lion more than field-erected units.
After the packager was released to
manufacture, the benefit of building the
modules off-site became clear as site-per-mitting issues slowed the project. The
judicious decision to use the factory-manufactured approach allowed the completion
of the packages prior to site readiness.
Customer Benefits
The reduction of site labor using the
packaged components is estimated to be
over 80 percent. The inherent efficiencies
of the factory production process, with
its controlled environment and highly
skilled labor force, far outweigh the added
cost of shipping the modules to Dubai
from the TAS plant in Houston, Texas. In
addition, building the modules off site
reduces interference with other project
Courtesy Wabco Trane Ltd.
The first modular units, as landed on foundations, after arrival in Dubai. Site preparation can be completed while the modules are being built off site, thereby reducing completion times.
The reduction of site labor using
the packaged components is
estimated to be more than
80 percent.
construction activity. These benefits provide an overall customer savings of 5
percent to 10 percent compared to traditional on-site building methods.
All 12 of the 5,000-ton modules were
delivered to Dubai five months prior to
the beginning of site preparation. With
minimal site work required to install the
modules, as the foundations are prepared,
the modules are landed, assembled and
commissioned in a fraction of the time
of a standard stick-built central chilled-water plant. It is expected that as this
magazine goes to press, the first three
systems already will be commissioned.
Building with modular cooling units
allowed the main contractor to focus on
the overall district cooling loop, pumping
scheme and site issues. An aggressive
schedule with limited time for permitting
and site development reduced the amount
of site construction time for this project.
Manufacturing the central cooling
system in a factory environment allowed
the modular system to be built and tested
in parallel with the site permitting, foundation and district cooling piping preparations. In addition, the guaranteed system
efficiency will provide the owner with life-cycle value savings of hundreds of thou-
sands of U.S. dollars per year. With these
multiple benefits, it is easy to understand
why modular cooling solutions are gaining
in popularity.
Gary Hilberg is vice president for
global sales at Turbine Air Systems
(TAS), a leading provider of packaged
cooling systems for the commercial,
industrial and energy industries. He
is responsible for sales in all three
of TAS’s business segments: turbine inlet cooling;
commercial and industrial cooling; and cooling,
heating and power. Before joining TAS, he held
positions with GE Energy Services and Pratt &
Whitney Power Systems. A graduate of Oregon
State University, Hilberg completed his MBA at the
University of Phoenix while serving in the U.S.
Navy’s nuclear submarine community. He may
be reached at ghilberg@tas.com.
The value of guaranteed efficiency.
A key element in the complete
design, selection, purchasing and
manufacture of a system is the
ability of the supplier to guarantee
its performance. Customers should
be encouraged to review and
select suppliers based on the life-
cycle value of the equipment, not
just the first cost. Energy usage
comprises more than 60 percent of
the total life-cycle costs, while the
first cost is about 20 to 25 percent.
With this in mind, it is short-sight-
ed to select equipment and systems
without considering energy effi-
ciency as a key requirement. Yet,
even today, most customers are
forced to make their decisions with
limited information due to the lack
of overall system guarantees from
suppliers.
