To deal with more heat waves, the cooling system that keeps Paris’ Mona Lisa looking cool even when it is scorching in the summer sun will be expanded.
The little-known network underneath the French capital is Europe’s biggest ‘urban cold’ system.
Paris City Hall has signed an ambitious contract that will triple the size of the network from 2042 to 252 km, making it the largest in Europe.
Where is the cooling system located?
The current system’s 89 km of underground pipes cools the city’s most iconic sites, such the Louvre and Quai Branly museums. It also cools down agitated legislators by dropping temperatures at the National Assembly.
Museums are always in need of cold [temperatures]…in order to preserve their works,” explains Maggie Schelfhaut, communication manager for Fraicheur de Paris – the private company that runs the system. “There are also data centres, for example, which are big consumers of [cool air].”
As Europe’s ongoing HeatwavesIncrease the amount of air-conditioningIn ParisPlans are in place for the expansion of the cooling network to reach the public sector.
The new contract, which will see the city expand this system to hospitals and some schools in 20 years, is intended to mitigate the harmful effects from global warming.
How does Paris’ cooling system function?
The Cooling systemIt uses underground water pipes. It works by injecting chilled water into the air to lower temperatures.
Schelfhaut explains, “We actually use water from the Seine.”
“It is a resource which allows us to evacuate heat…and change this heat and evacuate to the Seine.”
This sustainable approach sends the heat from the system into Seine, and in winter the cold river water cools its systems.
How does the cooling system help the environment?
“If all the buildings are getting equipped with autonomous installations, it will gradually create a very significant urban ‘heat island’ effect, and so it will contribute to the warming of the city,” explains Schelfhaut.
“We realised that if we continue to expand [the urban cooling network] we will reach a level of 1°C less than with the proliferation of autonomous installations. And 1°C less in the city centre is a lot.”
Officials at the Louvre, who have benefited since the 1990s from the cooling network, also highlight its ecological benefits.
Laurent Le Guedart is the Louvre’s Heritage director. “It allows me to benefit from energy that has a lower carbon footprint available throughout the year,” he said. The system is space-saving, and does away with the need to install large cooling units.
This system could also be used to combat rising energy prices
Le Guedart says that the system is a money saver, given the rising cost. EnergyAs Russia destabilizes the market
“The energy bill of the Louvre was around €10 million in 2021. With the increasing cost of energy, we are trying to control this as much as possible…[We have] extremely ambitious objectives for reducing our consumption…in order to cushion the shock of the increase in energy prices.”
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