A Case Study of Tekleen’s Innovative System Implementation at 111 South Wacker Drive |Water Filtration Efficiency Optimization

Are you working in HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), irrigation, or power generation industries? Then, you must know how important it is to keep your systems clean and efficient. Contaminants and debris in water or process liquids can lead to major issues at work. In the end, you have to bear all those maintenance costs and waste your and your workers’ time repairing them. 

So, how can you keep your systems pure and efficient? 

We, Purple Engineering, as Tekleen’s Australian distributor, present you with the best filtration solution you could ever have: Tekleen’s self-cleaning filters. Whether you manage a high-rise building’s HVAC system or a power plant, Tekleen’s technology can help you achieve optimal performance and sustainability in the process. 

But what is this self-cleaning filter system? 

How can you use it at your workplace? 

What benefits does it give you? 

We will answer all these questions while sharing an unforgettable experience one of Tekleen’s clients had with this filtration system recently.

Tekleen’s innovative filtration system at 111 South Wacker Drive

The 111 South Wacker Drive building in Chicago is a 52-story office building with 1.1 million square feet. This privately owned building has LEED Gold certification for New Construction and Existing Buildings. Since 2015, it is also Platinum certified. Not everyone can get this LEED certification. It recognizes the building’s commitment to sustainability in five key areas,

• water use reduction
• sustainable site selection
• responsible materials selection and waste management
• enhanced indoor environmental quality
• energy-efficient operations

And Tekleen contributed to this success with their filtration system that was installed on the top floor of the 111 South Wacker Drive building. Let’s see how they could combat challenges and maintain the building’s sustainability and efficiency in high standards thanks to this advanced system next.

Challenges faced

Before they installed the Tekleen system, the 111 South Wacker Drive building’s old water filtration system caused some serious issues. The old system used two duplex strainers. And they had to be cleaned 2 to 3 times a day. Each cleaning took 1 to 1.5 hours. Because of this, there were higher labour costs and downtime. This was an inefficient and time-consuming water filtration process. The small strainers clogged quickly, they used more energy, and debris passed through them. This could even damage their equipment. Because of this, the building’s management company, the Engineering Department of JLL, had to find a solution to fix these problems and high maintenance needs.

The Tekleen solution

Tekleen installed a self-cleaning filter system with a larger mesh size on the topmost floor. The system filters water in the building’s condensing water system. It mainly targets the tenant condensing water loop. This loop supplies water to tenants’ extra air-conditioning systems, like those for cooling computer server rooms. The filter system captures and reuses cleaned flush water through the dewatering system. This reduces water waste and the use of system cleaning chemicals. It also saves energy used for filtering.

The Tekleen system’s promising feature is that it lowers maintenance costs and reduces the man hours needed for cleaning. The system cleans itself automatically and works efficiently. It can be processed continuously with very little human intervention. It also has a low-pressure automatic filter with a backwash controller. This keeps constant water pressure. When the system detects high pressure, it starts the automatic cleaning process. This removes debris and solids, lowers the pressure, and reduces energy use.

Building automation and energy savings

The 111 South Wacker Drive building has a smart building automation system (BAS). This system detects changes in the drive speed needed to keep the proper flow through the tenant system. It has been reported that a 10% drop in speed is needed to maintain the flow. This means the building could significantly save their energy. Not only that, but you can also get a highly efficient, self-cleaning system if you purchase Tekleen’s filtration system from us.

De-watering system

The Tekleen system cleans its filters automatically. It can capture solid debris in a container called a “filter bag.” The system returns the water used in cleaning to the condensing water system. You need to empty and clean the filter bag every 1 to 3 weeks. You can reuse the filter bag for the next cycles. This de-watering system saves and reuses water efficiently.

Results

Installing the Tekleen system brought many benefits to the 111 South Wacker Drive building.

Less work, more savings

They no longer have to clean the filtration system manually daily. So they save on labor costs and time.

Uses less energy

Lower drive speed by 10% due to less resistance and saves energy.

Water-wise

Reusing clean flush water through the dewatering system reduces water waste.

Protects equipment and reduces tear

Since the larger mesh filter removes more debris, it protects the equipment and makes it last longer.

A greener building

Thanks to Tekleen’s self-cleaning filter system, the building could get LEED Platinum certifications by reducing water use, energy consumption, and waste.

Tekleen’s versatile applications

Tekleen’s industrial self-cleaning water filters do not only fit to one frame. Yes, you can use them in many applications like HVAC, petrochemical, pulp and paper, drinking water, golf and turf, sugar processing, metal processing, wastewater, sea water filtration, greenhouse and nursery, plastics manufacturing, food industry, power generation, car wash water reuse and recycling, and fruit and vegetable irrigation.

Conclusion

Tekleen’s industrial self-cleaning water filters automatically clean itself. Because of this, you do not have to manually clean it from time to time. It might seem a simple thing, but you could save so much energy and labour costs thanks to this system. Since its larger mesh removes more debris, this filtration solution even has the ability to protect your equipment and improve its overall efficiency. The success at the 111 South Wacker Drive building we learned in this article shows how effective and efficient Tekleen’s technology is. So, if you are struggling with maintaining sustainability and have higher operational costs, contact Purple Engineering right away. As Tekleen’s Australian distributor, we proudly present to you the most reliable, efficient, and sustainable water filtration solution that ever existed.