Buildings are the largest source of energy demand globally and are central focus in addressing climate change. Heating, cooling, and powering residential, commercial, and government buildings consume 40% of all energy produced worldwide, and as much as 70% in the Middle East. Under the extreme peak summer conditions, HVAC systems are no longer a luxury, rather a necessity to keep key sectors operating.
There are key trends shaping the HVAC sector in Saudi –a greater drive for adopting designs that are energy efficient, the adoption of higher energy performance units and components in order to comply with energy performance standards created by SASO/SEEC and a strong anticipation of growth in residential unit’s sales due to new housing programs.
The global strategy consulting firm Booz & Co has estimated that District Cooling systems are able to reduce up to 25-30% of the cooling requirements of Saudi by 2030.
District cooling (DC), a centralized way to produce and distribute cooling energy solutions for industrial and real estate sectors, is seen one of the most viable and cost effective HVAC solution for urban cities with dense populations. This centralized system eradicates the requirement for a separate system in each building and also provides more economic and environmental benefits than other solutions. This central grid enables adoption of renewable energy sources (such as solar, thermal and biomass) which otherwise would have been difficult to realize in individual buildings.
District Cooling also helps utilize local energy sources and keeps energy earnings in local communities. It increases building space as the system frees up space for rent to generate profits or use rooftops as gardens, while it also reduces maintenance and operating costs, as consumers only pay for what they use. Because it’s a large central system, the total installed capacity is much less than sum of individual cooling loads due to diversity in peak loads, occupancy, usage etc. that would also mean higher utilization of installed capacity.
How A Saudi Company Is Innovating District Cooling Technology
The circumstances of customers, availability of load pattern, tariff pattern, building pattern makes it smart to craft a solution targeting specific outcomes. However many equipment suppliers have limited offering that traps the customer in one size fits all.
A much wider portfolio of solution elements varying from energy sources such as steam, oil, gas, electricity (or) compression technology such as screw, centrifugal (or) methods of heat rejection such as air-cooled/convertible/water-cooled, distinguishes Al Salem Johnson Controls (YORK) from others. Depending on the situation the Company can offer appropriate tailor-made solution to engineers/consultants.
Dr. Anwar Hassan, Vice President of Sales and Field Operations, Al Salem Johnson Controls (YORK), believes success of such proposals would lead to the adoption of the most appropriate solutions in accordance with modern technology, while contributing to the efficacy goals of the Kingdom’s National Transformation Program 2020. Some of the company’s leading projects in District Cooling include: The Two Holy Mosques, King Abdul Aziz Endowment tower in Makkah (Clock Tower), Jabal Omar area in Makkah, and the third terminal in the Jeddah King Abdul Aziz airport.
Historic experience of many societies in dealing with utilities and retaining high degree of competitiveness resulted in separation of production & distribution utility domains. Al Salem Johnson Controls (YORK) believes that the District Cooling concept is very much applicable. The investment in piping systems to distribute chilled water to facilities shall be regulated and charged as part of the general infrastructure. Issues and disagreements about it shall be arbitrated and regulated by industry bodies, allowing District Cooling companies to utilize the network. This will be beneficial to society apart from offering more competitive rates for consumers (just like power distribution companies or telephone companies), and as a result not everyone has to dig the country.
Setting fair and stable rates for District Cooling as a utility and for electricity and other forms of energy such as gas, diesel, etc., is a matter that requires the government to outline transparent procedures for settling rates between consumers and producers. Once this is in place & practiced consistently it will lead to boosting the rate of district energy adoption. Arbitration and standards bodies, in addition to mandatory procedures and processes for setting rates and arbitrating differences, are needed to boost the confidence of investors that the value will surely be harvested.
Dr. Anwar believes government regulations and initiatives can help place greater emphasis on life-cycle cost over initial cost. High efficiency solutions are usually more expensive in first cost and adopting them requires a clear understanding of the value they generate, articulating this value looks shaky if the elements making the value; like energy efficiency performance, power and water, are not on firm grounds. The adoption and implementation is impeded by the lack of clarity on a number of practical considerations, for example:
- Determining whether treated sewage water is available;
- When is it available at a particular location; and
- At what rates it is going to be available.
These are difficult questions, but without clear transparent answer and commitment, and without such knowledge being publicly available, it is difficult for the energy efficiency conversations to progress. “Contractors will remain bound by the contract terms of the project and cannot be expected to advocate more energy efficient solutions unless they are financially incentivized to do so,” he added.
There’s wide acceptance among consultants and owners that District Cooling is an environmentally and fiscally favorable concept and practice. However wide adoption remains elusive. Thus industry awaits the standards & guidelines from government to activate their environmentally favorable decision.
District Cooling is mandatory in government developments requiring 15000 tons or more. We have seen admirable efforts by King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) promoting and offering financial grants for the development, research and commercialization of products and solutions supporting the use of renewable energy in HVACR. This is appreciated by companies that wish to play a role in advanced environmental solutions.
The UNEP (UN Environment body) report highlights “District Energy (DE) Champion Cities” which includes Dubai, UAE, as a single largest city adopting District Cooling in the world. The report highlights that this solution is a part of broader efforts to shift away from fossil fuel to renewable energy technology while saving energy bills. For example, Kuwait could reduce energy usage by 46 percent if it implements a comprehensive system of DE. DE involves a district cooling and heating, biomass, biogas, geothermal exchange, combined heat and power.