India’s International Airport Cochin achieves the United Nation’s highest environmental honor ”The Champion of the Earth”. The airport is the world’s first fully solar powered airport and due to Danfoss equipment it is also exceptionally energy efficient.
Located in Southern India, the airport is highly receptive for sunshine. With an installed solar panel capacity of 27 Megawatt and with plans to expand it to 40 within the next six months, the Cochin International Airport is a forerunner of a better sustainable ecology.
However, the Cochin International Airport, it is not just generating energy through renewable sources, it is also running on far less energy than the majority of airports and it done without compromising with the comfort of the airport’s 10 million weekly passengers.
For any airport, 70% of all energy consumption goes to Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC). Therefore, there is huge potential is energy savings here. At the Cochin International Airport, Danfoss Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) have been installed in chillers, cooling towers, pumps and air handling units, optimizing the energy consumption. Additionally, Pressure Independent Balancing Control Valves (PIBCV) have been installed which secures a balanced and moderate flow of chilled water. Together, the VFD and the PIBCV have helped the Cochin International Airport save energy by almost 30%.
The Cochin airport has been designed for a peak hour capacity of 2000 people per hour, the actual number of people keep varying every hour, making it difficult to ensure a consistent indoor climate. Danfoss’ Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) & Pressure Independent Balancing and Control Valves (PIBCV) help deliver a consistent indoor climate for the passengers.
“When the bar is set high, as it was for Cochin International Airport, Danfoss appreciates being the preferred partner in delivering the technology and know-how contributing to the world’s first solar powered airport joining the niche carbon neutral category as well. Urbanization is very fast-paced in India and therefore the demand for smart and energy efficient technologies which have sustainability at their core is increasing significantly,” says Ravichandran Purushothaman, President of Danfoss India.
Cochin International Airport wins the UN’s “Champion of The Earth” prize in the category of Entrepreneurial Vision.
Danfoss engineers advanced technologies that enable us to build a better, smarter and more efficient tomorrow. In the world’s growing cities, we ensure the supply of fresh food and optimal comfort in our homes and offices, while meeting the need for energy efficient infrastructure, connected systems and integrated renewable energy.
Our solutions are used in areas such as refrigeration, air conditioning, heating, motor control and mobile machinery.
Our innovative engineering dates back to 1933 and today Danfoss holds market-leading positions, employing more than 26,000 and serving customers in more than 100 countries. We are privately held by the founding family.
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