Supplying water to the world’s tallest building

As the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai is an amazing feat of engineering. At 829.8 meters (2,722 feet), it is taller than two Empire State buildings stacked on top of each other. One of the many challenges in constructing the building was finding a way to deliver water all the way to the top floor. The building engineers found their solution in Xylem’s Lowara pumps.

Xylem is at the heart of the latest technology in water transportation systems, and has become a state-of-the-art supplier of pumping equipment in many prestigious projects in the Middle East. Reliability and energy efficiency were key factors in selecting Xylem’s Lowara pumps for this project.

The Burj Khalifa’s water supply is equipped with six water transfer sets and seven pressure booster sets from Xylem’s product portfolio. The water booster sets, which are used to boost water pressure, are fitted with Hydrovar variable speed drives.

1,000 cubic meters every day

By working closely with consultants and contractors, Xylem has been able to significantly reduce the energy consumption of its pumps. The Hydrovar variable speed drives can reduce energy consumption by 30 percent, while providing a constant residual pressure at any water outlet regardless of the time of the day or the number of users.

At Burj Khalifa, Xylem’s specially designed variable-speed booster sets distribute 1,000 cubic meters of water every day all the way to the top floor. The pumps are located both at the basement level and on two other technical floors placed one-third of the way up the total height of the tower. They serve all domestic water outlets in the building.

To meet the highest demands for quality, the booster sets were assembled at Xylem’s Lowara factory located in Vicenza, Italy, and were delivered and commissioned on site. The water system can supply on average 946,000 liters of water per day, plus water that is gathered from condensation from the cooling system.