Al Salem Johnson Controls (York), a provider of integrated HVAC solutions and equipment, has succeeded in devising new technologies that have contributed to cutting energy consumption at Al-Shallal Theme Park in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

These technologies enabled the theme park to achieve an annual power saving of up to SR1.5 million ($399,960), by using ‘water steam’ instead of the traditional production of electricity to operate its cooling system, said a statement from the company.

Al Salem Johnson Controls is a multi-industry company and a pioneer in providing integrated solutions that include HVAC, fire safety and security systems, building management and control systems for the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.

Al Salem Johnson Controls chief executive officer Dr Mohanad AlShaikh stated that innovation is the cornerstone of the company's business and they always embrace an environment in which new ideas, technologies and processes are explored to create diverse solutions and services.

Located on Jeddah's Corniche over an area of 60,000 sq m and visited annually by one million visitors, Al-Shallal Theme Park, a subsidiary of Fakieh Hospitality and Leisure Group - Tarfeeh Fakieh, aims to become the best amusement park in Saudi Arabia, it said.

Jamil Attar, executive director of Fakieh Hospitality and Leisure Group, said: “Since the beginning of the design phase of the project, there had been extensive research to select a world-class company that offers cooling, ventilation and air-conditioning solutions by taking advantage of seawater to reduce energy consumption.”

“Al Salem Johnson Controls (York), having repeatedly proven its experience in designing and engineering sustainable solutions and services, helped us improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon footprint, and achieve environmental goals,” he said.

Dr AlShaikh said that Al Salem Johnson Controls (York) has engineered and designed solutions for the theme park, characterised by energy and operation efficiency to ensure that the park - which includes open and closed areas - is cooled in all climatic conditions and has great operational performance during the holiday seasons when the Theme Part witnesses huge numbers of visitors.

With innovation in mind, Al Salem Johnson Controls team took advantage of the strategic location of the theme park, using saltwater instead of fresh water, thus saving 50,000 gallons per day (190,000 litres/day) of fresh water, sufficient to satisfy thirst of 1,000 people a day.

The cooling plant comprises of three York absorption chillers, each with a cooling capacity of 750 tonnes, along with condensers, pumps and firefighting systems, it added.

In the same building, diesel boilers use seawater to produce steam; as the chillers are operated by steam instead of electricity, which contributes to saving the energy consumption of the AlShallal Park, equivalent to SR1.5 million ($399,960) a year.

AlShaikh said: “The seawater is used in a complete cycle; it is withdrawn and filtered to ensure that it is free of small fish and other marine organisms before entering the cooling system (either in chiller or in the boilers).”

“It is important to stress that our cooling system does not use any chemicals in the water, thus does not affect the life and the marine environment after the water is being pumped back to the sea again after completing the cooling cycle,” he added.

As for the Fakieh Aquarium project, which is part of Fakieh Hospitality and Leisure Group - Tarfeeh Fakieh, Al Salem Johnson Controls (York) supplied three chillers (each with a cooling capacity of 250 tonnes) and eight air handling units, and succeeded in cooling and controlling the temperature of the fish tanks and the dolphin lake, in proportion to the temperature of the aquatic environment, so as not to adversely affect the lives of fish and other marine creatures, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service