility of plume yet the relative humidity also plays a vital role in some cases such as Hong Kong, Europe, Canada and other similar regions in the world. The present study is on the control of plume from wet cooling towers of a huge commercial building, particularly, in Hong Kong and can be used as a base for other places in general. The analysis is done based on the hourly weather data available from the metrological department for a particular year. In this case study the calculations are done using the water cooled and the air cooled solar collectors and the comparison is also given among the different possible options.