{"id":22687,"date":"2026-04-21T09:57:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T07:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/?p=22687"},"modified":"2026-04-21T09:57:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T07:57:33","slug":"retrofit-for-nbcuniversal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/industries\/refrigeration-ventilation\/retrofit-for-nbcuniversal_22687\/","title":{"rendered":"Retrofit for tele\u00advi\u00adsion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lights on, cameras rolling \u2013 at its Los Angeles campus, media company NBCU\u00adni\u00adversal produces tele\u00advi\u00adsion formats ranging from news to enter\u00adtain\u00adment shows every day. Behind the capti\u00advating scenes is a central cooling tower system that ensures pleasant temper\u00ada\u00adtures in office build\u00adings and several tele\u00advi\u00adsion and sound studios. Proper cooling is partic\u00adu\u00adlarly impor\u00adtant here, as such produc\u00adtion envi\u00adron\u00adments heat up due to the waste heat from the tech\u00adnology. But then the motors in the cooling tower system keep failing. To avoid produc\u00adtion stop\u00adpages, NBCU\u00adni\u00adversal turns to the full-service air condi\u00adtioning provider Air Condi\u00adtioning Solu\u00adtions Inc. (ACS), which has already modern\u00adized the venti\u00adlation in several build\u00adings on its campus. ACS takes a close look at the affected system\u2014and quickly finds the problem: the fans in three cooling towers need to be replaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inter\u00admis\u00adsion in the cooling tower system<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A chilled water system is used to keep the studios at NBCU\u00adni\u00adversal nice and cool. In this system, cooling water absorbs waste heat from the studios and office build\u00adings via a condenser. The heated water is then pumped to the cooling towers. Here it is sprayed while fans blow air through the tower. Some of the water evap\u00ado\u00adrates, dissi\u00adpating heat and cooling the remaining water. The cool water is then returned to the cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If one of the AC fans, which are prone to failure, breaks down, the entire cooling capacity of the tower suddenly drops. (Image | ACS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, cooling towers come with a typical problem. Chino Romo, Account Manager at ACS, explains: \u201cLike most cooling towers, those at NBCU\u00adni\u00adversal have only one fan to remove the used, warm air. If this fails, the entire cooling capacity of the tower suddenly drops.\u201d This risk is high because the installed belt-driven AC fans are outdated and consid\u00adered partic\u00adu\u00adlarly prone to failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A well-coor\u00addi\u00adnated team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ACS turned to ebm-papst to equip the cooling towers with new fans. Chino Romo says, \u201cWe have been working with ebm-papst on our retro\u00adfits since 2019. The big advan\u00adtage of our part\u00adner\u00adship is that we can discuss the indi\u00advidual appli\u00adca\u00adtions directly. This ensures we get the right product for every project.\u201d In the case of NBCU\u00adni\u00adversal, these are axial fans from the AxiBlade product range: \u201cThey provide enough volume flow to dissi\u00adpate suffi\u00adcient warm air. The AxiBlade is also ideal for the demanding instal\u00adla\u00adtion condi\u00adtions in cooling towers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201eTogether with ebm-papst, we discuss indi\u00advidual appli\u00adca\u00adtions and receive the right product for each project..\u201c<\/p>\nChino Romo, Account Manager bei Air Condi\u00adtioning Solu\u00adtions<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Since the heated water is sprayed in the cooling towers, the fans must with\u00adstand constant splashing water. In addi\u00adtion, chem\u00adi\u00adcals such as cleaning agents, biocides, and rust inhibitors are used in indus\u00adtrial cooling. The AxiBlade meets these require\u00adments with an IP55-certi\u00adfied housing, corro\u00adsion-resis\u00adtant mate\u00adrial, and ebm-papst envi\u00adron\u00admental protec\u00adtion class H2+C. This means that the product remains perma\u00adnently resis\u00adtant even under such conditions\u2014because it has been tested by ebm-papst over a long period of time under real envi\u00adron\u00admental condi\u00adtions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ensure the long-term oper\u00ada\u00adtion of the cold-water system, ACS replaces one old AC fan per cooling tower with six new AxiBlade fans arranged as a FanGrid. Romo explains: \u201cIf one of the fans fails, the others simply take over its perfor\u00admance. This means that there are defi\u00adnitely no more fail\u00adures, and produc\u00adtion runs smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Six AxiBlade fans in each FanGrid ensure optimum oper\u00ada\u00adtional reli\u00ada\u00adbility. (Image | ACS)<\/p><\/div>\n

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The AxiBlade fans trans\u00adport the heated air away from the cooling towers. (Image | ACS)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

To be continued<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

NBCU\u00adni\u00adversal is already some\u00adthing of an old hand in the indoor climate busi\u00adness. Over the years, the company has part\u00adnered with ACS and ebm-papst on multiple modern\u00adiza\u00adtion projects across its campus. At another NBCU\u00adni\u00adversal loca\u00adtion, they installed 240 new ebm-papst fans during a retrofit of a forty-story office building, thereby ensuring the supply of fresh air. And the next project is already in the plan\u00adning stages: Three addi\u00adtional cooling towers are to be retro\u00adfitted, so that the studios there can also broad\u00adcast without restric\u00adtions and with pleasant indoor air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wind and weath\u00ader\u00adproof<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The envi\u00adron\u00admental classes were devel\u00adoped by ebm-papst and describe how resis\u00adtant fans and motors are to mois\u00adture, direct water expo\u00adsure, and other corro\u00adsive envi\u00adron\u00admental condi\u00adtions. Unlike IP protec\u00adtion classes, the envi\u00adron\u00admental classes take real-world oper\u00adating condi\u00adtions into account. In exten\u00adsive long-term and endurance tests, temper\u00ada\u00adture changes, humidity, sprin\u00adkling, and chem\u00adical influ\u00adences are tested in combi\u00adna\u00adtion to ensure the reli\u00ada\u00adbility of the prod\u00aducts over their entire service life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Discover our testing center and gain detailed insights into the testing proce\u00addures:<\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Exclu\u00adsive insights into all test fields<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about how ebm-papst puts fans to the test in the indi\u00advidual test fields. Each article with exciting insights, videos and pictures!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shock and vibra\u00adtion<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Climate<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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impeller strength, spin and cycle test<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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IP protec\u00adtion class Water<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Salt spray<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Accel\u00ader\u00adated service life tests<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n