VIJAYAWADA: The AP Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), which is developing Amaravati with energy efficiency as one of its foundation principles, has set the ball rolling for doing away with the conventional air conditioning system. Instead, the capital will have a unique temperature management system — District Cooling System (DCS) — for space cooling of the Amaravati Government Complex (AGC) that will house the Assembly, High Court, five-tower Secretariat and other buildings.
The DCS is a mechanism in which chilled water from a centralised source is distributed to various buildings through a network of underground pipes for space cooling. As there would be a central source, individual air conditioning units can be eliminated.“This mechanism is used in advanced countries like USA, Europe, Russia, Japan and some middle east countries. In India, GIFT city has adopted it. But, Amaravati is the first Indian capital city to use it,” a senior CRDA official told TNIE.
Recently, Thane in Maharashtra has been selected under United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) for installing DCS in civic infrastructures. The estimated cost of the project, which will be developed under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, is pegged at `150 crore. “We have released the Request For Proposal (RFP) last week for taking the project forward. The cost of the project is yet to be finalised. Once we get the requisite quotations and RFPs from prospective bidders, we will begin the works in August or September,” the official added. The project cost also includes the establishment of a dedicated 33KV electrical switching station to meet the energy requirement of the DCS.
Explaining how the system works, another official said, “There will be air-handling units, which are connected to the DCS, located in the rooms of the buildings. The handlers circulate the air, which is cooled by the chilled water, across the room. So, unlike the conventional ACs, we will not have a separate outdoor unit.” The DCS is said t provide an advantage over other energy systems as it replaces many individual air conditioners with one central cooling source, contributes to improved air quality, reduces power, greater efficiency, lower lifetime costs and other environmental benefits.
District Cooling System
The project will be developed in two-phases
In phase-1, a district cooling plant (DCP) with a capacity of 5,000 TR (tonnes of refrigeration) will be developed to power Assembly, High Court and five-tower secretariat. It’s maximum capacity will be 20,000 TR for future use.
It will be extended to other buildings in Amaravati Government Complex (AGC) such as Raj Bhavan in the second phase
The proposed District Cooling Plant will be located near the judges bungalows and would be built in an area of about 10,800 sqm
Chilled water of 4.5 degree Celsius will be supplied in the peak hours, thus bringing down the temperature in the rooms
DCS is 40-50 per cent more efficient than conventional cooling systems, and is expected to reduce the carbon emissions by almost half