Hong Kong’s first District Cooling System at Kai Tak

The Kai Tak Development is a complex project spanning over 320 hectares and with a huge demand for air-conditioning. The Government is therefore constructing the city’s first District Cooling System at the development to promote energy efficiency and conservation. The system is a large scale air-conditioning system that comprises two central plants, underground chilled water distribution piping network, seawater supply and discharge pipes, and consumer substations located in the buildings to interface with the building’s own chilled water circulation systems. It uses the seawater as the heat rejection medium to save more energy compared with other conventional systems. In addition, the cooling capacity of the system can be increased on request, without the need for extensive modification works to a building. By completion in 2015, 50 buildings will be connected to this system, saving 85 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and seeing a reduction of 59,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.