Procuring sustainable cooling equipment in Sri Lanka
The hotel aimed to reduce the carbon emissions of
conventional air conditioning equipment while also cutting
its operational costs
conventional air conditioning equipment while also cutting
its operational costs
Background information
Jetwing Blue hotel is located in Negombo, less than 40km
away from Colombo. Considering the tropical climate in the
region, air conditioning can represent up to 60% of Jetwing
Blue’s electricity bill. The result is high costs, as power and
energy contribute to 10 to 15% of its total operational costs.
According to the figures of the Green Cooling Initiative, it is
estimated that the refrigeration and air conditioning sector
accounted in 2014 for 15% of Sri Lanka’s greenhouse gas
emissions.
The challenge
The hotel aimed to reduce the carbon emissions of
conventional air conditioning equipment while also cutting
its operational costs. The strategy
Air conditioning at Jetwing Blue was initially provided via a conventional electrical chiller. A diesel-fired boiler was
also run to produce steam for the laundry and generate hot water. In 2017, and in collaboration with the Green Cooling
Initiative1
, it was decided to introduce a vapour absorption chiller (VAC) and a biomass boiler to replace both the
electrical chiller and boiler.
A vapour absorption chiller is a gas cooling system which runs sustainably via steam generated from a biomass boiler;
it therefore helps to drastically reduce the usage of grid electricity. The refrigerant used for the vapour absorption
chiller is distilled water, which, at very low pressure (60 mmHg), absorbs heat from the water that is circulating through
the fan coil units during evaporation and releases heat during condensation. Thanks to its environmentally friendly
characteristics and the fact that it does not produce emissions during repairs or leakage, using water as a refrigerant
is considered a sustainable option.
Most of the energy for these vapour absorption chillers derives from renewable sources, as the main energy source
is steam generated through a biomass-driven boiler. Sustainably harvested cinnamon wood is used as a fuel for the
biomass boiler as it is one of the four most sustainable fuel woods of Sri Lanka due to its fast cropping cycle of
just six months. It also offers various technical advantages such as high calorific value, high density, and less smoke
generation than other wood-based fuels.
Refrigerant Lifespan
(Years)
COP Running
hours
(hours/a)
Electricity
consumed
(kwh/a)
Elec. cost
per year
(US-Dollars)
Biomass
consumed
(kg/year)
Biomass
cost
(US-Dollars)
GHG
Emissions
(tCO2
/year)
Vapour
absorption
Distilled
Water 20 1.40 7,950 125,280 13,781 1,387,000 41,610 379
1 The Green Cooling Initiative (GCI) is funded by the International Climate Initiative by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature
Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and implemented by GIZ Proklima. More details are available at http://www.green-cooling-initiative.org/
Supported by:
based on a decision of the German Bundestag
For further information
https://www.giz.de/expertise/downloads/giz2017-en-gcigreen-cooling-hotel-roadmap.pdf
Contact person: Mr Jude Kasturi Arachchi,
Director of Jetwing Hotels Ltd
jude@jetwinghotels.com
Lessons learned
As this type of technology is quite new to the local market,
the availability of local expertise and due diligence on
technology options were the two critical factors in the
procurement decision.
Despite the higher upfront costs for the purchase and
installation of vapour absorption chillers, they offer an
interesting alternative to the electrical chillers due to the
reduction in energy consumption and GHG emissions along with
the typical financial returns (payback period of less than 4 years
for Jetwing Blue). Moreover, financial incentive programmes
such as the Green Cooling Initiative help to overcome the
potential financial barrier of the acquisition costs.
Jetwing Blue hotel is located in Negombo, less than 40km
away from Colombo. Considering the tropical climate in the
region, air conditioning can represent up to 60% of Jetwing
Blue’s electricity bill. The result is high costs, as power and
energy contribute to 10 to 15% of its total operational costs.
According to the figures of the Green Cooling Initiative, it is
estimated that the refrigeration and air conditioning sector
accounted in 2014 for 15% of Sri Lanka’s greenhouse gas
emissions.
The challenge
The hotel aimed to reduce the carbon emissions of
conventional air conditioning equipment while also cutting
its operational costs. The strategy
Air conditioning at Jetwing Blue was initially provided via a conventional electrical chiller. A diesel-fired boiler was
also run to produce steam for the laundry and generate hot water. In 2017, and in collaboration with the Green Cooling
Initiative1
, it was decided to introduce a vapour absorption chiller (VAC) and a biomass boiler to replace both the
electrical chiller and boiler.
A vapour absorption chiller is a gas cooling system which runs sustainably via steam generated from a biomass boiler;
it therefore helps to drastically reduce the usage of grid electricity. The refrigerant used for the vapour absorption
chiller is distilled water, which, at very low pressure (60 mmHg), absorbs heat from the water that is circulating through
the fan coil units during evaporation and releases heat during condensation. Thanks to its environmentally friendly
characteristics and the fact that it does not produce emissions during repairs or leakage, using water as a refrigerant
is considered a sustainable option.
Most of the energy for these vapour absorption chillers derives from renewable sources, as the main energy source
is steam generated through a biomass-driven boiler. Sustainably harvested cinnamon wood is used as a fuel for the
biomass boiler as it is one of the four most sustainable fuel woods of Sri Lanka due to its fast cropping cycle of
just six months. It also offers various technical advantages such as high calorific value, high density, and less smoke
generation than other wood-based fuels.
Refrigerant Lifespan
(Years)
COP Running
hours
(hours/a)
Electricity
consumed
(kwh/a)
Elec. cost
per year
(US-Dollars)
Biomass
consumed
(kg/year)
Biomass
cost
(US-Dollars)
GHG
Emissions
(tCO2
/year)
Vapour
absorption
Distilled
Water 20 1.40 7,950 125,280 13,781 1,387,000 41,610 379
1 The Green Cooling Initiative (GCI) is funded by the International Climate Initiative by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature
Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and implemented by GIZ Proklima. More details are available at http://www.green-cooling-initiative.org/
Supported by:
based on a decision of the German Bundestag
For further information
https://www.giz.de/expertise/downloads/giz2017-en-gcigreen-cooling-hotel-roadmap.pdf
Contact person: Mr Jude Kasturi Arachchi,
Director of Jetwing Hotels Ltd
jude@jetwinghotels.com
Lessons learned
As this type of technology is quite new to the local market,
the availability of local expertise and due diligence on
technology options were the two critical factors in the
procurement decision.
Despite the higher upfront costs for the purchase and
installation of vapour absorption chillers, they offer an
interesting alternative to the electrical chillers due to the
reduction in energy consumption and GHG emissions along with
the typical financial returns (payback period of less than 4 years
for Jetwing Blue). Moreover, financial incentive programmes
such as the Green Cooling Initiative help to overcome the
potential financial barrier of the acquisition costs.
Supporting document(s)
procurement_of_energy-efficient_equipment_to_improve_competitiveness_in_el_salvador_2.pdf
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