An example of Johnson Controls’ approach to innovation is the recent contract it clinched to supply a building management system (BMS) for the expansion of Makkah’s Holy Mosque in Saudi Arabia. The project included a full HVAC system comprising 27 York multi-stage centrifugal chillers to produce one of the most efficient and sustainable facilities of its kind.
Stephen Roell, chairman and CEO of Johnson Controls, a US company that specialises in HVAC systems and with a presence in Jeddah, where the contract was signed, called the order “one of the largest single HVAC equipment orders in the history of Johnson Controls”. The York chillers were installed at the Shamiyah central utility complex and Ajyad chiller plant, with a 135,000TR capacity. Using environment-friendly R134a refrigerant, the chillers are equipped with solid-state starters and variable-speed drives (VSDs) that are seamlessly integrated with a Johnson Controls Metasys BMS.
The company has had a relationship with Al Salem, which created the joint venture Al Salem Johnson Controls, since 1993. “This particular project at the Holy Mosque is one we can all be proud of, not only because of the facility’s significance, but also because of the unique challenges it presents ,” said Saleh Binladin, executive board member of Al Salem Johnson Controls. The company has won a flurry of mega projects in the Kingdom, according to Basil Abdulaziz, MD for Al Salem Johnson Controls, with the King Abdullah of Science and Technology University, King Faisal University, King Abdulaziz International Airport, Hajj Terminal, King Saud University, King Khaled University, Hadeed-Sabic and Princess Noura.
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