Decentralised Cooling Systems: A Game Changer for the Middle East
- brg_news_room
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
As temperatures continue to rise and rapid urbanisation reshapes the Middle East, cooling demands have become central to national planning in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. With both countries launching large-scale residential, commercial, and industrial developments under their long-term visions, cooling is now positioned at the crossroads of sustainability, energy security, and economic diversification. Within this evolving landscape, decentralised cooling systems are emerging as a strong alternative or complement to traditional district cooling, offering greater flexibility and operational adaptability.
Understanding the shift from centralised to decentralised cooling
District cooling has long been a dominant solution due to its high efficiency, lower maintenance costs, and reduced carbon emissions compared with conventional AC units. However, it faces structural challenges: high upfront investment, long implementation periods, rigid capacity planning, and fixed tariffs that can burden end users. These constraints, especially in mixed-use or phased developments, are driving interest in decentralised options.
By contrast, decentralised cooling uses modular systems such as VRF units, rooftop chillers, hybrid solutions, and compact storage that distribute cooling closer to the point of consumption. These systems benefit from modern load-management technologies and building efficiency improvements, making them suitable for varied urban environments and for supplementing or replacing district networks.
Why decentralised cooling is gaining momentum
1. Flexibility and scalability for next-generation developments
Urban development in the UAE and Saudi Arabia is increasingly mixed and phased. Decentralised systems allow developers to add cooling capacity incrementally and avoid overdesigning. This is particularly valuable in Saudi Arabia’s multi-stage mega-projects like NEOM, Qiddiya, and The Red Sea Project.
2. Enhancing energy efficiency in a sustainability-driven era
Sustainability goals such as the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, are pushing high-efficiency HVAC adoption. VRF and inverter-driven chillers deliver strong part-load efficiency, ensuring energy savings in a climate where cooling demand fluctuates between day and night and across seasons.
3. Addressing operational cost pressures
District cooling’s fixed capacity charges can be disadvantageous for buildings with variable or low occupancy. Decentralised systems reduce fixed overheads and offer consumption-based cooling, making them attractive for hospitality, retail, and commercial buildings with unpredictable usage patterns.
4. Supporting modular and off-grid construction trends
As modular construction and remote developments grow especially along Saudi Arabia’s western coastline decentralised cooling offers immediate deployment without requiring district network expansion. This supports off-grid independence and design flexibility.
Case examples: UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar
United Arab Emirates
In the UAE, the cooling market is mature but continues to evolve as demand grows across new and existing developments. Dubai and Abu Dhabi maintain some of the world’s largest and most advanced district cooling networks, with the UAE operating an estimated 4 million RT of installed capacity in 2024, the largest globally. Capacity is expected to rise to around 5.7 million RT by 2030. Empower remains the dominant player with 1.53 million RT, reinforcing Dubai’s global leadership; its Business Bay network alone delivers 241,272 RT, with plans to expand to 451,540 RT. Other key operators such as Tabreed and Emicool continue supplying major urban districts, airports, and industrial zones.
At the same time, hybrid and decentralised cooling models are gaining traction. Emerging areas such as Dubai South, Jebel Ali, and parts of the Northern Emirates increasingly adopt mixed cooling strategies to boost flexibility, reduce upfront costs, and accommodate phased construction. VRF systems are expanding across villas, mid-rise buildings, and retrofit projects. The UAE’s ongoing large-scale energy retrofit programmes aimed at improving efficiency in ageing buildings are expected to accelerate the shift toward decentralised and easily integrated cooling solutions.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is experiencing strong momentum in its cooling sector as construction accelerates under Vision 2030. District cooling capacity is steadily growing, led by Saudi Tabreed, which operates a contracted portfolio of about 187,000 RT across major sites such as King Khalid International Airport (20,000 RT) and Jabal Omar in Makkah (55,000 RT). New giga-projects are further driving centralised cooling investments. Notably, Diriyah Company recently awarded a 25-year BOOT contract for a 72,500 RT district cooling plant to support one of the Kingdom’s largest heritage and tourism developments. National forecasts indicate that Saudi Arabia is targeting around 3 million RT of district cooling capacity by the early 2030s, aligning with rapid urbanisation and industrial diversification. The DC market remains anchored by Saudi Tabreed and its subsidiaries, including SDCC and CDCC.
In parallel, decentralised cooling is expanding quickly across modular housing, coastal resorts, tourism zones, and mixed-use clusters in NEOM, The Red Sea, and Qiddiya. VRF systems, rooftop units, and hybrid configurations appeal due to their scalability and ability to operate without extensive infrastructure. The Kingdom’s growing renewable-energy deployment also enables pairing decentralised cooling with distributed solar and thermal-storage solutions, enhancing resilience and reducing long-term operating costs.
Qatar
Qatar is a major district cooling market with one of the world’s highest per-capita DC adoption rates. Qatar Cool operates the world’s largest single DC plant the West Bay facility (237,000 RT) and its second plant at The Pearl Island brings the country’s total capacity to about 1 million RT. Marafeq Qatar oversees Lusail City’s network, which is planned to exceed 500,000 RT once the full master development is complete. Ongoing infrastructure programmes under Qatar National Vision 2030, including Lusail, airport expansions, and new free zones, are expected to push national DC capacity to 1.3–1.4 million RT by decade’s end. Key operators include Qatar Cool, Marafeq Qatar, Tabreed Qatar, and UDEI. Alongside this, decentralised cooling is gaining relevance, particularly for hospitality and resort projects beyond central Doha.
Challenges to consider
Despite its advantages, decentralised cooling is not without challenges. These include:
Higher replacement frequency compared with centralised chillers
Building-level maintenance responsibilities, often requiring specialised technicians
Potential noise concerns in high-density areas
Fragmentation of systems, which can reduce centralised optimisation
However, advancements in smart controls, predictive maintenance, and IoT-enabled monitoring are rapidly addressing these constraints. As automation technologies mature, the operational gap between centralised and decentralised cooling is narrowing.
Looking ahead: A balanced future
The future of cooling in the Middle East will not be a binary choice between centralised and decentralised systems. Instead, hybrid cooling ecosystems, where decentralised solutions serve low-density areas, variable-use buildings, and modular developments, will coexist with district cooling in major urban zones.
As the UAE and Saudi Arabia continue to prioritise energy efficiency and sustainable urban growth, decentralised cooling systems stand out as a game-changing opportunity. Their inherent flexibility, scalability, and technological advancement position them at the core of next generation cooling strategies, supporting national visions while enabling more resilient and efficient built environments.
Find out more in our latest edition of Middle East HVAC reports.
Source: Parvesh Chordiya, BRG Research
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