Many industrial cooling towers still rely on belt-driven fans powered by AC induction motors. While reliable, these systems often become inefficient over time, leading to higher energy consumption, frequent maintenance, increased noise, and limited control.

Recently, Beijing Hengrui developed an energy-saving retrofit solution for a large manufacturing facility, upgrading its traditional cooling tower with an ebm-papst EC Fan Wall and an intelligent digital control system.

The original cooling tower used three 18.5 kW belt-driven fan systems (55.5 kW total). Over years of operation, several issues became increasingly apparent:

For facilities running 24/7, these issues directly impact operating costs and system reliability.

Pic.1 Actual exploration before renovation

♦ The Solution

Instead of simply replacing the motors, the retrofit upgraded the entire airflow system with:

• ebm-papst high-efficiency EC Fan Wall

• Intelligent variable-speed control

• Automatic water temperature regulation

• Modbus-TCP connectivity for BMS/DCS integration

The multi-fan design also provides built-in redundancy—if one fan stops, the remaining fans automatically compensate to maintain cooling performance.

♦ Result after renoation

Pic.2 Result based on the project's operating conditions.

♦ More Than Energy Saings

The biggest improvement wasn't just lower electricity consumption.

The EC Fan Wall also delivered:

✔ More uniform airflow

✔ Lower noise and vibration

✔ Direct-drive operation with reduced maintenance

✔ Intelligent demand-based control

✔ Higher system reliability for continuous industrial operation

♦ Industry Discussion

Many industrial cooling towers are still operating with traditional belt-driven fan systems.

As energy costs continue to rise, is it time to rethink the way cooling towers are designed?

If you're evaluating a cooling tower retrofit or exploring EC fan solutions, Beijing Hengrui would be happy to share practical experience from real industrial projects.