Millions of visitors travelling to Makkah in Saudi Arabia wonder at the sight of city’s great monuments: such as the Holy Mosque and the Makkah Clock Tower. The latter is visible at a stunning 17 km radiuses, standing tall at 558 m above ground level, and a clock surface radius 35 times bigger than the world famous Big Ben. With a project of this magnitude, cooling and maintenance are a challenge; especially working through both the rough terrain of Makkah, and its harsh climate conditions.

Even as it took multiple companies to complete the project which houses seven residential and commercial towers, it was Al Salem Johnson Controls (ASJC), a leading provider of integrated heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) solutions, which stood out in supplying the tower with HVAC solutions as well as maintenance services that are unique in kind and size.

“We are the most qualified company for this type of task, due to our diverse chiller portfolio, and high tech HVAC solutions,” Dr Mohanad Al Shaikh, CEO of Al Salem Johnson Controls (York), said.

Established in 1991, ASJC is an industrial company and a pioneer in providing integrated solutions that incorporate HVAC equipment, fire and security systems, building management systems and controls that increase energy efficiency in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. The company successfully runs the world’s biggest cooling stations at the two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madina.

The synergy between Al Salem group of companies and Johnson Controls International, a global diversified technology and industrial leader serving customers in more than 170 countries, brought a diverse range of products, services and solutions to optimise energy and operational efficiencies of buildings to the Middle East.

Over the past years, it has engaged in several mega projects, with diversified HVAC equipment and cooling solutions.

ASJC successfully runs the world’s biggest cooling stations at the two Holy Mosques

Some of the provided HVAC equipment has been imported from Johnson Controls in the US, while other as part of the technology transfer pact between the two cpmpanies, has been manufactured or assembled locally in its factory in Jeddah, adhering  to York’s global standards.

These HVAC equipment and cooling solutions include a wide range of air-cooled and water-cooled chillers, air handling units, packaged units, split units and others.

All HVAC systems in the Clock Tower were designed by ASJC, and this equipment is all set up in a cooling plant that is located 1.25km away from the clock. The plant consists of five floors, each floor is dedicated to major equipment, such as transformers, pumps, chillers, and radiators.

In a first ever application of radiator cooled chillers in the GCC , AJSC used 24 compound centrifugal chillers, each with a capacity of 1950 tonnes working on direct 13,800V power supply, with a capacity to produce more than 50,000 tonnes of refrigeration (TR) and 1,000 air handling units which are made in Saudi Arabia.

“Initially, 16 chillers were supplied with 11,000V/50Hz motors. Later eight chillers were supplied with 13,800V/60Hz power supply. Each of these chillers utilises seven radiators for heat rejection, which means a total of 168 radiators with foot print area of over 5,000 sq m were used. The radiators were designed specifically to suit the desert climate. Each radiator comes with its own control panel for energy savings,” Al Shaikh said.

“The radiator cooling saves up to 2.8 million litres of treated water. At an average consumption of 5 litres of drinking water a day, the water saved is sufficient for 560,000 people, in line with ASJC’s (York) main goal; which is to have a positive environmental footprint,” he added.

All the equipment is set up in a cooling plant that is located 1.25 km away from the clock

This latest project comes on top of operating and maintaining the HVAC systems of the Holy Mosque of Makkah, providing cooling and comfort to visitors.

According to the company, this mega mosque is cooled through two cooling-plants with different integrated technologies, leading to enhanced reliability, cooling-capacity and energy-efficiency. With a total cooling capacity of 154,000 cooling tonnes, the Shamiyah cooling plant at the Holy Mosque in Makkah is now the second largest cooling station in the world. Until now, AJSC has supplied 27 units of 5000-tonne chillers and 1000 air-handling units.

In addition to the Holy Mosque in Makkah, ASJC also owns one of the world’s largest cooling plants at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah and  provides round the clock maintenance services to both the Holy Mosques.

The company’s 1,200-workforce of engineers and technicians forms the Middle East’s largest after-sales and maintenance team, 200 of which are stationed in Makkah year-round, helping the company remain a major contributor to the success of the Hajj and Umra seasons, when it redoubles its efforts, resources, and manpower to ensure prompt responses to any emergencies that may arise.  

Some of the other landmark projects completed by AJSC include the Princess Noura University, the King Abdulaziz University, the King Fahad University Hospital, the King Abdulaziz Airport expansion in Jeddah, and the King Abdullah Financial Centre.   

“The development of new projects in the kingdom and increasing expectations require new answers for efficiency, comfort, and security. ASJC is the most qualified in meeting the demands of the HVAC industry that fall in line with the Saudi 2030 vision of efficiency and sustainability,” he added.

ASJC has contributing its global expertise to a number of other high profile projects in the region, including Jabal Al Qala, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, King Abdullah Financial District, Aramco Central Data Centre, Ministry of Higher Education, the New Hajj Terminal in Saudi Arabia, and the expansion of the Holy Haram in Makkah and Madina.

According to Al Shaikh, ASJC has worked towards providing the best solutions for clean and sustainable energy in its effort to realise the plans put in place by the kingdom’s 2030 vision.

“The application of renewable energy gives the opportunity to set and activate the strategic shift in the energy sector, where it’s been revealed that local energy consumption will increase three fold by 2030. To build up the sector, the kingdom has set an initial target of generating 9.5 gigawatts of renewable energy,” he added.