FVB Energy was the principal author of the District Cooling Best Practice Guide published by the International District Energy Association (IDEA) in 2008. The Guide presents best practice design principles, with the goal of facilitating the design of district cooling businesses and systems that are reliable, efficient and profitable. The Guide focuses on the Middle East – which has some specific challenges due to the climate, the nature of the loads, the pace of development and the infrastructural challenges.

The IDEA District Cooling Best Practice Guide is intended to address the advantages and disadvantages of design options, discuss the circumstances under which a given option may be the best approach and to suggest approaches to determining the optimal approach once key factors affecting a specific case are known. The guide addresses the benefits of district cooling, business issues, key design issues, building HVAC design for optimized district cooling, design of energy transfer stations (ETSs), distribution systems and chilled water plants, measurement and controls and project procurement.

The Guide is available for purchase from IDEA at www.districtenergy.org. IDEA envisions that this publication will be periodically updated as technologies and the district cooling industry evolve.