Special Feature

26 Building & Investment | www.b-i.biz

AS MALAYSIA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
continue to experience robust growth in
building construction, the need to cool
these new buildings is leading to substantial
increase in the use of electricity. The year-
round hot and humid climate in this region
means that air-conditioning accounts
for 30% to 50% of the total electricity
consumed in buildings.
A viable alternative to conventional
cooling is through centralised district
cooling systems (or DCS). Malaysia is
already a regional leader in district cooling,
having added at least 11 DCS installations in
the last 20 years. These installations, which
include Kuala Lumpur Airport, Cyberjaya
and KL City Center, total 190,000 Tons of
cooling capacity.
In district cooling, cooling energy is
centrally produced and distributed to a
cluster of buildings or facilities. Typically,
insulated underground pipelines deliver
chilled water to cool the indoor air of
commercial (offices, retail malls, hotels,
campuses, etc.), industrial, and residential
District Cooling saves on
Building Energy use
An Asian Development Bank study finds substantial opportunities for
district cooling in new buildings in Malaysia
buildings within a district. District cooling
systems may include power generation
along with various combinations of chillers
to provide electricity, chilled water and hot
water or steam.
Since electric chillers and cooling
systems typically account for 30-50% of a
facilitys electrical bill in Southeast Asia, this
is an important area to examine for energy
efficiency and cost savings.
District cooling systems can yield
impressive efficiency gains, leading to
savings in the range of 10-25% on electricity
costs.
This type of district cooling systems
has multiple benefits for property owners,
says Daniel Wiedmer, Senior Investment
Specialist with the Private Sector Operations
Department of the Asian Development
Bank. By providing a central plant to cool
several buildings, they can reduce capital
expenditures on equipment, and also reduce
long-run operations and maintenance
costs.
DCS systems also provide an increased
reliability when the DCS is coupled with
thermal energy storage (TES) systems.
1
Investment of USD1.4 - 2.2 Billion (MR
5-7 Billion) will be needed
We estimate that there is more than 400,000
tons of DCS cooling capacity potential in
new construction of offices, shopping malls,
and other retail buildings in Malaysia that
have total floor area over 20,000 m
2
, as
shown in the table below. This translates
into an investment potential in the range of
approximately USD 1.4 billion to 2.2 billion
(5-7 billion Malaysian Ringgit).
Additional potential for DCS also exists
in facilities that have already been built.
Some facility owners may choose to convert
1
Thermal energy storage (TES) systems produce ice or chilled water at night, for use to cool the building air during the daytime. This
strategy shifts the electrical load of the cooling system to off-peak hours, which reduces utility peak demand and saves the building
owner money, since the electricity tariff is lower during the late evening hours than during the daytime peak hours. It also serves as
back-up to ensure permanent supply of cooling, even when the chillers break down.
Special Feature
Building & Investment | www.b-i.biz 27
their cooling systems to DCS as existing equipment ages.
There are currently 11 active DCS projects in Malaysia, with
a total capacity of about 190,000 TR. Considerable additional
potential exists in other segments such as schools and campuses,
industrial facilities, data centers, hotels, and residential complexes.
An estimated 10 million m
2
of office building floorspace
2
will
be built in the next 20 years, increasing demand for cooling by 110
GWh of electricity, 22 MW of chiller cooling, and 15 thousand tons
of refrigeration. Another 10 million m
2
of mall shopping complexes
(malls) is also expected to be built, which similarly will increase
demand for cooling by 102 GWh, chiller cooling by 20 MW, and 14
tons of refrigeration. But the largest potential exists in new retail
(non-mall) buildings, with expected growth of almost 300 million
m
2
, This will increase cooling demand by a massive 2,760 GWh,
chiller needs by 550 MW, and a total of almost 390 thousand tons
of refrigeration.
The market is developing rapidly, and there are a number of
high profile projects currently under development.
We are bullish on the prospects for district cooling systems
in Malaysia and other countries in Southeast Asia, says Pierre
Cheyron, CEO of Cofely Southeast Asia Pte Ltd., a major energy
services company in the region. We believe that urban planners
and property developers will increasingly see the long-term benefits
of building district cooking systems into their development plans
for large retail, office, and mixed-use developments.
DCS costs can be difficult to quantify, and can vary dramatically
depending on technologies used, fuels, TES (thermal storage),
occupancy, building densities, network lengths, local electricity &
natural gas costs and other factors.
An important factor that would make DCS feasible in an area
is the load density of cooling requirement. Densely packed areas
with several high rise buildings, such as in a city center, make DCS
an attractive option. DCS may include various types of cooling
equipment, such as centrifugal chillers, absorption, direct fired,
steam driven and thermal storage. DCS can also include co-
generation of electricity and/or water desalination. The distribution
piping for the chilled water network is an added infrastructure cost
for DCS.
Overview of DCS Systems in Operation in Malaysia
Authors: Anand Vadakkath is a Senior Technical Specialist with Nexant based in Bangalore,
India. Peter du Pont is Vice-President, Government & Clean Energy Consulting for Nexant
based in Bangkok, Thailand.
This study was sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as a part of the
Southeast Asia Energy Efciency Initiative (http://adb-seaee.com). The ADB initiative
communicates the technical, nancial, social, and environmental viability of energy
efciency projects and provides clear examples of successful energy efciency improvement
across a variety of sectors and industries. Ultimately, the project is expected to increase
investment in energy services projects in buildings and factories across Southeast Asia.
2
The estimate only includes buildings greater than 20,000 m
2
, which are better suited for DCS.
3
Serving Menara Telekom, Wisma Telekom, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) Headquarters.
4
Serving 10 facilities in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) (National University of Malaysia).
5
Serving the 1 Borneo shopping Mall.
6
Serving Plaza Sentral and office complexes.
In our analysis, we used a simplified approach, assuming a
centrifugal chiller plant with installed costs of USD2,300 to 3,500
per ton, with a 50% additional investment for the distribution
piping network. This translates to approximately USD1.4 billion
to 2.2 billion (Malaysian Ringgit 5-7 billion) in investment. This
investment potential is just the tip of the iceberg, as there are
several other market segments that have not been included in this
research.
Installed DCS in Malaysia (Non-Gas)
Source: Malaysian Energy Commission; *TR: tons of refrigeration
Source: Malaysian Energy Commission; *TR: tons of refrigeration
Project

Location

Chiller Plant Capacity (TR)

Bangsar District Cooling
Plant
Bangsar
3
11,250
UKM District Cooling
Plant
Bangi
4
3,700
Serdang Hospital Serdang - hospital 2,800
1 Borneo Kota Kinabalu
5
5,700
KL Sentral Centralized
Chilled Water Plant
Kuala Lumpur (KL) Sentral
6
7,000
Megajana District
Cooling Plant
Cyberjaya 20,000
Total

50,450


Installed Gas DCS in Malaysia
Project

Location

Generation
(MW)

Chiller Plant
Capacity (TR)

Gas District Cooling
(KLCC) Sdn Bhd
Kuala Lumpur
City Centre
(KLCC)

40

36,000

Gas District Cooling
(Putrajaya) Sdn Bhd

Precinct 1

6.5

28,200

Gas District Cooling
(Putrajaya) Sdn Bhd

Precinct 2

10.7

32,700

Gas District Cooling
(KLIA) Sdn Bhd

Airport (KLIA)

60

33,000

Institute of Technology
Petronas Sdn Bhd
(UTP) Campus

8.4

3,800

Total

133,700

Kuala Lumpur
International
Universiti
Teknologi
Petronas