Adiabatic cooling system keeps atrium of The Glasnost at a comfortable temperature

Apartment building De Glasnost in Apeldoorn consists of two residential wings separated by a general entrance and stairwell. The right wing features a large atrium with a glass roof. On both sides of this atrium live mainly people over 50, who unfortunately regularly had to deal with a too warm living environment. Due to the direct solar load on the glass atrium roof, a lot of heat was pulling in directly from outside, says William Ras, Technical Advisor at Colt International BV. "This was especially noticeable on the upper floors. Due to a lack of ventilation options, the heat could not be dissipated. As a result, when the heat persisted, the nuisance spread further and further, down to the first floor and into the apartments. In close cooperation with installer Hollander Techniek and building owner De Goede Woning, we found a solution for this."

When the first warm days of the year arrived, it was immediately noticeable in The Glasnost, Ras says. "Temperatures sometimes rose to over 40°C! A temperature far too high. Especially for elderly people. In recent years, housing corporation De Goede Woning had already taken various measures to reduce the heat nuisance, but unfortunately these did not have the desired result. That is why Hollander Techniek was called in. Together with this installer we visited the apartment building to assess the situation and possibilities."

Adiabatic cooling

"Although it was not extremely warm on the day of our visit, we immediately noticed the temperature differences on the various floors," Ras says. "The higher we got, the hotter it got! Because The Glasnost is an existing building, we initially looked at what solutions could be implemented relatively easily. Consider, for example, a piece of natural ventilation and/or cross ventilation. However, this proved difficult to incorporate, as we were dealing with various facades and locks. Instead, we worked out a mechanical solution with adiabatic cooling. In fact, Colt is the specialist in this field."

With the adiabatic cooling, Colt is responding perfectly to De Goede Woning's sustainability ambitions. Moreover, an optimal price-quality ratio is guaranteed, Ras said. "The Colt Adiabatic CoolStream system is based on cooling air by evaporating water. Sucked-in warm outside air is passed over a blanket of water (cellulose package), exchanging energy in a natural and very environmentally friendly way and significantly lowering the air temperature. The warmer and drier the outside air, the better the evaporative cooling functions." When it is 30°C outside, the air can be cooled to about 21-22°C, he says. "For air distribution in the atrium, we installed air distribution hoses."

Natural ventilation

The Colt Adiabatic CoolStream system is combined in The Glasnost with two Colt natural ventilation units, which provide efficient removal of warm indoor air. The WCO roof vents were chosen. "To position these roof hatches, glass panels were removed in two places," said Breed. "The roof hatches were custom made exactly for this project and engineered to function even when it rains. This allows warm air to always leave the atrium. Free night cooling (night ventilation) is also possible, ensuring optimum sustainability."

Objective achieved

Colt's installation is normally used primarily in industrial or semi-industrial buildings, Ras explains. "However, the technology also lends itself perfectly to apartment buildings. We prove that in The Glasnost. To prevent noise pollution and to be able to fit the flue pipes perfectly, we paid a lot of attention to the position of the installation. This position was found on the flat roof of the building, where enough length was available to place two silencers. At the end of the summer of 2020, the installation was completed." Because the hot days were over by then, Colt provided the fine tuning in the spring of 2021. As of May 2021, the plant was running fully according to design specifications. "Both the housing corporation and residents are super satisfied with the system. The temperature in the atrium is comfortable and heat overload is no longer an issue, achieving our goal."

Colt International BV specializes in the design, supply, installation and maintenance of fire safety systems, energy-efficient climate systems, shading systems and louvers. Following The Glasnost, several requests are now underway for the conditioning of atria in apartment buildings. A great addition to the services, which Colt is grasping with both hands.