Kai Tak Development (KTD), Energy

Efficiency

Implementation of District Cooling

System in Hong Kong:
Challenges and Experiences

1.

Ir Patrick CHEUNG, Ir LO Siu Kuen,

Ir MA Chun Yue
Electrical and Mechanical Services
Department
Government of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region

Since the operation of the Hong Kong

International Airport at Chep Lap Kok in
1998, the Government started to develop the
ex-Kai Tak International Airport and the
nearby areas into a new development area
Kai Tak Development (KTD). KTD is a
huge development spanning a total planning
area of 320 hectares. It comprises various
types of buildings including hospitals, hotels,
schools, commercial buildings, sport
facilities, residential buildings, government
buildings, etc. With the high cooling demand
and diversity of cooling load profiles, the
Government took the opportunity to
implement District Cooling System (DCS)
at KTD.

ABSTRACT
The Kai Tak Development (KTD) is a
huge development project spanning a total
area of over 320 hectares covering the
ex-airport and nearby areas in which there
has been a planned total of about 1.73
million square metres of public and private
non-domestic air-conditioned floor areas
requiring
a
large
demand
for
air-conditioning of about 284 megawatt of
refrigeration (MW). The Government aims
to promote energy saving and took the lead
to implement District Cooling System (DCS)
which could be considered the most energy
efficient air-conditioning system for the
development at KTD.

2.

BENEFITS

DCS consumes 35 percent and 20

percent less electricity as compared to
traditional
air-cooled
air-conditioning
systems and individual water-cooled
air-conditioning systems using cooling
towers respectively. With its high energy
efficiency, the implementation of DCS at
KTD will achieve estimated annual saving
of 85 million kilowatt-hour (kWh) in
electricity
consumption,
with
a
corresponding reduction of 59,500 tonnes of
carbon dioxide emissions per annum.

The project of DCS at KTD is to

construct a large scale centralized
air-conditioning system which would
produce chilled water at its central chiller
plants and distribute the chilled water to
consumer buildings in the KTD through an
underground water piping network. Apart
from constructing central chiller plant rooms,
the laying of underground water pipes is
another challenging task in view of the
uncertainty in underground conditions. The
operation of DCS is also one of the most
challenging tasks to be dealt with. Energy
efficiency as well as reliability of services
are both important. This paper aims to
present the challenges faced and also
experience
gained
during
the
implementation and operation of the DCS.

Apart from energy saving, DCS would

also bring along the following benefits to the
consumers:
a. Reduction in upfront capital cost for
installing chiller plants at their
buildings which account for about
5-10% of the total building cost;
b. More flexible building designs for
consumer buildings as they do not
need to install their own chillers and
the associated electrical equipment

Keywords: District Cooling System (DCS),

1

INTRODUCTION

Figure 1 - Kai Tak DCS North Plant

in their buildings;

The project will be implemented in

three phases. The construction works
commenced in February 2011. Phase I and II
include the construction of two plant rooms
and some pipeworks to enable the provision
of district cooling services to the Kai Tak
Cruise Terminal and Ching Long Shopping
Centre in the public rental housing in 2013.
Phase III includes further pipes laying works
and chiller installation to meet the cooling
demand growth in KTD. Phase I and II were
completed in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
Phase III commenced in mid 2013 and is
expected to be completed by 2022.

c. Mitigation of heat island effects in

KTD and elimination of noise and
vibration arising from the operation
of heat rejection equipment and
chillers of air-conditioning plants in
buildings as such equipment will no
longer be necessary for buildings
subscribing to district cooling
services; and
d. More adaptable air-conditioning
system to the varying demand as
compared
to
individual
air-conditioning systems. For each
individual building, cooling capacity
can be increased by requesting
additional cooling capacity from the
DCS without carrying out extensive
modification works for the building
in question.
3.

4.

RELIABILITY

To assure the consumers of a reliable

district cooling services, several design
features have been incorporated into the
DCS.

IMPLEMENTATION
4.1 Electricity Supply

The DCS at KTD comprises two central

chiller plants, namely the North Plant and
the South Plant cum seawater pump house,
underground chilled water distribution
piping network, seawater supply and
discharge pipes and consumer substations
located in the buildings to interface with the
buildings own chilled water circulation
systems. The total cooling capacity of the
DCS at KTD would be about 284 megawatt
of refrigeration (MWr) which could provide
about 1.73 million square metres of public
and private non-domestic air-conditioned
floor areas. The cooling capacities of the
North Plant and the South Plant would be
162 MWr and 122 MWr respectively. Both
plants are underground structures for the
chiller installations with aboveground
facilities at the North Plant. Upon
completion of the project, about 39
kilometres of underground chilled water
pipes would have been laid and there would
be around 60 buildings in KTD connected to
the DCS.

The electricity supply to the DCS plant

is such a robust arrangement that each
supply carries only 50% of the required
electrical load such that failure of any one of
the cable will result in no reduction in the
power supply condition.
To further
enhance the power supply reliability for
DCS, 11kV power supply fed from two
supply sources is adopted such that when
one source fails, the power supply will be
automatically switched over to the other
source.
4.2 Chilled Water Piping Network
The underground chilled water piping
network is designed to be in ring circuit
forming a dual-feed supply so that if the
supply from one side of the distribution
pipework is not available, chilled water can
still be supplied to the consumer buildings
from other side. Moreover, the whole
chilled water distribution piping network is
designed as a 3-pipe system such that when
2

closely monitor any water leakage point and

identify any fault signal due to broken cable.

one of the duty supply or return pipe is

damaged or under maintenance, the standby
pipe can be put in operation to maintain the
district cooling services.

Figure 2 - Prefabricated chilled water pipe

with leakage detection cables and
polyurethane insulation with HDPE outer
jacket

4.3 Chiller Plant

There are always at least one standby
chiller and chilled water pump such that if
any one of the chillers or pumps fails, the
standby equipment will be put in operation
to maintain full cooling capacity to serve the
consumers.
5.

DCS
PIPELINES
CHALLENGES

In general, open trench excavation

secured with sheet-pile walls are adopted for
the laying of DCS pipes. However, in some
locations, there are prohibitively existing
site constraints for constructing any open
trench. To surmount such construction
difficulties, trenchless excavation method
are adopted.

AND

The DCS pipelines (including chilled

water pipes and seawater pipes) are mostly
laid along the carriageway while branch
pipes and valve chambers are located in the
footpath in order to minimize conflict with
other underground utilities. Due to their
large sizes, the DCS pipes are normally laid
at the bottom among other underground
utilities.

Other than the congested underground

utilities, there are also various existing and
new structures including Kwun Tong Bypass,
Kai Tak Tunnel, box culverts, Kai Tak
Taxiway Bridge, Shatin-Central Link,
Central Kowloon Route and Kai Tak
Approach Channel in close proximity of the
DCS pipelines which are the constraints in
laying the DCS pipes.

The DCS chilled water pipes are

pre-fabricated with a pair of leakage
detection cables secured externally at 4
oclock and 8 oclock positions of the
pipeline, then annular insulated with
polyurethane foam and protected in an
extruded high density polyethylene (HDPE)
outer jacket. Polyurethane insulation
together with HDPE outer jacket are
considered with good thermal insulation
performance, mechanically stable and close
structure which provide good resistance to
moisture penetration for direct buried
application.

There are about 11 sections of DCS

pipelines to be constructed with trenchless
method at KTD, where open trench
excavation method is not practical or the
space required for laying of DCS pipes
above the existing structure is inadequate. In
which, about 1km of DCS pipes are
constructed or will be constructed by
heading method or hand dug tunnel. Over
5km of DCS pipes are constructed or will be
constructed by pipe jacking method with the
use of tunnel boring machines (TBMs). The
largest TBM size is 2,800mm in diameter
which is the largest one ever used in pipe
jacking in Hong Kong.

As most of the DCS pipelines are laid

underground, water leakage detection cables
fixed on the chilled water pipes allow
monitoring the condition of pipes
continuously and give early warning of any
water leakage. On site, leakage detection
panels are installed at an interval of
approximate 1.5 kilometres of pipe run to

In order to have smooth construction of

pipe
laying
works,
considerable
pre-construction precautionary measures to
identify the actual underground conditions
and to determine the appropriate type of
trenchless excavation method are necessary.
3

twice a day before and after any jacking

works. The alarm-alert-action (3As)
measures are adopted in ground movement
monitoring.

In view of this, the following measures will

be carried out before construction.
a.

Sufficient trial pits to expose and

verify the existence, extent, location
and elevation of all underground
utilities, natural or man-made
obstructions and structure; and

6.

AND

The cooling energy required by each

consumer building will be transferred from
the DCS to the individual buildings central
air-conditioning system via plate type heat
exchangers installed inside the substation of
the consumer buildings. The primary side of
the heat exchanger is connected to the DCS
distributing chilled water pipes and the
secondary side is connected to the
consumers chilled water system pipework.

b. Suitable underground detection

equipment are used to locate
underground utilities; to further
check the underground conditions
along the proposed pipe jacking
route; and to assess the feasibility
of the proposed route, locations and
inverts of jacking and receiving
pits.
The formation level of the Kai Tak
Development is generally at +5.0mPD
whilst the mean sea level in 50 year return
period is approximately +3.5mPD. As some
of the pipelines and excavation pits are as
low as (-)2mPD to (-)4mPD, the chance of
seepage of underground water is high. For
open trench excavation, the toe-in of the
sheet-pile wall need to be carefully
determined to prevent the inflow of
underground water from the bottom of the
trench. Installing grout curtain to control
groundwater inflow into the excavation, as
well as dewatering from inside the
cofferdam excavation for all excavation
levels are required. For trenchless
excavation method, ground treatment need
to be carried out to control ground water
flows to stabilize ground prior excavation.

Figure 4 - Distribution of district cooling

services
Under normal operating conditions, the
designed chilled water supply and return
temperatures are as follows:a.

At the primary chilled water side of

the heat exchanger, i.e. DCS side:

Supply Temperature = 5
Return Temperature = 13

b. At the secondary chilled water side

of the heat exchanger, i.e. consumer
side:

Figure 3 - Grout curtain and dewatering

provided at deep open trench for pipe laying

Supply Temperature = 6
Return Temperature = 14

It is desirable for both the DCS plant

operator and the consumers to meet the
above design conditions in order to achieve
energy efficient DCS plant operation and
reliable chilled water supply to the
consumers.

Due to deep excavation and trenchless

excavation
construction
involved,
establishment of settlement control points
and survey of the existing ground levels are
required to be set up for close monitoring of
the underground condition. Measurements at
settlement points are carried out at least

Since the commencement of district

cooling services in 2013, in some
4

DCS
OPERATION
CHALLENGES

control mechanism could be implemented

by programmable logic controller (PLC) or
similar mechanism.

circumstances like low load condition, it is

noted that when the chilled water return
temperature at the consumer side fall below
14, the temperature difference (Delta-T)
at DCS side and consumer side are reduced.
Accordingly, the chilled water flow rate as
compared to the design flow rate for a given
cooling load demand has to be increased. As
a result, more pumping energy is consumed
and the system efficiency is adversely
affected.

7.

CHARGING PRINCIPLES

The public and private non-domestic

building owners or their authorized agents in
KTD who have central air-conditioning
system of their buildings being subscribed to
district cooling services are required to pay
the district cooling services charges to the
Government. The District Cooling Services
Bill is being introduced to the Legislative
Council in 2014-15 to set the tariff
mechanism and tariff rate.

In order to enhance the energy

efficiency of the DCS, the consumers are
recommended to incorporate the following
design features in their chilled water system
of the consumer side.

The district cooling services tariff is

proposed to be set out with the following
charging principles.

6.1 Variable Flow Chilled Water

Variable flow chilled water system
together with two-way equal percentage
control valves for controlling all air handling
units (AHU) and fan coil units (FCU) should
be adopted. Each control valve should be
capable of controlling the flow throughout
the entire range of designed operating
conditions of the equipment.

a.

The district cooling services tariff

should be set at a competitive
level comparable to the cost of
individual
water-cooled
air-conditioning systems (WACS)
using cooling towers which is one
of
the
most
cost-effective
air-conditioning systems available
in the market;

b.

Both the capital and operating

costs should be recovered from the
consumers over the project life
which is estimated to be 30 years
as taxpayers should not subsidize
such air-conditioning charges;

c.

Price stability could be achieved

under the proposed charging
mechanism; and,

d.

The proposed charging mechanism

should be a simple charging
regime with common charge rates
for all consumers regardless of
their load profiles.

6.2 Temperature Oriented Control

Operation of the control valves for
controlling the AHU/ FCU should make
reference to the Return Air Temperature
(RAT). Since RAT represents the actual heat
load from the building, adjusting the control
valve based on the RAT instead supply air
temperature or off-coil temperature could
maintain the designed chilled water Delta-T.

Figure 5 Return air temperature control on

air handling units
6.3 Interlocking Control Mechanism
When the status of the AHU/ FCU is off,
the associated control valves should also be
closed in order to save energy and enhance
the systems efficiency. Such interlocking

8.
5

KEY TARIFF COMPONENTS

progressively. It is expected that the whole

project will be completed around 2022 and
will achieve an estimated annual saving of
85 million kilowatt-hour (kWh) in electricity
consumption.

In line with international practices, the

proposed tariff of district cooling services
comprise two major components, namely the
capacity charge and consumption charge:8.1 Capacity Charge
The capacity charge serves to cover the
capital cost of the DCS plant and equipment
and operation and maintenance (O&M) cost.
The capacity charge will be levied according
to the contract cooling capacity, which will
be determined by the consumer and agreed
by EMSD before the commencement of
district cooling services.
8.2 Consumption Charge
The consumption charge will be levied
to cover costs that will vary according to the
demand of the consumer. The major part of
the charge is the utility cost such as
electricity used to generate chilled water
being delivered to the consumer.
9.

TARIFF
MECHANISM

ADJUSTMENT

Having regard to the composition of the

two charges, the capacity charge rate is
proposed to be adjusted annually based on
the Composite Consumer Price Index while
the consumption charge rate is proposed to
be adjusted annually to take into account of
the change in electricity tariff rate.
10. CONCLUSIONS
Subsequent
to
the
project
commencement in early 2011 and the
completion of the early phases of the project,
the DCS at KTD has been providing
services to consumer buildings including
Kai Tak Cruise Terminal and Ching Long
Shopping Centre in the public rental housing
since 2013. The construction of the
remaining phase of the DCS project is in
progress and will be completed along with
the growing needs of air-conditioning of the
new buildings which are coming up
6

Figure 1 - Kai Tak DCS

D North Plant
P

Figure 2 - Prefabricated chilleed water pip

pe with leakage detectioon cables an
nd
polyureethane insullation with HDPE outeer jacket

Figure 3 - Grout
G
curtain
n and dewaatering provided at deep
p open trencch for pipe laying

ConsumerBuilding

CoolingSo
ource
(DCS Planttroom
)
Conssumer
Substtation

Heat Exchanger
(Insid
deBuilding)

To/From
mother
consum
mers

Distribution System
Figure 4 Distribuution of distrrict cooling services

Figgure 5 Retturn air tem

mperature co
ontrol on air handling u nits