District cooling system provides energy efficiency benefits to some of the country’s most beautiful buildings
November 06, 2017
Seven of the 10 most beautiful and uniquely-designed buildings in Dubai are served with district cooling system provided by Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world’s largest district cooling services provider. These buildings were chosen by UAE newspaper Emarat Al Youm and real estate website AqaratDubai.ae as among the top 10 most prominent landmarks in Dubai and the most beautiful in terms of creative architecture.
Empower has announced that the Burj Al Arab, Raffles Hotel Dubai, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Atlantis The Palm, DIFC – Gate Building, Emirates Towers, and JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai prefer to use district cooling rather than conventional cooling and have entrusted Empower for the services as part of the design process. The use of district cooling in buildings has become a central part of construction planning and design as more property developers realize the value of energy-efficient technologies in delivering a less expensive and greener built environment.
Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO, Empower, said: “We are proud to provide services for the most prominent landmarks in Dubai and its most beautiful buildings. Moreover, it is equally important to highlight the internal works that go with the other aspects of the building, particularly their cooling methods. District cooling makes the buildings truly deserving of their titles given their contribution in consuming less water and electricity, amidst the global call for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from energy use.”
Studies show that district cooling can save approximately 50 per cent of energy used for cooling compared to conventional methods, which makes the system one of the major energy efficiency accelerators in the world as declared by United Nations -led initiatives on energy efficiency. The system is cost-efficient and also saves on resources, which is essential in mitigating climate change.
Market research reports have revealed that the global market for district cooling solutions could grow from USD 5.14 billion in 2016 to USD 9.54 billion by 2021 at a compound annual growth rate of 13.19 per cent from 2016 to 2021. From an economic perspective, rising energy prices, growing environmental concerns and increasing awareness on low-cost and highly efficient cooling systems are major drivers for DCS growth.
Apart from addressing environmental sustainability, Empower notes that modern district cooling makes it easy for companies to maintain their air-conditioning systems as the solution is remotely maintained in a highly controlled environment, thereby, improving safety and security and reducing leakage rate.
Bin Shafar concluded: “We are proud to be part of the success of many of Dubai’s most innovative buildings and their developers for consciously making efforts in ensuring the social, economic and environmental sustainability of their projects. Air-conditioning is very essential in the life of a building – and if these buildings contribute to the health of the city and the planet by reducing pollution, then indeed, they greatly deserve to be called the most beautiful and unique.”
Empower provides environmentally responsible district cooling services to large-scale real estate developments such as Jumeirah Group, Business Bay, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai International Financial Centre, Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Ibn Battuta Mall, Discovery Gardens, Dubai Healthcare City, Dubai World trade Centre Residences, Dubai Design District, among others.