The Concentrated Cooling Supply Center in the Yujiapu Financial Area in Tianjin Binhai New Area. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Concentrated Cooling Supply Center located in the Yujiapu Financial Area of Tianjin Binhai New Area Central Business District has been completed and will be put into operation next month.

As the largest cooling supply center in Asia, the project will be able to provide cooling supplies to a total area of 1.19 million square meters and will satisfy the cooling needs of all office buildings in the Yujiapu Financial Area.

The cooling supply center has a total area of 4,956.8 square meters with construction area of 105.8 million square meters. The project is a two-storey underground building, with the first storey underground for equipment and the second storey is a huge pool for ice storage.

The cubic pool is six meters deep with a total surface area of 2,800 square meters, according to Ha Lingli, design manager of the Tianjin Xinsu Energy Investment Corporation, which is in charge of the project's establishment.

The cooling supply center applies ice storage technology based on cooling equipment and ice storage facilities.

The cooling supply center will turn the stored ice into a mix of ice and water with a temperature of three degrees centigrade, which will be transported to different energy exchange stands. The mixed ice water will be used as coolant with temperature between three to 11 degrees centigrade according to the need of different office buildings, said Ha.

The cooling supply center will provide reliable cooling services to more than ten office buildings and cover the entire area of the Yujiapu Financial Area.

The cooling supply center uses electricity to create ice at night. The timing avoids the peak hours of electricity consumption and serves to optimize resource allocation as well as alleviate burdens on the power grid in summer time. Furthermore, the cooling supply center enjoys lower electric prices in the low peak, which successfully cuts the cost of cooling supply, added Ha.

The cooling supply center will improve the region's energy efficiency, better reduce the carbon emission, establish oasis effect, and contribute to the healthy environment, according to Ha.

Ha also said that creating ice at night will prevent heat release in the daytime and prevent a "tropical island effect" in the Yujiapu area.

Compared with establishing individual cooling equipment in each building, the concentrated cooling supply enables temperature adjustment for each building according to different needs. It is smarter, more efficient, more reliable, and has higher emergency management ability. Moreover, it is easier to deliver cool air through such measures. The air quality in the office building will also be improved.

The project will be powered by the 220 kilowatt transformer substation in Jilin Road and Xinhua Road. The project has been preliminary settled. The Binhai Power Supply Department will provide better services to users.

The cooling supply project was officially launched in 2013 and is now ready for use. As a project only uses underground spaces, the area above ground is used as a park for relaxation and entertainment. Greenery has been planted in the park.