Low Noise Cooling Towers

The Case

Cooling tower noise becomes a site problem fast. It triggers complaints, forces night-time lockouts, and turns a straightforward upgrade into an acoustic project. The underlying issue is usually not “a loud tower”. It is a mix of tonal fan noise, intake/discharge turbulence, water fall noise, and vibration paths that carry into the structure and across boundaries.

Tower Thermal fixes cooling tower noise by targeting the emitters first, then cleaning up the transmission paths. That can mean selecting a low-noise crossflow configuration, retrofitting fan and drive components, removing water splash noise drivers, or replacing an ageing unit with a modern tower designed for quieter operation and practical maintenance access. 

Why cooling towers get noisy

Most cooling tower noise comes from three primary emitters:

1. Fan

2. Air intake and discharge

3. Rain (water fall / splash into the basin)

Fan noise is heavily influenced by blade tip speed. Lower fan RPM and “quiet” blade designs are common first-line measures.
Air intake/discharge turbulence adds noise through vortexes and uneven airflow.
Rain noise is created by water impact and splash in the basin. Even if you slow the fan down, water noise can keep the tower audible.

Tower Thermal also calls out a practical problem with many counterflow designs: the splash or “rain zone” under the fill can create a waterfall-effect nuisance noise that continues when the fan cycles off, reducing the value of VSD-driven noise savings.

How Tower Thermal fixes the noise problem

Tower Thermal’s approach is to remove the noise at the source wherever possible, then use retrofit and replacement work to lock it in.

1) Reduce fan noise without creating a performance headache

Tower Thermal’s TXQF Quietflow® range is positioned specifically around low noise emissions using low-noise fans as standard, described as wide profile, low speed fibreglass fans. 
This aligns with broader acoustic guidance that reducing fan RPM is one of the most effective levers because blade tip speed drives fan noise.

2) Remove water splash noise drivers

Tower Thermal’s crossflow argument is blunt: eliminate the splash zone and you eliminate a major high-frequency nuisance source. Their crossflow design notes “no splash zone under fill means no water noise”, and their TXQF feature list reinforces the same idea with fill extending to the floor to avoid splash noise.

3) Improve airflow conditions that create turbulence noise

If the intake and discharge conditions are poor, towers generate unnecessary turbulence and associated noise. Industry guidance points to diffusers and inlet silencers as tools to mitigate intake/discharge turbulence and vortexes.
(Practically: this is where layout, screening, clearances, and retrofit accessories matter.)

4) Fix mechanical and vibration issues that make noise worse over time

A tower that was “quiet enough” can become a problem as mechanical conditions creep away from compliance. Tower Thermal explicitly offers troubleshooting, retrofits, and replacement parts, including fans, gearboxes, drive-shafts, bearing box changeovers, and related works.
This matters because vibration and drive issues often introduce tonal character that people notice more than raw dBA.

A quieter-by-design option: TXQF Quietflow crossflow features that matter for noise

Tower Thermal frames their crossflow proposition around practical features that also support acoustic outcomes:

• Low RPM Quietflow® fan strategy and no splash noise as fill extends to the floor
• Gravity-flow water distribution (broken up, not pressure sprayed) and reduced rain-zone effects
• Industrial build approach (internal steel frame carries load; access and maintenance without dismantling)
• Designed, engineered and QA assembled in Australia, stated to AS3666, AS3500, AS1657

Retrofit path: when replacement is not the first move

If the tower is structurally serviceable but too loud, Tower Thermal promotes retrofit capability across tower types, plus supply of components and troubleshooting support.
In practice, the noise fix usually comes down to a combination of:

• Fan and drive changes (especially when tip speed or tonal character is the issue)

• Air path improvements (reducing turbulence and recirculation)

• Water noise controls (removing splash and waterfall effects)

• Mechanical condition restoration (balance, alignment, worn components)

Set expectations with sound data that is comparable

Cooling tower sound comparisons only mean anything when the configuration and measurement method match. One industry reference notes that comparable towers should produce similar sound data, differences of 2 dBA or less are typically negligible, and 3 dBA or more is discernable and worth investigating. It also highlights the importance of compliant test methods and third-party verification when evaluating published sound figures.

Next step

If the site has a noise problem, treat it as an engineering problem, not a barrier-wall purchase. Identify the dominant emitter (fan, air path, rain noise), then select the lowest-risk combination of retrofit or replacement measures.