Complex climate control in buildings around the globe

As technology continues to rapidly evolve, across the world we’re experiencing more and more unusual complex buildings and structures being constructed. To go along side these buildings, an increasingly unique set of demands arise for their internal systems, including the vital aspect of climate control.

Within this article, we will delve into the various approaches to climate control for advance buildings from around the world.

Burj Khalifa
The tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa, towering at 2,716.5 feet tall, under an average desert temperature of 41°C. The tower is truly triumph of technology and to keep it cool is a task in and of itself, let alone with the surrounding temperature being so extreme. So, how do they do it?

The secret comes down a number of variables. Primarily, ice-chilled water is used to cool the building, and this is supplied by three plants. During off-peak hours, the central water plant creates an ice slurry that makes the water colder than a chiller could manage. This chilly water is sent through the tower in a series of pipes to heat exchangers at three different levels. Once the cold water has cooled the air for the air conditioning unit to use, it is sent back down to the central water plant again.

There are a few key benefits to this approach:

It is better for the environment, as it allows the tower to make savings on energy use
It reduces the amount of space needed to dedicate to cooling equipment

Originally, the air conditioning system had to be turned on steadily over a one-week period. This was to prevent pockets of warm air from forming in the building.

There are also safety regulations implemented too. As a back-up, the tower also has four air-cooled chillers to support the data centres if needed.

Amazon’s Seattle Offices
Known for their innovating approach to heating, Amazon’s Seattle offices are heated by capturing the warm air produced by its data centres – a phenomenal way to re-use waste for a key purpose!

What’s extraordinary, is that the data centres aren’t actually Amazon’s own. The heat is collected from the Westin building across the street from their offices. It’s a two-fold victory, as it helps Amazon to save energy and gives Westin a good way of sustainably dealing with waste heat. The heated water is piped from the data centres to a central plant belonging to Amazon, and is put through heat-reclaiming chillers. This is then used to supply the office’s heating needs, and the now-cold water is sent back to Westin to help cool their data centres. Amazon is set to save 65 million pounds of coal’s worth of CO2 emissions over 25 years with this approach.

British Airways i360
Based in Brighton, the 450-foot British Airways i360, which is the tallest moving observation tower and sets a new challenge for climate control. — the structure houses a restaurant, a shop, conference rooms, exhibition spaces, wedding venues, and of course, a 360° panoramic view in its moving 94-ton pod.

To power the buildings heating, is done via renewable energy thanks to the Daikin VRV IV system installed within it. A constant supply of fresh air is circulated by heat recovery ventilation units throughout the building — this is crucial for reducing the demand on each air conditioning unit that needs to balance the indoor temperature with a significantly different outside temperature.

The building has a few location-based requirements to work around too. One, the units need to be out of sight. Two, they need to be able to withstand the corrosive nature of salty sea air! Therefore, the VRV IV outdoor units have been installed out of sight, and are treated with a specialist factory-applied Blygold coating, to protect them from the salt in the air. The result is an energy-efficient, streamlined, and sea-air-ready HVAC system that supports this complex and unique building.

What the future of climate control looks like

Evidentially, with buildings becoming larger and more complicated, so must our climate control to methods to adapt to them. The Independent reported on another ambitious project blossoming in Dubai — the world’s largest shopping centre. But calling it a shopping centre seems a little unfair; the project intends to cover 48 million square feet, making it a shopping city.

With the world’s largest theme park, a Broadway-style theatre district, and an Oxford Street inspired shopping area, the Mall of the World is a gargantuan undertaking on so many levels. Crucially, it is being touted as the first climate-controlled city in the world.

How much further will we see climate control methods blend natural resources with new technology? The world’s structures are only going to get more complex, so it will be interesting to see how requirements like heating and cooling are addressed in such builds.