Saudi Gazette report

MADINAH — Worshipers from around the world have been thronging the Two Holy Mosques during the holy month of Ramadan. Visitors and pilgrims from all around the world spend blessed days in the two cities by the grace of Allah firstly, and thanks to the efforts of the Kingdom which aims to provide quintessential services to help the visitors worship Allah and feed their soul comfortably.

Among the services provided, is cooling of the Prophet’s Mosque using advanced technologies and smart and integrated solutions.

The cooling mechanism of the mosque has been carefully designed and adapted to the climatic nature of the region. This has contributed to increasing the operational efficiency of the chillers and what provides, at all times, a suitable environment for those seeking to get closer to Allah.

The services provided are in line with Vision 2030 with the objective to provide an adequate environment for the Guests of Allah throughout the year.

Cooling map of the Prophet’s Mosque

One central cooling plant

Total cooling capacity, 21,600 Ton of Refrigeration (TR)

Cooling capacity of the mosque is equivalent to cooling 2,000 medium-sized apartments

70,000 M2 total size of the central cooling plant

The cooling plant is 8 km away from the mosque

The reason for building the cooling plant away from the mosque is to reduce noise and disturbance to the visitors of the mosque

The central cooling plant was established in Madinah in 1979

Components of the cooling plant

6 centrifugal YORK chillers

Each chiller has 3,600 TR cooling capacity

2 YORK chillers for emergencies

Each emergency chiller has 400 TR cooling capacity

Emergency chillers are used to cool Zamzam water and cooling the central cooling plant complex during winter

Total plant voltage is 13.8 volts

There is a tunnel connecting the central cooling plant and the mosque

Height of the tunnel is 4 meters

Width of the tunnel is 6 meters

The tunnel fits a golf cart so the maintenance team can perform maintenance.

Cooling mechanism

Chillers cool water to 4-5°C

Refrigerated water is then transported through pipes inside the tunnels to the basement and roof of the mosque to the air handling units

Air handling units, located in the basement, cool the air by passing it on the chilled water and pushing the cold air to the vents located at the bottom of the pillars of the mosque.

Air handling units on the roof of the mosque cool the air using chilled water and release the cooled air throughout the mosque.

When the chilled water makes contact with hot air through the air handling units the temperature of the water rises, therefore, the water returns through the pipes in the tunnel to the central plant to be chilled and then pumped back into the pipes to return to the mosque in a continuous cycle.