Fans attending the Emir Cup final at Khalifa International Stadium tomorrow will enter an open-air stadium cooled to optimal conditions, utilising innovative cooling technology which employs up to 40% less energy than conventional systems. After completion of the renovation work at the venue by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) and Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF), a new roof covers the seated areas and air-cooling is in place for the field of play and all spectator areas.
“We have designed the cooling technology at Khalifa International Stadium to be energy efficient, and fully compliant to the SC standards in terms of field of play and spectator seating area temperatures to reach 26 degrees centigrade,” said Saud Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Ghani, Professor at the College of Engineering at Qatar University. “The cooling system is intelligent and can be controlled to temperatures to the optimal conditions for the amount of spectators in the venue.”
By utilising district cooling, the venue will be cooled in a way which lowers energy consumption and keeps fans and players alike comfortable regardless of the temperatures outside.
“District cooling means that the cooling technology is 40% more sustainable than conventional techniques. We have an energy centre located one kilometre away from the stadium, from where chilled water is brought in a pipeline to the venue. Once it arrives here we are pushing cold air on to the field of play and spectator seating areas.”
Extensive testing was conducted both at the venue and before installation at Qatar University, in order to optimise the stadium design for the required air-flow on match days.
“When designing the technology, wind was the factor that we considered the most in order to ensure that the cold air was not taken out of the arena. In our wind tunnel at Qatar University we simulated different wind speeds, and the current opening of the roof allows us to make the cooling efficient and avoids cold air escaping. This is the first ever open-roof stadium of this size to be air-cooled, and it will allow a lot of events to take place here throughout the year.”
Pointing to the over 500 nozzles which all fans will see at the stadium on match day, Ghani concluded by highlighting how the technology used has innovative elements designed in Qatar.
“These nozzles are specially designed in Qatar, with plastic moveable parts which are more durable and allow air to be pushed to the area we want it to reach. We are looking forward to welcoming fans to the arena and seeing them enjoy the cooled conditions for the first match at the new Khalifa International Stadium.”
