When sizing a cooling tower, what percentage is typically added to the cooling load for heat of compression?

When sizing a cooling tower, it is standard practice to add a percentage to the cooling load to account for the heat of compression, which represents the additional heat that is generated during the compression cycle of refrigerants in a cooling system. This is critical for ensuring that the cooling tower can handle the full load without being overwhelmed, as ignoring this factor could lead to inadequate cooling performance.

A commonly accepted percentage to add for heat of compression is 25%. This accounts for variations in operating conditions, efficiency losses, and unexpected heat gains that may occur in the system. By including this percentage, operators can derive a more reliable estimate of the required cooling capacity, ensuring the cooling tower operates effectively under all expected conditions.

Selecting a lower percentage, such as 10%, 15%, or even 30%, could either under-size the system, leading to insufficient cooling, or overestimate the required capacity, resulting in higher operational costs. Thus, adding 25% is widely recognized as a conservative and practical approach for accurate cooling tower sizing to accommodate the heat generated from the compression process.