Purpose : Cooling Tower Freeze Protection

Current Control Method : Ambient Thermostat

System Size : 10 kW (1000 ft of 10W/ft heat trace)

System Description : A cooling tower on a roof in NYC with 1000 ft of trace used for freeze protection. Using ambient control (system turns on below 40F), the heat trace in energized approximately 80 days per year. This system would use over 20 MWh of energy each winter at a cost of roughly $6000.

Solution : With a Frio controller, the system could easily be integrated with the BMS to receive information on cooling tower operation. The heat trace would only operate when the cooling towers are turned off or in bypass mode and require freeze protection, significantly reducing operating time and energy cost. For an office building with thermal load from occupants, servers, and other systems, this could reduce operating time by 80-90% resulting in over $5000 in savings each year!

Purpose : Driveway Snow Melting

Current Control Method : Snow Sensor

System Size : 15 kW (300 sqft driveway operating at 50 W/sqft)

System Description : A homeowner in Rochester, NY spends $3,500 on plowing each winter and is considering including a snow melting system when they repave. Using a controller with a snow sensor, they can expect the system to operate 700 hours each winter and may experience build-up at the beginning of heavy storms as the driveway heats up. With the snow melting, the homeowner can save almost $1,500 each winter over plowing for an expected ROI on the heating system of 7-12 years.

Solution : Using a Frio system with weather-based control would eliminate unnecessary operation during rainy periods, reduce wasted heating after smaller storms, and allow for automatic preheating during extreme events. As a result, the Frio system will operate approximately 400 hours per winter, saving over $2,500 each winter over plowing, improving the ROI on the system to 4-7 years.