TEDxSummit
Wolfgang Kessling: How to air-condition outdoor spaces
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During the hot summer months, watching an outdoor sports match or concert can be tantamount to baking uncomfortably in the sun -- but it doesn't have to be. At the TEDxSummit in Doha, physicist Wolfgang Kessling reveals sustainable design innovations that cool us from above and below, and even collects solar energy for later use.
Wolfgang Kessling - Physicist
Wolfgang Kessling and his team at Transsolar designed the solar cooling and comfort concepts that helped Qatar win the bid for the 2022 football World Cup. Full bio
Wolfgang Kessling and his team at Transsolar designed the solar cooling and comfort concepts that helped Qatar win the bid for the 2022 football World Cup. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:17
Good evening.
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We are in this wonderful
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open-air amphitheater
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and we are enjoying ourselves
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in that mild evening
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temperature tonight,
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but when Qatar will host
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the football World Cup
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10 years from now,
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2022,
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we already heard it will be
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in the hot, very hot and sunny
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summer months of June and July.
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And when Qatar has been assigned
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to the World Cup all, many
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people around the world have been
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wondering, how would it be
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possible that football players
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show spectacular football,
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run around in this desert
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climate? How would it be
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possible that spectators sit,
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enjoy themselves in open-air
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stadia in this hot environment?
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Together with the architects of
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Albert Speer & Partner, our engineers
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from Transsolar have been
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supporting, have been developing
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open-air stadia based on 100 percent
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solar power, on 100 percent solar cooling.
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Let me tell you about that,
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but let me start with comfort.
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Let me start with the aspect
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of comfort, because many people
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are confusing
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ambient temperature
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with thermal comfort.
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We are used to looking at charts like
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that, and you see this red line
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showing the air temperature
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in June and July, and yes, that's right,
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it's picking up to 45 degrees C.
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It's actually very hot.
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But air temperature is not
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the full set of climatic
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parameters which define comfort.
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Let me show you analysis
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a colleague of mine did looking
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on different football, World Cups,
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Olympic Games around the world,
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looking on the comfort
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and analyzing the comfort
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people have perceived at these
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different sport activities,
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and let me start with Mexico.
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Mexico temperature has been, air
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temperature has been something between
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15, up to 30 degrees C, and people
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enjoyed themselves.
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It was a very comfortable game
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in Mexico City. Have a look.
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Orlando, same kind of stadium,
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open-air stadium. People have
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been sitting in the strong sun,
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in the very high humidity
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in the afternoon, and they
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did not enjoy. It was not comfortable.
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The air temperature was not too high, but it was not
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comfortable during these games.
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What about Seoul? Seoul, because
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of broadcast rights, all the
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games have been in the late
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afternoon. Sun has already been
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set, so the games have been
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perceived as comfortable.
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What about Athens? Mediterranean
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climate, but in the sun it was
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not comfortable. They didn't perceive comfort.
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And we know that from Spain,
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we know that "sol y sombra."
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If you have a ticket, and you
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get a ticket for the shade,
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you pay more, because you're
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in a more comfortable environment.
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What about Beijing?
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It's again, sun in the day
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and high humidity,
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and it was not comfortable.
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So if I overlay, and if you
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overlay all these comfort
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envelopes, what we see is,
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in all these places, air temperature has
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been ranging something from 25
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to 35, and if you go on
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the line, 30, of 30 degrees C
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ambient temperatures. If you
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go along that line you see
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there has been all kind of
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comfort, all kinds of perceived
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outdoor comfort, ranging from
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very comfortable
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to very uncomfortable.
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So why is that?
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This is because there are
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more parameters influencing
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our thermal comfort, which is
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the sun, the direct sun,
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the diffuse sun, which is wind,
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strong wind, mild wind, which is
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air humidity, which is
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the radiant temperature of the
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surroundings where we are in.
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And this is air temperature.
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All these parameters go into
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the comfort feeling of our
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human body, and scientists
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have developed a parameter,
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which is the perceived
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temperature, where all these
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parameters go in and help
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designers to understand
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which is the driving parameter
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that I feel comfort or that
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I don't feel comfort.
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Which is the driving parameter
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which gives me a perceived
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temperature? And these parameters,
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these climatic parameters are
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related to the human metabolism.
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Because of our metabolism,
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we as human beings,
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we produce heat.
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I'm excited, I'm talking to you,
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I'm probably producing
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150 watts
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at the moment. You are sitting,
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you are relaxed, you're looking
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at me. It's probably 100
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watts each person is producing,
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and we need to get rid of that
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energy. I need, with my body,
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to get rid of the energy, and
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the harder it is for myself,
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for my body, to get rid of the
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energy, the less comfort I feel.
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That's it. And if I don't
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get rid of the energy,
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I will die.
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If we overlay what happens
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during the football World Cup,
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what will happen in June, July,
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we will see, yes, air
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temperature will be much higher,
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but because the games and
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the plays will be in the afternoon,
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it's probably the same comfort
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rating we've found in other
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places which has perceived
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as non-comfortable.
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So we sat together with a team
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which prepared the Bid Book, or goal,
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that we said, let's aim
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for perceived temperature,
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for outdoor comfort in this range,
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which is perceived with a
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temperature of 32 degrees
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Celsius perceived temperature,
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which is extremely comfortable.
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People would feel really fine
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in an open outdoor environment.
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But what does it mean?
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If we just look on what happens,
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we see, temperature's too high.
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If we apply the best architectural design,
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climate engineering design,
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we won't get much better.
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So we need to do something active.
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We need, for instance, to bring
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in radiant cooling technology,
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and we need to combine this
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with so-called soft conditioning.
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And how does it look like in a stadium?
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So the stadium has a few
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elements which create that
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outdoor comfort. First of all,
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it's shading. It needs
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to protect where the people
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are sitting against strong
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and warm wind.
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But that's not all what we need
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to do. We need to use
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active systems.
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Instead of blowing a hurricane
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of chilled air through the stadium,
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we can use radiant
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cooling technologies, like a
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floor heating system where water
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pipes are embedded in the floor.
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And just by using cold water
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going through the water pipes,
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you can release the heat
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which is absorbed during the day
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in the stadium, so you can
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create that comfort, and then by
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adding dry air instead of
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down-chilled air, the spectators
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and the football players can
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adjust to their individual
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comfort needs, to their
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individual energy balance.
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They can adjust and find
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their comfort they need to find.
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There are 12 stadia probably
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to come, but there are
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32 training pitches where
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all the individual countries
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are going to train.
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We applied the same concept:
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shading of the training pitch,
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using a shelter against wind,
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then using the grass.
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Natural-watered lawn is a
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very good cooling source
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stabilizing temperature,
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and using dehumidified air to
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create comfort.
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But even the best passive design
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wouldn't help.
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We need active system.
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And how do we do that?
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Our idea for the bid was
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100 percent solar cooling,
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based on the idea that we use
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the roof of the stadia,
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we cover the roofs of the stadia
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with PV systems.
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We don't borrow any energy
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from history.
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We are not using fossil energies.
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We are not borrowing energy
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from our neighbors.
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We're using energy we can harvest
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on our roofs, and also on the
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training pitches, which will be
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covered with large, flexible
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membranes, and we will see
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in the next years an industry
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coming up with flexible
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photovoltaics, giving
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the possibilities of shading
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against strong sun and producing
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electric energy in the same time.
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And this energy now is
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harvested throughout the year,
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sent into the grid,
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is replacing fossils
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in the grid, and when I need it
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for the cooling, I take it
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back from the grid and I
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use the solar energy
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which I have brought to the grid
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back when I need
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it for the solar cooling.
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And I can do that in the first
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year and I can balance that
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in the next 10, and the next
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20 years, this energy,
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which is necessary to condition
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a World Cup in Qatar,
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the next 20 years, this energy
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goes into the grid of Qatar.
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So this -- (Applause)
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Thank you very much. (Applause)
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This is not only useful
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for stadia. We can use that also
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in open-air places and streets,
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and we've been working on
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the City of the Future
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in Masdar, which is in the
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United Emirates, Abu Dhabi.
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And I had the pleasure to work
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on the central plaza.
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And the same idea to use there,
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to create outdoor conditions
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which are perceived
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as comfortable. People enjoy
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going there instead of going
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into a shopping mall, which is
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chilled down and which is
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cooled. We wanted to create
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an outdoor space
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which is so comfortable that
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people can go there in the
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early afternoon, even in these
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sunny and hot summer months,
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and they can enjoy and meet there
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with their families. (Applause)
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And the same concept:
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shade against the sun,
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shade against the wind,
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and use, use and take advantage
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of the sun you can harvest
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on your footprint.
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And these beautiful umbrellas.
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So I'd like to encourage you
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to pay attention to your
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thermal comfort, to your
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thermal environment,
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tonight and tomorrow,
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and if you'd like to learn more
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about that, I invite you
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to go to our website.
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We uploaded a very simple
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perceived temperature calculator
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where you can check out
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about your outdoor comfort.
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And I also hope that you
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share the idea that
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if engineers and designers
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can use all these different
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climatic parameters,
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it will be possible to create
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really good and comfortable
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outdoor conditions,
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to change our thermal perception
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that we feel comfortable
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in an outdoor environment,
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and we can do that
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with the best passive design,
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but also using the energy source
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of the site in Qatar which is
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the sun.
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(Applause)
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Thank you very much. (Applause)
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Shukran. (Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Wolfgang Kessling - PhysicistWolfgang Kessling and his team at Transsolar designed the solar cooling and comfort concepts that helped Qatar win the bid for the 2022 football World Cup.
Why you should listen
Wolfgang Kessling is the Director of climate engineering company Transsolar, which aims to build structures that provide the highest possible comfort levels -- with the lowest possible impact on the environment. Kessling focuses on low energy/high comfort concepts for hot and humid climates. He has been a project manager for the Experimental Cloud in Frankfurt, Germany and the Gehry building for Novartis in Basel, Switzerland. In Asia he has worked on the innovative cooling concept of the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok and the first Zero Energy Office in Malaysia. Kessling believes that the key to comfort is recognizing that environmental conditions are influenced by all aspects and stages of design.
Wolfgang Kessling | Speaker | TED.com