Background Story
The is recognized as one of the most iconic buildings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is an 80-story skyscraper situated in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and is a mixed-use building specialized for offices, residential, and retail use. Given the condition & capacity of the tower at the time, there was an opportunity for vast improvements through the integration of advanced, contemporary technologies, as well as upgrades on the current equipment/systems.
With the aim of reducing their overall energy consumption, the client contacted Ark Energy to implement an Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program, as well as Delta-T Rehabilitation. The aim of this program is to alleviate the client’s energy consumption, reduce their overall operational costs, eliminate their Delta-T surcharges, and digitalize their energy management through our platform, arkEMIS.
Problems
From the investigations conducted, there were a couple of sources of energy consumption that were problematic. Firstly, the building’s chilled water network required a few enhancements. Such modifications would include optimizing the control of the pump speed, improving the fresh air exchange rate of the existing Fresh Air Handling Units, and replacing the existing direct expansion air conditioning system (DX Units) with more efficient units.
Lastly, the tower’s Building Management System (BMS) was out of tune and required certain enhancements. These would include modifications in monitoring & controlling energy-consuming equipment and providing access to override commands for building personnel. In addition, the electrical meters that were utilized were not in sync with a comprehensive energy management system as they did not meet the minimum threshold.
Main Objective
As stated, the overall goal stated of the program is to alleviate the client’s energy consumption, reduce their overall operational costs, eliminate their Delta-T surcharges, and digitalize their energy management through our platform, arkEMIS. From the data that was collected and analyzed over the past 12 months, there were clear figures representing where the point source(s) of the consumption were aggregated in. As shown in the figures below, the majority of 2018 represented a total energy cost of 15.1 million AED. Of these costs, the tower was paying 2.63 million AED yearly in Delta-T surcharges:
Figure 01
The monthly energy cost & cost distribution within the tower over the span of 12 months covering 2018 & 2019 (Values are in ,000 AED)
Figure 02
The percentage distribution of the energy cost in question
Approach
Ark Energy, as the client’s consultant, provided the following implementations to meet the main objectives of this corresponding project and address the point sources of energy consumption through the following:- An Energy Control & Management System (ECMS) was implemented to complement the tower’s BMS so that it utilizes pre-defined algorithms and artificial intelligence to allow better control of the HVAC equipment. Such a system will aid in maintaining optimal indoor thermal comfort for the occupants
- New meters were installed to provide better details on the tower’s energy performance by providing real-time energy consumption monitoring and historical trending
- The previously existing DX Unit was replaced by a more efficient inverter AC unit, whose Fresh Air Handling Units (FAHUs) were paired with variable frequency drives (VFDs) to optimize the exchange of fresh air in occupant spaces
- The tower’s chilled water network has undergone upgrades, which include the following:
- The installation of new DPT sensors
- The replacement of faulty valves with smart energy valves on main branches and coils
- Reprogramming pumps to operate based on the information received from the smart valves
Results
The results that were generated from the project include the following:
- Savings: 1.0 mAED (24%)
- Delta-T Savings: 2.4 mAED (90%)
- Payback: 2.5 years