Share

Gas heating in the desert: for hot water around the clock

Gas heating in the desert: for hot water around the clock

Even in the desert, a solar thermal system is not enough to supply hot water around the clock. On the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, Hoval UltraGas gas condensing boilers are used to provide backup heating.

The average temperature in Dubai is 27 degrees Celsius. Given that the city has between six and seven hours of sunshine per day in winter and twelve in summer, you may be surprised to hear that Hoval UltraGas gas condensing boilers are in use on the Palm Jumeirah. Hoval gas heating is used to provide a hot water supply for numerous luxury villas and apartments on the island when the solar-heated water in the buffer storage tank has been used up. This ensures that the residents and holidaymakers have enough hot water around the clock, even at peak times.

Landmark project: Palm Jumeirah in Dubai

Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, which opened ten years ago, represents a landmark project for Hoval and many others. Along with holidaymakers and visitors, the artificially created palm-shaped island also attracts celebrities such as David and Victoria Beckham, who have a home there. The 560-hectare island offers accommodation in the form of luxury villas and holiday properties as well as high-end apartments and hotels. Residents expect the very best of everything – including when it comes to the hot water supply.

"Using solar thermal energy to heat water is a major challenge for the hotel and tourism industry in particular, because there are huge peaks in consumption over the course of the day."

explains Günther Köb, product manager for fossil fuels at Hoval. "In addition, Dubai has one of the highest water consumption levels in the world. These two factors had to be taken into account in the technical specifications for the backup heating in the Palm Jumeirah project,”

Solar thermal system combined with a modern gas boiler


Dubai has the perfect climate for solar energy. Despite the many hours of sunshine that the desert city enjoys, however, the use of solar thermal systems is limited. It is not the sun that is the limiting factor here, but the capacity of the hot water storage tanks. To combat this problem, Hoval gas heating has been installed in luxury villas and 11-storey apartment blocks on the Palm Jumeirah. The highly efficient UltraGas gas condensing boiler complements the solar system perfectly and produces hot water when the solar-heated water has been used up.