How will Qatar manage to keep the World Cup cool?
The world was shocked -I was shocked myself- when the news announced that Qatar will host FIFA World Cup for 2022. Everybody was skeptical about how players would manage the heat? And the main question is how Qatar will be able to control the temperature?
Usually FIFA World Cup held in the middle of the year but Qatar World Cup 2022 will takes a place in November and December because the temperature in Qatar during June reaches up to 106 °F (41 °C) and it can gets as close as 122 °F (50 °C), which can be risky and dangerous to the players. But with the new cooling technology that had been implemented in Khalifa International Stadium, the temperature now is not a barrier for Qatar to host FIFA World Cup 2022 anymore.
Qatar has used different cooling technologies-one of its kind-across the seven stadiums.
Revolving roof canopy
The canopy roof will play a role in the sustainability policy of the the stadium. The designed roof will revolve throughout the day to provide cooling shade to the interior stadium.
In hot conditions, the roof canopy might close to work at its optimum efficiency (protect players and fans from sun, heat, and wind).
Another technology that is used in Khalifah International Stadium is District Cooling. It is 40% more sustainable than the existing technologies. With this technology, Khalifa International Stadium will be the first, largest open-air cooled stadium in the world, which will keep the interior comfortable. The temperature inside the venue will be low (up to 20 °C/63 °F) regardless of the temperature outside.
But wait.. How does this cooling technology function?
A range of solar collectors are placed one kilometer away from the stadium. These collectors have motorized mirrors that track the sun to focus the sun’s rays onto collecting pipes. These pipes have hot water circulating inside.
The solar energy heats water to 392 °F then turned into cooling water (the temperature of the cooling water is 42 °F) via absorption chiller machines. The cooling water is kept in eutectic tanks beneath the stadium to be used in the game time and pushed as a cold air inside the venue through nozzles.
This cooling technology can really change the way sports are hosted in the middle east.
Resources:
Qatar showcase FIFA world cup 2022 , doha. ARUP Web site. https://www.arup.com/projects/qatar-showcase-fifa-world-cup-2022. Accessed 02/22/, 2018
