District Cooling I February 2015

Tuesday, February 24, 2015 khaleej times

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To increase energy effi-ciency and save theenvi-ronment, the concept ofdistrict cooling is beingwidely appreciated. In-

volving the distribution of cool airgenerated in a centralised locationfor residential and commercialcooling requirements, the systemcan deliver more efficient heatingand cooling for users, providingthere is density of development. Adistrict cooling system can reachfive times higher efficiencies thantraditional electricity-driven chill-ers. Ever since district cooling be-came widespread, it has resultedin less environmental emissions,air pollution, the greenhouse gas(GHG) carbon dioxide (CO2) andozone-destroying refrigerants.

In a typical residential unit,district-cooling systems can cutenergy usage by 40 to 50 per cent,compared to traditional climatecontrol systems. Besides cuttingthe annual CO2 emissions byabout one tonne for every tonneof district cooling refrigerationdemand served, the system islikely to replace the traditionalsystems with new environmen-tally friendly technologies.

While reducing the total powerconsumption compared to tradi-tional systems, district coolingalsosupports the rising power demandin Dubai. Recently the 6th IDEAInternational District CoolingConference organised by the In-ternational District Energy Asso-ciation (IDEA) and hosted byEmirates Central Cooling SystemsCorporation (Empower) was held

By sadiq shaBan

khaleej times | aDVeRtisiNG sUPPlemeNt

PAL Technology District Cooling Department wasestablished in year 2006. Since then, it has be-come one of the leading district cooling providersin the UAE as a result of strong leadership, team-work, quality, time management and integrity.

The District Cooling division has a team ofskilled and specialised professional engineers withunmatched expertise of project engineering andmanagement from concept to implementation tostart up, operation and maintenance. With thispool of rich expertise, PAL Technology has phe-nomenally flourished in district cooling industryand has kept the pace of growth over past years.

By embracing energy-efficient principles, PALTechnology creates district-cooling facilities fromdesign and organisation to actual constructionand operations. Thermodynamic staging overeight compression stages coupled with ultra-lowflow condenser and chilled water flow makes fora more reliable and cost-effective operation.

Like most of the utility provider companies,PAL Technology District Cooling also adopts a‘build-operate-own’ (and/or transfer) businessmodel for the construction and operation of dis-trict cooling plants. In a typical project of comfortcooling, PAL Technology invests on the construc-tion of the reticulation network with pre-insulatedpipes of up to 1.5 metres in diameter to distributechilled water to the building energy transfer sta-tion, and constructs, operates and maintains cen-tral district cooling plants up to a capacity of100,000 refrigerant tonnes (TR).

With over 400,000 TR of confirmed capacity,

PAL Technology district cooling is one of the topplayers in the UAE industry. All these plant capac-ities are at different stages of design and construc-tion. About Dh210 million chilled water networkprojects are executed on different developmentsunder PAL Technology District Cooling.

Following are the few projects for DistrictCooling:

Pearl of the Emirates Development—Najmat Development—Mina Corniche—Saraya Development—Shams Abu Dhabi Development—

What is District Cooling?

District cooling system distributes thermal en-ergy in the form of chilled water from a centralsource to multiple buildings/villas through anetwork of pre-insulated underground pipes/above ground pipes, based on the developmentrequirement. A central cooling plant is con-structed and operated to cater the needs of thedevelopment. Each building allocate a speciallydesigned room from where the energy is trans-ferred by the PHEX’s and is pumped into thebuilding to provide the cooling as per the build-ing requirements.

District cooling offers a number of benefits tobuilding owners and the UAE environment. Itnot only eliminates the need to replace chillers,which can be an expensive pursuits, it also elim-inates the dependence on CFC-based refriger-ants that are high-risk chemical for the environ-ment. Building a district cooling facility makescooling operations more reliable and accessibleand, most importantly, it outsources the complexundertaking of building cooling.

PALTechnology is one of thetop players in the UAE industrywith over 400,000 TR ofconfirmed capacity

Embracing the nation’senergy-efficient principles

Way forwardDistrict Cooling conserves precious energy and waterresources besides decreasing our carbon footprint

under the patronage of ShaikhAhmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum,Chairman of Dubai SupremeCouncil of Energy and Chairmanand Chief Executive Officer ofEmirates airlines.

Highlighting the importance ofdistrict cooling and the role ofDubai (which is host to the largestdistrict cooling company in theworld, Empower), the delegatesnoted that this industry is becom-ing a real alternative to conven-tional cooling in many parts of theworld.Theparticipantsexchangedexpertise and knowledge through-out the conferencebesides visitingmajor district cooling plants in theemirate. Topics on sustainabilityin district cooling services werealsodiscussed to encourage indus-try leaders to share successful casestudies and key global and region-al achievements.

Emirates Central Cooling Sys-tems Corporation (Empower), theleading district cooling serviceprovider in the region (a joint ven-ture between Dubai Electricityand Water Authority (DEWA) andDubaiTechnologyandMediaFreeZone (TECOM) Investments hasrecently connected its services tothe prestigious development ofEmirates Towers which consist ofthe Emirates Office Tower andJumeirah Emirates Towers Hotelthat are connected with a two-storey retail complex (The Boule-vard). The two towers rise to 355metres (1,165 feet) and 309 me-tres (1,014 feet), respectively. No-tably Empower converted the ex-isting air-cooled system to districtcooling system for the total capac-ity of 6,000 Refrigeration Tonne(RT), which will result in energysavings of approximately 80 percent for the property.

Located in Abu Dhabi, PALTechnologies’ District Cooling di-vision provides customers with ef-ficient district cooling solutions.The company has cooling solu-tions and services for commercialand residential projects in theUAEand around the world. PAL Tech-nology District Cooling operationsin the Reem Island area, 600 me-tres off the Coast of Abu Dhabi Is-land,consistsof45,000TR,whichhas minimised idle capacity for itsowners. The company is knownfor adopting a ‘build-operate-own’(and/or transfer) business modelfor the construction and operationof district cooling plants.

Providing a very effective andefficient means of air condition-ing, district cooling usually in-volves a technology that cools wa-ter in central plants and thendistributes it through a network ofpiping systems to individual cus-tomer buildings. Experts opinethat this system is very efficient tohelp achieve economies of scalesince it uses centralised plants in-stead of individual cooling units ineach building. As a result, the cen-tralised systemcutsdown on oper-ating costs, thereby slashing thesettingupof air-conditioningunits

Benefitsofdistrict cooling

Up to 50 per cent less energy consumptionhCuts down on the initial capital investmenthSpreads costs over a longer period of timehAnnual maintenance costs are substantially lowerhCan easily store up to 30 per cent of potential output by keepinghchilled water in reserveMeeting demands in seasonal variationshThe system needs to be replaced only every 30 years, comparedhto 15 years for traditional air conditioningDistrict cooling is more reliable due to the high standards ofhindustrial equipment utilised and back-up chillers on stand-byProtects the environment by reducing COh

2emissions due to

lower energy consumption

and energy costs per building.Suitable for large-scale, high-

density properties such as busi-ness districts, airports, militarybases, university campuses, resi-dential towers and commercialestablishments, district cooling ispractical. Besides freeingup spacein buildings that can be used togenerate additional profit, thissystem requires lower capitalcosts, as they eliminate the needfor chillers, cooling towers, pumpsand other individual systems. Inan era of energy saving and costcutting, District cooling is the wayforward.

—sadiq@khaleejtimes.com

khaleej times Tuesday, February 24, 2015

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