Imdaad Group CEO: District cooling plants to reduce carbon footprint
District cooling plants are serving new communities with significantly less carbon footprint as compared to individual cooling systems, says Jamal Abdulla Lootah
According to a published report by Fortune Business Insights – ‘District Cooling Market: Global Market Analysis, Insights, and Forecast’, the global market for district cooling sector is booming.
It is estimated to hit $39.9 billion by 2026 from $21.9 billion last year, growing at a CAGR of 7.77 per cent, globally, according to the report.
MECN caught up with Jamal Abdulla Lootah, Group CEO of Imdaad, a facilities management solutions company, to talk about how there has been an increase in green cooling trends in the GCC and if global practices are being adopted in the region.
“The region has achieved tremendous progress in nurturing a culture of sustainability which is being driven by the ambitious strategies of governments in the GCC. This is to reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency through the implementation of sustainable practices in operations across various industries,” Lootah said.
In the UAE, district cooling plants are serving new communities with significantly less carbon footprint as compared to individual cooling systems, he added.
The district cooling market in the Middle East is projected to exceed $12 billion by 2024 due to a rising infrastructural spending across the region and a rapidly expanding population. Moreover, In 2015, the government of Dubai had set its target to achieve 40 percent of cooling demand through district cooling systems by the year 2030. The target aims toward the reduction of power consumption of the city’s air conditioning by 50 percent.
“We have been witnessing an increasing demand for climate-friendly and sustainable cooling solutions and eco-friendly technologies such as absorption cooling are being widely adopted in the region,” stated Lootah.
He further added that due to the immense potential in bringing significant energy efficiency benefits, Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled HVAC systems are increasingly adopted in the region. He said that IoT systems can facilitate the collection of data to enable informed decision-making in facilities. They also come in handy in transforming legacy systems to smart systems that will cater to the changing needs of buildings, Lootah explained.
He concluded: “HVAC systems can be fed with data related to occupancy to improve the operational efficiency of buildings. Building management systems and HVAC together can play an important role in developing cutting-edge responsive technologies and systems to reduce energy consumption and enhance the performance of buildings substantially.”
