Design & Development of Triple Vacuum glazing: An Investigation on Cost Effective Hermetic Sealing Materials & Predictions of Heat Load in a Solid Wall Dwelling

A novel method for the cooling of large scale heat generating processes in cities has been identified, namely the use of mains water. Applications include data centres, underground railways, supermarkets, hospitals and large buildings. Two applications for this method are the cooling of London Underground (LU) stations and data centres , and these are the subject of this publication. Mains water is distributed across London through a network of pipes, and varies in temperature between 5 and 20°C during the year. For much of the year, there is potential to raise the water temperature by a few degrees, while maintaining the mains water temperature within its current maximum limit. To increase the temperature of the entire mains supply of London by 1°C requires heat input of the order of 100 MW. Consequently, mains water provides a large cooling resource, which could be used to replace mechanically cooled chilled water for many applications. In London alone mains water could deliver continuous cooling of more than 500MW (for at least 8 months of the year). LU stations and data centres typically have cooling loads ranging from 0.5 to 5 MW, and a large number of them could have a substantial proportion of their cooling needs met by this method. The results of calculations for potential energy, carbon and cost savings by using mains water for cooling for these applications are presented. A number of other applications to which this cooling method could be applied have also been identified.