DOHA: District cooling solutions are expected to become increasingly popular as they address modern lifestyle demands, according to Fayad Al Khatib, General Manager of Qatar Cool.
"District cooling saves power and produces less CO2 which has a positive impact on global warming. We expect district cooling solutions to become increasingly popular as they address modern lifestyle demands of enhanced reliability, and total convenience, as well as a greener environment," he told a conference here recently.
During the "Qatar Green Buildings 2009" conference, organized by MEED in early March at W Hotel, Doha, Qatar Cool, the sole distributor of district cooling services in Qatar, highlighted these benefits in line with the company's long term commitment to improving quality of life and preserving the environment.
He said that as the sole supplier of district cooling in Qatar, the company's services protect against global warming by reducing harmful gas emissions.
"In addition, our system displaces peak electric power demand, which benefits the local power grid by reducing power demand, thus ensuring maximum utilization of resources with minimal impact on the environment," said Al Khatib.
He added that considering the fact that 60 to 70 percent of power demand in the GCC area is used for air conditioning purposes, the system contributes to remarkable energy saving, which is reflected on fuel consumption and emissions at power generation plants.
In his presentation titled "District Cooling Drives a Greener Environment", Issa Qandeel, Qatar Cool's Projects Department Manager, addressed the benefits of District Cooling in promoting a culture of wise energy consumption and environmental awareness, looking at its practical application in projects in Qatar.
Qandeel explained how district cooling is used throughout the company's schemes in Qatar, piping chilled water from a centralised plant to a range of residential, commercial and government buildings.
He pointed out that builders and landlords alike are attracted to the maintenance-free, economic and environmentally friendly cooling benefits of the technology, while tenants enjoy reduced ambient noise and better temperature control in their homes.
By Naseer Al Harthy
© The Peninsula 2009
