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FEATURE: COVID-19 as instigator of growth of air movement sub-industry

April 2021

licence to chill THE PULLING POWER OF UTILITY REBATES Dan Mizesko of U.S. Chiller Services

Alg riFM PERSPECTIVES

To what extent are building owners reaping the rewards of investing in smart FM?

IGNORE DIGITALISATION AT YOUR OWN PERIL Raja Subramanyam, cold chain consultant

DIFFERENT APPROACHES TOWARDS COURSE CORRECTION V Sekhar Reddy, Managing Director, Lexzander and Rahul Duragkar, Managing Director, Emitech Group

THE CINDERELLA TREATMENT OF Cx, RCx

Ian Fail-Brown, CEO, SESC Project Management and Committee Member, CSA (Commissioning Specialists Association), GCC region

NAVIGATING 2021 Avin Gidwani, Chief Executive Officer, Industry Networks (FZC)

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PRODUCED BY

10 TH MIDDLE EAST COLD CHAIN FOOD SAFETY CONFERENCE

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

31 May 2021 | Dubai, UAE

Theme: Digitalisation of cold chain and food machinery assets

Harvest | Food production & processing | Transport Refrigeration | Food retail / HORECA / Vending solutions | Consumer

OVERVIEW

SPEAKERS (SO FAR)

At the time of the first edition of Food Chain, in 2011, terms like ‘predictive maintenance’ and ‘digital twin’ had not entered the food safety and food security lexicon. Today, they present themselves as being able to optimise the performance of the cold chain, with positive implications for greater reliability and energy efficiency. Today, it is about harnessing the capabilities of the Internet of Things and cloudbased ecosystem for preventing temperature excursions at multiple points in the food cold chain, from harvesting stage to recycling – creating a circular economy.

With automation, the possibility of not just monitoring but also controlling without human intervention in improving food safety and food security standards is alluring. The machines that underpin the cold chain infrastructure come with the capability of listening to, and interacting with, one another, taking diagnostics to a higher level, in the process minimising thermal abuse.

The 10th edition of Food Chain, while addressing legacy topics, is dedicated to the digital transformation sweeping through the food industry. It is the coming together of cold chain with the world of algorithms to deliver more sophisticated solutions that cold storage, distribution, food retail, HORECA, e-commerce fulfilment entities and other sectoral end-users can no longer afford to ignore.

Dr Suheel Ahmed CEO, Arabian Farms (Al Saha eggs)

Bobby Krishna T M Senior Specialist, Food Permits and Applied Nutrition Section, Dubai Municipality

Nagesh Bangalore Anil Nair Muniappa BU Quality Assurance Food Safety Audit, Leader - MEA, Coca-Cola Mondelēz International

Vivek Srivastava GM - Procurement, MAF Carrefour

Mark Lack CEO, Geant (Urban Foods)

Brent Melvin CEO, Gallega Global Logistics

Abdul Rashid CEO, Pilsbury Consulting

Richard Sprenger Chairman, Highfield ABC MEA

Raja Subramanyam Cold Chain Consultant

www.foodchain-me.com

FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT: advertising@cpi-industry.com September 2018 www.climatecontrolme.com

31

VOL. 16 NO. 04  APRIL 2021

Part 2 of 'Digitalisation of cold chain assets'

Ignore digitalisation at your own peril

Where does the industry stand when it comes to the adoption of smart technologies in facilities management (FM)?

Given the reported tangible and intangible benefits of digital solutions, what are the main bottlenecks that building owners face when it comes to investing in smart FM?

FEATURE

COVID-19 and air movement

Part 2 of 'The state of the building construction industry'

08

Different approaches towards course correction

16

Navigating 2021

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The year ahead presents opportunities in the form of smaller projects, which were often neglected among the large-scale Middle East-size projects that the region is famous for, says Avin Gidwani, Chief Executive Officer, Industry Networks (FZC)

The Cinderella treatment of Cx, RCx

24

Commissioning (Cx) and retro-commissioning (RCx) do not come for discussion in the design, delivery and the eventual operation of many new construction and existing buildings, says Ian Fail-Brown, CEO, SESC Project Management and Committee Member, CSA (Commissioning Specialists Association), GCC region

The pulling power of utility rebates

28

Dan Mizesko of U.S. Chiller Services speaks on how compelling money-saving incentives can accelerate energy conservation measures

REGULARS 06 eDItor'S note

4

18

While we are up against hurdles, there are still positive features that we can explore, but for that we must be prepared to accept that adaptation is the key, as is survival of the quickest, as is forced entrepreneurship, say V Sekhar Reddy, Managing Director, Lexzander and Rahul Duragkar, Managing Director, Emitech Group

Part 2 of a three-part series on commissioning

Atam Hayat, Business Development Manager - MEA Region, Leminar Air Conditioning, discusses how COVID-19 has triggered an appreciation for better quality air distribution products despite greater concerns related to cost, and on how better regulations are addressing problematic practices in the market related to installation and maintenance of ducts…

LICENCE TO CHILL

Digitalisation can squeeze out profits from system operations, ensuring savings in terms of running costs resulting from slower depreciation of machines, decrease in labour costs and from energy savings, says Raja Subramanyam, cold chain consultant

PERSPECTIVES

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Who’s fixing the leak?

April 2021

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Who’s fixing the leak? or several years now, the pages of Climate Control Middle East have resonated with calls for visiting the issue of minimum number of fresh air changes an hour. Those that wish to place health above every other consideration have strongly supported the move, but building managers have largely said it is not even a subject for discussion, given the energy-related implications. The rigidity – hardly surprising in a largely business-as-usual mindset – is unsettling, even dispiriting, but are we at least taking the effort to check if we are achieving ventilation where it is intended to be delivered? Chuck Gulledge III, ASHRAE President, in a relatively recent interview to Climate Control Middle East, spoke of “getting to the breathing zone of people”.

Gulledge III’s words possibly allude to two or three sub-issues, one of them being leakage of ducting systems, which is – or at least ought to be – a major area of concern in the GCC region. In a feature article that appeared in a 2015 issue of Climate Control Middle East, one of the sources interviewed spoke of how faulty HVAC ductwork resulted in approximately 40% energy loss in buildings in Dubai. Atam Hayat of Leminar (see interview on page 16) puts the energy loss at around 20%.

The percentage may vary, but there is no denying the fact that the energy loss translates to substantial costs for the building owner.

Hayat is referencing the present. In other words, in 2021, buildings continue to leak conditioned air. This despite the availability of sophisticated air leakage testing devices and strategies. Some may argue that to fix leaky ducts would not fall under the category, ‘low-hanging fruit’, especially in fiscally difficult times, as now, but it would be a worthy investment, given the potential for substantially lowering total cost of ownership (TCO).

Equally important, sorting out the leaks would lower energy consumption, especially at a time when the UAE has signed a set of new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), in line with the Paris Agreement, as a commitment to lower its emissions. Being able to support the UAE, and other countries, in meeting emission goals would be a collateral benefit of working towards a lower TCO.

F

Surendar Balakrishnan Editor @BSurendar_HVACR FEATURE: COVID-19 as instigator of growth of air movement sub-industry

April 2021

licence to chill THE PULLING POWER OF UTILITY REBATES Dan Mizesko of U.S. Chiller Services

the next issue Alg riFM ofGetClimate Control PERSPECTIVES

Are building owners reaping the rewards of investing in smart FM?

IGNORE DIGITALISATION AT YOUR OWN PERIL Raja Subramanyam, cold chain consultant

DIFFERENT APPROACHES TOWARDS COURSE CORRECTION V Sekhar Reddy, Managing Director, Lexzander and Rahul Duragkar, Managing Director, Emitech Group

THE CINDERELLA TREATMENT OF Cx, RCx Ian Fail-Brown, CEO, SESC Project Management and Committee Member, CSA (Commissioning Specialists Association), GCC region

Middle East early!

NAVIGATING 2021 Avin Gidwani, Chief Executive Officer, Industry Networks (FZC)

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AlgoriFM Where does the industry stand when it comes to the adoption of smart technologies in facilities management (FM)? Given the reported tangible and intangible benefits of digital solutions, what are the main bottlenecks that building owners face when it comes to investing in smart FM, and how can the industry overcome them to improve energy efficiency and IEQ? Hannah Jo Uy has the story…

T

here is a consensus in the construction sector on the need to improve building performance, in view of global sustainability targets. And, of late, smart products and solutions have been touted as key to achieving this.

Technology has been changing the face of facilities management (FM) for many years now, but the Internet of Things (IoT) has given the industry a significant leap forward, says Andrew Law, Technical Services Director, Tafawuq Facilities Management.

Law presents Building Management System (BMS) as another example, pointing out that though BMS has been used to control the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) outputs of buildings for decades, recent advancements allow companies to deploy algorithm-driven IoT devices to learn a building’s requirements and predict temperature changes throughout the year to achieve significant utility savings.

The growing importance and value of big data is seconded by Rohan Chandavarkar, Associate – Data Management, AESG, who estimates that approximately 95% of data captured in the construction and engineering industries remains unused. The paper-based project workflows prevalent in most firms, he says, is due to the inability to successfully manage and process the vast amounts

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April 2021

Andrew Law

of data captured from various sources on every project. “By successfully capturing and utilising Big Data through the use of a cloud-based digital platform, organisations can track asset data throughout the project lifecycle, provide accurate and real-time data reporting and benefit from prediction-based insights,” he says.

Chandavarkar adds there is a range of proprietary sensors and IoT devices available in the market that can readily transmit data to the cloud. “With seamless integration of data gathered by IoT, buildings and cities can be managed and efficiently optimised,” he says. Evidently, the market reflects this view, as 95% of construction companies surveyed by KPMG said they believe emerging technologies, including IoT, will fundamentally change their industry, while a further 72% say new tech adoption,

Rohan Chandavarkar

including IoT implementation, is part of their strategic plan or vision. “PwC also reports that 98% of industrial companies expect to increase efficiency by as much as 12% with digital technologies like IoT-enabled predictive maintenance or AR,” he says.

“Construction is ripe for transformation using digital tech, and companies that don’t stay ahead of the curve could risk being left behind.”

PASSING THE BENEFITS FOR ALL PARTIES Largely speaking, the solutions are considered advantageous for all stakeholders.

Sanjeevv Bhatia

Chandavarkar believes that building owners will greatly benefit from taking the digital route, as the data insights they gain about their processes will help them improve overall productivity. Similarly, he says, FM companies that adhere to a digital approach are able to allow validated construction and asset data to be seamlessly transferred to their systems, which saves time, cost and effort and reduces the possibility of errors arising out of re-inputting data manually.

For Sanjeevv Bhatia, CEO, Netix Global BV, a real-time and granular view of business operations, including asset performance, customer preferences, and resource and

related to cost savings, from enhanced efficiencies in system performance and energy Markus Oberlin consumption. “Predictive and condition-based maintenance has been known to deliver about 20-30% savings in maintenance cost, the capacity to achieve uptime SLAs, and energy savings,” he adds. Markus Oberlin, CEO, Farnek, points out that this is especially true in the case of HVAC systems, which constitute the main source of energy Jamal Lootah consumption in the region and, therefore, are responsible for the vast proportion of a facility’s operating costs.

Further elaborating on the multifaceted ROI that can be achieved from predictive maintenance, Bhatia says: “In terms of operational improvements, we have seen mean asset lifecycle go up by around 30%, often more.

Unexpected failures are reduced by at least 55-60%. But, the priceless intangibles are the increased systemwide robustness and the ability to deliver personalised and disruptionfree tenant experiences, which have a significant impact on brand value and occupancy rates.”

Ramachandran adds that connected buildings and systems also free portfolio O&M teams from having to operate in silos and to manage data, allowing them to Prabhu Ramachandran focus their efforts on creating wholesome real-time experiences for end customers.

“In terms of value, this translates into greater flexibility, more agile operations and a sustainable model for smart building energy consumption, enables management innovation,” he says. based on specific intelligence for all parties.

Bhatia says this is especially crucial “Smart systems allow every aspect of the with the rise of a connected customer business to be optimised, from physical base. “Millennial and Gen Z customers are assets and automation to workforce accustomed to highly personalised services, productivity and more,” he says. “In fact, responsive services and user experiences,” he the USP of this approach is the ability to says. “And the majority are prepared to pay operate at peak efficiency, while reducing more for this. One of the greatest strengths operational overheads and increasing asset of smart systems is the ability to deliver such lifecycles, at the same time.” service experiences, consistently. In a highly Prabhu Ramachandran, Founder competitive marketplace, this translates into and CEO, Facilio, says it is important to one of the largest demographic segments understand the tangible and intangible preferentially seeking out properties benefits that such solutions offer. The that can deliver this.” tangible advantages, he says, are directly

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Bhatia says smart solutions also have a positive impact on maintaining better quality IEQ. “In fact, this was one of the major advantages that building owners with state-of-the-art smart systems were able to unlock during the pandemic, keeping in mind the airborne vector of the spread of the contagion,” he says. “Sensors and field devices are able to capture real time IEQ parameters in great detail, allowing building owners to monitor and optimise air quality continuously.” He adds that in conjunction with similar insights into the performance of HVAC assets, building owners are able to stay several steps ahead of their IEQ goals.

AN ADDED INCENTIVE Better controls in relation to air quality is just one of the ways that COVID-19 became an unexpected driver towards smart FM solutions. Bhatia says that according to pre-COVID-19 estimates, the market size of smart building management systems was set to exceed USD 19 billion by 2023. He believes the growth will be even more dramatic, given the challenges that Commercial Real Estate (CRE) owners faced during the pandemic and the advantages that buildings with smart systems were able to leverage through the crisis.

This is certainly the case for Jamal Lootah, CEO, Imdaad, who says the pandemic has accelerated demand for technological solutions that minimise costs while improving the quality of service. “We have witnessed this shift across all of the sectors we serve,” he says. “Building Management Systems, for instance, harness the power of IoT, AI and data analysis to proactively monitor our clients’ assets in real-time. These advanced systems can detect faults before they arise, saving on maintenance costs and reducing downtime. According to data gathered over a month-long period, we were able to remotely fix over 90% of faults through our BMS without human intervention. This also helps facilitate social distancing.”

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April 2021

For Law, the most significant change he noticed during COVID-19 is the increased emphasis on the cleaning operation within the FM tenders. “Historically, the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) provisions have been our clients' predominant focus,” he says. “However, cleaning, including sanitisation and disinfection, now has a much higher profile. The industry has advanced with improvements in cleaning and sanitisation products since the start of the pandemic.

This resulted in a reduced amount of cleaning required at high contact points such as door handles, elevator buttons and many more.”

Oberlin says that in his experience, the requirements following COVID-19 are mixed, depending on the facility’s function. “At the height of the lockdown, most commercial premises had reduced occupancy, leading to less HVAC load requirements, varied due to seasonality; but at the same time, the HVAC load in residential premises increased due to higher day time occupancy,” he says. “In general, the HVAC requirements for commercial facilities are unlikely to change significantly due to reduced occupancy, particularly in summertime; hence, technician staffing and maintenance intervention levels will likely remain the same.”

WHAT’S HOLDING THE INDUSTRY BACK? Though the benefits are clear and the momentum remains positive, the level of adoption of digital across buildings still varies. Oberlin is optimistic that growing awareness in the industry will lead to more integration of Internet of Things (IoT) especially in ongoing projects that are still in the design stages. However, Oberlin says that while there has been a noticeable advance in the range and availability of smart systems for the local and remote control of domestic air conditioning systems, there has been, to date, little impact on maintenance operations. “Recently completed towers and commercial facilities, where we perform FM services on the whole, have not yet advanced at the same pace as residential properties,” he says.

The bottlenecks are due to a number of reasons, one of which is cost. “Clearly, in these difficult times, the availability of funds for major capex projects, such as the integration of smart HVAC systems, must be extremely challenging,” he says. “Across the region, rental levels have reduced considerably, which ultimately impacts the funds that owners of residential buildings can budget for capex projects. For commercial and mixed-use building owners, the same pressures are likely to exist due to the impact

caused by the pandemic on their revenue and profit targets.” Bhatia says that while costs vary, depending on building floor layout and the existing automation already embedded in them, the ability to retrofit a digital solution, rather than replace existing assets with an additional physical layer, is significant, and is easily offset by gains in efficiency.

required by the FM team – hence, it is important that the FM team is involved with the handover process from the very beginning, so that the asset data templates can be set up in accordance with the project requirements,” he says, “Once this is done, the validated and approved data within these templates can be seamlessly exported into various FM software.”

Ramachandran says these are all symptoms of a disjointed approach.

“Building operations are bogged down by the issue of silos in O&M, which are amplified further in the case of a portfolio,” he says. “System silos, building silos and functional silos increase the barriers to innovation and unifying data. Real estate owners and operators are now exploring a platformpowered approach, which harnesses IoT- and cloud-based connectivity to integrate systems and optimise performance, flexibly and scalably.”

Another issue is the building’s capacity to support the use of the systems. Law points out that as much as technology changes and improves the FM industry, it is limited to how ‘smart’ buildings are when integrating such services. “We operate on technological platforms, so we are very capable of delivering technology-based approaches on a case-by-case basis,” he says. “However, some building owners and developers are still not utilising FM providers at the building design stage. Neglecting this crucial element takes away so much value that can be built-in, especially when retrofitting a building at a later date can come at a higher cost.”

Pointing out another bottleneck, Chandavarkar says the primary challenge for integrating data depends on how explicitly the data fields are specified in a project. “The process of integration depends on the inputs

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Bhatia also highlights the importance of better collaboration, pointing out that the CRE industry already has to reconcile multiple vendors having specific protocols and solutions. “HVAC systems, including split, VRF and VRV units, can be particularly challenging to integrate into legacy building portfolios,” he says. “This is where the next generation of unified, single-pane of glass, iIBMS solutions are critical to creating seamless portfolio scale integration. No matter the asset, IoT networks gather realtime performance data, and AI-analytics generates task- and outcome-specific insights. Such smart systems, identifying anomalies in performance well before failure, enable predictive, targeted and optimal maintenance.”

Ramachandran says building owners and operators are trying several possible approaches to optimise performance through remote management. However, such solutions, either directly or indirectly, add to the complexity of system and data silos. This invariably overshadows the benefits of a connected model of system operations. “Compared to other approaches, the potential benefits of a platform-powered approach, with a suite of cloud-based O&M applications, are rather practical and high-impact,” he says. “In a centralised platform approach, there is a reduction in costs and complexity, because the potential problem of overlayed silos is avoided.” He says that modular apps allow owners to invest in exactly the capabilities that they need, and the flexibility of a cloud-based solution guides owners in their digitisation journey, based on the stage and maturity of their portfolio.

SKILLED HUMAN RESOURCES However, the tools are only as good as the people using them. Law says human capacity development is another key to success for Eltizam’s technology

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April 2021

improvements. “The people at the front end of our FM business are also involved in the development stage of systems and processes to ensure they are fully knowledgeable about our projects,” he says.

Speaking for Farnek, Oberlin says the company is implementing use of technology from management down to technician level to deliver and support operations.

However, Oberlin is quick to point out that while technology offers great assistance, it does not replace the need for “hands on” training in the performance of routine maintenance tasks and, more importantly, in being able to trace and diagnose faults.

“Within our training centre, we employ a number of typical HVAC assets as training aids to develop the HVAC technician’s skills sets,” he says. “Clearly, there is a cost issue regarding the scale of asset types that can be procured as training aids. Therefore, training on more costly assets, such as airhandling units and chillers, is conducted on live assets within our own facilities or as on-the-job training modules at live sites.”

Oberlin adds that striking a balance is crucial, because there are many older and recently constructed facilities without advanced BMS, which will not be upgraded to incorporate BMS+ or IoT. “Such facilities will remain operational for many years to come, hence there will always be a need for tactile + technology-based training,” he says. “However, as more and more facilities employ smarter and connected assets that are able to self-diagnose or are analytically monitored, it is fair to assess that the skill set of the technicians that maintain these assets could be reduced to the level of a 'technical fitter'.” Oberlin says the fitter need not be a dedicated HVAC technician, but could be multiskilled and supported remotely by a dedicated HVAC specialist, who would oversee a wide range of fitters across the FM portfolio.

UNLOCKING THE BENEFITS In any case, Chandavarkar believes that when it comes to new projects, collaboration is key and that FM companies that are engaged early on in a project’s lifecycle would be able to provide their operational requirements at the onset, which helps project teams to anticipate, understand and identify processes, resulting in a successful digital handover to the FM company. “Within the next few years, full-scale digitisation could lead to savings between USD 0.7 trillion and USD 1.2 trillion (13-21%) in the design & engineering and construction phases and between USD 0.3 trillion and USD 0.5 trillion (10-17%) in the operations phase.”

These significant savings, Chandavarkar says, would easily outweigh the preliminary costs. “By planning on the digital handover methodology for the project at the very onset, the benefits and savings that can be achieved are predicting and planning for maintenance requirements backed with data, use of validated data to create digital twins that can allow for live building data to be analysed in real-time,” he says. “This enables not just energy saving, system optimisation and reduction in operational costs but also extends the lifecycle of equipment. Real-time access to asset information and workflows also greatly speeds up the handover process, allowing for projects to be delivered on time.”

It is only in so doing, he says, that building owners can use the data captured over a portfolio of projects for planning – and better planning means more accurate budget estimates and a better understanding of timelines and costs.

HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the article.

Write to editor@cpi-industry.com

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Raja Subramanyam is an independent cold chain consultant. He is the designated Chairperson of the 10th edition of Food Chain, on 31 May 2021 in Dubai. He may be contacted at rasubra7@yahoo.com.

Part 2 of 'Digitalisation of cold chain assets'

IGNORE DIGITALISATION AT YOUR OWN PERIL Digitalisation can squeeze out profits from system operations, ensuring savings in terms of running costs resulting from slower depreciation of machines, decrease in labour costs and from energy savings, says Raja Subramanyam, adding that machine failures and system stoppages, which could cause loss of several thousands of dollars, can be avoided

P

ursuant to my article in the March issue, I would like to take forward my views on digitalisation and its transformational journey in cold chain technical assets. Digitalisation cannot be any longer an ignorable trend, as it is known to bring in tangible benefits in the longer term, in terms of improving operations and energy efficiency, leading to sustainability.

Digital technology in cold chain is still in its infancy, but its development is deemed to be massive, considering the huge business potential that is on offer due to the large number of cold stores, refrigerated logistics hubs and food retail outlets in the region, not to forget the vital transport refrigeration vertical. But, its incorporation is more practicable than before, due to lower cost of set-up and connectivity and the increasing knowledge among end-users and various other stakeholders.

So, what exactly does digitalisation do in the mechanical world of refrigeration

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April 2021

systems? To put it simply, digital technology gathers data from mechanical systems through electronic formats. And enabled by analytics, through complex algorithms, these data are used to optimise the performance of the refrigeration systems, thus enabling them to have a “longer life”.

How does this benefit the end-user?

Again, simply put, digitalisation can squeeze out profits from system operations, ensuring savings in terms of running costs resulting from slower depreciation of machines, decrease in labour costs and from energy savings. It effortlessly streamlines processes, ensuring the system life cycle is effectively more controllable with fewer problems and uncertainties. Real-time maintenance can be converted to predictive maintenance.

And machine failures and system stoppages, which could cause loss of several thousands of dollars, can be avoided.

It is proven that digitalisation plays a great role in incremental economic growth. But, more than technological, the all-important shift has to be cultural,

which means an organisation has to have a mind-set to transform to progress for the greater good. Yes, we have seen rapid D-Transformation last year in the front-end e-commerce, instigated by COVID-19, but alas, the same cannot be said about back-end technical assets.

Another important aspect is agility. Just the mindset alone is not important; being agile, as a characteristic, is equally essential.

“Speed with precision” is fundamental in this age of business, else companies fall behind their peers and lose the competitive advantage. Agility is achieved when innovation and excellence work together harmoniously.

That is it for this month. As we inch closer to the Food Chain conference, we will gain more insights in the May issue, in which we will view the skills required and what more needs to be done to speed up digitalisation in the cold chain.

CPI Industry accepts no liability for the views or opinions expressed in this column, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided here.

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15

FEATURE

COVID-19 AND AIR MOVEMENT

Atam Hayat, Business Development Manager - MEA Region, Leminar Air Conditioning, discusses with Climate Control Middle East on how COVID-19 has triggered an appreciation for better quality air distribution products despite greater concerns related to cost, and on how better regulations are addressing problematic practices in the market related to installation and maintenance of ducts…

By Hannah Jo Uy | Contributing Editor, Climate Control Middle East

C

ost-saving has been especially high on the agenda of most clients, says Atam Hayat, Business Development Manager - MEA Region, Leminar Air Conditioning, as he shares his insights on trends related to the air distribution market. Hayat says the cost-centric approach has been evident in small and medium residential projects following the initial outbreak of COVID-19, even until now as the world is acclimatising to the new normal. “In our product segment, variable air volume (VAV), especially bypass VAV, sales have increased to around 15%, as they are cheaper propositions in comparison to Fan Coil Units (FCUs),” he says.

Hayat says COVID-19 has also caused a spike in the requirement for HEPA and ULPA filters, which carry high efficiencies, following greater concerns related to removal of small airborne particles associated with COVID-19. “Breathing, as well as coughing and sneezing releases

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April 2021

tiny infectious droplets into the air, which potentially contaminate surrounding surfaces and the air in the immediate surrounding,” he says. “These droplets – aerosols – can be of varying sizes, from 1 to over 10 µm. EPA, ASHRAE and CDC recommend upgrading air filters to the highest efficiency possible that is compatible with the system and checking the filter fit to minimise filter air bypass.”

He says that leading bodies have published guidelines on best practices that have triggered the demand. Providing an example, he points to ASHRAE’s recommendation to use a filter with a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) of 14. “ISO 16890 Standard advises to use filters having ePM1 rating to control the spread of virus,” he says, adding that comprehensive guidance on filter selection is also provided by the Eurovent recommendation 4/23. Hayat says the sectors that are upgrading to the use of high-efficiency filters include laboratories, hospitals, isolation rooms, quarantine spaces, as well as medium risk environments such as airports, schools and public areas.

SOLVING OLD PROBLEMS IN THE NEW NORMAL Admittedly, the market across the GCC region was largely in a state of lull during the COVID-19-instigated lockdown, Hayat says. However, he is quick to point out that while projects in the UAE may have slowed down, they did not grind to a halt. “Postlockdown, the UAE market has recovered, and lots of new projects have been announced,” he says. “Currently, most of the developers in the UAE are steadily doing the civil works. The procurement of MEP materials is still slow, as it still depends upon the response of booking by the customers.

However, a lot of villa projects are coming up in the UAE, as the real estate market is showing a better response from customers for these types of developments. We also expect the GCC region and African market will see a steady pace of growth following the footsteps of UAE.” In view of the expected positive momentum, Hayat believes there is an urgent need to improve practices within

the industry when it comes to ductwork, given the important role it plays in ensuring proper air quality. “The air ducts running through our homes are a vital component of the HVAC system,” he says. “Unfortunately, lots of HVAC systems in the region do not perform to their rated efficiency as a result of improper installation.” Improper HVAC sizing and installation not only causes higher energy bills, it also leads to reduced performance, poor air distribution and poor indoor air quality. “About 20% of the air that moves through the duct system is lost due to leaks, holes and poorly connected ducts,” he says. “Ductwork leakages essentially cause HVAC system to work harder. In addition to losing conditioned air, if the ducts are not tight enough, negative air pressure can suck in dirty air. Air duct leaks are especially problematic in basements, crawlspaces, garages and attics.”

Hayat says that these issues can be avoided by implementing certain measures, such as ensuring joints and seams are sealed with mastic, the use of rigid metal for duct fittings, opting for pre-insulated duct fittings and ensuring ductwork can operate in a closed system, meaning it is tightly sealed from one end to the other. Hayat also emphasised the valuable contribution

Atam Hayat

of specialised HVAC subcontractors, who carry the necessary skills and expertise to ensure all duct connections and joints are sealed properly with an approved sealant.

As a representative of the manufacturing community, Hayat says that he advises HVAC contractors to use proper insulation.

“Insulation not only helps in protecting against moisture-related problems, but it will also improve energy efficiency by keeping hot or cold temperatures from affecting the temperature inside. Air duct insulation is especially effective where there is a lot of ductwork in unconditioned areas, such as attics, basements, and crawl spaces.”

Hayat says there has been some improvement brought on by Chapter 18 of the 2018 Edition of the UAE Fire and Life Safety Code of Practice, which emphasises duct manufacturers recommendations and also made it the responsibility of consultants and contractors to ensure proper installation of ducts at site. In this way, he says, the civil defence has presented strict standards for the proper installation of smoke control, car park and kitchen exhaust ductwork.

“The contractor has to ensure that all firerated and kitchen exhaust ducts comply with mandatory requirements related to stability, integrity and insulation," he says.

“The contractor also has to ensure that the fire-rated ducts have to be coated or properly insulated whenever the distance between fire-rated ducts and combustible materials is less than 500mm, similar to requirements in the UL Guidelines.”

In addition to installation, Hayat says, greater attention should be given to proper cleaning and maintenance to ensure systems are operating and performing as required. At the end of the day, Hayat says, facility and business owners or managers are responsible for ensuring timely inspection of the system to determine how often the system should be cleaned, as they are in the best position to understand in mind the relationship between grease build-up and the type or volume of cooking. “Timely cleaning of kitchen exhaust system at right intervals helps not only mitigate fire risk but also protects the facility from smoke, oil leaks and

unpleasant odours,” he points out. However, Hayat says that in most cases, the lack of specialised FM contributes to the problem, as many companies don’t have advanced cleaning devices. “Also, in most homes today, we use "flexible" duct, which can be easily damaged by duct cleaning services,” he says.

“Also, this process is costly; therefore, the developers avoid the maintenance practices in the UAE. It’s high time that there should be stern regulations and checks from local authorities for duct maintenance.”

Hayat says that although there are no stern local regulations for the cleaning of ventilation ducts, there are both local and international standards for kitchen exhaust maintenance that serve as an important reference. “For Commercial Kitchen Exhaust ducts, the most commonly followed international standards are the NFPA 96: Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection for Commercial Cooking Operations and the ANSI/IKECA C-10: Standard for the Methodology for Cleaning Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Systems,” he says. “Dubai Municipality has also issued its own regulation, outlined in TG19: Guideline for Health and Safety in Kitchens and Food Preparation Areas.”

Hayat explains that NFPA 96 demands that exhaust system components be cleaned to bare metal at frequent intervals, prior to surface becoming heavily contaminated with grease or oily sludge. “The standard outlines four frequencies for inspection schedules: monthly, quarterly, semi-annually and yearly, depending upon the type and volume of cooking,” he says. The Dubai Municipality Technical Guideline TG19, on the other hand, specifies daily cleaning of cooker surfaces and hoods and weekly cleaning of filters.

Although this is a move in the positive direction, Hayat believes more work should be done to raise the standards in the industry to ensure air distribution systems are correctly designed, installed and maintained, given their important role in ensuring better indoor air quality.

HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the article.

Write to editor@cpi-industry.com

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17

covid

19

V Sekhar Reddy is Managing Director, Lexzander and Rahul Duragkar is Managing Director, Emitech Group.

They may be contacted at vscsreddy@lexzander.com and at rahul@emitechgroup.com, respectively.

Part 2 of 'The state of the building construction industry'

DIFFERENT APPROACHES TOWARDS COURSE CORRECTION

While we are up against hurdles, there are still positive features that we can explore, but for that we must be prepared to accept that adaptation is the key, as is survival of the quickest, as is forced entrepreneurship, say V Sekhar Reddy, Managing Director, Lexzander and Rahul Duragkar, Managing Director, Emitech Group

T

here is a popular saying, “What goes around, comes around.” True to the fact, COVID-19 is an ego-slap by Nature to remind humanity the values of conscious consumerism.

At the same time, the pandemic has presented opportunities and possibilities for those who are ready to take the bull by the horns; but for that they must be willing to adopt a pragmatic approach.

At the onset, let’s get this right – the traditional crisis response is a no-no, and doing nothing or adopting the same old time-tested, failed approach is not an option. Instead, the right positive step forward is to have a clear roadmap that is well thought out, tailormade and is backed by strong decision-making leadership.

The leadership we speak of is with the full weight of gravitas, for the COVID-instigated hurdles ahead are formidable. The real, profoundly visible and realistic ones are: • All key driving sectors – namely hospitality, travel and tourism – and regions worldwide are going through a very challenging business environment • There are no clear signs of the pandemic easing its hold

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April 2021

• The market sentiment is low, as is the level of confidence • We are witness to revenue disruption and decline • We are also witness to a liquidity crisis • There is a leapfrog change in customer behaviour • We are seeing reverse challenges from Supply Chain

ZOOMING IN ON THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY Let’s look at the current market sentiment. The development of any nation depends on healthy, consistent investments, which in turn, are heavily dependent on demand. With an all-round slow down, for obvious reasons the construction and the MEP sectors, as integral parts, have taken a heavy beating. Indeed, the profile makes for unpleasant reading…

• Real Estate – stagnant and characterised by oversupply and shrinking demand • Hospitality – Negative • Oil & Gas – Negative • Travel, Tourism – Negative • Retail – Negative

Having said so, there are certain new opportunities, which could even be called as gamechangers…

• Retrofit projects – Positive • Sustainable Solutions – Positive • Facility Management – Positive • Healthcare – Positive • E-commerce – Positive • Online – Positive • New Industries – Promising • Outsourcing – Promising To take advantage of the gamechangers, though, adaptation is the key, as is survival of the quickest, as is forced entrepreneurship. The UAE market is working its way out of the COVID-19 probation, and with the EXPO round the corner, 2021 should see a turnaround in fortunes. Given the excellent position it has set itself up, the UAE market will certainly be the preferred destination and a gateway to the GCC and broader MENA regions for many a venture.

The need of the hour is strong decisionmaking leadership to monitor, manoeuvre and guide the process and to embrace digital products, among other solutions. Equally, the leadership ought to look for a solution in every situation, as traditional responses may not be best of the options. Indeed, largely speaking, time-tested approaches have no room anymore.

Further, continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.

From a strategic point of view, we ought to seriously consider going back to the 1990s with a 2020 mindset. The inherent features would be to conduct technical analysis, techno-commercial analysis, and techno-commercial and human analysis. These will get us across the turbulent times we find ourselves in.

CPI Industry accepts no liability for the views or opinions expressed in this column, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided here.

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19

Analysis

Avin Gidwani is Chief Executive Officer, Industry Networks (FZC).

He may be contacted at agidwani@bncnetwork.net.

NAVIGATING

2021

The year ahead presents opportunities in the form of smaller projects, which were often neglected among the large-scale Middle East-size projects that the region is famous for, says Avin Gidwani, by way of offering hope in a scenario where the dearth of new project contract awards in 2020 will result in a significant shortfall of available work for HVAC businesses in 2021

M

ost HVAC companies sailed through 2020, thanks to the momentum of ongoing work.

However, as that construction cycle concludes, the dearth of new project contract awards in 2020 will result in a significant shortfall of available work for HVAC businesses in 2021.

There is no sugar coating this pill. Urban construction contract awards are down this year by around 40% versus Q1 2020, which was down around 25% from 2019 (see charts on page 21). The new GCC region construction market is smaller, and even as new projects are awarded, leading to better overall performance than 2020, the market will probably continue to shrink this year from an HVAC perspective.

Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects are on the horizon, but they won’t necessarily help salvage 2021. The projects in the Kingdom are ambitious and exciting, but they are in untested waters. The waves of social, legal and geopolitical change sweeping through Saudi Arabia in a post-covid world need to settle before businesses can truly determine how to navigate the new opportunities.

A YEAR FOR SMALL PROJECTS The year ahead presents opportunities in the form of smaller projects, which were often

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April 2021

neglected among the large-scale Middle East-size projects that the region is famous for. The region’s villas sector, for instance, needs an HVAC uplift that can come with the industry focusing on how to provide cost-effective and practical solutions that serve the end-user. The same can be said of mid-scale commercial and industrial units that generally ran below the radar.

There continue to be thousands of individual villa projects that are being constructed in the UAE alone. Indeed, about 2,500 individual villas across the UAE were added to the BNC project intelligence database over the last three months, with many more to follow, as many more people look for residences with more space,

access to nature and community living.

Many of these projects are neglected by suppliers, and smaller consultancy firms lack the expertise to offer end-users the advice they require to make educated buying decisions. Add to this that smaller contractors lack the skill to properly implement the HVAC solutions that sell well on paper.

Focusing on small projects would probably have been a questionable business strategy a year ago, because they wouldn’t have been as lucrative or exciting, but as COVID rapidly matured the market, reconfiguring to service small projects, the sector is one of the best bets many businesses can make.

GCC Urban Construction Forecast Q4 2020

GCC Urban Construction Comparative Analysis Q4 2020

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21

Analysis SUPPLY AND INSTALL

IF IT AIN’T BROKE…

There is a growing need for specialist contractors or suppliers that install their products to provide end-users with the benefits these products were designed for. The structured model of construction designed for large-scale projects has kept most contractors and suppliers away from end-users, who often do not experience the energy-saving, the cleaner air, the faster cooling, the silent operation, the lifestyle automation and the longer service life that engineers spend countless hours designing, testing, certifying, specifying, selling and installing.

The gap between the end-user and the supplier is to blame and must be bridged so that consultants can build their reputation for sound engineering advice, contractors can grow their business through installations that exceed expectations, and suppliers can build their brands with their ultimate customers, who start benefiting from the engineering and features that differentiate their products.

Indeed, in an economy of mushrooming specialist contractors, businesses must use the opportunity to create a network of installation experts for their specific products.

The norm in thinking ought to be, Build a business to maintain “it”, so that you are prepared to refurbish it or replace it when it does break. Many businesses still sell their products without a service contract – a lucrative source of running revenue and a powerful way to build a deeper connection to the marketplace for a sustainable longterm business. Maintenance contracts, when available, are often over-priced, poorly structured and often poorly supported, as they are a side-act. Evolving from a product business to a service business can seem daunting and may appear to be unviable or inapplicable, but looking more deeply at how products are used by end-customers and how long they last can lead to the creation of a sustainable new profit centre in the years ahead.

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April 2021

WHEN THE MARKET IS QUIET… Most businesses in construction see the developer, consultant or contractor as their customer. They ignore the end-user of their products, and while it did not matter too much in the years gone by, in today’s market, they can gain tremendously by educating not just the chain of buyers and influencers in the construction cycle but also the end-user.

Mass market education requires different strategies from the technical sales cycle that HVAC businesses generally participate in, but the dividends of an educated end-customer have been underestimated for too long, and in a quiet marketplace, the voice of the end customer will be the loudest in the room.

THE NEXT WAVE The next wave of construction will come, but it is unlikely to be seen by HVAC businesses till the middle of 2022, at the very earliest.

The mega- and giga-projects being put on the drawing board are inspired and driven by visions of a futuristic world, and HVAC players must use the market lull of these early 2020s to cut costs, streamline supply chains, improve service infrastructure, technically enhance their products, build case-studies that demonstrate true efficacy and educate the market at large, which has fundamentally and irreversibly changed.

CPI Industry accepts no liability for the views or opinions expressed in this column, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided here.

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5th EDITION

14 June 2021, Dubai Theme: District Cooling and Zero-Energy Cities… breaking free from past technologies, past practices

OVERVIEW The 5th edition of DC Dialogue, true to tradition, carries the weight of a rich history of in-depth discussions in past editions that have yielded voluminous and actionable reports, suggesting progressive action. The objective of the conference is as much to discuss the latest technologies capable of raising the bar on energy efficiency and reliability as to review the progress made by the industry and to compare policies and approaches across multiple eco-systems with an ambitious drive towards zero-energy cities. The conference also has a self-given mandate of closely examining different forms of renewable energy, as applicable to district cooling schemes, and the buzz surrounding hydrogen as a form of energy.

SPEAKERS (SO FAR)

George Berbari CEO, DC PRO Engineering; Author, The Energy Budget

Gustaf Landahl Head of Department, Environment and Health Administration, City of Stockholm, Sweden

Bronze Sponsor

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Strategic HVACR Recruitment Partner

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

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Ian Fail-Brown is CEO, SESC Project Management, and Committee Member, CSA (Commissioning Specialists Association), GCC region.

He may be contacted at irfail.brown@sescgroup.ae

Part 2 of a three-part series on commissioning

THE CINDERELLA TREATMENT OF

Cx, RCx Commissioning (Cx) and retro-commissioning (RCx) do not come for discussion in the design, delivery and the eventual operation of many new construction and existing buildings, says Ian Fail-Brown, adding that their avoidance directly impacts energy efficiency, reliability and IAQ

T

he last two years have undoubtedly had an effect on the construction industry, and dependent upon your position in the supply chain, your views on the way forward may differ. It is clear, however, that with the greater emphasis being given to the criticality of the overall quality of the building performance, it may just be the time when the role of the CxA and the wider MEP T&C community are engaged prior to the initial design being completed and buildings are handed over to clients and operators.

All GCC region nations have published their own version of their Vision for the Future documents, where the overall improvements to indoor and outside spaces designed to improve citizen wellbeing have been clearly stated. Indeed, the region is committed to being the world’s leader

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April 2021

in sustainable environmental policies and practices. In order to achieve these worthy goals, we must address the current issues that continue to hold back progress, starting with the simply thorny issue, “Why is the voice of commissioning (Cx) and retro-commissioning (RCx) organisations still being ignored?” It is a legitimate question, because we have so much to offer.

Cx AND RCx Despite the volume of positive costeffectiveness data now available, CAPEX costs and the unwarranted doubt surrounding actual savings achieved by conducting Cx and RCx on new and existing buildings are making developers and building

owners reluctant from engaging in Cx or RCx activities. Owners, developers often, mistakenly believe that installing efficient equipment is enough, without considering the fact that the equipment may not deliver the specified efficiency if it is not commissioned or poorly adjusted or operated. Owners who have had Cx performed generally do not understand the value – both operationally and commercially – that periodic RCx can deliver.

The intent of Cx is to assure that systems are correctly installed, tested, adjusted and balanced to achieve the highest level of building performance. RCx is the commissioning of existing buildings after they have been in operational use. RCx is

performed on buildings that have not been commissioned, and it is sometimes used to “tune up” the existing MEP systems. Often, owners decide to simply recommission specific systems, such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Even when initially commissioned, building performance usually degrades over time, leading to greater energy waste, reduced occupant comfort and increased operational maintenance costs. In order to assure long-term high performance, buildings should undergo periodic RCx every five years.

Cx of new and RCx of existing buildings is a proven method for improving building energy performance. Building owners and operators can generate an improved occupant satisfaction score, can increase the rental values and increase the value of their assets (property values) while reducing their operational costs. Energy savings for buildings that have undertaken comprehensive Cx or RCx are slated as being between 10% and 20%.

For a new building, Cx is part of a quality assurance (QA) strategy to confirm to owners that systems have been installed correctly and are compliant with specification. Owners and developers benefit from complete QA, which reduces the need to address problems and system failures under warranty, once a building is occupied.

Below is an extract from The National: ABU DHABI // The environment of workplaces could be damaging workers’ health.

Dozens of office workers visit clinics every month, complaining of headaches, sore throats, itchy eyes, breathing difficulties and skin complaints. These symptoms are related to Sick Building Syndrome (SBS).

SBS is attributed to unhealthy or stressful factors – such as poor ventilation and dust, fungal spores and other airborne particles – at workplaces.

Doctors say employers should invest in better ventilation systems and air quality measures to safeguard the well-being of their staff.

A Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study found Cx delivering normalised median energy savings of 13% in new construction and 16% for existing buildings.

The normalised median cost of Cx was USD 1.16 per square feet for new buildings (0.4% of construction costs), yielding a 4.2 year payback from energy savings and was USD 0.30 per square feet for existing buildings, yielding a 1.1 year payback.

IMPORTANCE OF INDOOR AIR QUALITY It can be argued that the HVAC systems are the most critical element of any new or refurbished building due to their ability to impact its occupants in a positive or negative manner. It is imperative that systems are tested, balanced and commissioned by trained engineers, as un-commissioned or systems commissioned by un-trained Commissioning Engineers are the potential cause of health issues. Sick Building Syndrome is a relatively new term; however, doctors are diagnosing this more frequently as a cause of illness for many patients in the UAE.

“Sick Building Syndrome is very common in the UAE and other fastgrowing countries,” said Dr Trilok Chand, a specialist in respiratory medicine at Burjeel Hospital.

“The reason is often poor ventilation in these buildings, while leaks and other water issues can carry bacterial infections such as fungus.”

He sees about a dozen cases exhibiting respiratory symptoms each month. If a patient has underlying lung problems such as asthma, it worsens their condition.

“Such symptoms are common in my clinic.

Patients explain how they feel better once they are outside their work building,” Dr Chand said.

He pointed to air pollution, poor ventilation and the circulation of unclean air as common causes of workplace-related illness. SBS coupled with heavy workloads, long periods on the computer and stressful environments hurt productivity, Dr Chand said.

Dr Lakshmi Chembolli, a dermatologist at Medeor Medical Centre, said SBS was relevant to the UAE.

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25

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OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

5th edition Strengthening the foundations for better building performance

16 November 2021 | Dubai, UAE

The conference features the largest gathering of master developers, sectoral end-users (hospitality, healthcare, FMCG, malls, education, aviation), project management companies, architects, general and MEP consultants, general and MEP contractors, manufacturers, suppliers, testing and commissioning agents, FM professionals and legal experts in the GCC region with a specific agenda of discussing issues that are preventing and, at times, perhaps even impairing MEP stakeholders from delivering optimal solutions, so essential for better building performance.

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April 2021 FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT: advertising@cpi-industry.com

i0522-333 Condair MC AD_ME Climate-C

Typical pollutants of concern include: • Combustion by-products, such as carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and environmental tobacco smoke • Substances of natural origin, such as radon, pet dander and mould • Biological agents such as moulds • Pesticides, lead and asbestos

EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH Health effects associated with poor indoor air quality include: • Irritation of the eyes, nose and throat • Headaches, dizziness and fatigue • Respiratory diseases, heart disease and cancer The link between some common indoor air pollutants – to cite some examples, radon, particle pollution, carbon monoxide and Legionella bacterium – and health effects is very well established.

• Radon is a known human carcinogen and is the second leading cause of lung cancer.

• Carbon monoxide is toxic, and shortterm exposure to elevated carbon monoxide levels in indoor settings can be lethal.

• Episodes of Legionnaires' disease, a form of pneumonia, caused by exposure to the Legionella bacterium, have been associated with buildings with poorly maintained air conditioning or heating systems.

• Numerous indoor air pollutants – dust mites, mould, pet dander, environmental tobacco smoke, cockroach allergens, particulate matter, and others – are “asthma triggers”, meaning that some asthmatics might experience asthma attacks following exposure.

While adverse health effects have been attributed to pollutants, the understanding of some indoor air quality issues continues to improve.

Researchers also have been investigating the relationship between indoor air quality and other issues not previously thought of as related to health, such as employee performance and productivity in occupational settings.

Whilst this is relatively new, the current

available data suggest employees who work in buildings that have HVAC systems that have been fully commissioned and are delivering higher air quality are more productive and have less time off with illness.

CONCLUSION Well designed, maintained and commissioned HVAC systems will be central in taking the first steps towards delivering buildings that keep indoor air quality as a driver to improving the general wellbeing of all who operate within that specific space. A healthy building is determined as a space that improves the mental, social and physical well-being of its occupants.

The HVAC system of a building is the single most important driving force of indoor air quality. HVAC systems can act as a source of pollutants if improper materials are used; specifically, the accumulation of dust and high humidity can lead to fungal growth in ductwork systems, which ultimately reduces indoor air quality.

With Covid-19 and the associated lockdowns, people are spending more time indoors, and with the growing trend of working from home, which appears to be to a great extent here to stay, the requirement for buildings to be effective, efficient and safe spaces is increasing exponentially; and HVAC systems are at the centre of our abilities to deliver these.

Without the added value of Cx and RCx delivering fully functioning, compliant, healthy buildings, the possible health and commercial benefits are lost.

We all have an obligation to create buildings that are effective, efficient and are safe spaces to work, live and play, both for today and for the future.

To achieve this, we need to embrace the benefits of Cx and RCx and fully understand the risks we are creating when we choose not to.

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CPI Industry accepts no liability for the views or opinions expressed in this column, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided here.

Humidity Control and Evaporative Cooling

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27

LICENCE TO

HILL Dan Mizesko is with U.S. Chiller Services. He may be contacted at dmizesko@uscsny.com.

THE PULLING POWER OF UTILITY REBATES How compelling money-saving incentives can accelerate energy conservation measures

T

he truth is, everyone wants to do good, go green and save the planet. However, in my experience, unless there is a compelling moneysaving incentive, organisations will not move forward with the majority of such projects.

We at US Chiller Services NY were working on an energy-saving proposal for a fairly large chilled water plant in the New York Tri State area. The savings were compelling at over 1,300,000 Kwh per year and a payback of 2.6 years for a project investment of USD 515,000. Just when we were putting everything together, engineering the project and finalising our proposal, one of our energy engineers pointed out that we had not included the Con Ed (utility provider) rebate incentive.

When I asked him what the rebate amount was, I was amazed.

THE REBATE WAS AS FOLLOWS: For every Kwh saved with a project, the utility company would rebate 0.45 cents per Kwh and pay this up to 75% of the entire project cost. In other words, the utility company would give USD 386,250 as rebate, with the customer having to pay only USD 128,750 and still receiving the full benefit and savings of a USD 515,000 project. I was wonderstruck. Such an arrangement provides companies with a huge incentive to move forward with Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs).

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April 2021

The New York Tri State area project, with the rebate factored in, suddenly had an ROI of 149% and a payback of just over eight months. Sheer music to the ears.

With such incentives, it’s impossible to not implement the technology and take advantage of the savings. The customer eliminates 1,300,000 Kwh cost per year, and the utility saves the generation of 1,300,000 Kwh per year on its power plants and infrastructure.

This begs the question, why would a utility offer such attractive rebates?

1) To keep existing customers and incentivise customers currently with another utility provider to switch utility companies. This would not be a factor in the Middle East and GCC regions, as utility providers are not in competition with one another.

2) Energy efficiency is much cheaper than building new power plants. This is the main reason, in my opinion, why utility companies provide rebates. Studies have shown that for every USD 1 spent on energy conservation, the utility company saves USD 9 compared to the cost of building a new power plant to generate the amount of energy that the energy efficiency conservation

measure offsets. In other words, it’s cheaper to provide rebates for ECMs than to build new power plants.

With the tremendous growth in the GCC region and the clear desire to be as energy efficient as possible, implementing utility ECM rebates would surely exponentially speed up the approval process of many, many energy-saving solutions being proposed in buildings and chilled water plants throughout the region.

Of course, measurement and verification (M&V) proof of savings would be required for the utility company to release the rebate money. With that taken care of, we are staring at a win-win for everyone, as it would accelerate the implementation of more ECMs in the region, keep utility companies from having to build new power plants, provide savings for the end-user facilities and provide jobs for the energy specialist companies that are engineering and installing the saving-related solutions.

CPI Industry accepts no liability for the views or opinions expressed in this column, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided here.

11th ANNUAL CLIMATE CONTROL

AWARDS 2021 14 September 2021 | Dubai, UAE

www.climatecontrolawards.com

30 AWARD CATEGORIES: 1. MANUFACTURER/SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR (AIR TREATMENT)

16. PROJECT OF THE YEAR (OUTDOOR AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS)

2. MANUFACTURER/SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR (AIR MOVEMENT, VENTILATION)

17. PROJECT OF THE YEAR, NEW CONSTRUCTION – IEQ (HEALTHCARE, ACADEMIC, HOSPITALITY, COMMERCIAL, RESIDENTIAL)

3. MANUFACTURER/SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR (FIRE SAFETY) 4. BUILDING ENVELOP OF THE YEAR (CONTRIBUTING MANUFACTURER/SUPPLIER) 5. BUILDING PERFORMANCE SERVICES (TESTING AND CERTIFICATION) 6. DISTRICT COOLING COMPANY OF THE YEAR 7. O&M COMPANY OF THE YEAR (CHILLED WATER PLANT) 8. DISTRICT COOLING UTILITY PROVIDER OF THE YEAR 9. INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURER/SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR (CHILLERS) 10. MANUFACTURER/SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR (CHILLED WATER SYSTEM EQUIPMENT AND COMPONENTS, LESS CHILLERS) 11. MANUFACTURER/SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR (STANDALONE DX)

18. HVAC CONSULTANT OF THE YEAR 19. HVAC CONTRACTOR OF THE YEAR 20. BUILDING EFFICIENCY PROJECT OF THE YEAR 21. IAQ HEALTHCARE RETROFIT PROJECT OF THE YEAR 22. COMMISSIONING/RE-COMMISSIONING COMPANY OF THE YEAR 23. FM COMPANY OF THE YEAR (ENERGY MANAGEMENT, IEQ) 24. IoT INTEGRATION INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR 25. DIGITAL HVACR STORE OF THE YEAR 26. HVACR ENGINEER OF THE YEAR 27. YOUNG HVACR ENGINEER OF THE YEAR

12. MANUFACTURER/SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR (VRF SYSTEMS)

28. MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR (VEHICLE ENVELOP & CONDENSING UNITS)

13. GCC REGION MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR

29. COLD STORE OF THE YEAR

14 .MANUFACTURER/SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR (WATER HEATERS)

30. DOMINIC DE SOUSA AWARD FOR INNOVATION

15. HVACR ACCESSORIES MANUFACTURER/SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR

31. EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARD

IMPORTANT DATES PRESENTATION TO THE JUDGES:

JUNE 16 & 17, 2021

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF ENTRIES IS

6PM (GULF STANDARD TIME, GMT+4) ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021 (ENTRIES SUBMITTED AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR EVALUATION)

FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT: advertising@cpi-industry.com September 2018 www.climatecontrolme.com

1 29

REGIONAL NEWS

Rubber World Industry launches AED 90mn HVAC production unit

Company says the new entity, ‘United Air-Conditioning’, based in Ajman, will complement its efforts in manufacturing heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, cooling, mechanical, electrical and plumbing products, parts and accessories for commercial and residential use in the UAE

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By CCME Content Team

ubber World Industry, which manufactures and supplies HVAC and MEP products and accessories in the UAE, has launched ‘United Air-Conditioning’, a specialised company with an investment of AED 90 million (approximately USD 25 million), which includes a production plant in Al Jurf industrial area, Ajman, to meet what it described as a growing demand for its environmentally friendly products. Rubber World made the announcement through a Press release.

The new manufacturing unit, spanning over 10,000 square metres, is part of the company’s expansion plans backed by the rising demand for the company’s cooling, heating and now coronavirus-related products, Rubber World said through the Press release. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said it saw a sharp increase in health and environment-related products, such as disinfectant chambers, HVAC filters, air cleaners, optimised HVAC products, and configured rubber insulation and ducts to limit the spread of the virus.

Muzammil Shaikhani, Managing Director, Rubber World Industry, while attributing the new milestone to the company’s customers, said: “I am grateful to our local and international buyers, who have put a strong trust in us, which kept our growth not only intact but rising. In addition, during the pandemic, Rubber World thrived rather than survived and launched United Air Conditioning to cater to the increasing needs of its customers.

Our R&D quickly responded to the new demand for health-related products that

Hira Industries launches new range of suspension hanging systems

Company says products reduce installation time significantly

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By CCME Content Team

eroduct, a division of Hira Industries, said it has launched a new product range of suspension hanging systems, an effective mechanism to append high load and heavy-duty HVAC accessories, electrical services and other decorative accessories from the ceiling. Making the announcement through a Press release, Aeroduct said the suspension hanging systems Haris Qureshi offer fast, easy and versatile suspension solutions than the existing systems in the UAE market.

“Hira Industries is committed to providing innovative solutions that support the MEP and HVAC sector,” said Haris Qureshi, a Senior Technical Sales Manager of Hira Industries. “The launch of the suspension hanging systems is an effort to reduce the installation time as compared to the conventional products, increase

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April 2021

productivity, enhance safety as well as provide a cost-effective system to the MEP & HVAC services industry with a service par excellence.”

According to Aeroduct, the suspension hanging systems have been designed to specifically reduce overhead costs, such as time and labour, by providing ready-to-use kits with a length of steel wire rope and end fixings as per the customer’s requirements to enforce easy and quick installation of the suspension solutions.

Aeroduct said it has developed a wide range of suspension solutions, such as the wire rope, cable blocker, eye bolt and catenary hanger, amongst others, to meet the requirements of the MEP and FM contractors that specialise in suspended accessories and systems. Qureshi said: “Our suspension hanging systems’ range is an efficient solution that does not require on-site slicing, which eliminates the need to saw-off threaded rods for hanging ducts.

These are made from special materials that make the hanging systems lightweight

yet durable, proposing simple and safe suspension for diverse projects.”

According to Aeroduct, the suspension hanging systems have been developed following in-depth research and expertise, following the rising requirements of MEP and HVAC contractors for systems with diverse applications that are easy to install, flexible and lightweight for smooth transportation.

The suspension solution systems, Aeroduct said, comply with SMACNA and carry a 5:1 safety factor, ensuring high quality, safe and reliable products for HVAC, electrical and suspension requirements.

people and businesses need to maintain health [and] safety and [to] contain the spread of coronavirus and its variants, and started manufacturing this line, which helped double our growth and created the need for a specialized production line.”

The new entity, United Air Conditioning will complement Rubber World in manufacturing heating, ventilation, airconditioning, cooling, mechanical, electrical and plumbing products, parts and accessories for commercial and residential use in the UAE, Rubber World said.

United Air Conditioning will focus on health-and environment-related products, modified HVAC and MEP parts, such as rubber insulation and ducting lines, which have become essential in the current environment, Rubber World said. It will help in reducing emissions, improve energy efficiency and contribute to the climate change agenda, it added.

Rubber World has two units in the UAE and one in Sri Lanka. The company said it

plans to set up six new production facilities in South Asia and the Middle East in the next three years to cater to the needs of its growing customer base.

Rubber World said that United AirConditioning has helped it increase its range of products, such as cooler tubes and sheets, which are CFC-free and are designed for exposed pipe area, as commonly seen in supermarkets, hospitals and schools.

Another key area of demand for United Air-

Conditioning’s products is all types of flexible ducts and ducting accessories with a broad range of adhesive tapes, Rubber World said.

Rubber World said it currently serves several customers, including Leminar Air Conditioning Company, Century Mechanical Systems Factory, Gulf-O-Flex AC Spare Parts Trading, Gmark Middle East FZC and Al Emadi Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Equipment.

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31

REGIONAL NEWS

Ariston announces commitment to UN sustainability goals Company says it will generate more than 80% of revenue from innovative and sustainable water heating technologies by 2022, acting consistently with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

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By CCME Content Team

riston Middle East, manufacturer of water heaters in the GCC region and part of the Ariston Thermo Group, said it is committed to contribute to the Group’s sustainable growth strategy. Making the announcement through a Press release it said the Group targets saving 3,400,000 tons of CO2 equivalent by 2022 through innovative technologies and Ariston, as a leading brand in the Group, is a major contributor to the achievement of this goal.

Ariston said it has already contributed to Dubai Expo 2020’s sustainability pavilion, Terra, with solar panels to produce 4GWh of electricity per year and will also produce up to 22,000 litres of water per day, extracted from atmospheric humidity and by recycling grey water. Additionally, it said, the completion of many solar energy projects in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the wider MENA region reinforces its energy efficient product offering across the geography.

“Our purpose is to provide everyone, in every corner of the world, with high-quality heating and water heating solutions, while protecting the environment,” said Alberto Torner, Head of Middle East, Turkey and Caucasus. “To this end, we have

Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor says 2021 outlook positive Predicts strong recovery with better-thanexpected start to 2021

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By CCME Content Team

halaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Founding Chairman, Al Habtoor Group (AHG), said the first quarter of 2021 fared better than expected for AHG, thanks to the post-pandemic recovery in the UAE. Al Habtoor said AHG took measures early in 2020 to ensure it could withstand the fallout from COVID-19, which is still impacting much of the world, including industrialised nations.

“The Covid-19 pandemic, which took the world by storm, took everyone by surprise,” he said. “It was something no country was prepared for, let alone companies or individuals. Many industries around the globe were brought to a standstill or faced complete

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April 2021

placed energy efficiency solutions and technologies using renewable sources at the center of our sustainable growth strategy, thus contributing to the sustainability development goals endorsed by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Despite difficulties that arose in 2020, we increased our investment in developing efficient and sustainable products, solutions and processes to 29%, keeping to our commitment of making a decisive contribution to reducing energy consumption and conserving the environment.”

The commitment to sustainability, Ariston said, is reflected in the projects it has undertaken in the region. In Dubai, there are several achievements in diverse building structures. Among the most prestigious projects to date is the sustainability pavilion at the Expo. Terra is one of three thematic pavilions at the Expo. It will produce electricity through solar panels, targeting a net-zero-energy status. It will also produce water as a plan to achieve net-zero-water status. Ariston said products it has installed have produced a hybrid solution that will reduce electricity consumption by 25% compared to traditional electric heating.

collapse, particularly the travel and tourism industry.

“Some of the world’s largest nations failed in dealing with the virus and managing its impact. Many are still struggling to get the pandemic under control, introducing lockdown Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor after lockdown, and severely impacting business operations and the economic recovery.”

Al Habtoor praised the UAE authorities for their handling of the crisis. “The United Arab Emirates was exemplary from the start,” he said. “We have proven that we are a nation that excels in crisis management. Protecting our citizens was the number one priority.

The collective efforts from the government and the willingness of the general public to support their measures is to be commended.”

Speaking about the diverse industries that AHG operates in, Al Habtoor noted that the real estate sector in Dubai recorded strong sales growth of 17% in January 2021 compared to the same period a year earlier. “We have seen solid growth in our real estate division, achieving a more than 300% surge in the volume of sales compared to the same time last year. This growth is being driven by investor confidence in the Dubai real estate market and the superior quality of the product. Many buyers from the Middle East, parts of Europe and the United States are seeing the UAE – particularly Dubai – as a safe and stable environment to relocate to.”

LG speaks of focusing on retrofitting HVAC systems across MENA

As decision-makers navigate changing environments, upgrading existing technology to meet demands for greater efficiency and peace of mind remains a key focus, company says

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By CCME Content Team

G Electronics (LG) said it is focusing on retrofitting HVACR systems across the MENA region, at a time when decision-makers are upgrading existing technology to achieve greater efficiency and peace of mind. LG took part in the 6th annual Retrofit Tech MENA Summit, held from March 23 to 24 in Dubai, during which it showcased its HVAC systems.

The Summit united key decisionmakers and industry leaders to explore Suraj Kumar avenues for greater energy efficiency and sustainability, made possible largely through retrofitting, LG said.

Retrofitting, the company said, is proving to be a popular choice for decision-makers, owing to the method’s ability to utilise aspects of existing infrastructure and build upon it. LG said its Lifecycle Cost Analysis Retrofit solution and inverter technology make it possible to anticipate how much a

user can save and the estimated payback over a given time period.

For those seeking to have reduced impact on the environment and greater affordability, retrofitting enables parts to be recycled and reused within existing frameworks, saving not only initial costs, but also long-term operating expenditure, the company said. At the Summit, LG showcased its retrofit products, which it described as providing flexibility in installation, and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and Control feasibility. The products, the company said, are designed to cater to specific business environments.

At the Summit, LG also displayed its air purification kits, which can be applied to existing or new air conditioner models.

For duct-type ACs, the company said, its purification kits provide filtration of circulating air, offering a MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values) rating of 13, and incorporate UV-LED technology to sterilise up to 99.9% of particles and bacteria.

LG said visitors at the Summit also learnt more about LG’s air purification technology for non-duct-type ACs, such as the Dual Vane

Al Habtoor praised the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) for its rapid rate of COVID-19 vaccine distribution. “The UAE administers more than 120,000 doses of the vaccine daily,” he said. “Currently, more than eight million people have been vaccinated in the country. We are well on the way for the UAE to become the first country in the world to vaccinate its entire population. This is one of the reasons why we are witnessing a pickup in certain sectors, like real estate and hospitality.”

Al Habtoor said that UAE’s hospitality sector has managed to withstand the impact of the pandemic to regain a healthy level of business and noted that his hotels have witnessed a steady rise in occupancy rates. “Our ability to be agile and adapt to the needs of the market have been critical to our success,” he said.

He noted that a ‘boom’ in staycations has been a contributing factor in the resurgence of hotel occupancy rates in Dubai, which reached 71% in December, the highest level since February 2020, oscillating between 50% and 70% over the past

model, which uses a five-step air system to remove odour, germs and PM 1.0 fine dust.

LG said that for greater visibility and convenience, its air conditioners are compatible with the LG ThinQ mobile application, empowering users to control their cooling systems at any time, from anywhere. The application, the company added, enables real-time and trend monitoring, providing an indication of energy consumption and indoor fine dust level.

“LG has a longstanding track record of helping businesses adopt more thorough and efficient air solution technology in the region,” said Suraj Kumar, Technical Manager – Air Solutions, LG Electronics Gulf. “We have taken onboard valuable insights from the HVAC community and are committed to providing solutions which solve real business challenges, such as reducing operating expenditure and promoting safer physical environments. We look forward to further collaborating with decision-makers and exploring how we can help elevate individual business success.”

three months throughout the Emirates. “While we cannot receive guests from countries in lockdown, we continue to welcome guests from countries still able to travel, such as the CIS, Eastern Europe and the US,” Al Habtoor said.

He acknowledged that it was hard to see hotels close their doors at the start of the COVID-19 crisis, with hotel lobbies looking like ghost towns. “I am pleased to see them back to life and delighted that the hospitality industry in Dubai is well on the road to recovery,” he said. Al Habtoor noted that he is expecting 2021 results to surpass those of 2019. He praised the creativity of the teams at Habtoor Hospitality who had to ‘reinvent’ their sales approach, looking at offers and opportunities to reinvigorate the market. “Some of our hotels,” he added, “are already ahead of last year by more than 20%, year to date.”

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REGIONAL NEWS

Condair appoints CAT as distributor in Qatar

Company says its channel partner in the peninsula will supply its humidifiers, dehumidifiers and evaporative cooling systems

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By CCME Content Team

ondair, has appointed Central Air Conditioning Trading & Services as its new distributor in Qatar, the company said through a Press release. It added that CAT will be offering the full range of Condair products, including humidifiers, dehumidifiers and evaporative cooling systems.

Mohammed El Khatib, General Manager, CAT, said: “I am very excited that CAT has partnered with Condair as a distributor, and I am looking forward to increasing sales with the company’s comprehensive range of humidity control systems. Combining Condair’s market-leading products with CAT’s extensive knowledge and application experience offers customers across Qatar an unbeatable solution for their humidity control requirements.

“As well as strengthening links with and supporting HVAC consultants and contractors across Qatar with their humidity control projects, CAT will be assisting several core manufacturing sectors to increase their production efficiency. We are looking forward to working with production managers to educate them on the potential improvements Condair’s humidifiers and dehumidifiers could offer to their profitability.”

Urs Hefti, Head, Condair Global Sales AG, said: “We are delighted to appoint Central Air Conditioning Trading & Services as a distributor for Condair. With offices located in Doha, Qatar, a service engineering team and extensive experience in offering a wide range of HVAC products, CAT is an ideal partner. It’s great Condair is now able to meet the needs of our Qatar customers more comprehensively, and we are looking forward to substantial growth across the region in the years to come.”

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April 2021

ODS Global partners with Johnson Controls

Says the tie-up will focus on the growing emphasis on energy usage, sustainability and digital transformation

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By CCME Content Team

AE-based ODS Global, which provides integrated building management services, has entered into a partnership with Johnson Controls (JCI). Making the announcement through a Press release, ODS, which is part of UAE-based SB Group, said the tie-up is to foster greater innovation and efficiencies in building Sanjeevv Bhatia operations.

According to ODS, the partnership with JCI embodies the evolving consumer sentiment, driven by an increased focus on energy usage, sustainability and digital transformation. It includes the addition of the groundbreaking Building and Energy Management Systems (BEMS), offered by EasyIO, a subsidiary of JCI, to ODS’ existing services portfolio, ODS said through the release. EasyIO's range of BEMS and products can combine multiple protocols, such as Sox, BACnet and Web API, and help create an integrated and connected model of building operations, the company said. This open-source technology can be seamlessly added to any management platform, whether it is deployed in conjunction with pre-existing infrastructure or as an installation within a new system, the company added.

Commenting on the partnership with JCI, Sanjeevv Bhatia, Chairman, SB Group, emphasised the challenge of reconciling distinct vendor protocols and software licenses to achieve portfolio-wide energy efficiency and sustainability. “EasyIO marks a paradigm shift in energy management,” Bhatia said. “With the UAE's real estate sector gearing up for a sustainable future, using a tech-driven approach, there is growing need for a solution, such as EasyIO, which can help clients, engineers and contractors in the UAE, optimize savings, asset performance and end-user comfort across the entire real estate value chain, at portfolio scale.

"At ODS Global, we have championed seamless, cost-effective and scalable integration of multi-vendor assets to unlock unprecedented efficiencies and energy savings. By partnering with a leading innovator like Johnson Controls, we can deliver unique innovations, which transform the UAE real estate market, with new possibilities".

According to ODS, such strategic partnerships and tech innovations are becoming commonplace in the building automation market, which is poised to reach a valuation of USD 273 billion by 2023. The UAE is emerging as a hotbed for these developments, with global market leaders and regional incumbents pooling their resources, policy makers facilitating a favourable ecosystem and customers driving focus on sustainability.

LG emphasises on the importance of innovation Says it has responded to the challenges of 2020 through bringing new technologies to the market at rapid pace and scale

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By CCME Content Team

uring a year in which comprehensive yet efficient HVAC solutions have become increasingly crucial, LG Electronics (LG) said it has focused on strengthening its ties with industry leaders such as ASHRAE (American Air Conditioning Association) and REHVA (European Air Conditioning Association) to deliver new standards of comfort and care to all.

LG said its commitment to championing innovation has allowed the company to successfully negotiate the challenges of 2020, while empowering businesses and individuals across the Middle East and Africa as a complete smart energy solution provider.

Sangmin Lee, Leader, LG Electronics Business Sangmin Lee Solution Division for the Middle East and Africa, said: “Our success comes as a result of having clear understanding of local market demands, responding by bringing new technologies to the market at rapid pace and scale. We will continue to accelerate our focus on becoming a trusted HVAC partner in MEA – based on the values of integration, expertise and customer service to create positive impact.”

LG said variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems are representative of its HVAC solutions and have been at the forefront of new installations in schools, hotels, offices and entertainment hubs across the region.

These systems, LG said, are equipped with powerful and reliable inverter compressors, which enable them to offer maximum efficiency in partload as well as full-load conditions.

This track record of advanced air solution technology has allowed LG Electronics to capture 20% of the UAE’s USD 5 million air purification market in 2020 alone, the company said.

LG said its advanced VRF systems have been installed at several sites across the region, including Dubai’s Sustainable City and Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Beach Villas.

To ensure LG remains at the forefront of air solution technology and provides strong customer service, the company said it has been training technicians at its LG Air Solutions Academy in Jebel Ali since 2010. In recent months, the company said, it has introduced purification

and sterilisation kits onto existing air conditioning units to improve comfort and indoor air quality. Customers looking for more aesthetically pleasing solutions have also been introduced to the advantages of LG’s Dual Vane and Round Cassette air conditioning units, the company said.

Building on the long-standing success of its PuriCare air purifier line-up, LG said it has introduced a host of new iterations, including a commercial model for office spaces and, more recently, the PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier. LG’s Wearable device, which uses two H13 HEPA filters and a patented respiratory sensor to filter air and regulate airflow on-the-go, has been received with great interest and is already serving government bodies and hospitals in other markets, the company said. While the PuriCare Wearable had been in R&D since 2017, the pandemic also revealed a need for new, more affordable air solutions with hygiene at the forefront, and LG said it has been focused on bringing the right, cost-effective technologies to market to meet this demand.

LG said it has continued its longstanding tradition of supporting healthcare facilities by delivering tailored solutions that meet the differing temperature, humidity and air pressure requirements of operating theatres, patient rooms and intensive care units. Its Multi V system, it said, offers optimum efficiency during peak and partial-load hours across the entire facility, while the LG control solution also makes operation much more efficient, it said. This gives healthcare providers the ability to manage facilities while reducing operating costs, it added.

With the prevalence of remote interactions during the height of the pandemic, LG said it quickly transitioned to online communication with its clients, the media and wider public – leveraging digital technologies to host product unveilings during livestreams and via social channels. The company said it continues to provide smart energy management with its BECON (Building Energy Control) Cloud Solution, an IoT-based platform.

This, it added, enables greater visibility and convenience via remote real-time monitoring and energy efficiency management.

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35

GLOBAL NEWS

ASHRAE, IAPMO to copublish water efficiency document

Initiative will address water efficiency in buildings

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By CCME Content Team

SHRAE and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAMPO) have announced an agreement to co-publish a document to address water efficiency in buildings.

The document will combine ASHRAE 191P, Standard for the Efficient Use of Water in Building Mechanical Systems, along with WE-Stand™, IAPMO’s Water Efficiency and Sanitation Standard, to offer complementary water efficiency guidance and references in one publication, ASHRAE said. ASHRAE 191P provides minimum requirements for the design of building mechanical systems that limit the volume of water required to operate HVAC systems, ASHRAE said. WE-Stand™ focuses on achieving safe and efficient water use in both residential and non-residential buildings, ASHRAE added.

“Water efficiency and energy conservation are major considerations in the design and operation of HVAC systems in high performance buildings,” said 202021 ASHRAE President Charles E. Gulledge III, P.E. “Escalating costs and concerns regarding availability have brought much

AHRI releases refrigerant research results

Tested A2L refrigerants difficult to ignite, had low-flame speeds

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By CCME Content Team

he Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) released results of a project undertaken in cooperation with UL and the Firefighter Safety Research Institute (FSRI) in which refrigerants classified by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) as A2L (lower flammability) were tested and compared with A1 (no flame-spread) refrigerants in real-world situations. The effort, AHRI said, was undertaken to develop training programs for firefighting personnel when responding to fires in occupancies with both new (A2L) and existing (A1) refrigerants.

The project included scenarios designed by fire service professionals to develop training for tactical consideration to demonstrate hazards that may be encountered by the fire service for both A1 and A2L refrigerants, AHRI said.

“We are grateful to the UL employees and members of the fire service that committed significant time in the development and execution of this project and in preparing reports to ensure that they are both accurate and helpful to firefighters,” said Helen Walter-Terrinoni, AHRI Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

Since industry started pursuing a phasedown of higher-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants over 10 years ago, more than USD 7 million have been invested in research to better understand the lower-GWP refrigerants that will replace them, AHRI said.

The FSRI training module, which incorporates videos from the project, AHRI said, will soon be released and available free-of-charge on its website (https:// ulfirefightersafety.org/).

needed attention to the issue of water use in the built environment. We are pleased to collaborate with IAPMO to provide a balanced resource to the water-energy nexus as the demand for sustainable strategies grow.”

Dan Cole, Senior Director of Technical Services and WE-Stand™ Secretariat, said: “We’re excited to coordinate our development efforts on WE-Stand™ with ASHRAE’s 191P Committee. With the

development cycle for 2020 now finalized, we will look forward to ensuring that both standards eliminate any conflicts toward achieving high levels of water efficiency for both mechanical and premise plumbing systems.”

According to ASHRAE, the co-published document will be available upon the conclusion of the 2023 WE-Stand™ development process, which is on a threeyear cycle.

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April 2021

dmg on track with The Big 5 Construct Egypt Show scheduled to take place in June, organisers say

By CCME Content Team

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Picture courtesy The Big 5 Construct Egypt

he Big 5 Construct Egypt is on track to take place in person from June 26 to 29 at the Cairo International Convention Centre (CICC) in a safe environment, event organisers, dmg events said through a Press release.

Construction activity in Egypt has continued at pace, despite the coronavirus pandemic and has shown great resilience over the last year, dmg said. In fact, according to GlobalData, construction in Egypt is expected to have grown at 7.7% in 2020 and looks forward to 8.9% growth in 2021, it added.

Muhammed Kazi, Vice President, dmg events, said: “We are delighted to confirm that preparations for The Big 5 Construct Egypt are well underway for our June event, and I am happy to reveal that re-opening this year comes hand in hand with a wealth of new impactful features designed to provide opportunities for the industry to network, learn and do business.

“It is more important now than ever to bring the community together to boost business activities and build strong partnerships for the post-pandemic era, and it is our belief that there is no better way to do this than through powerful face-toface connections."

According to dmg, The Big 5 Construct Egypt will showcase the latest construction products and technologies across an extended offering of specialised events.

International brands committed to the event despite travel restrictions will join all major Egyptian contractors at the event, including Hassan Allam Holding and Orascom Construction, El Soadaa, ASGC, Hanimex, Al Zamil, Al Ahram, Wellbond and Al Amal, dmg said.

Eng. Hassan Allam, CEO, Hassan Allam Holding, said: “The massive transformation of Egypt through crucial infrastructure works and strategic megaprojects is set to further contribute to economic growth, whilst solidifying the country’s position as the leading trade hub between Europe, Asia, and Africa.

“As the population grows, it is critical to explore how the country can build on local, regional and international partnerships to realise the value that the infrastructure and construction industry has in sustaining economic development and diversification going forward.”

According to dmg, new features set to launch at the 2021 edition include The Big 5 Egypt Leadership Conference, providing insights from Ministers and international leaders through keynote addresses and panel discussions, and The Big 5 Egypt Impact Awards, set to celebrate the people, organisations and projects driving sustainable development, innovation and transformation in Egypt's construction industry.

The event, dmg said, also offers free-to-attend and CPDcertified Talks. It is supported by Strategic Partner, Hassan Allam Holding; Platinum Sponsor, Orascom Construction and Stone Sponsor, Gremic. The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) is on board as Supporting Association, dmg said, adding that Project Management Institute, MENA (PMI, MENA) is the Supporting Partner and ABiQ is the Research Partner.

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37

GLOBAL NEWS

ASHRAE announces call for abstracts for Winter Conference

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The theme of the conference is ‘Holism and Perspectives towards Decarbonization’

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By CCME Content Team

bstracts are now being accepted for the 2022 ASHRAE Winter Conference, to be held from January 29 to February 2, 2022 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, ASHRAE said through a Press release.

With an eye on future resources, the conference seeks to present papers and programmes that cover sustainable use of energy and water, reduction of waste and improved Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), while addressing other challenges and opportunities in facilities, applications and processes, ASHRAE said “It is estimated that the world population will grow from eight billion now to around nine billion in 2050; global GDP is expected to stabilize at +2%/year,” said Raul Simonetti, Chair, 2022 Conference.

“This will increase the need for food, energy and other resources to support a growing population in the coming future. The 2022 Virtual Winter Conference will provide an opportunity to examine holistically – that is, at 360° – what we do and the way we do it in order to minimize the impact on our planet.”

According to ASHRAE, the following tracks are developed to support the conference theme, ‘Holism and Perspectives towards Decarbonization’…

• Buildings use a large share of a country’s final energy, particularly for heating, cooling and various services. Papers in the “Buildings at 360°” track will focus on explaining methods, equipment, systems and solutions to satisfy occupants’ needs, to guarantee buildings’ performances and resilience, and to save resources like energy and water.

• Energy is omnipresent in our daily lives in ways like electricity for appliances or heat and cooling for industrial processes.

The integration of various energy sources, processes and transportation allows us to better exploit the available energy and reduce waste. The “Energy System Integration” track will explore renewables, fossil fuels, grid integration, aggregation, demand-side flexibility, smart devices, IoT, synthetic hydrogen and synthetic fuels, CCUS and electrification.

• Indoor environment is essential for our well-being and productivity, but is often regulated differently in various parts of

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April 2021

•

•

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the world due to local conditions, circumstances, history and traditions. Papers that explain local norms and trends with an eye on energy usage would fit in the “Environmental Health and IEQ in the International Arena” track.

The “HVAC for Industrial and Commercial Purposes” track will focus on papers that examine the challenges and opportunities in improving energy efficiency of commercial and industrial facilities and transferring lessons learnt to other types of facilities.

Refrigerants play an important role in maximising performances and minimising direct and indirect GHG emissions. The “Refrigerants, Safety and Performance” track will focus on papers that present advancements and developments about flammability of refrigerants that can reduce the direct emissions, but that may have safety, regulatory and performance issues when deployed on the field.

The “Refrigerants and Refrigeration” track will explore refrigeration systems, which generate and use cold for a range of processes, from food preparation and conservation to vaccine preservation, and from long-term protection of fragile ancient inks of historical documents to others.

The “HVAC&R Systems and Equipment” track will focus on the development of new systems and equipment, improvements to existing systems and equipment and the proper application and operation of systems and equipment.

The “Fundamentals and Applications” track will provide opportunities for papers of varying levels across a large topic base. Concepts, design elements and shared experiences for theoretical and applied concepts of HVAC&R design are included.

According to ASHRAE, Abstracts (400 words or less) are due April 5, 2021. If accepted, final conference papers (eight pages, maximum) are due July 12, 2021.

In addition, technical papers (complete 30-page maximum papers) are also due March 29, 2021, ASHRAE said, adding that accepted conference papers and technical papers are published in ASHRAE Transactions, cited in abstracting indexes and considered for Science and Technology for the Built Environment, ASHRAE’s research journal.

For more information on the call for papers and the 2022 ASHRAE Winter Conference, ASHRAE urged those interested to visit https://ashrae.org/2022Winter.

In conjunction with the ASHRAE Winter Conference is the 2022 AHR Expo, to be held from January 31 to February 2, 2022, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. For more information on the 2022 AHR Expo, ASHRAE urged those interested to visit https:// www.ahrexpo.com/.

ENGIE supplies Quantum chillers to chemicals company Says the technology will reduce carbon emissions by 1,650 tons per year

By CCME Content Team

Daniel Keller, Head of Product and Application Management, ENGIE Refrigeration, said: “The exact temperature is crucial to the quality of the produced chemical products. That is why refrigeration for such a sensitive area is particularly challenging, as even minor deviations can have enormous effects. We at ENGIE meet the strict criteria of the chemicals The QUANTUM Power chillers from ENGIE Refrigeration industry. Furthermore, due Picture courtesy ENGIE Refrigeration to local conditions, sea water has to be used for the re-cooling of German chemicals group has the QUANTUM Power. Here, we were able to installed five QUANTUM Power fall back on our extensive experience in the chillers with a refrigeration field of maritime refrigeration and provide capacity of 25 megawatts at its our customer with an extremely corrosionsite in Singapore, ENGIE said through a Press resistant version of the condenser, which has release. The chillers now guarantee a reliable inner tubes made from titanium.” supply while simultaneously reducing carbon In the case of the Singapore project, emissions by 1,650 tons per year, ENGIE ENGIE said five QUANTUM Power chillers claimed through the release. with a refrigeration capacity of 25 megawatts ENGIE said the chemicals group were the perfect solution for the customer. approached it several months ago with “Our modular chiller design with five chilled the requirement that it wanted the water sets ensures a fully reliable supply and greatest possible reliability of supply within refrigeration. Due to rising demand for a basic compensates for any additional redundancy chiller; this is something none of our ingredient for animal feed, the group had competitors can offer in this form,” Keller said. plans to construct a second production site in “That is why this was one of the main reasons Singapore, with an investment of more than half a million euros, and a planned production for our customer to ultimately choose ENGIE Refrigeration.” capacity of 300,000 tons per year.

ENGIE said 10 compressors arranged in ENGIE said refrigeration technology was parallel on the chillers increase the reliability essential in making the project a success.

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of supply. As each of them can be isolated from the refrigeration circuit with the help of shut-off devices, each can be replaced individually and while the other compressors are in operation, it said.

Furthermore, the QUANTUM Power chillers are supplied via two feeds, which means that five compressors are assigned to one electrical feed, it said. If one feed fails, 50% of the refrigeration capacity of the entire unit still remain available, it said.

In addition, both the critical components of the sensor system and the expansion valves of the individual pressure stages are doubled up, so that most of the performance can be covered by the redundant component in the event of failure, it added.

In addition, ENGIE said, the chemicals group attached great importance to the efficiency of the refrigeration system.

“Our Cooling Manager ensures an energyefficient refrigeration supply, because the chilled water sets form an intelligently connected network at every operating point,” Keller said. “This allows us to achieve very high energy efficiency levels, especially during operation under partial load.”

ENGIE said that thanks to the system, the chemicals group will also benefit from huge savings. Each operating year, it will save 400,000 euros in energy costs (electricity) and, thus, 1,650 tons of CO2 (basis of this calculation: 496g of CO2 per kWh of electricity generated in Singapore), it claimed. The system, ENGIE said, has been in operation on site for several weeks.

LOOKING FOR REFRIGERATION PRODUCTS?

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GLOBAL NEWS

LU-VE Group announces record turnover and order book

Eurovent PG-CT elects new Vice-Chairman Frank Stocker succeeds Doic Hordern, organisation says

By CCME Content Team

President of the organisation attributes growth to the strength and sense of duty shown by the employees

By CCME Content Team

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Photo courtesy: LU-VE Group

U-VE Group announced its financial results as of December 31, 2020, which includes a turnover of €401.5 million (a 2.5% increase compared to 2019). The company posted an EBITDA of €45.2 million, which it said represents a decline by 3.3% compared to 2019.

LU-VE also announced an order book at €88.8 million, as of February 2021, which it said is the highest ever reached by the Group (+5.3% compared to February 2020; +15.3% compared to December 2020).

“I would like to thank all the men and women of LU-VE Group for showing their usual strength and sense of duty,” said Iginio Liberali, President, LU-VE Group. “This attitude has allowed us to grow even in a year as difficult as 2020. Our strength lies in the fundamental values we have always practiced: humility; passion; creative intelligence; to generate value for us, for our company and for the market.”

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April 2021

Frank Stocker

he Eurovent Product Group, ‘Evaporative Cooling Equipment’ (PG-CT) elected Frank Stocker, Managing Director, Gohl-KTK, as the successor of Doic Hordern, CEO, JACIR, in the role of Vice-Chairman of the group.

Making the announcement through a Press release, Eurovent added that Laurent Petiot, General Manager France Benelux Maghreb, B1AC, continues as Chairman of PG-CT. The Product Group, ‘Evaporative Cooling Equipment’ recently met in a fruitful online session, Eurovent said. The meeting included Chairman and Vice-Chairman elections, as well as redefinition of the group’s scope to include all hybrid and adiabatic technologies, it added. PG-CT is turning its attention to the review of Ecodesign Regulation for professional refrigeration (ENTR Lot 1), in which new efficiency requirements are being considered for process chillers connected to an evaporative condenser, it further added.

Stocker said: “With the review of the Ecodesign Regulation for professional refrigeration around the corner, we are facing a great opportunity to promote the energy saving potential of evaporative cooling technologies. By making the Eurovent voice heard in the review, we can support the EU to achieve its climate targets.”

Petiot added: “The European industry faces important challenges, regulations are getting stringent and Eurovent is instrumental in supporting the manufacturers. Our Product Group pledges to closely monitor the review process to ensure the highest energy efficiency requirements for Europe.”

According to Eurovent, PG-CT unites manufacturers of evaporative and adiabatic cooling equipment from around Europe and is supported by Eurovent Member Associations on a national level.

Its main tasks consist of advocating on European level, developing Eurovent Recommendations, generally promoting the industry and export initiatives, and diminishing unfair trade barriers inside and outside Europe, it said. Manufacturers interested in joining PG-CT, it added, can get in touch with the Eurovent Secretariat via secretariat@eurovent.eu.

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April 2021