District cooling substations - made by Danfoss
Stockmann department store is located in the heart of Finland’s capital, Helsinki. It is the largest department store in Finland. It was started in 1930 and the building which is home to the department store has undergone several changes through the years. The most current enlargement project also involved Danfoss who delivered a huge district cooling substation to the department store. District cooling production was started in 1998 in Helsinki.
Largest factory made district cooling substation
The district cooling substation for the Stockmann department store was produced in January - February 2008 by Danfoss LPM and is the largest factory made district cooling substation ever manufactured in Finland. The cooling substation will supply air ventilation and cooling for the cold storage space in the department store.
Knowledge and experience
Export sales manager Juuso Vitikainen at Danfoss LPM was contacted by the contractor for the enlargement project and received the general specifications and requirements for the substation along with information about the planned location for the substation. The substation was to be placed in a machine room located in the underground cave close to the cave roof. The contractor was interested in finding out whether the space was big enough for the substation. If not, they would have to enlarge the space by tearing down surrounding structures.
Danfoss LPM in Finland has many years’ experience in manufacturing tailored substations - even as big as this one - thus Danfoss LPM was soon able to dimension a solution based on the particular demands and plan and organize the project. The combination of knowledge and experience convinced the customer from the start.
Customized solutions
A standard solution cannot be used for this kind of project - instead the substation was planned following the requirements given by the customer. The dimensioning was based on the circuit diagram received from the contractor and on the energy plant’s requirements. Due to the size of the project, continuous discussions between the contractor, the department store Stockmann and the energy plant Helsingin Energia were required to find the right solution for the project.
Another project for the same customer
Only few months after the delivery of the huge cooling substation for the Stockmann department store, the same contractor ordered another cooling substation. The second cooling substation would not be as big as the first one, but still very big when compared to heating substations. This time space was extremely limited and the substation had to be transferred to the installation place through narrow corridors. This process was successfully handled through detailed 3D planning and careful preparation.
About district cooling
Danfoss District Energy provides a complete range of automatic controls, heat exchangers and substations needed throughout the process of generating and distributing heat or cooling to homes and buildings.
Danfoss products contribute to individual comfort, reduce energy consumption as well as provide reliable and lasting operations and guarantee minimum servicing.
What is district cooling? What are the benefits?
District cooling can be defined as centralized production and distribution of
cooling energy from the cooling plant to the industrial, commercial and residential buildings to cool the indoor climate. Typical sources for cooling are a combination of sea or lake water, absorption machines and electrical chillers.
District cooling substations are used in the process of distributing cooling
energy into the building. Other benefits are:
- Energy efficient solution
- Reduced air pollution
- Decreased emissions of ozone-depleting refrigerants
- Combats global warming
- Easy and comfortable for the end-user