New technology at 3 metro stations in Chennai to help the commuters
Posted on: 22/Aug/2018 10:04:55 AM
Metro trains have become part and parcel of our lives and many people use metro trains these days in Chennai. Soon three metro stations in north Chennai would be adopting a new technology to help the commuters from the heat. It is important to mention that by this new technology several thousand litres of water could also be saved. Installation of gas based air-conditioning system in 3 underground metro stations built as phase 1 extension would be done by CMRL or Chennai Metro Rail Limited.
It is known that there are water based air-conditioning units in the underground metro stations. This new technology of gas based air-conditioning would be alternative to the water based air-conditioning technology.
Every day to operate the water based air-conditioning units in each underground metro stations 40,000 litres of water is needed. It is now clear that this new VRF technology or variable refrigerant flow technology would cut down the amount of the 40,000 litres of water.
In the 3 underground metro stations like Washermanpet, Tondiarpet and Korukkupet VRF systems would be installed. These stations were built in the 9km phase 1 extension from Washermenpet to Wimco Nagar. An official belonging to metro rail spoke about how this new VRF technology would be superb in saving water. He spoke about the energy efficiency of this new technology and how it would need less space. He later added that the new units are less expensive than the water based air-conditioning system that is being used now. One more advantage of this VRF system is there is no need for closed door for the outdoor units of the system.
The refrigerants would be used as the cooling medium in the new VRF units and the flow of the refrigerant that is circulated inside the station to multiple indoor units would be controlled by inverter compressor of the outdoor unit. For the phase-1 extension this new VRF technology is utilized by CMRL and eventually used for the 107.55 km phase 2. This would be based on the feedback from implementing the phase 1 project.
In the underground metro stations in phase 1, the existing systems use water as the cooling medium and refrigerants as the secondary medium. Refrigerants would be used as the cooling medium in the new VRF units. Dedicated VRF outdoor units along with the air handling units to regulate and circulate air would be present in the concourse and platform levels of the metro stations.
A metro rail official explained how CMRL gets water from the metro water and also purchases water through water tankers. He later spoke about the daily consumption of water for air-conditioning system for one station was around 30000 to 40000 litres. This water consumption would be reduced by the new VRF technology. Many efforts have been taken by CMRL to save water in the metro stations and filters in the taps have been installed. Anaerobic sewage treatment plant that consumes zero power is also utilized. One superb piece of informatition is this new VRF technology by CMRL is expected to save Rs 2.8 lakh every year.
