How does a cooling tower and chiller work together in a central air conditioning?
That refrigerant condenser is a shell and tube heat exchanger where the hot refrigerant gas and its condensing liquid are in the shell. The heat in that condensing refrigerant is transferred through the tube walls and into water which is passing through the tubes. The heated water is then piped on into the cooling tower where it is “sprayed-out”. That warm water spray is then cooled in the tower as some of it evaporates into the air also passing through the cooling tower. The cooled water is pumped back to the condenser. The water that is lost to that evaporation and also to mist carry-over will be replaced with fresh water. The warmed and moisture- laden air will rise in a convection cloud which is sometimes visible. ( The hotter moist air from a power plant cooling tower is usually visible.
