Quiet as a whisper: water-cooled chillers at the Elbphilharmonie
The Elbphilharmonie has been breaking every visitor record since it opened in January 2017. More than eight million people have visited the Hamburg concert hall so far. This is hardly surprising, what with the large concert hall’s enchanting, exceptional acoustics and the sophisticated technology at work behind the scenes. While world-class musicians such as pianist Daniil Trifonov or conductor Sir Simon Rattle play their concerts at the Elbphilharmonie, two water-cooled QUANTUM chillers run in the background, quiet as a whisper.
Efficient refrigeration at the Elbphilharmonie
Our water-cooled chillers ensure that the concert hall is pleasant to be in, even on a hot summer’s day. The building’s cooling system ensures that every musical presentation is enjoyable, and that the audience and the musicians keep a cool head at all times.
The people operating the Elbphilharmonie specified strict requirements for the refrigeration system: the technology was to be reliable, and it was to control the climate in the large building efficiently. The refrigeration solution was also to be particularly quiet so as not to disturb rehearsals and performances. No problem for the water-cooled QUANTUM chillers. Guests in the grand hall experience fantastic concerts while our chillers run unnoticed in the background. The QUANTUM machines are very quiet and thus ideal for use in concert halls and other indoor venues.
The Elbphilharmonie: perfectly equipped in terms of refrigeration
We installed two QUANTUM chillers in the basement of the Elbphilharmonie. Torsten Lankenau, sales engineer at ENGIE Refrigeration, explains: “The chillers are so quiet that interference with concerts is impossible. With a noise level of 75 decibels, measured from one metre away, our chillers are as quiet as a small car with a medium engine output.” While in operation, the chillers generate so little structure-borne sound that a coin balanced on one of the devices would not fall over. At the same time they are very powerful: you would need 4,500 standard fridges to achieve the refrigeration capacity of these two machines.
Water-cooled chillers: clever technology by ENGIE Refrigeration
Our chillers have been running since autumn 2016 without incident. The refrigeration system is optimised for the location of the Elbphilharmonie. Instead of obtaining cooling water from the public network, the QUANTUM chillers use brackish water from the inner harbour: a major advantage for the operators of the concert hall, as using water from the Elbe considerably reduces operating costs. The chillers reach their maximum performance when the water from the Elbe has a temperature of up to 24 degrees. On very hot days, they also use groundwater drawn from specially drilled boreholes. To prevent the chillers from becoming soiled or rusting, we have equipped them with a corrosion-resistant condenser with copper nickel pipes and automatic cleaning brushes. A special condenser with only one pass ensures that the cooling water returning to the Elbe does not exceed a temperature of 28 degrees as specified in the heat load plan.
Articles you might also be interested in
How refrigerants can withstand the future and increase machine efficiency
Find out how to boost the efficiency of your chiller and heat pump with ENGIE Refrigeration and the right refrigerant. Discover the expert opinion now.
Cooling and heating technology with heart: How ENGIE Refrigeration is breaking new ground in B2B marketing
B2B marketing is boring? Not at all! ENGIE Refrigeration shows that creative communication and marketing approaches are worthwhile - and, on the contrary, should not rely on purely rational messages when it comes to cooling and heating if they are to be fully effective. This is because ENGIE Refrigeration's marketing activities differentiate it from the market in the same way as its product portfolio. Tatiana Köhler, Head of Marketing and Communication, reports on strategies, measures and channels in the "on point." magazine.
Ready for the green cooling and heating future: Mastering decarbonisation with ENGIE Refrigeration
Decarbonisation is the great challenge of our time - and it is a challenge for companies in all sectors of the economy. How can energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the cooling and heating sector be reduced? ENGIE Refrigeration is a specialist in the decarbonisation of the industry: In this interview, Jochen Hornung, CEO of ENGIE Refrigeration, explains how our company is supporting users on this challenging path with targeted solutions for cooling and heating.
Tailor-made solution for data centres: 16 water-cooled QUANTUM chillers in a container ensure whisper-quiet operation and maximum efficiency
16-fold chiller power in the Netherlands: ENGIE Refrigeration proves that operational reliability and high-end technology in data centres work best with water-cooled chillers for a large, internationally active provider in the field of large data centres: 16 QUANTUM Water models in a GENIUM container promise outstanding efficiency and whisper-quiet operation. Jürgen Martin, Key Account Manager Data Centre at ENGIE Refrigeration, reveals exciting details about the project
Refrigerants with a future: Mastering the F-Gas Regulation sustainably thanks to ENGIE Refrigeration
By 2030, the European Union aims to reduce emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases by 70 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent to 35 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent compared to 1990. The F-Gas Regulation makes a key contribution to this by incentivising the use of alternative refrigerants and requiring those responsible to develop new strategies for the cooling and heating supply of tomorrow. Jörn Stiegelmeier, Head of Technology and Development at ENGIE Refrigeration, knows the legal situation very well, not least through his association work at the Bundesindustrieverband Technische Gebäudeausrüstung e. V. (BTGA), and points out future-proof perspectives.
Customised rental cooling: QUANTUM air chillers offer sustainable added value for major radio and television broadcaster
Customisable, extremely flexible and highly efficient: rental chillers guarantee consistent security of supply in a wide range of applications. In the studios of a public broadcaster in Germany, ENGIE Refrigeration proves how precisely rental refrigeration can be integrated into existing environments, even under demanding conditions. Hans-Werner Barkhofen, Head of Service Germany West at ENGIE Refrigeration, talks in an interview about the challenges and opportunities of rentable refrigeration solutions.
Chillers and heat pumps par excellence: the symbolic power of our new corporate visual
At ENGIE Refrigeration, we set promising standards for numerous industries not only with chillers but also with heat pumps. We are now communicating this more strongly to the outside world with our new corporate visual, which is both eye-catching and forward-looking.
20 years of QUANTUM: the success story of an innovative and sustainable chiller
20 Jahre QUANTUM, 20 Jahre starke Leistung, hervorragende Betriebssicherheit und hohe Effizienz – der Geburtstag unserer Kältemaschine bietet den perfekten Anlass, um zwei Jahrzehnte der Vorzeigeserie Revue passieren zu lassen.
Ten in one: QUANTUM chiller and SPECTRUM heat pump provide pioneering momentum for data centres
Digitisation is one of the economic megatrends of our age. Most businesses are reliant on smooth-running information technology (IT) – and thus on data centres, the IT all-rounder. But how can a sensitive digital infrastructure be operated as safely, efficiently and sustainably as possible? With its QUANTUM chiller and SPECTRUM heat pump, ENGIE Refrigeration now takes care of ten local data centres belonging to a German provider – and is breaking new ground for the IT industry in the process.
AR glasses in action at ENGIE Refrigeration - how augmented reality creates added value for the refrigeration and heating industry
The digital transformation is opening up a wealth of new opportunities for companies. Augmented reality (AR) in particular is providing innovative momentum to Industry 4.0 and making complex processes significantly more efficient. ENGIE Refrigeration has long recognised the potential of this technology for the refrigeration and heating industry and has been working together with the global AR/VR technology leader HOLO-LIGHT since 2017 to integrate AR applications into individual work areas. Jannick Hartmann, Senior Software Sales Manager at HOLO-LIGHT, and Jörn Stiegelmeier, Head of Technology and Development at ENGIE Refrigeration, talk about the benefits of augmented reality for both employees and customers.