Balancing act

Keeping buildings green and energy conscious can be like keeping several plates spinning at one time. Focus on one issue, such as using renewable technologies, and you may miss other important factors like energy consumption. Rating systems such as LEED and BREEAM help to address the balance, but developers, contractors, consultants and major sectors such as district cooling need to be on a constant look out.

In November’s MEP Middle East Trane general manager Michel Farah called for the MEP industry to focus on sustainable growth rather than “ups and downs”. Although Farah was speaking primarily about the economic side of the sector, it could be well worth applying this same theory to environmental issues.

District cooling can make considerable savings on energy consumption and should be congratulated for this. There is no doubting it is a brilliant concept and one in its element in the Middle East. In this month’s Big Interview with SNC Lavalin managing director Paul Beaudry, he comments: “These are fabulous countries for district cooling. There are extreme temperatures so it’s very efficient and very beneficial. What you need with district energy is extremes.”

However, there is another aspect to district cooling that could throw it off balance - it requires a huge amount of water. There are currently projects in the Middle East that are ready to go live but do not have the necessary amount of water to work properly. But there is a factor that can tip the scales back to even and that is the increased use of recycled water and seawater in plants in the Middle East. Technology in the recycled water field is progressing rapidly and has even led to Singapore using recycled water for drinking.

Religious reasons dictate that this type of water cannot be drunk in the Middle East and there are very few calls to do so. However this water is perfectly good for use in district cooling and it is something that the sector has been quick to pick up on. Advances in membrane technology and polishing techniques have served the industry well.

Therefore it is through technologies such as these that district cooling can achieve its balance, and in doing so provide an example for the rest of the construction industry to follow.

Peter Ward is the assistant editor of Mechanical Electrical Plumbing Middle East.

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