District Cooling Market Research

District Cooling Market Research

District Cooling (DC) is the centralized production and distribution of cooling energy. The output of one plant can meet cooling-demands of dozens of buildings. It’s important because centralized production of cooling energy is:

• More environmentally friendly
• More cost-effective
• A price competitive alternative
• Reliable and convenient for the customer
• Space efficient

District Cooling Systems (DCS)

• Distributes thermal energy in the form of chilled water from a central source to buildings through underground pipes.
• Three primary components:
  • Central plant
  • Distribution network
  • Consumer system

• District Cooling Systems may include:
  • Cooling equipment
  • Power generation
  • Thermal storage

Market Potential

A possible chain of events ….

• Increased use of fossil fuels (e.g. electricity production)
• Then, an increase in greenhouse gas emissions
• Then, Global warming
• Then, a need for new systems

Market Potential Issues

• GCC Urbanization Patterns
  • Significant Real Estate development
  • High demand for air conditioning
• Climate
  • Hot and Humid
  • Permanent need for cooling
  • Need for stable and reliable solution
• Energy Considerations
  • Power constraints/shortages
  • Need for energy efficient solutions

Key Technologies in District Cooling

• Reciprocating Engines
  • All types of power generation (small portable Gensets to larger industrial engines)
  • Spark ignition engines use natural gas as preferred fuel
  • Can be set up to run on propane or gasoline
• Gas Turbines
  • Established technology in many sizes (kilowatts to megawatts)
  • Produce high-quality heat to generate steam for on-site use
  • Can burn natural gas, petroleum fuels, or have a dual-fuel configuration

• Steam Turbines
  • Convert steam energy into shaft power
  • Capacity can range from fractional horsepower to several hundred MW
  • Does not directly convert a fuel to electric energy (requires a source of high-pressure steam)
• Micro Turbines
  • Very small combustion turbines
  • Offered in a size range of 30kW to 250 kW
  • In the early stages of market entry

• Fuel Cells
  • Produce power electrochemically, similar to a battery
  • Use hydrogen fuel that is delivered to a cathode and oxygen in air that is delivered to a node
  • Modular and capable of application in small commercial or residential markets
  • Also operates at high temperatures in larger sized systems
• Absorption Chillers
  • Commercialized thermally activated technology
  • The most common working fluids are water/NH3 and LiBr/water
  • Can be divided into single-effect, double-effect, or triple-effect
  • Novel, environmentally friendly, and effective way of using low-grade heat sources
  • Four phases:
    • Heating-pressurization
    • Isobaric condensation
    • Cooling-depressurization
    • Isobaric adsorption

• Desiccant dehumidifiers
  • Can work in concert with sorption chillers or conventional air-conditioning systems
  • Two types:
    • Solid desiccant dehumidifiers
    • Liquid desiccant dehumidifiers

• Thermal energy storage (TES)
  • Stores heat from cooling loads during high load or ‘on-peak’ periods
  • Then, removes heat from storage and rejects it to the ambient environment during low-load or ‘off-peak’ periods
  • Can use latent heat storage or sensible heat storage

 

About District Cooling Market Research

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