MBT News

A promise of ice and snow showcases the magnificence of building technologies.

From transport hubs to event venues, the elaborate construction of architecture is prevalent throughout the city. If the ingenuity of construction, the beauty of architectural forms and the richness of cultural connotations have given the world a glimpse of China's constructional allure, then the "green of technology" has demonstrated China's solemn commitment to a "low-carbon future". 

The Beauty of Life in Intelligent Buildings

Unlike residential buildings, event venues are often comprehensive architectures that encompass multiple zones, equipment and scenarios with various cooling, heating, temperature and humidity control requirements. It is thus a particularly complicated project to ensure comfortable space while maintaining a low-carbon and green concept.

The venue for the Opening Ceremony, for example, has an area of about 258,000 square metres and accommodates nearly 90,000 spectators, hosting over 160 events a year. The spatial complexity of this striking architecture poses a great challenge to the adaptability and energy efficiency of HVAC systems, as it undertakes the task of staging the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

Officially opened in 2008, the venue's HVAC design fully embodies the low carbon concept, but is in need of a more energy efficient and comprehensive solution due to its age.

Midea Building Technologies, with its vision of becoming the world’s leading supplier of building solutions, has become an important partner to implement complete renovation and upgrade of the venue’s HVAC system.

First and foremost, a greener breathing system is fitted to the building – the use of Midea's VRF series multi-connected units achieves energy savings in hardware. The application software system then follows - a "Midea Intelligent Building" centralised control system solution is adopted to assemble the brains and nerves of the multi-connected units to achieve distributed control.

After sorting all the equipment into categories, the entire HVAC system of the venue can be remotely controlled by single or multiple units in on/off and operation mode. The distributed control meets the different cooling, heating, temperature and humidity control needs of separate areas, equipment and scenarios, saving 40% in energy consumption.

Green technology is integrated into the venue through the combined solution of VRF cloud units, split units, and precise air conditioning. The architecture becomes a  "smart building life form" that can breathe, think and feel, reflecting the beauty of life in intelligent buildings.

The Beauty of Sustainability in a Zero-Carbon Park

The appeal of building technologies is not limited to competition venues, but also extended into the surrounding maintenance service of important events.  

In the new Shougang Industry Services Park (Shougang Park), now known as the “base camp for ice and snow”, the intelligent building technologies of Midea has upgraded the area opened a path for green transformation.  

Shougang Park was established at the beginning of the last century and was one of the first steel production bases in China. With the changing economic, social and environmental development needs, the former steel mill has been transformed into a popular tourist destination. It is now the Shougang Group and State Grid Electric Power Guarantee Service Centre.

Unlike most industrial ruins, the architectures here are dominated by silos and blast furnaces. With extreme height differences between structures, it is known as "the most difficult park in the world to renovate", posing a greater challenge to the spatial arrangement of HVAC equipment.

"Born to break boundaries, foresee the unseen" -  Midea Building Technologies is committed to smashing the bounds of time and space. From the blast furnace super space to the Winter Olympics Power Guarantee Service Center, the overall solution of multi-units + combined air conditioning box + fan system has broken the confines of space. The solution is a perfect match for the area’s particular environment of long distances and large drop-offs.

On the one hand, the use of super subcooling technology enables the system to operate strongly and efficiently despite long distances and high drop-offs, meeting the air-conditioning and heating needs of various high platforms and blast furnaces in Shougang Park.

On the other hand, through Midea's self-developed HyperLink chip, the incoming equipment is connected to the State Grid for double signals, providing an important guarantee for green power transmission in Zhangjiakou.

Today, the old industrial park has been reborn with a new mission. Midea Building Technologies and its undertaking to build a sustainable development space has provided a green template for Shougang Park. The project energized the internal dynamics and reinvented the life of the former industrial site.

The Beauty of Nature in Unity with Man

While the specific needs of intelligent buildings vary with scenarios, the mission to reconcile HVAC capacity with carbon neutrality remains consistent in Midea. From the perspective of building technologies, redefining the relationship between people, space, and environment is key to realizing unity between man and nature.

The Zhangjiakou Mountain Broadcasting Center is a window to showcase the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics to the world. As the central hub for global live broadcasting, dozens of broadcasters and TV stations from around the world will be relaying competition footage to over 200 countries and regions. The enormous network of communication and broadcasting devices require a high level of stability, temperature control, and security from the data center. The HVAC system must ensure 24-hour cooling of equipment and satisfy energy conservation and low carbon requirements.  

The solution provided by Midea Building Technologies offers cooling at reduced energy consumption with the clever use of ambient winter temperatures. With the ingenuity and innovation of its engineers, Midea provides naturally cooled units for the Mountain Broadcasting Center, which take advantage of the ambient winter temperatures in Zhangjiakou while precisely adjusting the refrigerant output according to the indoor and outdoor loads.

The precision temperature control algorithm on board is the secret to this solution. When the fresh air temperature is lower than the system’s return water temperature, the natural cooing system absorbs the chilled air from the external environment and reduces the compressor operation, ensuring cooling supply even when the compressor is shut down.

The use of nature's gift allows the natural cooling of broadcasting equipment and satisfies the range of temperature fluctuations dynamically. Not only does the solution significantly reduce energy loss, it also achieves a whole life cycle operation that is energy efficient and low carbon.

With the concept of unity between man and nature, the green and efficient healthy air solution provides a beautiful, spiritual and green living space for the Zhangjiakou Mountain Broadcasting Centre. It also imparts more sustainable values for the human environment, becoming another key to the demonstration of a great nation’s responsibility and the  fulfilment of a green commitment.