Hydronic balancing in SAMBA bank head office, Riyadh, UAE

At the heart of the new King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh stands the impressive SAMBA head office. The 40-storey building represents a landmark in sustainable architecture and engineering and forms an attractive work space for the 800 people working in the SAMBA Financial Group head office. All the way through design and construction it has been the ambition of the building owner, Riyadh Investment Company, to create a showcase of sustainable solutions. Among others, the tower of the skyscraper will harness the Saudi sunshine in photovoltaic panels. Furthermore, the energy efficient air conditioning system will cut the energy use by a predicted 25 percent compared to conventional buildings.

To deliver the most energy efficient air conditioning system a solution from Danfoss including balancing valves has been chosen. The system is now being controlled by 1,700 AB-QM pressure independent balancing and control valves. In the design phase we convinced the contractors that our solution would be the most efficient for several reasons. First of all the AB-QM valves deliver the high energy efficiency required by the client. But also the fast installation, short commissioning and great reliability of our solution were convincing arguments, says Anis Ben Ali Ouerghi, Technical Manager at Danfoss.

Achieving the energy savings

The secret of the energy efficiency and reliability of the air conditioning solution lies in the perfect balancing of the system. Even with varying outside temperatures and varying cooling demands, the hydronic balance achieved by the pressure independent balancing and control valves ensures the proper flow providing the desired level of cooling at any time. The perfect balance of the system also explains the energy savings achieved with this Danfoss solution. When the flow rate is highly controlled and stable, less pumping is required which results in substantial energy savings.

Add to this that the AB-QM valves are maintenance-free, and the design of the valves prevents clogging during everyday use. The sustainable solutions integrated into the design of the SAMBA head office pave the way for the desired LEED Gold certification of the building.