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ECOPHIT® CHILLED CEILING SYSTEM SAVES ENERGY WHILE MAINTAINING IDEAL THERMAL COMFORT

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SINGAPORE- A recently conducted feasibility study in Singapore concluded that air conditioning energy consumption can be reduced by 26% using an ECOPHIT® chilled ceiling system instead of a conventional air-conditioning system. In the course of the study, the authors also noted that even higher total energy savings of 36% could be achieved when back-end systems are optimized.

The study into the energy use and overall effectiveness of Chilled Ceiling technology was carried out by the Energy Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.  The study’s authors collaborated with the Germany-based SGL Group to install and operate ECOPHIT® chilled ceiling technology at ERI@N’s CleanTech One office space in Singapore.

The Energy Research Institute combined energy modelling simulations, with monitoring and analysis of the real parameters of the installations and verification (through sub-metering), to show how a chilled ceiling system – a form of radiant cooling – achieves significant energy savings when compared to a conventional air-based system, while maintaining ideal thermal comfort for the building’s occupants.

Due to the hot and humid weather conditions in Singapore, air conditioning is widely used in buildings. The high cooling demands, met by conventional air-conditioning technology, result in very high energy consumption of buildings. Radiant Cooling technology – and more specifically, a chilled ceiling system, presents a more energy efficient alternative.

A chilled ceiling system is a type of low energy-higher inlet water temperature cooling system that uses radiant cooling to cool a building space. A chilled ceiling is a ‘drop-down’ ceiling comprising of water-carrying pipes embedded in thin, conductive slabs and e.g. mounted on a metal ceiling plate. Using the ECOPHIT® technology, the conductive slabs are made from carbon delivering a very high level of thermal conductivity and control dynamics. This system cools the occupants in the room through radiation and natural convection using the chilled ceiling as a heat sink for the heat load in the building.

The chilled ceiling technology originated in Europe and is popular in temperate climates around the world. Key benefits of using chilled ceiling systems over conventional all-air systems include higher occupant comfort and lower equipment and material costs.

According to See Chenn Wang, Director Asia at SGL Singapore Pte Ltd, the air conditioning systems in most buildings in Singapore make up 50% of a building’s total electricity consumption. “One of the biggest challenges in achieving energy efficiency in buildings is to create a high indoor comfort level, while reducing the amount of energy consumed by air conditioning. Hence, there is a lot of interest to test innovative and more energy efficient air-conditioning systems that could replace current technology in Singapore and other tropical regions.”

Mohamed Alami, Managing Director at SGL Lindner adds: “ECOPHIT® delivers the right solution with innovative components made from recyclable natural graphite that make air conditioning in buildings more comfortable, efficient, and environmentally friendly. ECOPHIT® ensures more efficient air conditioning in every type of building, and has proven itself in a variety of large scale projects including office buildings, hotels, public buildings and airports.”

ECOPHIT® is an expanded natural graphite product and has been proven, in more temperate climates, to be highly suitable for radiant cooling. Using graphite-material allows for a rapid and more even cooling across the entire room. The authors at NTU selected this technology because of its high performance, high heat transfer rates and light weight.

ECOPHIT® offers a complete ecological and economical solution for energy efficient temperature control in buildings. A natural product made from graphite, ECOPHIT® offers outstanding design freedom, cost effectiveness and maximum climate control for sustainable and modern new build and renovation projects. The performance of this outstanding and energy-efficient technology can be observed in numerous buildings in Europe and all over the world.

Jordan’s largest solar PV plant completed

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– Phoenix Solar & Mustakbal Clean power the Ma’an Development Area with 1MWp of solar PV

– Lower electricity bills and favourable returns in Jordan thanks to solar PV

Ground mounted solar panels

Ground mounted solar panels

Phoenix Solar Pte Ltd (“Phoenix Solar”), a photovoltaic system integrator and Mustakbal Clean Tech (“Mustakbal”), Jordan’s leading PV installer have completed a 1.028MWp solar photovoltaic (“PV”) plant at the Ma’an Development Area in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

 

The solar PV plant is located within the Residential Community adjacent to the King Hussein University, one of the clusters of the Ma’an Development Area and is owned by the Ma’an Development Company (“MDC”), responsible for the development of this special economic zone.

 

Phoenix Solar and Mustakbal successfully installed 4’032 Trina Solar modules and 56 SMA inverters in an area of 14’000sqm. The solar plant comprises two 514kWp subsystems, each connected to the LV side of the transformers.

 

The PV plant will generate approximately 2’000MWh of electricity annually, to meet 100% of the student dormitory’s power consumption, turning the Residential Community into Jordan’s first zero-energy dormitory and an excellent showcase for PV technology.

 

The project, the first MW-scale PV project in Jordan, was completed within schedule and with no disruption to student life at the Residential Community.

 

The effective combination of skills and experience of Phoenix Solar and Mustakbal delivered the best results in this project and set a great precedent for future project partnerships. “It took well coordinated teamwork to deliver this project on time without compromising on quality or performance”, said Christophe Inglin, Managing Director of Phoenix Solar and “we look forward to many more projects in Jordan with our partner Mustakbal.”

 

“The installation was completed and commissioned on time, thanks to the outstanding support and partnership with MDC (the owner), The National Energy Research Centre (the project consultant), and our suppliers and implementation partners that were instrumental to the project success resulting in a high quality installation. We are proud to be the first utility scale installer in Jordan”, said Ala Qubain, CEO of Mustakbal MDC will benefit from the net-metering regulations introduced through the Jordanian net metering renewable energy law. This will reduce its electricity bills from day one and will result in a payback time of 3 years; showing the clear economic benefits of solar PV in a country with high electricity prices and excellent solar resources.

 

“The Phoenix/Mustakbal consortium has exceeded our expectations in delivering a high-performance PV solar plant on time and to the highest quality standards” said Dr. Atef Odibat, Chairman of the Board of MDC.

 

The Ma’an Development Area is considered a solar hub in Jordan with plans to build over 100MW of PV systems by 2015 through solar purchase agreements.

Danfoss Turbocor and Haier saves 1,500 CO² emissions

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Danfoss Turbocor® and Haier build highly efficient air conditioning systems for KAI FU JIAN GUO Hotel at Zhengzhou International Airport – China and save 1,500 CO² emissions

Full View of Zhengzhou Kaifu Hotel

Full View of Zhengzhou Kaifu Hotel

As for energy consumption in hotel operations, air-conditioning systems take a large proportion due to long operation times, i.e. running around the clock. Statistics show it accounts for 30-50% of the energy consumption of the hotel. For large hotels, air conditioning systems are more complex due to the huge volume of the buildings, the multi-functional areas as well as to the varying cooling load affected by the occupancy rate, seasonal variations, diurnal variations and other factors. How to meet load variations of a hotel while being energy efficient has become a major issue in the design of air conditioning systems for large hotels. Therefore, from the beginning of its construction, Zhengzhou KAI FU JIAN GUO Hotel was determined to seek a superior energy-saving solution for the air conditioning systems of the hotel.

Energy efficient and stable operation all year round

Across from Zhengzhou International Airport, Zhengzhou KAI FU JIAN GUO Hotel is just a road’s width away from the waiting hall of the airport, and is the only five-star hotel in the airport area. The hotel covers an area of 90,000 m2 with a landscape-style architecture, in which the main building has two floors and the annex building five floors. It has 172 guest rooms, large and small meeting rooms, Chinese and Western restaurants, private compartments, recreation centers and a 460m2 Grand Ballroom. The building structure of the hotel is lower than high-rise buildings but on a larger surface. Meanwhile, Zhengzhou”s climate is typical continental monsoon climate characterized by obvious seasonal and daily temperature difference. The air conditioning system operates from April to September each year in part-load and only in peak load for one month between July and August, during which the highest outdoor daytime temperature can reach 40 degrees Celsius. Finally, the water-cooled chiller unit solution with magnet oil-free variable-speed centrifugal compressor jointly best online casino developed by the Central Air Conditioning Division of Haier Group with Danfoss Turbocor® Compressors stood out from many other solutions.

Meeting IPLV of 11.5

The  hotel operates with two chillers that totalize 2110kW of cooling capacity globally.  Each chiller is equipped with two Danfoss Turbocor® inverter centrifugal compressors TT400 with oil-free magnetic bearings. Danfoss Turbocor® compressors utilize integrated variable speed technology with drive control. When the condensing temperature and/or heat load changes, the cooling capacity can be adjusted to the actual need by the drive, which regulates the compressor motor speed impeller. This reduces energy consumption and improves stability of the unit so as to ensure the unit can run smoothly even in a load condition as low as 10%. The IPLV of the unit can reach 11.5 in part load conditions. In compressors, traditional oil-lubricated bearings are replaced by magnetic bearings. Traditional oil-lubricated bearing chillers may hinder heat transfer of heat exchangers and consume more energy because of the lubrication process. The ASHRAE research report shows that a chiller unit with every 3.5% oil increase will consume 8% more of electricity; magnetic bearings help chiller units achieve the goal of 100% oil-free operation, enabling higher energy efficiency during the unit functioning.

Designed for endurance

The unit is designed with two compressors and both can run independently. Before one of them reaches full-load capacity, the other one starts to operate based on the left load, adjusts to the required capacity and avoids the full-load operation of the first compressor. This unit design enhances the lifetime of the compressors and improves overall system safety.

CO² emissions reduced by 1,500 tons in 5 years

More than five years have passed since the unit was carried into operation by the hotel in June 2008, and the air conditioning system is running stably. “After one year, the monitoring data showed that compared to traditional screw chillers, the variable speed centrifugal chiller had saved us about 50% energy. We are very satisfied with its energy efficiency”, says Mr. Ma, Director of Operations of KAI FU JIAN GUO Hotel Zhengzhou. “The magnet variable speed central air conditioner also addresses the problem of constant and stable functioning of air conditioning in low-load operating conditions”, he adds. “The monitoring data also shows that the current system using Turbocor inverter oil-free centrifugal compressors help saving 300,000 kWh of electricity and up to RMB 230,000 in electricity costs per year compared with an unit equipped with screw chillers. It reduces the CO² emissions by about 300 tons annually”.

The other fantastic news is that the energy efficiency of this chiller exceeds the efficiency of systems like water pumps. Usually, the energy consumption of chiller systems can be twice the one of water pump systems. Based on measurements done at Kaifu Hotel, the energy consumption of these chillers is only half of the one of a traditional water pump system.

During both the installing and operating period of the solution, the hotel’s management team and system installation group measured other advantages with this oil-free magnetic bearing variable-speed system. The size of the compressor is only half of the screw machine, saving a lot of room space needed for air conditioners. Besides the very low noise, vibration-free operation of only 72 dB eliminates the need for insulation equipment and facilitates the unit construction, but also saves on system installation costs; the oil-free principle further saves after-sales maintenance cost, which is expected up to RMB 400,000 for the entire life cycle. These additional advantages also won the recognition from the hotel management team.

 

Schindler supplies to Poland’s award-winning Warsaw Spire

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Schindler underlines its reputation as partner-of-choice supplying leading technology mobility solutions to landmark buildings.

Double-deck efficiency: The company has been given the assignment to ensure people mobility in Warsaw Spire’s ca. 100,000 m² of office space. A total of 41 Schindler elevators will be installed, including 17 Schindler 7000 high-rise double-deck elevators; elevators with two stacked cars that can service two floors simultaneously. Schindler will also be supplying its award winning destination control system, PORT Technology.

The Warsaw Spire will be the first building in Poland, and one of the few in Europe, to be equipped with double-deck elevators.

Award winning architecture: The design – that won the “Architectural Design of the year, Poland” in 2011 – redefines urban office space and will include trees, fountains, shops and restaurants. Two 55 meter high buildings will stand at the base of a breathtaking 220 meter spire in the middle.

Warsaw Spire in Warsaw, Poland

Newest energy efficient products: Schindler will also install 27 units of its newest innovation, the Schindler 5500 elevator with its regenerative-drive technology, energy-saving LED lighting and ecoMode operation. And of course both elevators are being designed to fit the interior concept of the architect for color, material and ambiance.

The new Warsaw Spire complex will also receive 4 Schindler 9300AE escalators. The 9300AE uses a special drive system and rise angle to lower energy by as much as 27% compared to earlier escalators.

Large project expertise: Chosen by Ghelamco Poland Sp. z o.o., Schindler will be the sole supplier of mobility solutions for the futuristic office building in the heart of the Polish capital. Schindler was awarded the contract for its large-scale project expertise and for state-of-the-art products using green technology.

Energy Efficient Centrifugal Pump – Xylem e-HM Series

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xylem e-hm

 

Xylem’s new e-HM series is a range of stainless steel, horizontal, multi-stage Lowara pumps specifically designed for residential applications.

 

The new e-HM pump is based on a unique hydraulic design and boasts superior performance and efficiency characteristics which significantly lower lifecycle costs and increase energy savings. When combined with Xylem Hydrovar, the e-HM pump can offer up to a further 30% energy saving compared to previous models.

 

The e-HM series has pump flow of up to 29 m3/h and can perform to a maximum pressure of 16 bars. The many configurations available mean the pump can meet specific needs of a range of residential applications such as water supply and pressure boosting through to heating, ventilation and air-conditioning.

 

The e-HM pump comes with superior levels of Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) and a minimised impeller axial thrust which results in a longer bearing life. Due to the high grade stainless steel used, Xylem’s new pump has WRAS/ ACS/ AS4020/ NSF61 approvals and can be used to pump potable water while providing superior corrosion resistance.

 

This e-HM pump is available as a single unit for installers, or as part of a “ready to pump” package, with either a tank and fixed speed controls or variable speed controls, for ‘turnkey’ solutions. The fixed speed option offers a basic solution with a larger tank. The variable speed option allows the speed of the pump to be adjusted in relation to requirement, noticeably reducing energy consumption. The variable speed option also prevents the development of water hammer when the pump system is stopped.

 

For more information please visit www.lowara.com .

 

About Xylem.

Xylem (NYSE: XYL) is a leading global water technology provider, enabling customers to transport, treat, test and efficiently use water in public utility, residential and commercial building services, industrial and agricultural settings. The company does business in more than 150 countries through a number of market-leading product brands, and its people bring broad applications expertise with a strong focus on finding local solutions to the world’s most challenging water and wastewater problems. Xylem is headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., with 2012 annual revenues of $3.8 billion and 12,700 employees worldwide. In 2012, Xylem was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for advancing sustainable business practices and solutions worldwide.

The name Xylem is derived from classical Greek and is the tissue that transports water in plants, highlighting the engineering efficiency of our water-centric business by linking it with the best water transportation of all — that which occurs in nature. For more information, please visit Xylem.