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Market Feature: HVaCr aCCessories
February 2019
interviews Tamer El Damaty of Alessa speaks on cooperating with UNIDO on the use of R-290
POST-EVENT REPORTs • The 2019 AHR EXPO, Atlanta, Georgia, USA • World Future Energy Summit, Abu Dhabi, UAE
‘The more we know, the more we can act on’
Securing the cold chain from within
Sheikh Dr Majid Sultan Al Qassimi, UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment
Mozzamil Zakki Aissa, Al Rawabi Dairy
feature
interviews
Tom Nyquist of Princeton University highlights the value of microgrids
Mind the gap!
key insights from discussions during the 9th edition of Food Chain
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OVERVIEW
SPEAKERS CONFIRMED SO FAR
Frameworks, like Europe’s F-Gas regulation and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which requires high-GWP gases to be phased down, have compelled and motivated manufacturers of refrigerants to look for alternative solutions to those in circulation, with an eye on lower GWP, greater energy efficiency and, equally crucial, zero flammability, given the growing reluctance among contractors to accept even mildly flammable options.
• Azmi S. Aboul-Hoda, Research Promotion Chair, Publicity Chair, ASHRAE Falcon Chapter • Eng Yacoub Almatouq, Head of the Negotiations Team to Montreal Protocol; Member, Kuwait National Ozone & Climate Change Committee, Environment Public Authority - Kuwait • Timothy McLaren, Senior Commercial Contracts Engineer, Ramboll • Eid Mohammed, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Design Department, UAE Ministry of Infrastructure Development • Dr M Ramaswamy, Technical Expert - Royal Estates, Royal Court Affairs, Sultanate of Oman • Andrew Schumer, Managing Director, Black Wit Cyber Solutions • M Tahniat, Engineer (Projects & Sales), Albwardy Engineering Enterprises (Spinneys)
The third edition of Refrigerants Review will examine the refrigerants emerging in the landscape and will foster discussions involving government bodies, building owners, consultants and contractors in the Middle East on how to time a switchover to a refrigerant that is specifically suitable for high-ambient conditions, and will have longevity as its hallmark. One context of the discussions will be the dip in economic activity in the region and how it is influencing decisions. Another will be the country-specific deadlines and whether a compelling case can be made for building owners to wait till they expire to make the change.
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3
VOL. 14 NO. 02
The 2019 AHR EXPO, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
POST-EVENT REPORTS
page
16 38
Saeed Al Abbar reviews the Building Industry in 2018 and predicts the shape of things to come in 2019
Mind the gap! Hannah Jo Uy draws key insights from discussions during the 9th edition of Food Chain (the Middle East Food Safety and Cold Chain Conference)
Solar on the way up, but questions galore How will the narrative surrounding renewable energy in the Middle East affect stakeholders within the HVACR industry?
4
Looking behind, looking ahead
food chain 2019
World Future Energy Summit, Abu Dhabi, UAE
page
PERSPECTIVE
10
With an emphasis on energy efficiency, emissions, IEQ, IoT and cybersecurity, the 2019 AHR EXPO more than held its own amidst the growing anticipation and excitement surrounding the Super Bowl in early February, writes Surendar Balakrishnan, Editor, Climate Control Middle East
28
February 2019
LICENCE TO CHILL
page
Before Gridiron Day
FEBRUARY 2019
32
Let’s compare apples to apples Dan Mizesko, Managing Partner, Al Shirawi US Chiller Services
February 2019
5
VOL. 14 NO. 02
20
26
The ‘R’ word
‘The more we know, the more we can act on’
Securing the cold chain from within
Sheikh Dr Majid Sultan Al Qassimi, Director, Animal Development & Health Department, UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, discusses how disruptive technology and the Internet of Things can enhance overall reliability of the cold chain, and the need to invest in training to manage data in such a manner that it paves the way for actionable insights against inefficiencies.
Mozzamil Zakki Aissa, Supply Chain Manager, Al Rawabi Dairy, provides insights into Al Rawabi’s contribution approach to securing the cold chain internally and the importance of investing in technology and infrastructure.
A microgrid would be helpful in islanding the Middle East region from problems, says Tom Nyquist, Executive Director, Facilities Engineering & Campus Energy, Princeton University. Excerpts from the interview, in which he provides an overview on the upcoming opportunities to contribute to the goal of achieving a net-zero carbon footprint…
30
‘Sustainability requires significant shift in mindset’ February 2019
Sébastien Arbola, CEO, Engie MESCAT (Middle East, South and Central Asia and Turkey), on how regulation could pave the way for the alignment of public and private sector interests, the need for greater collaboration in the move towards sustainability and solar power’s future role in alleviating the heavy demand of air conditioning on existing energy grids. Excerpts from the interview…
36 HVACR Accessories
Regional strategic direction drives accessories market With questions on the size of the HVAC accessories market in the Middle East region garnering mixed reactions, Ranjana Konatt persuades industry professionals to discuss the opportunities in, and challenges of, functioning as manufacturers and suppliers within the segment.
eDItor'S note
GOODBYE DYSTOPIA!
REGULARS
INTERVIEWS
14
page
6
page
MARKET FEATURE
page
page
FEBRUARY 2019
08 Regional News
40 Global News
56 MARKET PLACE
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RESURGENT IRAQ A CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST SUPPLEMENT
APRIL 2019
OVERVIEW
RESURGENT IRAQ will be
A new, enthusiastic and dynamic Iraq is emerging from years of conflict and uncertainty. A country and its people are showing the willingness to start afresh, and this had spurred demand for over four million housing units in Iraq by 2023. Over and above this is the need for new facilities relating to healthcare, hospitality, education, telecom and aviation, to name just five sectors. In short, Iraq is on resurgent mode, and this is opening up opportunities for the HVACR industry in the GCC region to offer a wide range of technological solutions and services.
STRATEGIC SOLUTION To provide a strong channel for showcasing your technological strengths and project references, CPI Industry, publishers of globally acclaimed Climate Control Middle East, is happy to present, RESURGENT IRAQ, a detailed supplement that contains in-depth articles on efforts underway in rebuilding Iraq. The contents of the supplement include: r Sector-based articles, including on residential housing, commercial spaces, healthcare, education, hospitality, telecom, aviation, etc. r Profiles of manufacturers, suppliers and service providers Corporate overview Profiles of products or services Technical strength and track-record Profiles of projects executed in the GCC region and elsewhere r Product- and company-wise listings
extensively distributed at Iraq HVAC Expo, scheduled to take place from April 25 to 27, 2019 in Baghdad. The exhibition is being billed as a magnet for consultants and contractors in the country and those from outside that are involved in rebuilding Iraq. The distribution strategy involves placing the supplement in their hands of all visitors, thus ensuring highly targeted exposure, thus opening up exciting lead-generation opportunities.
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Goodbye
dystopia! dystopia! T
hough it can be argued as not being the case, citing that a severely outnumbered ISIS has taken to carrying out precision attacks – the New York Times reported over 1,200 such instances in 2018 – Iraq is said to be on the road to recovery. Besides the fact that Iraq put years of civil conflicts behind it and held national elections in May 2018, there is a palpable and resilient sentiment of a country trying to emerge from dystopia and establish a new order of peace and stability for itself. There is talk of the country needing over four million units of housing by 2023. Equally, Iraq has much need for establishing or strengthening facilities relating to healthcare and education, to name just two important sectors. Decades of wars and civil conflicts either crippled or destroyed healthcare facilities across the country, once famed for an excellent healthcare system. Today, the country is taking steps to restore the system to its past glory. Likewise, education suffered during the years of turmoil, with facilities either destroyed or misused. Today, global implementation bodies have backed national initiatives to restore order. Financially speaking, Iraq, a net exporter of oil, has the means to invest in socio-
Surendar Balakrishnan Editor @BSurendar_HVACR
MARKET FEATURE: HVACR ACCESSORIES
February 2019
interviews Tamer El Damaty of Alessa speaks on cooperating with UNIDO on the use of R-290
POST-EVENT REPORTs • The 2019 AHR EXPO, Atlanta, Georgia, USA • World Future Energy Summit, Abu Dhabi, UAE
‘The more we know, the more we can act on’
Securing the cold chain from within
Sheikh Dr Majid Sultan Al Qassimi, UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment
Mozzamil Zakki Aissa, Al Rawabi Dairy
feature
interviews
Tom Nyquist of Princeton University highlights the value of microgrids
Mind the gap!
Get the next issue of Climate Control Middle East early!
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economic development projects. It recently announced that it needs oil to be at USD 55 a barrel to be able to balance its budget. Though quite difficult to forecast, oil prices are likely to support Iraq’s situation in the near future. Naturally, this is opening the avenues for the HVACR industry to step in. It is not just about providing solutions to heat, cool and condition the air but to do so by bringing all the learnings to bear. Several years spent finetuning approaches to air conditioning in the GCC region have taught many a valuable lesson and led to the harvesting of precious data. All these can be applied to helping a resurgent Iraq build structures that promote sustainable development and enjoy the benefits of embedded technology that can, in turn, pave the way for smart cities. The secret lies in eschewing short-term measures and, instead, undertaking approaches that last for the foreseeable future. In short, it is about getting things right, from the onset. And for that the time to act is now. There is opportunity for establishing or strengthening policies that can underpin and inform the steps the country can take in rigorously adhering to climate-sensitive design principles and the manner in which it wants to approach civil, structural and MEP contracting functions. That way, it can steer clear of – or, at the very least, minimise – such scenarios as urban heat island effect, sick building syndrome or the more-than-justified use of energy and water, which is counterintuitive to optimum building performance.
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February 2019
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9
The 2019 AHR EXPO, Atlanta, Georgia
BEFORE GRIDIRON DAy T
he Mercedes Benz Stadium sits eerily still in the Atlanta chill. On February 3, it will see the Los Angeles Rams take on the New England Patriots for supremacy in the 53rd edition of the Super Bowl – the apogee of the uniquely American sport of gridiron football, replete with armoursheathed gladiators, bedlam and yet, deep strategic thought and pulsating tactical drives. About three weeks prior – on January 14, 15 and 16, to be precise – the Stadium looked on bemused at a different type of hustle and energy, at the neighbouring Georgia World Congress Center, which hosted the 2019 AHR EXPO. Over 45,000 visitors streamed into the venue of the EXPO to gawk at behemoth chillers and at VRF systems, air-handling units and HVAC drives and to sharpen their strategic approach to conditioning the air in the built-environment, among other goals. The AHR Expo is no less an American institution and, over the years since 1930, has attracted a sea of manufacturers from North America and elsewhere in the world to showcase their technological solutions to consulting engineers, contractors, facilities
10
February 2019
With an emphasis on energy efficiency, emissions, indoor environmental quality, IoT and cybersecurity, the 2019 AHR EXPO more than held its own amidst the growing anticipation and excitement surrounding the Super Bowl in early February, writes Surendar Balakrishnan, Editor, Climate Control Middle East…
▶ Photographs by Surendar Balakrishnan
managers and other stakeholders in the building performance, data centre and other sectors. The 2019 edition was no different, with over 1,800 exhibitors, including nearly 500 from abroad, showcasing technological progress relating to reliability, indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and energy efficiency – from total cost of ownership and emissions points of view. The major players – those with the behemoths and other equipment – showed up, as did those specialising in critical equipment, accessories, components and spare parts, all buoyed up by a surging US economy and overall optimism. The show was an epicentre of relevance for those with solutions for smart homes, including a focus on artificial intelligence, Big Data, the Internet of Things and cybersecurity. An equally strong narrative revolved around refrigerants, made all the more imperative by recent developments, including the progress global leaders had achieved at the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24) in December 2018 in Katowice, Poland and, prior to that, in 2016, at the Kigali meeting, where the parties agreed to amend the Montreal Protocol to bring the phasedown of hydroflourocarbons under its purview.
February 2019
11
The 2019 AHR EXPO, Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta saw manufacturers of refrigerants among the exhibitors, showcasing gases with a significantly lower global warming potential and also addressing flammability concerns. The first attribute found expression at the EXPO despite the US government pulling out of the Paris Agreement – indicative of the chasm that exists between the federal government and some of the states, which are relentlessly pursuing a climate change mitigation agenda. The second attribute mirrored the hope of a change in US building codes, which would allow for mildly flammable refrigerants to be used in facilities in the country.
A third key narrative, as briefly discussed earlier, was IEQ. There is a growing awareness in the United States on how better buildings improve productivity and job satisfaction, a point amply made clear by Dr Joe Allen at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, while speaking at the World IEQ Forum, organised and conducted by CPI Industry in April 2018 in Dubai. The results of an independent study on the subject, became the basis of a presentation at the EXPO, which revealed how building quality ranked an astonishing second in contributing to employee satisfaction and productivity when benchmarked against other traditional employee perks, such as bonuses, fitness benefits and flexible work hours.
12
February 2019
Overall, the EXPO arguably met its broad objectives of a focused event for the global HVACR community. As Mark Stevens, CEO of International Expositions Company, which organises the EXPO, said: “The HVACR industry is in a very exciting position at the moment, and that energy was evident on the show floor, this year. Attendees came from all over the globe and from every corner of the industry to make this Show a success.� The Mercedes Benz Stadium probably would nod in agreement.
HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
February 2019
13
Tom Nyquist, Princeton University
The
‘R’ word H
ow would you rate the attentiveness to energy efficiency in the United States? And what influence has Princeton University had in the broader scope of things? The overall attentiveness to energy efficiency in the United States is high. It might be surprising to someone from a different country, but the work being done by us is met with resistance from institutions in the region. Nevertheless, as an organisation, we are going our own way.
Could you highlight the energy efficiencyrelated improvements on campus since 2012 – the watershed year of sorts, for the manner in which Princeton was able to respond to the
14
February 2019
A microgrid would be helpful in islanding the Middle East region from problems, says Tom Nyquist, Executive Director, Facilities Engineering & Campus Energy, Princeton University, in this interview with Ranjana Konatt of Climate Control Middle East. Excerpts from the interview, in which he provides an overview on the upcoming opportunities to contribute to the goal of achieving a net-zero carbon footprint…
one challenge. The United Arab Emirates – or Dubai, to be specific – has a very reliable grid, as all the cables are underground. However, the advantage of having a microgrid is that it contributes greatly to energy efficiency. It gives you the ability to have your own backup system, which not only operates at a much higher efficiency but also enables the use of heat for heat generation through winter. In countries where heating and cooling are a necessity, steam can effectively be used to drive chillers at a high efficiency rate.
turmoil Superstorm Sandy presented?
Tom
How can microgrids improve resiliency in the UAE in emergency situations? In the United Arab Emirates, a microgrid would be helpful in islanding the region from problems. However, it is a space that needs policy and regulation.
What are the upcoming opportunities for Princeton University to contribute to reducing its carbon footprint? Are there any new methods being adopted?
Since 2012, we have had capital accounts worth USD 45 million set up toward energy efficiency. A project We have a heating-dominated climate, manager investigates and we have cooling. We intend to and works on projects, move away from a steam system, which while carving out is combustion-based. For climate change, funding for one of the things you got to do is get rid of the project. combustion, unless you want to combust bioIt is then fuels, which we don’t really want. New Jersey sent to the is also thinking of using wind energy, and we Vice President want to bring this kind of renewable energy to Nyquist of Facilities for power the campus. approval. We have been working on projects as the demand has increased. We have a CPI Industry accepts no liability for the views or opinions expressed in this carbon goal and are trying to bring column, or for the consequences of down the number of emissions. To give any actions taken on the basis of the you an idea, in the year 1990, we had information provided here. 6.3 million square feet of buildings with us, and today we have 9.3 million, which is almost a 50% increase.
What can the Middle East region learn from projects, such as at Princeton, with regard to cutting the carbon footprint? Speaking and educating people on energy efficiency remains the number
Sé
ĂŠbastien Arbola
February 2019
15
Food Chain 2019
Mind the gap !
W
hat most COWBOY CONSULTANTS AND consumers see CONTRACTORS as appetising Given the critical importance of cold chain, food, specialists Suraj Parakat, Hygiene Manager, Lulu Group such as Richard International, said the financial investment Sprenger, Chairman and Food Safety needed to ensure temperature control is expert, Highfield Group, view as potential an aspect of food safety that consumers carriers of salmonella, E. coli and other often don’t see, and also where food microorganisms, if not maintained industry stakeholders tend to cut at the right temperature. This corners. Bjorn Ostbye, Project is the grave importance Development Manager, Lulu stakeholders give to cold Group International, said chain, a vital stronghold the cost-centric thinking protecting the health plaguing the food and wellbeing of the industry leads to bad general public by practices in cold store ensuring food is stored design and operation. and transported in a Stakeholders, he added, hygienic manner. This often end up going for is especially true for a the cheapest quotations Richard Sprenger country like the United Arab and that “there is a dispute Emirates, which experiences between technical quality and high-ambient conditions for a larger financial acceptance”. part of the year, and which imports 90% The bad practices have to do with a lack of its food. Cold chain was the context of engineering- and general project-related of discussions at the 9th edition of Food expertise in the market, said Yiannis Bessiris, Chain, also known as the Middle East General Manager, Advanced Materials Food Safety and Cold Chain Conference, META, Honeywell. He bemoaned the fact on January 21 in Dubai. that total cost of ownership is rarely taken
▶ L-R: Abdul Rashid, Mahmoud Qadri, Abdessamad Limamy, Bjorn Ostbye and Suraj Parakat
16
February 2019
into consideration in the evaluation and selection of technology, as a result of which capex is an obsession over opex and over ensuring reliability of the cold chain. Abdul Rashid, Chief Executive Officer, Pulseberry Health Consultants, agreed with Bessiris on the lack of proper expertise. “In the marketplace, there are a lot of cowboys parading themselves as consultants in food safety or engineering,” he said. “You have to choose a consultant with relative knowledge and experience to advise accordingly.” Providing an example, Rashid said most contractors specify a three mm epoxy floor in units, which will deteriorate at minus 18 degrees C, adding that the traffic of loaded trolleys will also cause the epoxy flooring to break down in 6-9 months. “All it requires is
Is a lackadaisical approach to designing and operating cold stores and transport refrigeration equipment a threat to food safety? What initiatives have been implemented to address the gaps in the cold chain and what more remains to be done? Hannah Jo Uy draws key insights from discussions during the 9th edition of Food Chain (the Middle East Food Safety and Cold Chain Conference)…
▶ L-R: Surendar Balakrishnan, Ajay Katyal, Brian Suggitt, Prakash Krishnamoorthy, Bobby Krishna T M, Bjorn Ostbye, Fabian Bahlmann and Suheel Ahmed
someone to think of six mm epoxy flooring and you have something that will last 2-6 years,” he said, underlining how trained consultants not only ensure integrity of operations but also offer better return on investment and help reduce operating cost. Additionally, Rashid said, there is a need to link the technical expertise of the mechanical engineering team with basic principles of food safety. Brian Suggitt, Managing Director, Systemair, and, Chairman, Eurovent Middle East, highlighted the value cold storage and refrigeration consultants can provide over general consultants. “If we can improve quality and expertise,” he said, “then you can start bringing in standards and regulations. It’s a jigsaw puzzle. We have a picture but some of the pieces are missing.” Ostbye highlighted another challenge facing the industry – that of the subpar quality and lack of technical standards related to the installation of refrigeration equipment. Mahmoud Qadri, District Maintenance Manager, Carrefour UAE, Majid Al Futtaim Retail, also called for the need for technical standards in relation to installing equipment. However, he added, installing in itself is not enough. He said there is a need for service providers to provide continuous
are focused on manual monitoring in assessment of installed systems, keeping in cold stores, typically 3-4 times daily, in mind energy performance and food safety, compliance with legal requirements. There and to offer recommendations for retrofits is a need to monitor continuously to gather that match existing technology available in actionable insight to enhance operations, the market. he added, saying that access to information, Similar issues plague the transport such as the defrosting cycle, helps ensure refrigeration sector, with Ajay Katyal, proper maintenance of equipment. Marketing Manager, Honeywell, pointing For Abdessamad Limamy, Head out that there are also a lot of Quality Food and Non of “cowboys on the road”. Food, Risk and Compliance Adding to the statement, - Carrefour UAE, Majid Al Prakash Krishnamoorthy, Futtaim Retail, in view Independent Transport of the region’s climate, Refrigeration Expert, monitoring has to be said that the entry complemented by the and presence of old implementation of a and used trailers from reliable system that Europe, combined would address even the with the practice of smallest temperature overloading, serve as Yiannis Bessiris deviations immediately, as “the deadliest cocktail in it would otherwise have a big the region”. In addition to impact on food quality. “If the system stakeholders cutting corners in fails, it is too late to react," he said, stressing equipment, sacrificing the quality of the box that stakeholders must be proactive in (body of the truck), Krishnamoorthy said analysing data. Limamy also highlighted the that the lack of temperature monitoring in collaborative approach in Carrefour towards the transport refrigeration sector is a critical developing an appropriate system that would issue. lay the foundation for a predictive model Rashid, speaking on cold stores, said he that can anticipate equipment failure. sees the same problem, where stakeholders
February 2019
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Food Chain 2019
and differentiate between good and bad His colleague in engineering, Qadri, added monitor existing culture. “It is not only a practices. that the company is gathering in-house data, matter of closing doors and maintaining Sprenger weighed in to add that Dubai taking into account not only temperature but temperature,” he said. “A lot of activity goes Municipality’s Food Watch Programme also information related to the compressor beyond that. In this part of the world, 40 or could potentially play an important role and overall humidity. 50 degrees C, in a matter of seconds in this regard by monitoring and drawing Krishnamoorthy the temperature can change comparisons on the performance of commended the initiatives inside. I can’t ask the contractors or units to incentivise best of hypermarkets like salesman to open the door practice and ensure there are consultants Carrefour in this regard, only three times when experienced in food safety, to whom people particularly their efforts he delivers 35 times a can go for advice. at insisting suppliers day. But it’s the way Krishnamoorthy said that legislation maintain the required he opens the door that perhaps would the best way to kick-start temperature in food matters to me – that is the management to ensure the rest of the being delivered. “A lot culture.” chain follows. Although Dubai Municipality’s of big hotels are also Krishnamoorthy said Food Watch programme is capturing all data doing this,” he said. “But that he believes that points needed, he said, it could go beyond is that followed across? the answer, then, lies, in Bobby Krishna T M the make and brand of vehicle by proposing Probably the answer today is proper training, advocating the implementation of international ‘no’.” Mozzamil Z Aissa, Supply for stakeholders to inform and standards similar to ATP in Europe. This, he Chain Manager, Al Rawabi Dairy Company, educate customers and operators on best said, would include specifications said that while stringent monitoring is practices. Ostbye also recommended related to the box, temperature feasible for big hypermarkets, his concern a possible certification scheme and follow-up evaluations as a local manufacturer is with regard to for refrigeration installers and tests after six years the thousands of small shops that remain or, perhaps, a grading to ensure the box is largely unmonitored and unregulated by system that will provide still fit to do its job authorities. transparency on the and has not been quality of service degraded. In terms of being offered by one POTENTIAL ANTIDOTES regional applications, company over another. To address the gaps, Ostbye said, there Krishnamoorthy said Fabian Bahlmann, is a need to think outside the box. that while ATP is General Manager, For Krishnamoorthy, the antidote is a certified at 30 degrees C, Schmitz Cargobull combination of technology, training and a the region sees 50 degrees Middle East, believed that management willing to implement standards, Markus Lattner C as a norm and that capacity technology could also have all of which will lead to a consensus that will would require more of what would a hand at improving culture, ensure proper maintenance of the cold chain. work in Europe. “Hopefully, Food Watch can pointing to smart functionalities of trailers, Sprenger dialled in on the contribution of bridge this gap,” he added. such as geo-logging, which allows fleet managers in this regard, saying that “there is managers to monitor if doors are opened no point in having training on the frequency and closed at the appropriate loading bays of door openings, if they are put in situations A CALL FOR ACTION and timings. Such transparency, he said, can where they don’t have an alternative but to Bobby Krishna T M, Senior Specialist, Food impact culture, if fleet managers opt to use do that”. Aissa was in agreement, adding Permits and Applied Nutrition Section, Dubai the data gathered to set up performancethat these issues prompted Al Rawabi’s Municipality, stressed that such aspects of related remuneration to reward personnel for management to organise training with the Food Watch programme continue to their efforts to maintain temperature levels internal and external personnel and closely be a work in progress and that regulation
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February 2019
▶ L-R: Prakash Krishnamoorthy, Jan Svallingson, Mozzamil Z. Aissa and Fabian Bahlmann
solutions.” Bahlmann, in agreement, said must prioritise certain data points. “First, manufacturers can also take on the role the Municipality must identify existing of consultants in this regard, offering players in the market,” he said. “We don’t recommendations based on experience even know who is building it.” Krishna on best practices internationally also underlined the importance and in the region, stressing of continuous dialogue by the importance of a pointing to the decision follow-up mechanism. to take into account the Markus Lattner, manufacturing year of Managing the transport vehicle Director, Eurovent in the platform to Middle East, be an offshoot of shared a similar discussions during opinion, inviting the last Food Chain stakeholders to conference. “One join the industry of the things we association’s see changing is how working group on cold regulation is being Sheikh Dr Majid Sultan storage and refrigeration, framed,” he said. “With Al Qassimi highlighting the valuebetter data, [there is] far added expertise manufacturers better legislation.” can share in relation to food safety and Ostbye stressed that the industry as energy efficiency. “I believe it’s important a whole must not rest on its laurels. “We for the industry to sit together and discuss cannot wait for the Municipality to be what we can do in cooperation with the educated,” he said. “We are responsible authorities,” he said. for feeding the Municipality with technical
Touching on the possibility of a federal framework, Krishna said discussions can benefit not only the Municipality but also Gulf standards as a whole. “We need to start first,” he said. “A lot of standards are linked. There has to be movement from within Dubai. What we can do is show evidence certain things are working and certain things are not working. All these discussions have to lead to those standards.” As Sheikh Dr Majid Sultan Al Qassimi (see related interview), Director, Animal Development and Health Department, UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, said during the Keynote Address he gave at the conference: “Food safety is the responsibility of everyone in the industry, and we are only as strong as our weakest link. We need to pick each other up to expect a minimum standard.”
HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
February 2019
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Sheikh Dr Majid Sultan Al Qassimi, UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment
‘The more
we know, The more
we can act on’
Sheikh Dr Majid Sultan Al Qassimi, Director, Animal Development & Health Department, UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, discusses how disruptive technology and the Internet of Things can enhance overall reliability of the cold chain, and the need to invest in training to manage data in such a manner that it paves the way for actionable insights against inefficiencies. Excerpts from the interview with Hannah Jo Uy on the sidelines of the 9th edition of Food Chain (the Middle East Cold Chain Food Safety Conference)…
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in your work and be able to affect it in a much more efficient way, so long as you understand where you need to look.
ould you comment on the growing impact disruptive technology and the Internet of Things have on the cold chain? How does technology enhance the efficiency and reliability of the food network, particularly in critical temperature-sensitive aspects of its storage and distribution? When you talk about the Internet of Things, you’re literally looking at every step of a process. You are looking at all the machinery or all the parts of a system or a food supply chain being made available to you, in one way or another, in terms of information. What we endeavour to do with that kind of technology is to understand where the inefficiencies are. With the ability to be omnipresent, if you will, in all the parts of a supply chain or at least have oversight, you can then address the most urgent parts of the inefficiencies you have. This comes down to the bottom line of any company. This comes down to sustainability. This comes down to being able to ensure that there are no faults, and if there are that you address them as soon as possible. And when we are talking
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February 2019
Are there still bottlenecks in the adoption of these technologies? There are certainly a number of innovations in the market, but people may not be aware of their benefits and perhaps are unwilling to invest in the additional layer of cost. Sheikh Dr Majid Sultan Al Qassimi
about the supply chain for food items, commodities or otherwise, or processing the food items, the critical part is that you have food safety in all parts of the system. Should it fail in any one place, you jeopardise the rest of the chain and the rest of production, and the human cost can be quite significant. With technology today, the Internet and the engagement of the private sector with these kinds of technologies, you’re going to be able to get an incredible amount of transparency
Absolutely! Let’s be clear, when you’re talking about cost, a lot of this stuff requires upfront expenditure. There’s a lot of investment that needs to go in. I think that in the early stages, where you have only early adopters picking up the technology, the rest of the market is a bit unsure. Because there may be so many offerings of the same promise. When it comes to sensor technology, monitoring and dashboard, what is your yardstick or your measure to be able to gauge one over the other? It’s all new. It’s all different. And unless you have an expert you can fall back on, you fear having invested all that to adopt one technology over another.
Now, that really depends on what kind of a company you are. Are you the early adopter type that says, ‘Ok let’s test it; let’s work with the technology to improve it’? Or are you somebody who is going to watch the market and then jump on? Honestly, if you are in the early adopter camp and you do have the flexibility to be able to pick up one of these technologies, you can find incredible gains early on, because your cost can be reduced if you have that efficiency. You can reduce food loss or processing loss and, ultimately, more information can be used. The danger is if you have adopted something and you don’t understand how it works. I mean, it’s not the kind of plug-and-play thing,
where you plug it in and it does the work. You have to understand how to read this new information. You have to understand what this new technology affords and what it is you’re trying to do with it, so riskreward, it’s always the case.
And reading the information in a more comprehensive manner would lead to these actionable insights? Sure, why not? I think the more we know, the more we can act on. The danger is overload of information. There are people that can barely deal with what their phone is telling them all hours of the day and all days of the week. But for an organisation to identify the critical information that will affect the outcome, their bottom line, the sustainability or safety of their product, that really comes down to understanding what the technology can do for you. So, there is learning involved for the organisation and for the people in the organisation.
And would you say there should be adequate investment towards training programmes in the organisation? Absolutely! I think this region sometimes can forget that the human equation is critical to having anything work on the ground. You can invest a lot of money in technology, hardware, infrastructure, but if the staff, the team, doesn’t know how to operate, maintain and make the most out of it, your investment is poorly placed. That’s really what it comes down to. If you can have the team trained to the machinery, then you are in a much better position.
HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the Q&A. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
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February 2019
21
Food Chain 2019
VOICES “We are also eager to meet some new service provider, who can take this data and do some extra analysis to help us predict or provide reliable information on the performance of the system – something related to IT.”
“It is very important to know the cooling unit, how and what proper air circulation is. The knowledge is not only for the trailer builders.”
Carsten Krieger, Product Manager, Schmitz Cargobull Headquarters, Germany
Mahmoud Qadri, District Maintenance Manager, Carrefour UAE, Majid Al Futtaim Retail
Mirko Travaglin, Marketing Manager Refrigeration, Carel Industries
“High energy efficiency is still a critical driver for decision-making... DC technology can provide benefit in prices and shelf life preservation, eliminate food wastage and give less operational cost.”
“We got the message during the last [Food Chain conference] – we needed an air curtain for the trucks. This is on its way and coming in a few weeks. Air curtains can be used in the cold storage business, and they save energy and money and are a hygienic way to protect the door. Alternatives used today mainly are these famous PVC strips. When they are new, yes, they work, but very soon they get torn. You pass with a forklift, and you break them and you don’t have the same good protection as in the beginning. Another big problem in cold storage is the condensation. With the help of the air curtain, you can take away a big part of the condensation. It means less maintenance time and better visibility. So, the main benefits include reducing the size of the opening, retaining the cold air inside and restraining the warm air from coming in.”
Jan Svallingson, Director Business Development, Systemair Frico
Amir Naqvi Regional Business Leader, Honeywell International Middle East Ltd
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February 2019
“When produce is harvested on the field… field heat should be removed as fast as possible, since for most produce, an hour’s delay at field conditions of about 35 degrees C will lead to a loss in shelf-life of about one day. Cooling fresh fruits and vegetables quickly on site improves produce quality and shelf-life, and is particularly important for high- and mediumrespiration produce, such as soft fruits, strawberries, leafy vegetables, flowers and herbs, which must be cooled within one hour of harvest to avoid significant losses. Setting up modular cold stores at fields may help rectify this problem. Harvesters can immediately freeze/cool the harvested fresh produce right next to the field.”
Hasan Celik, Managing Director – Controlled Environments Division, Kingspan Insulated Panels
We analyse refrigeration system data from controller rack power meters, recommend actionable insights that will enable energy savings and, ultimately, reduced costs and improved profit margins. To reduce energy consumption, we look at several factors throughout the entire system: suction and discharge pressure set points, case temperatures, compressor performance, weather patterns, etc., and provide recommendations. Our software can identify when equipment – compressors, for example – may be underperforming, and identify operating conditions that could compromise system life. We provide proactive recommendations to adjust and fix these issues.
Voices Studies estimate that for every 2 degrees F (-16.6667 degrees C) increase in temperature above the set point, supermarkets lose one day of food life in mediumtemperature racks. In one store, as many as 58% underperforming cases were identified operating outside of recommended temperature range. By improving the overall health of the refrigeration system, our software can eventually reduce unplanned maintenance and decrease the number of alarms that require a response.”
“We are strategic partners with Oxycom to develop energy-efficient solutions for different industry demands for cooling and storing. The energy- storage, energy-saving is also very significant, since all of our solutions aim to enhance efficiency of equipment. We are utilising natural cooling power of water to deliver or to utilise this function or feature of natural cooling to enhance efficiency.”
Amir Naqvi Regional Business Leader, Honeywell International Middle East Ltd
Kamel Alfatafta, Deputy General Manager, Kafaat Energy
Bobby Krishna TM, Senior Specialist, Food Permits and Applied Nutrition Section, Dubai Municipality
“Expo 2020 is a good benchmark. We are not doing anything special for Expo 2020. We need to build systems before 2020. If you see which restaurants are doing well, what other equipment to rely on, which equipment should I buy? Inspection is changing. We need to be able to identify risk factors for the Expo and make sure those problems don’t happen. We should see where those risk areas are and change them, without creating a separate system only for the Expo.”
“Money talks, and if we can provide a system that reduces food waste and if you can have better conditions on the truck that makes more stops, with less fuel consumption that helps the business better.”
“We do have a big risk, either the box underperforms, the unit underperforms, or both. If I want a box, the supplier will give me a solution, but is it the right solution? Will it take care of my needs? That’s the million-dollar question.”
Jan Svallingson, Director Business Development, Systemair Frico
Prakash Krishnamoorthy Independent Transport Refrigeration Expert
Richard Sprenger, Chairman, Highfield International
“Too many businesses rely on regulators and enforcement to tell them the problems and nonconformities that exist within their business. And when the inspector tells them, the good ones put it right and bad ones ignore it. Surely, the time has come that governments all over the world actually require businesses to develop the tools and training and systems to be able to find out projects themselves and put them right before enforcement officers come to the premises. It’s everybody working together.”
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Food Chain 2019
We are working on giving inspectors tablets, so inspection is truly a smart inspection. With this tablet, we can do many things. There is no need to wait 2-3 days for an inspection report – you can achieve it while still in your facility. There was a disconnect, earlier: ‘Have I received my report?’ ‘When will I receive the report?’ What it does is it solidifies the connection you have with inspectors to know mistakes and non-conformity in your institution. One thing we have changed is how inspection works, we made the public grading system in the 2019 legislation; you need to display your grade from A to C. It pushes the premises to strive to achieve better and reach the top, because it will be better for them and better for you, it’s a mutual thing.
Marwan Fekri, Food Safety Officer, Dubai Municipality
Dr Suheel Ahmed Group CEO, Arabian Farms
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“We don’t work specific to the Expo, we work for the city. We improve the approaches in terms of managing food safety and make sure food can be safe, when it reaches people’s plates. The approach we work on is mainly with regard to enhancing user experience and maximising transparency and automating services, and eventually, we need to make sure decisions are datadriven. The team is working towards digitalisation in Dubai Municipality. It is not easy to link all the players’ collective decisions. I think this is one of the benefits Foodwatch can offer for regulatory bodies and all players in the industry. Food safety is a complex area to make decisions, not only do you need regulatory sector and industry, maybe other sectors can be involved.”
Jeheina Al Ali, Acting Head of Section, Applied Nutrition and Food Permits, Dubai Municipality
“Project consultants don’t give us that much time. The least technology and the best technology may not add too much value to the whole project, that’s why you don’t think too much. For a budget of 50 million, we spend five million dirhams on refrigeration – if I do it badly, it will be four million; if better, five million.”
February 2019
Voices “The Dubai market has high demand for building more cold storage, and for delivering high-end technology with latest compressors and systems. And what of the facilities that are over 10 years old? Those, too, are important. The business owner should invest more money in refurbishments, not only the refrigeration systems but the panels, walls and flooring, which are also major components and contribute significantly to energy savings and to maintaining the calculated load.
“We are saving money by closing doors; this is a common problem we all have.”
Bjorn Ostbye, Project Development Manager, Lulu Group International
Mahmoud Qadri, District Maintenance Manager, Carrefour UAE, Majid Al Futtaim Retail “Most of the hypermarket doors open and close. Not really a time where product remains honestly throughout the day, it is opening and closing and that is the traffic most hypermarkets face. Even with the food safety aspect, the temperature and chiller might be showing 5 degrees C, but are we getting the product at the temperature of 5 degrees C?”
Suraj Parakat, Hygiene Manager, Lulu Group International
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25
Mozzamil Zakki Aissa, Al Rawabi Dairy
SECURING THE
cold chain FROM WITHIN The 9th edition of Food Chain, also known as the Middle East Cold Chain Food Safety Conference, proved to be a platform for riveting discussions. Against the backdrop of the conference, Mozzamil Zakki Aissa, Supply Chain Manager, Al Rawabi Dairy, spoke to Ranjana Konatt of Climate Control Middle East, providing insights into Al Rawabi’s approach to securing the cold chain internally and the importance of investing in technology and infrastructure. Excerpts…
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process. As I mentioned, we talk about culture and not only about protocols. We have a checklist for the production aspect of our business. Before it goes through the final bottling process there are final checkpoints.
To what extent has Al Rawabi incorporated technology in the logistics end of the cold chain? Even though I am sitting with you, I can see and monitor the temperature in all my stores from my portal. I have CCTV cameras in all the 17 locations in the United Arab Emirates and in Oman. I also can monitor the raw material even before it reaches the manufacturing site and before it comes to the factory. I must highlight that I have some products coming in from the United States, and the lead time for them is 50 days. Because of technology and our monitoring process, when the food is in the container or vessel, there is a temperature log, where you can read and exactly see whether the temperature fluctuates during the process. Overall, technology does help us have better control, but the challenges are still there.
ould you highlight Al Rawabi’s contribution to transport refrigeration and its commitment to improving the cold chain internally over the past 10 years?
What are the checks and balances carried out, in terms of how the company functions, which ensure safe transport refrigeration along the cold chain?
Al Rawabi’s contribution to the transport refrigeration space has evolved over the past 10 years. We have expanded and have built new hubs across the United Arab Emirates and Oman. We are also improving our cold chain process, in terms of distribution to the outlets and presently have 320 transport vehicles. Seven years ago, we set up a monitoring system in every single vehicle. Today, we are able to monitor the temperature in these vehicles from the moment they start distributing to the time they come back. This ensures that the quality of the product is not compromised.
The culture within the company is crucial. Technology is not the only solution, as eventually technology Farm-to-fork has so is driven by people. If many levels, and things are not done there are so many properly, it will turn issues that can arise, out to be an obsolete especially with dairy Mozzamil Zakki Aissa investment. Another products. However, with aspect is training the technology in our related to food hands, we are able to know safety. I have to put if the driver opens the door of the my hands together for Dubai vehicle. We have a process of monitoring Municipality, because they temperature inside the box, the engine and also enforce companies in the the doors. We have sensors on everything, food business to have a high and if a driver fails to deliver on time, he technological training for the will get a call. Our entire efforts are steered team, along with the individuals towards food safety, and our target is to involved in the food-handling deliver food in the safest way possible. Al
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February 2019
With reference to the farmto-fork concept, what are the stressors in maintaining temperature? And how is the company dealing with them?
Rawabi recently invested around USD 112 million in automating the process from A to Z, where there is no need for human interference.
How much has Al Rawabi invested in technology and training over the past few years, and where does the focus presently lie? We at Al Rawabi have invested close to USD 70 million in the past 10 years just
to improve our refrigeration process and ensure that the quality of our product is as per the standards that we have set as a lead company in the United Arab Emirates. As a part of the investment, we focused more on the infrastructure of the cold store. The investment begins with the attentiveness to storing the ingredients at the right temperature to the point of delivering to the outlets. This is all refrigeration technology coupled with training. Food
manufacturing and production companies in Dubai today are highly attentive to technology and keep on investing. Technology pays back, and it is never a waste of money.
HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the Q&A. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
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February 2019
27
ERSPECTIVE
Saeed Al Abbar is Managing Director at AESG. He may be contacted at s.alabbar@aesg-me.com
LOOKING BEHIND, LOOKING AHEAD Saeed Al Abbar reviews the Building Industry in 2018 and predicts the shape of things to come in 2019
T
he year 2018 was a momentous one for the built-environment sector with an unprecedented level of change sweeping through the industry. At the end of the previous year, I set out my thoughts for 2018 and a key theme in that piece was, in fact, ‘change’. I predicted that firms that would measure 2018 as a success would be those that best adapt to the rapid evolution taking place not only in the sector but also in the regional and the global economies. As we start the new year, I’ve taken the opportunity to revisit some of the sector predictions I made for 2018 and take stock of where we are and what we can expect in 2019.
ZERO AND NEAR-ZERO-ENERGY BUILDINGS The urgency of transitioning to near-zero or net-zero energy buildings has come to the fore in 2018 with the IPCC releasing a report in October 2018, seen as “a final call to save the world from climate catastrophe”. This dramatic report on keeping global temperature rise under 1.5 degrees C, says the world is now completely off track, heading instead towards a 3 degrees C rise.
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February 2019
Adhering to the preferred target of 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels will mean "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society". The study says that going past 1.5 degrees C is dicing with the planet's livability. And the 1.5 degrees C temperature "guard rail" could be exceeded in just 12 years, which is a frighteningly short timescale. On the positive side, 2018 saw the start of far-reaching actions necessary to achieve the targets of the Paris agreement as leaders from some of the world’s biggest cities plus two major regions have committed to enact regulations and/or planning policies that will require all new buildings within their jurisdiction to operate at net-zero carbon from 2030; and all buildings, including existing, to operate at netzero carbon by 2050, under the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.
We have already seen the first movers in this space and are working with some forward-thinking clients on net-zero and near-zero schemes. We anticipate that in line with global trends, this will be an area that will continue to gain significant momentum in the Middle East in 2019.
FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY Despite increased attention being drawn to the issue, the number of high-profile façade fires, both globally and regionally, highlights that there is yet large room for improvement. Façades remain a focal area, and the UAE Fire Code and the Saudi Building Code have been updated recently with emphasis on the issue of facades, fire safety during construction and the introduction of specific superhigh-rise building rules. Besides due attention being paid at the time of development, it is vital for building owners and facility management teams to manage their liability and safeguard their investments. With its new fire code, the UAE has taken a positive step in this direction by clearly defining the responsibilities of the various stakeholders in ensuring building fire and life safety. As a result, this year, we have started to see the positive effect as various stakeholders have begun to acknowledge the seriousness of their roles. Furthermore, with the consequences of failure or negligence, including possible legal implications and more repressive action against violators, there has been clear reason for these stakeholders to ensure compliance. Ultimately, I expect that this will lead to the stronger involvement of property insurers asking for stricter fire safety implementation. This will also result in greater involvement of fire consultants in more and more in fire safety reviews and in the assistance of fire safety upgrades.
BUILDING PERFORMANCE AND COMMISSIONING I predicted that 2018 would see an acceleration in the demand and delivery of highperformance buildings, defined as buildings that integrate and optimise all major high-performance building attributes, including energy efficiency, durability, life-cycle
performance, and occupant safety and productivity. Whilst we have definitely seen more clients demanding this at the design stage, unfortunately there is still a lot more to be done to ensure the realisation of these goals through construction and operation. This can only be achieved through greater accountability for the performance objectives of the building and through having a robust process to ensure that the design performance intent is achieved through operation. I see the role of commissioning being vital for this, and we have a lot to learn to catch up with other sectors. For instance, in the automobile sector, a new car will undergo extensive testing and finetuning before being released to the market, as quite simply, customers will not accept a car that is designed excellently but does not perform on the road. Consequently, when you purchase a new car, you do so with a very high level of confidence that it will work as intended. Unfortunately, this is seldom the case in the building sector and needs to be improved through greater attention and accountability in the commissioning and handover process. In 2018, we definitely saw the demand for third-party commissioning and handover services, from being almost negligible in previous years, experience encouraging increase. There still remains a lot of misunderstanding regarding the purpose and scope of this exercise, however. The market is yet to reach the desired level of maturity to ensure a robust and independently verifiable handover regime is in place to ensure that all building assets begin their operational cycle in a state of high performance.
VALUE ENGINEERING Economic challenges in 2018 continued to drive the need for Value Engineering (VE), though all too often, clients opted to do so too late, resulting in the VE exercise being reduced to mere cost cutting at the expense of quality. Often, clients wait until they finalise their building layouts with the architectural teams before
engaging the rest of the team. However, having the engineers work closely with the architect to optimise the building design and distribution, and details such as the location of main plant rooms provides the greatest likelihood of ultimately achieving the best value. Or take for example MEP works, wherein there is a lot of repetition and abortive works between the consultant and the contractor. The current design process has to change to avoid this and the conflicts that arise from it. To be truly effective, VE has to commence at the start of a project and involve close collaboration between teams and should be woven into the project development process rather than begin treated as a cost-cutting exercise, carried out only once designs have been completed.
MANAGEMENT OF EXISTING ASSETS With the current market conditions, it is inevitable that developers and building owners look more closely to their existing assets to maximise their value and revenue potential. This is coupled with the market reaching a maturity level, wherein there is an increasing number of ageing assets that are in urgent need of refurbishment. I predicted that this would be a growth area for the industry in 2018, as clients looked to ensure that their assets meet modern standards and codes and also explore opportunities for renovation or change of use for older or distressed assets. We certainly saw this trend come to the fore in 2018, and we conducted
a large number of projects to upgrade and recommission existing assets to ensure compliance with updated life safety codes, health and wellbeing criteria and energyefficiency goals. We were also requested to conduct a number of building surveys for clients that are looking at a major upgrade of existing assets or change of use to better suit changing market conditions. I definitely see this being a continued growth area in the market as the region’s property sector evolves to a more mature market status. One challenge that has been evident in this process is the lack of accurate documentation and records for existing buildings, including those that have been recently handed over. A BIM model with asset data attached is the best method for managing data throughout the project, from concept to handover to the FM team. Unfortunately, the use of BIM is still concentrated on visual elements rather than information, so this needs a mindset change before it can work successfully. Logging and reporting on this information could be used to draw comparison with predictions from the design. This would then give building owners the ability to correct operating issues quickly and reduce their Opex while also increasing the life of their investments. Overall, through 2018, we saw the industry make strides in the right direction. Change will continue to be the only constant in the year ahead, which is why keeping a keen eye and reacting rapidly to evolving building trends will be essential to success. The year 2018 saw a solid foundation being set in place, and I remain optimistic that this will be built upon in the year ahead.
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.
February 2019
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Sébastien Arbola, Engie MESCAT
‘Sustainability requires significant shift in mindset’ Sébastien Arbola, CEO, Engie MESCAT (Middle East, South and Central Asia and Turkey), speaks with Hannah Jo Uy of Climate Control Middle East on how regulation could pave the way for the alignment of public and private sector interests, the need for greater collaboration in the move towards sustainability and solar power’s future role in alleviating the heavy demand of air conditioning on existing energy grids. Excerpts from the interview…
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on how you plan your energy mix and [address] the intermittency part. That’s one thing. Another way in which sustainability affects, or will affect, the energy sector is linked to energy efficiency. If you want to be sustainable you also want to consume energy better, and if you look at what takes more energy – it’s first and foremost cooling the air [and the] refrigeration industry. Seventy per cent of peak load electricity consumed here in the UAE and in the GCC region [is owing to] air cooling systems. The most For a couple of years now, we have seen a lot of initiatives coming efficient way to cool the air is District Cooling. District Cooling from all the countries in the region. The UAE and Saudi Arabia penetration is very low – around 15% of the cooling market in the are putting out the blueprint and roadmap for 2030 and beyond, Middle East. A lot also has to be put in place to develop District acknowledging that sustainability is a key element of growth. Cooling and its adoption rate. Aside from that When you talk about sustainability, there you can think about the energy efficiency of are a couple of clusters. For energy, it’s the the buildings. So, retrofitting is also a huge part. share of renewable energy in the system. Because of the inefficient nature of buildings, Renewable activity has been done a couple the insulation and so forth, you can also attack of years back with all these solar farms in the the consumption by reducing the leaks in the desert. I think this will increase. Saudi Arabia system. As ENGIE, we are active in these three recently announced a 58-gigawatt project, fronts: renewable energy, District Cooling and and a few landmark projects by 2030 – 2030 energy efficiency. is not today, but it is tomorrow. You have to It is really the blueprint of the market. launch many, many projects. It’s the same for It is what lurks behind these big goals of Dubai and Abu Dhabi – they are launching having 44% or 25% of renewable energy or huge projects. They have and will continue to sustainable growth, and this is what is important launch, I would say, 1 gigawatt of new solar to us, because we are a private actor. This farms in the desert every year. It’s coming at dimension is too big for one set of players alone. a faster pace. You have different matrix [and The government here has done a great job targets]. For example, in the UAE by 2050 giving guidelines and issuing blueprints. Now [there should be] 44% renewable energy in Sébastien Arbola it is up to us, the stakeholders. The private and the system. That’s huge, it means you have to public sectors also [need] to align. transform your energy grid and [address] the storage issue. Because renewable energy is an intermittent source of energy, you have to bring onboard a lot of storage -- physical Could you comment on the feasibility of solar power storage, chemical storage and CSP. as a source for air conditioning, given that, as you It will include a lot of mindset shift for [everyone in] the sector, had mentioned, cooling is responsible for the majority and this is clearly, in itself, a revolution. It’s not as if you put solar of a building’s consumption? While the United Arab panels in the desert and it will come across this bar of 44%, even Emirates, and the rest of the region, has no shortage 25%, of renewable energy in the mix. It means a lot of changes of sun, many stakeholders believe, if rooftop solar-
n the occasion of Engie’s participation in the World Future Energy Summit, could you provide your overall projections for the GCC region’s renewable energy sector and how the company aims to participate in its advancement in the broader context of sustainability?
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powered air conditioning is to be considered an option, the lack of space on the roof of high-rise buildings is a significant challenge. Or do you suggest another model to better integrate solar power in the energy mix of dense urban areas? I would say that the endgame would be for a community, a home or building to be self-sufficient. Basically, having good, strong insulation, smart devices to monitor the energy efficiency and usage, maybe AI and then solar panels and District Cooling. That is, maybe, the ultimate end game for an isolated community, when density is not so strong. When you have big cities and density is very strong, I do believe that it is better for the whole system to have very large solar plants in the desert, not so far away, because then the economies of scale are huge, the level and cost of electricity is lower and to bring this electricity to consumers in the city would be cheaper. On top of that, [for stakeholders] to still do what I referred to as smart energy management with good insulation. I think it is better to do that than to put a couple of solar panels on the rooftop, it doesn’t make any sense. I would say the same for air cooling. To have a chiller on top of your roof is not smart in terms of energy efficiency. It’s better to connect to a District Cooling system, provided the density is big. If density is not big, to be part of a network is not economically satisfactory. But I think the big trend in today’s world, and it’s also true here with the evolution of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is that there will be a lot more urbanisation. Urbanisation means density and less spaces. Here, I think the city planning, and planners, will be key.
staunch framework with proficient clients, with government and energy ministers applying a systematic framework and with investors and banks financing, can be quite transparent, and everybody could see the interest of all parties. Once you kick-start this planning and regulation in a sustainable way, it will go very fast. But first, it’s about alignment, governance and framework.
Do you believe these ingredients will also be applicable for other countries in the Middle East? It’s more difficult, but I think there is no reason why [not]. Here, we have the blueprint. But I think the two leaders are United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. I would say that when it comes to the level of objectives and advocacy, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom are frontrunners on that part. They make the change happen and invest a lot of time and effort. You see high-level representatives here [at WFES], and you can see the drive – the transparency is there. However, how to organise the framework and how to align interest to attract the private sector for parties to invest money and time – I think this is always the point that needs to be refined.
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In this regard, would you say there is greater demand for collaboration among stakeholders? It requires a lot of city planning. It’s much easier to plan before a District Cooling [network] is built than after, because to dig the holes and put the pipes costs more. It’s also more difficult to stop the roads, and it is much more complex. But if you have some regulation, if city planners look at the long term and try to incentivise this, I would say the energy saving for District Cooling versus individual chillers is 50% -- it’s huge. Just a couple of years back there was a lot of incentives in the price of electricity, water and all. Certainly, the B2B environment is looking at the bill and trying to reduce it; the same goes for real estate developers. I think it’s quite well-known how a smart city should be run. What is difficult is to align the planning with the public-sector interest, which is more long-term compared to the private-sector interest, which can be short-term and cost [driven]. If I am the real estate developer of one or two buildings, for me I’m better off, maybe, investing in the chillers, because I would say the overconsumption will be paid by the one renting my space – not by me, I would not see it. So, the total cost for cooling the air is not really paid by the same person. The layman is important, it’s not very easy. The same goes for retrofitting. Who pays for the retrofitting? Is it the landlord? Is it the one renting the house? Same for the solar panels. If you rent your house, you’re fine to have this, because you pay less. Each month, the bill is less because of the net metering schemes but maybe the landlord will not want to invest. It’s often the case. I think a great deal has to do with some regulation. This is an area where regulation, if applied smartly with a strong regulator and framework, is really a plus in kick-starting good and sustainable habits. This
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Dan Mizesko is the Managing Partner of Al Shirawi US Chiller Services. He can be contacted at dan@uschillerservices.com.
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LET’S COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES Chilled water plant efficiency goals and reporting are essential
I
frequently hear about how efficiency goals in the large-tonnage chilled water plant industry are plagued by inaccurate and hypothetical reporting. I am not surprised, considering we are probably not comparing apples to apples. For instance, I frequently hear, “Our goal is to operate our plant at 1.0 kW per tonne or 0.9, 0.8, 0.75.” Whatever the goal is, many different facilities and companies have different goals. However, when we drill down and ask a simple question, “What is the definition of the plant?” no one has the same answer, and nor does anyone have a technical reason for arriving at the kW per tonne performance goal, except to say, “It’s standard for the industry.” The fact is, there is no standard for the industry. Different designs, pumping arrangements, equipment selection, installation practices, and operation and maintenance approaches will all affect the plant kW per tonne. Having stated the above, although there is no standard for kW per tonne performance in the industry, there should be a uniform comparison methodology of plant efficiency. So, let’s get started.
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First of all, I think it’s important we come up with a ‘chilled water plant’ definition. If you want to define the performance of a chilled water plant, it should be the chilled water generation equipment only, so the chilled water plant should be defined as the input power from the chillers, cooling tower fans, primary chilled water pumps, secondary chilled water pumps and condenser water pumps. This is how you would judge the efficiency of chilled water generation. I’m not at all suggesting that reducing the cost of lighting, make-up water pumps, plug loads, etc., are not important, but if you want to compare chilled-water generation kW per tonne performance from plant to plant or as an industry comparison, this would be the way to keep it apples to apples and as accurate as possible. Now that we have established the definition of a ‘chilled water plant’, we should all agree on the measurement and verification process for arriving at kW per tonne. I have covered measurement and verification in past ‘Licence to Chill’ columns; however, it’s an important topic,
so I will review it again now, specifically for chilled water plants. Metering and sub-metering of energy use is a critical component of any chilled water plant operations and maintenance programme. Metering for operations and maintenance and energy efficiency refers to the measurement of quantities of energy delivered. These would include kilowatt-hours of electricity, tonne-hours of chilled water and gallons of water.
WHAT TO METER? For performance evaluation and benchmarking of a chilled water plant, measured data is used to establish baseline energy use, monitor changes in consumption and to share information with managers and staff. These meters should meet the profile of Utility Revenue Grade accuracy and be installed with metering accuracy instrument transformers. Energy metering has a variety of applications for plant managers and energy managers. Metering provides the information that, when analysed, allows the plant operations staff to make informed decisions on how to best operate systems and equipment. The decisions will ultimately affect energy costs, equipment costs and plant performance. The necessity to control costs, diagnose equipment malfunction, allocate usage and set efficiency goals are all increasingly important reasons for energy and water metering. It is, however, important to keep in mind that meters are not an energy efficiency or energy conservation technology. Meters and their supporting systems are devices that provide plant owners, managers and operators with data that can be used to: GZYjXZ ZcZg\n$ji^a^in jhZ >begdkZ dkZgVaa eaVci deZgVi^dch! VcY >begdkZ Zfj^ebZci deZgVi^dch How the metered data is used is critical to a successful metering programme. Depending on the type of data collected, the following can be achieved: KZg^[^XVi^dc d[ ji^a^in W^aah 8dbeVg^hdc d[ ji^a^in gViZh BZVhjgZbZci VcY kZg^[^XVi^dc d[ eaVci performance 7ZcX]bVg`^c\ eaVci ZcZg\n jhZ >YZci^[n^c\ deZgVi^dcVa Z[[^X^ZcXn improvement opportunities and retrofit project opportunities
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JhV\Z gZedgi^c\ VcY igVX`^c\ ^c hjeedgi of establishing and monitoring utility budgets and costs and in developing annual energy reports
POWER METERS The most basic kW/power meters provide energy- and demand-related information. More sophisticated meters provide information on power quality, capture events, log and store data, display data through a local screen and communicate with – or control – other devices or systems. Meters can be grouped into several categories, based on their capabilities, with revenue grade meters, advanced energy meters and sub-meters being three among them. Power meters are also rated in terms of accuracy. Metering accuracy should be a minimum of plus or minus one per cent, where used for billing purposes. Meters with accuracy classifications better than one per cent are readily available at reasonable cost. ANSI Standard C12.10, the Code for Electricity Metering, lists metering accuracy requirements and applications. Revenue grade meters are readily available and are cost competitive. Revenue grade- and metering accuracy-class instrument transformers should be specified for any chiller and chilled water plant meter programme. The total accuracy of any meter installation depends on the accuracy of the meter and also the accuracy of the instrument transformers. I would strongly recommend for any building, chilled water or District Cooling plant that only utility-grade/revenue-grade meters be utilised. I have seen far too many buildings, chilled water and District Cooling plants that will track chiller kW consumption by extracting the data from the microprocessor-based chiller system. This is totally unacceptable and will provide data that is not as accurate as it should be. The microprocessor-based system is not a revenue-grade power meter. I have seen chiller-based data being off by as much as +/- five per cent, when verification testing is performed. Metering individual chillers, chilled-water plants or total building chilled water energy usage requires the measurement of three
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variables: Entering Water Temperature (TE, ºF), Leaving Water Temperature (TL, degrees F) and Flow Rate (GPM). From these, energy usage can be calculated. However, flow measurement can be quite inaccurate, depending on the type of meter, calibration and how it is installed. In addition, temperature measurement accuracy also varies by sensor type and calibration. In any chilled-water application, sensor accuracy relative to each other is very significant. For instance, if one sensor reads 1 degree F (-17.22 degrees C) high, while the other is 1 degree F (-17.22 degrees C) low, the energy calculation can be 20% off. I have seen sites, where it is off by more than this. Again, the chiller-based temperature sensors should never be used for the metering of chillers energy – they are not as accurate as required for this function.
BTU METERS BTU meters are designed and configured to send calculated BTU data, optionally along with individual temperature and flow measurement data, to the EMS/BMS or other data-collection system for monitoring. The meters may also have a display for manual reading of internally stored energy-usage data. The main advantage of BTU meters is that temperature sensors constitute a factory-matched set to minimise temperature difference calculation error. However, they generally cost more than using individual sensors connected to the EMS/BMS. Nevertheless, BTU meters are strongly recommended due to their improved temperature measurement accuracy and stability and ease of data-collection,
particularly if energy is being metered for revenue purposes (allocating costs of chilled water usage per building or for efficiency benchmarking and operations and maintenance of the chilled-water plant). A typical BTU meter will have the flow meter and temperature sensors, all fieldmounted. The temperature sensors are provided with the BTU meter, so that they can be factory-matched and calibrated for improved accuracy. The flow meter can be of any type, depending on the desired accuracy. The output of the BTU meter can be a pulse or analogue one, connected to an EMS/BMS or other data-collection system. Modern BTU meters also include the ability to directly connect to common control networks, such as BACnet/MSTP, Modbus/EIA-485 and LonWorks, and various proprietary networks. This allows, at low cost, not only the BTU data but also the flow and temperature data to be monitored by the EMS/BMS.
METER INSTALLATION Though it has been said before, it’s not sufficient to focus only on the quality of equipment; installation is as important as the selection process. The entire installation exercise must be verified in detail by a commissioning process containing checklists of all items and processes necessary to ascertain compliance to the installation criteria provided by the meter manufacturer. Different types of meters have very specific installation requirements that are necessary for proper function. The meter manufacturer installation procedures and recommendations should be followed in detail. Meters should be installed by qualified contractors under the supervision of the project commissioning agent, the project inspector, the project manager and the engineer of record. Commissioning and calibration of meters is the process that contributes to the proper installation and provision of adjustments necessary to generate accurate meter data. The accuracy and reliability of the data obtained from meters largely depends on whether they are properly installed and calibrated. Installation details must strictly follow the meter manufacturer’s instructions. Once a meter is properly installed, a process must be conducted to confirm accuracy and calibration. Accuracy is the ability of a measurement to match the actual value being measured. Calibration is the act of checking or adjusting the accuracy of a meter by comparing it with a known standard. The known standard in the case of most meters can be a portable meter of greater accuracy with calibration traceable
to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). All revenue-grade meters should have a calibration certificate indicating measurements traceable to the NIST or equivalent institution. Meter manufacturers and suppliers must produce the criteria for installed accuracy validation. Documentation affirming that the meter was properly installed and providing accurate data should be specified to be a part of the commissioning process. Now, we have all the liquid chillers installed with utility-grade power meters and BTU meters, all ancillary equipment (CW and CHW pumps, cooling tower fans) installed with utility-grade power meters and a bulk BTU meter on the main plant CHW outlet. With this, we can accurately calculate our chiller, ancillary and total plant kW per tonne performance, we can benchmark plant performance and we can watch any changes we make to the plant in real time to see how the change effects the kW per tonne.
I would recommend that any chilled water plant have a meter programme in place. However, do always be sure to use the right meter for the job, and to ensure that it is installed as per instructions. Also, it is vital to have a calibration/ re-commissioning programme in place, and with this you will be able to report and track the plant kW per tonne accurately. You will be able to compare plants within your portfolio and also compare your plants to others in the industry – that is, if the information being reported is accurate and is an apples-to-apples exercise. Again, it’s impossible to compare chilled water plant efficiency, if one plant includes the lighting, the plug loads elevators and all the other loads that do not contribute to the generation of the chilled water; that would be very misleading. It is also misleading when plants are compared using hypothetical information, such as an existing water-cooled plant with electricdriven centrifugal chillers to an air-cooled plant with reciprocating or screw chillers.
This is just misleading; however, it is done in the industry, and again it is extremely misleading reporting and actually verifies and proves no savings whatsoever. Speaking of air-cooled chillers, in my next article, I will be writing about the new high lift air-cooled, oil-less magnetic-bearing centrifugal chillers that are now available for the high-ambient conditions in the Gulf region. This technology is game-changing technology and really makes a case for aircooled chillers versus water-cooled chillers, and the comparisons can be made and checked in the real world with real operating plants, not cherry-picked hypotheticals. That’s the next article; for now, let’s all meter properly and report accurate efficiency numbers.
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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FEATURE
HVAC accessories
Regio n a direc l strat t e i g o n acces drive ic s sorie s mar k et H
VAC accessories play a significant role in the Managing Director, build of an HVAC system; Hira Walraven AC Industry, however, industry professionals asserts that the market size of the assert that pinpointing an HVAC accessories sector in the Middle East exact number that indicates the market region is in excess of USD 500 million. “The size of HVAC accessories can be difficult. figure varies depending on Brian Suggitt, Managing the size of projects in the Director, Systemair, and country,” he says. Presently, Chairman, Eurovent Middle because of the Expo projects East, says, “Pinpointing an in Dubai, the requirement for accurate market size for the these products has gone up. accessories sub-industry “Each region releases a slew of is difficult, because there projects in a year, which keeps are so many different the market busy,” he adds. accessories for different Elaborating on the products within the Brian Suggitt emerging market trends, Amir HVAC sector.” Fans, pipes, Naqvi, Business leader for ductwork, all have a different Fluorine Products, Middle East, range of accessories, he Honeywell, asserts that the says. “Clients select a small United Arab Emirates is an quantity, while others select exciting place to do business. a larger quantity and, He says, “Given the growth hence, you can’t accurately and evolution the region is pinpoint the market size,” witnessing, the key drivers for Suggitt asserts. Providing the HVAC market in the region a different perspective, are the need for infrastructure, Jithender Malhotra, Channel housing and the government’s and Distribution Manager, Jithender Malhotra push for energy efficiency.” GAMI, highlights that the Pointing to energy efficiency market size of the HVAC as a crucial element of the accessory sub-industry UAE’s 2050 Energy Strategy, could be best understood he says, “HVAC accessories if compared directly to the are an integral part of the HVAC market. “The HVAC larger HVAC industry, and market is approximately USD there are more opportunities 8 billion, while the accessories for the new-build market.” market for the Middle East The industry, he says, is is approximately USD 1.6 constantly evolving and leads billion,” Malhotra says. Ravi Wadhwani to demand in people’s need Meanwhile, Ravi Wadhwani,
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to optimise and further improve their systems. He adds that there has definitely been a rise in, and an uptake for, projects in the region, and with the demand for energy efficiency and the cost benefits, customers are more aware of the refrigerants they use. Malhotra highlights an overall HVAC market growth rate of four per cent in four years and says, “Certain countries have to buy spare parts and accessories from other countries and then assemble them in their respective countries.” Syria, Iraq, Turkey and South Africa are all growing markets, which he says, are likely to grow at the rate of four per cent till the year 2021. Wadhwani, on the other hand, asserts that the region continues to record double-digit growth every year, and stakeholders prefer dealing with manufacturers to provide solution-based products, hence reducing wastage on site, installation time and cost. “Countries in the region,” he says, have their own requirements with regard to the standards required for fire safety, which is based on international guidelines. “This is very good for the industry,” he says, as he points to fire safety as the most critical component of any project. “Civil defence regulations,” he adds, “are very clear, and if the product meets these standards, approvals are generally straightforward.”
With ques tions of th on th e HV e siz AC a mark e c cess et in o ries the M East iddle regio n ga mixe rneri dr ng Kona eactions , Ran tt pe jana rsu profe ssion ades ind u als to st the o discu ry ppor t s u s chall nities enge in, an s of, man d func ufac tio turer withi s and ning as n the supp segm liers ent.
with regard to sourcing raw materials, which in turn, meets these standards. “We have an approved vendor list and work closely on each and every vendor by providing them with a forecast to ensure on-time availability,” he says. Malhotra says, “As many as 90% of manufacturers buy directly from the supplier, because you get the exact specification you need.” Very often, he adds, you cannot rely on local showrooms and shops, because you cannot rely on their product.
Malhotra, while sharing a similar perspective, says, “The demand for accessories is big in the service industry, but the challenge lies in maintaining and getting certifications in Giving an overview place.” Overall, with regard to certifications of the quality of products for finished products, air-handling units being manufactured and the relevance or chillers, he says, the question is mainly of servicing HVAC accessories, Saugata around maintenance. Sarkar, Divisional Manager, Pointing to ESMA, Estidama, Spare Parts, Gulf Sail, says, MEW and SASO as common “For the first five years, the regulations, he adds that manufacturer provides a in order to have these warranty for everything.” regulations in place, a Units that are there in the company has to spend market for 20 years also approximately 2.5 million need servicing, because AED a year, without which a they are expensive, he product cannot be moved. says. “There is a gradual Speaking of minimising upward graph,” he says. Amir Naqvi the dependence on external However, he cites the influx vendors as an attempt of Chinese imports, which towards ensuring maximum control over are shaping the market, hence making it production, Wadhwani says, “Our group has competitive. By principle, he adds, we stick been manufacturing HVACR products for the to genuine products and keep our focus past two decades and works on the principle on big FM companies, who provide good of maximum backward integration to ensure quality and service. With reference to giving that we are in control of the complete supply the quality of products within the HVAC chain.” However, the challenge, he says, is industry a rating, Malhotra says, “I’d rate
manufacturers with a 4.5, because the equipment being manufactured has to have legislation.” However, pointing to a challenge, he says, the contractors carrying out the installations are not always qualified to do the job. Wadhwani says, “Manufacturing in our industry has still not reached the stage as compared to other countries.” There are few companies, he says, who focus on producing products that meet international standards. “It is important that the industry understands that quality products come at a price,” he says. Reputed manufacturers, he further says, also have technical teams for design,
installation and training. Wadhwani adds: “Professional manufacturing companies are those that take accountability for the performance of their products, and stakeholders should insist on visiting the factories of local manufacturers to view the manufacturing process, the quality controls and the testing facilities. Some of the facilities in the United Arab Emirates are much better than their international counterparts.”
HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
February 2019
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World Future Energy Summit, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Solar on the way up, but queStionS galore How will the narrative surrounding renewable energy in the Middle East affect stakeholders within the HVACR industry, given that air conditioning is responsible for a significant portion of a building’s energy consumption?
By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
T
Ramalheira says that the sustainability he Middle East region is at an agenda has driven large-scale utility projects inflection point when it comes related to renewable energy. Tim Armsby, to renewable energy, says Vivek Partner, Pinsent Masons, adds that while Chaturvedi, Regional Business initially the public sector moved towards Director – IMEA, DSM, stressing renewable energy owing to environmental that it is only natural that solar power is reasons, now, there is a strong economic poised to play an extremely important role drive, particularly in solar, as it is achieving in the region. Gurmeet Kaur, Partner, Pinsent cheaper tariffs than those produced from Masons, and board member, Middle East conventional power, even in subsidised Solar Industry Association (MESIA), shares markets. “Why would you build a nuclear a similarly positive outlook. “There is an power plant when you can achieve a lower upward trajectory in solar and renewable cost of electricity with because of the downward solar?” he asks. “UAE is movement of pricing,” she now looking for a 44% says, adding that solar PV renewable energy mix. is now the cheapest form Other countries that haven’t of energy in this part of the yet started programmes world. are now doing so, such as For Kaur, the momentum Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. can be attributed to the The only thing is that most clear and decisive targets are massive projects. A lot set by governments in the Vivek Chaturvedi can also be done in smallerregion, pointing to Saudi scale distributed energy, Arabia’s most recent closer to the source and announcement to have 60 supply.” GW from renewable energy Kaur is in agreement, by 2030 as a prime example. adding that uptake is Francisco Ramalheira, Director slower when it comes to – Business Development and rooftop solar installations, Marketing, Enova, adds that where power is generated in the United Arab Emirates, and consumed at source. adoption of PVs has also been “Up until a few years ago,” easy, due to incentives from Kaur says, “you didn’t have the public sector. In addition Gurmeet Kaur rooftop solar projects, to government initiatives because you couldn’t stimulating the market, Kaur generate and consume power – only the says, the introduction of technology and new authority could. It was necessary to introduce CSP projects contribute to efforts towards legislation to allow that, which has happened. achieving globally low pricing, making We have seen it pick up in the commercial renewable energy a real alternative to and industrial segments. In Dubai, for conventional power sources.
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example, there are about 50 MW of installed rooftop projects. Two years ago, there were only 17 MW – it’s more than doubled. It is definitely moving forward, but it has been a lot slower than the acceleration we have seen in utility-scale projects.” Kaur adds that the uptake has been slow, due to relatively low prices of electricity and that reducing subsidies and educating stakeholders on the benefits of rooftop solar could help enhance its penetration. In small projects, Kaur says, financing is also an issue, as banks are not often involved in projects of this scale. She adds that currently, there are also challenges in the regulatory framework, in terms of what kind of protection a tenant, property owner or investor has in this segment. Armsby says more can also be done to relax the regulatory framework and allow third-party experts to come in and provide the whole package for land and building owners, advocating for a model that will allow building owners to go to a specialised company and say, “You do it for me; I don’t want to know about it and I’ll just pay a monthly amount.”
STRONG ENOUGH TO MEET HIGH DEMAND? While rooftop solar as a source of energy is an attractive option, many stakeholders believe that the roofs will not have enough space for the amount of solar PVs required to meet the massive energy requirement of air conditioning equipment in the region’s highambient conditions. Chaturvedi highlights the importance of area availability, stressing that given the high density of development in the region, every movement in efficiency on the demand side of cooling and refrigeration gets offset by the quantity of its requirements.
recently commissioned a 4 MW solar park To address this issue, Chaturvedi says outside of Amman to provide energy for the industry as a whole, and DSM as a Specialty Hospital and Istiklal Mall. Crane company, is doing its best to improve adds that currently, there isn’t any other the efficiency of panels. “We are in the country where solar leasing is economically business of improving the efficiency of viable but that the situation can easily existing and future solar energy to the change. extent that the same sun and same Chaturvedi also points to the square metre, delivers more power and, development of floating solar power plants, while doing so, brings the cost of solar as a possible solution, adding that DSM is energy down.” Currently, he says, only developing materials that will 18% of sun’s rays falling on make installing solar plants solar panels get converted on large bodies of water to electricity and that the affordable and viable. industry is committed towards improving these figures. THE ISSUE OF Kaur adds that energy INTERMITTENCY efficiency must also be A conversation about viewed more holistically. renewable energy, however, “One of the reasons why will not be complete without buildings are not so efficient discussing the issue of Francisco Ramalheira is because they oversize the intermittency. For Chaturvedi, AC,” she says. “You can look intermittency will be solved at reducing demand, that’s by affordable storage, where you should start, stressing that the solar because then, naturally your sector will be the biggest requirements for power will beneficiary of the technology also come down. Once you development spearheaded have a more comprehensive by the automobile industry, energy-efficiency policy, then when it comes to storage. “It I think solar and other energy is a matter of ‘when’ storage policies can go hand in hand.” will be affordable, not ‘if’,” Tim Armsby Kaur also presents he says. “Once storage solves solar wheeling projects the problem of intermittency as a possible solution for for good, that’s when solar generating the required will be mainstream because electricity of cooling you can consume as you equipment. “If there was need, and not when it’s ability to build solar plants at available.” Chaturvedi says one location and wheel the the price range of storage energy across to be used in today is where solar panels another location, then that were 7-8 years ago, adding would be a useful solution,” that “storage will not take 7-8 she says. “But that’s still years to reach affordability to Jeremy Crane not an option here in the solve intermittency”. United Arab Emirates. It’s an Kaur says the biggest option in places like Jordan, because the export potential is around storage, adding regulation permits that.” that while there are improvements to be Kaur says this solution has gained made, the pricing for storage is already popularity in Jordan, owing to the high coming down. “We are starting to see tariffs imposed on commercial buildings. CSP projects and what it allows you to Jeremy Crane, CEO and Co-Founder, do is store energy,” she says. “In Dubai, Yellow Door Energy, echoes this, adding pricing has come down, and it has made that there is a huge demand for lowergovernments consider and look at solar cost energy solutions in Jordan, due to as an alternative to dispatchable and high electricity prices and grid constraints conventional power.” and that the country’s solar wheeling Armsby provides another regulation has allowed the company’s recommendation to address the issue customers to benefit from the power of intermittency, which he says, could generated by their solar parks. Speaking on also bring renewable energy to countries recent projects, Crane says the company that have massive requirement, such
as Iraq. “Iraq clearly has desperate need for new power capacity,” he says, “but the security situation has not enabled the rollout of projects in the way you might hope. Interestingly, Saudi Arabia is considering exporting power from solar, and Iraq has been mentioned as potential user of that power.” As such, Armsby paints a picture of an expanded interconnected grid in the Middle East, so excess power can be exported and countries can also take advantage of different peaks and demand, driven by particular localities and move power around the grid to where it’s needed. In discussing the possibility of a regional energy corridor, Ramalheira draws a comparison to the energy corridor in Europe, where the entire grid is connected because of the cycles of production. “Wind, for example, doesn’t blow in the same velocity and with the same intensity throughout Europe,” he says. “It might blow well in Norway but not in Portugal, while the sun can be the other way around. It makes sense that grids are connected to ensure there are fluxes of energy being pushed to where it is needed. If I take that as an example and knowing that it is working and there is a wide network that is constantly being enlarged and enhanced – I think it would make all the sense to be happening here.” Ramalheira says that there are already some examples of connectivity between the grids in the Middle East and that “it’s only a question of a wider collaboration”. He says, “This would require the stakeholders to meet, agree and discuss their own strategies and ensure everyone understands each other.” At the moment, Armsby says, the GCC region grid only has a capacity for moving about two gigawatts around the system, which is a relatively small amount of energy. “They would need to strengthen that capability and expand into Egypt and Iraq, where there is more of a need to make it work,” he says. Chaturvedi says that the success of such an endeavour will depend upon the politics involved, but that with regard to the technology aspect of such a model, all things being equal, he sees “interdependence of countries for generation in a country-combined grid to be the way forward”.
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tabreed reports increase in net profit and group revenue in 2018 CEO says total capacity now at 1.1 million TR; provides update on regional activities By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
abreed achieved a seven per cent increase in net profit to AED 427.6 million and a three per cent increase in group revenue to AED 1,446.9 million in 2018, said Jasim Husain Thabet, Chief Executive Officer, during an event at the District Cooling utility’s headquarters in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, on January 31.
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Jasim Husain Thabet
Thabet said the core chilledwater revenue also increased by three per cent to AED 1,361.3 million and that the EBITDA increased by 10% to AED 694.2 million. Based on the results, Thabet said, the company’s board of directors recommended a cash dividend for 2018 of 9.5 fils per share, up from 8 fils per share paid in 2018. Thabet said: “District Cooling is all about energy efficiency, compared to conventional cooling. It’s 50% more energy efficient in this part of the world, where cooling is
70% during peak power. We are providing District Cooling, which is essential to development and sustainability.” Thabet also said that Tabreed successfully issued a USD 500 million, seven-year-tenure sukuk, which was 50% oversubscribed and received investment grade credit ratings from Moody’s and Fitch of Baa3 and BBB, respectively. Thabet said the company was able to improve its balance sheet in 2018, stressing that it is optimistic for the coming year. Thabet said the positive figures the company has achieved were the result of strong operations and guidance at the beginning of the year. He said the company aims to have a total additional capacity of 65,000 tonnes of refrigeration (TR) by the end of 2019 and that, in 2018 alone, the company added 39,061 TR and three plants to its portfolio. “Our total capacity has increased,” he said. “Now, the total group capacity is 1,131,379 million TR across the GCC region. To give context, that’s equivalent to providing 112 towers the size of Burj Khalifa with cooling. As a District Cooling company, our bread and butter is providing energy efficiency.” He added
that the company contributed to saving of 1.97 billion kilowatt per hour across the GCC region, enough to power approximately 112,000 homes in the United Arab Emirates every year. Thabet stressed that there has been a strong push by governments in the GCC region for sustainable energy solutions, and that as populations continue to grow, so will the demand for related infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals and new shopping centres. “With that in mind,” he said, “all these developments require world-class sustainable energy solutions, and District Cooling is a must.” Thabet said that in terms of operations, Tabreed has always been a regional District Cooling company, with strong presence in Saudi Arabia, Oman and other GCC region countries. He said that Tabreed views Saudi Arabia as a very important market, adding that the country offers a lot of opportunities and that the company looks forward to supporting the agenda of sustainability in projects driven by both private and public sectors, including those related to the Red Sea project. Thabet said the company currently handles significant projects
in Saudi Arabia, from coast to coast, providing the Jabal Omar Development in Mecca as a prime example. In Oman, Thabet said, the company provided cooling to Knowledge Oasis and, most recently, to Al Araimi Mall. He added that the company is looking at opportunities in Egypt as well as in India. Thabet said that while Tabreed is a regional District Cooling provider, it is also a true Emirati company, in a sense that its operations are spread out in the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah, Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah, adding that the company continues to look at opportunities to support government initiatives across the United Arab Emirates. Tabreed, he said, currently has 63 plants in the country, highlighting the Warner Brothers World Abu Dhabi theme park, which opened on Yas Island in July 2018, as one of its significant achievements last year. In 2018, Tabreed also highlighted the acquisition of S&T Cool District Cooling company, a District Cooling provider on Reem Island in Abu Dhabi, from Aldar Properties.
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The QCC Certificate of Conformity brings control in the market, says GAMI Regulation, especially the QCC, brings everyone at par with reference to benchmarking of products By Ranjana Konatt
AE-headquartered HVACR equipment manufacturer, GAMI in January announced it has been awarded the QCC Certificate of Conformity and has been given the licence to bear the Abu Dhabi Trustmark. Commenting on the certification, Magdy A Mekky, CEO, GAMI, said, “Regulations, such as the QCC Certificate of Conformity, are good initiatives, and we are really happy because they ensure there is some amount of control in the market.” Certifications, Mekky said, have become a requirement, considering the focus put on energy. The Trustmark for environmental performance,
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he said, addresses two aspects of a unit – its performance and the environment. “EER is the highest in the Middle Eastern industry, and the minimum efficiency required is 11.6 EER at T1, and this has created a lot of commotion,” he added. Pointing to SASO certification, he asserted that the QCC certification is more stringent. Mekky also highlighted the process and experience of acquiring the certification and said, “The issue we had was that we discovered the need to have an ESMA certification prior to applying for the QCC. When we tested the unit, we found that we were 7-8% short of the QCC certification on various
parameters. The next step was to look into how we could improve, and so we replaced the motors with IE3 motors, after which we went on to test the equipment of varying capacities – 11 tonnes, seven tonnes and 15 tonnes.” Elaborating on refrigerant use, Mekky said, “Refrigerant use is a critical topic to HVAC systems, and we use the 407C and the 410A refrigerants, which is also used widely in the UAE and the United States.” By way of providing an observation about the market, Mekky highlighted that the market is tough, but the UAE is the best place to do business. “It is easy to move around and even to other countries,” he said.
Magdy A Mekky
Regulation, especially the QCC, he said, brings everyone at par with reference to benchmarking of products. “The QCC,” Mekky added, “ensures that everyone meets the regulation and that there is a standard to the products being brought into the market.”
samsung introduces all-new ‘wind-free for vrf’ at hvac r expo saudi The aim is to ensure that whatever has the Samsung logo must be guaranteed to be efficient, says General Manager, Samsung By Ranjana Konatt Saher Hilal
amsung introduced the Wind-Free for VRF Systems during HVAC R Expo Saudi in end-January in Riyadh. Speaking on the occasion, Saher Hilal, General Manager, Samsung, said, “Wind-Free assures even cooling around the space you are living in, and this will eliminate any kind of overcooling.” The idea of having the technology, he said, was to maximise the power savings related to VRF technology.
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Speaking on the company’s training initiatives, Hilal said: “Presently, we are running different training programmes for our contractors and are making some kind of certified installer programme. We need to ensure that by the end of the day, whatever has the Samsung logo is provided to the customer as a total solution and is guaranteed to be efficient.”
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Poor insulation disrupts line temperatures Armacell Middle East highlights the perils posed by poor or inadequate insulation By Ranjana Konatt
he kind of insulation used on pipes affects the overall performance of a system, said Abhay Miglani, Business Development Manager, Armacell Middle East. “One has to be careful while selecting insulation materials,” he said. “The wrong choice of insulation with improper installation is a perfect recipe for system failure.” Pointing to an interesting aspect, Miglani added, Abhay Miglani “Thermal insulation may seem to be a small component in an overall HVAC system, but if selected and installed properly, it has a huge energysaving potential.” Elaborating on the materials used to insulate pipes, he said: “Today, we have a variety of insulation material available in the market. Closed-cell elastomeric rubber, rock wool, fibreglass, phenolic, polyurethane rigid foam (PUR), polyisocyanurate (PIR), aerogels and cellular glass are the most common. Every kind of insulation has its own unique properties and characteristics, and it is crucial that an end-user keeps in mind what’s best for his use and application.” Elaborating on how improper insulation can defeat the purpose of the work done by heat exchangers, Miglani said, “When we look at a heat exchanger, the primary responsibility is for it to transfer heat from one fluid to another in the most efficient manner.” He said in cases where both mediums are flowing through pipes (outside the heat exchanger), insulation plays a big role in ensuring the temperature of fluids remain as per design conditions. “In case of inadequate insulation or no insulation,” he said, “there are huge chances of the line temperatures going haywire.”
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hira in training initiative Company gives push to on-site technical training for installation By Ranjana Konatt
ery often, workers at construction sites do not have proper knowledge on how to install equipment, especially with regard to piping systems,” said Farhan Jaffry, Marketing and Communication Lead, Hira Industries. “Usually,” he said, “the manufacturer is blamed if a system does not perform well, and it is mostly due to incorrect
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installation.” To address the issue, he added, Hira Industries has a team of technical supervisors who train the individuals carrying out the installations. Initially, Jaffry said, very few companies were doing technical training for installation on-site. Elaborating on the market, Jaffry said, “As far as the market is concerned, people want to save on cost, be it on maintenance or installation.”
clim says planning is crucial for repurposing existing buildings Company representative stresses the importance of the planning stage in big projects By Ranjana Konatt
lanning is crucial to big projects, especially those associated with events like the World Expo 2020, to be held in Dubai, asserted Caio Tadeu Brandao, Sales Manager, North, Latin America and Middle East, Clim. Speaking specifically with regard to planning and how it influences design and the repurposing of buildings at a later stage, he said, “With regard to repurposing buildings, we must see how much of the infrastructure can be absorbed by the business and tourist industry.” Quality materials, he said, are used for the project, and everything that is built now can be extended and repurposed, if planned Caio Tadeu Brandao appropriately. “We have been supplying to contractors working on the Expo project,” he said. “For us, it is a very good thing, and we have seen an increase in sales.” “Not only with reference to Expo 2020,” Brandao said, “but also with regard to basic buildings, everything that is built well initially, can be repurposed.” Pointing to another crucial aspect, he said: “A very important point is that you have to ensure that skilled and trained professionals are working on the project. The way systems are installed and put to use can have a direct influence on the life of the product.”
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EmiratesGBC’s BEA project report presents insights on energy- and water-use efficiency Document establishes industry baseline for hotels, schools and malls to evaluate their energy and water performance, Council says By CCME Content Team
hile several schools, malls and hotels in Dubai have achieved high levels of energy- and wateruse efficiency, others need to step up their sustainability commitment, to ensure they are aligned with the sustainable development vision of the nation, said Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), while revealing the results of the Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA) Project Report, in a Press communiqué. The BEA project is led by the World Resources Institute (WRI) under the UN programme, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll), which aims to accelerate implementation of building efficiency policies and programmes and double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030, the communiqué said. Dubai is the first and only city in the Middle East committed to the BEA, and EmiratesGBC is serving as the BEA City Liaison in partnership with Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) to evaluate the energy performance of hotels, schools and malls in the city, the communiqué further said. EmiratesGBC’s BEA team
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assessed the energy and water performance of existing buildings against similar buildings within the same typology, as part of the study since January 2018, the communiqué also said. A total of 121 properties, including 85 hotels, 27 schools and nine malls, submitted data on their energy and water use, the communiqué added. The BEA project findings demonstrate performance disparity in all three groups. The study revealed that the best hotel and hotel apartment performers consume 58% less energy and 65% less water per unit area than the worst performers in the category, the communiqué said. Older hotels are likely to consume more energy and water per unit area, further highlighting the importance of retrofits, the communiqué further said. Higher star-rated hotel properties are also likely to consume slightly more energy and water per unit area, with hotels and hotel apartments consuming 12% less energy and 36% less water, on average, per area than resorts, the communiqué added. The best performers among schools consume 61% less energy and 84% less water per unit area compared to
▶ Majd Fayyad and Saeed Al Abbar of Emirates GBC
the worst, with newer schools likely to be higher consumers of energy and water, the communiqué said. The report also indicates that schools rated higher by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) were likely to consume less energy per unit area, the communiqué said. Among malls, the lowest consumer uses 35% less energy and 58% less water per area compared to the highest consumer, the communiqué also said. Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman, EmiratesGBC, said: “The project’s main objectives is to promote energy efficiency within Dubai’s existing building stock by providing performance benchmark data to the industry and public sector. We believe
this will provide vital information on the performance of existing buildings to policy makers and building owners and will accelerate the uptake of energy retrofits. The findings reveal that there is a strong potential for savings and operational efficiencies that can be achieved through remedial actions such as audits, retrofits, energy management and the use of awareness campaigns or trainings to drive changes in behaviour. The report also highlights the importance of deep retrofits as a substantial measure in advancing towards 100% Net Zero Carbon Buildings by 2050 and to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement of keeping global warming well below two degrees C.”
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▶ Empower and ASHRAE officials during the workshop
EMPOWER REVIEWS DRAFT OF ‘DISTRICT COOLING GUIDE FOR BUILDING OWNERS’ Official release of the scientific edition will be in April 2019 in Dubai, says company representative By CCME Content Team
mpower CEO, Ahmad Bin Shafar has reviewed the draft copy of the ‘District Cooling Guide for Building Owners’, which will be published by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Empower announced in a Press communiqué. The draft was reviewed during a workshop with the
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Digital savviness can reduce opex in buildings Present-day projects are all about how a BMS talks to the many access points in a building, says Johnson Controls Middle East By Ranjana Konatt
accompanying delegation on the sidelines of Empower’s participation at the 2019 ASHRAE Winter Conference and AHR Expo, held from January 12 to 16 at Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the communiqué said. A workshop was organised to review the first draft of the ‘District Cooling Guide for Building Owners’, where participants presented a comprehensive report on all
stages of design and implementation, the communiqué said. Attendees at the workshop also conducted a complete and final review of the digital and paper versions of the Guide, which will officially be released in April 2019, in a special event in Dubai, the communiqué further said. Bin Shafar thanked ASHRAE for allowing Empower to be an active partner in this great scientific achievement, as it is an excellent academic reference for specialists, researchers and experts in the refrigeration sector around the world, the communiqué added. Speaking on the occasion, Bin Shafar said: “We are proud that the United Arab Emirates, represented by Empower, is the first country in the world to sponsor the process of issuing the District Cooling Guide for Building Owners and the updated version of the District Cooling Guide. We are committed to participate in specialised events, including the ASHRAE conference, as it allows us to review our leading experience in District Cooling, especially in a region featured by different natural characteristics. Nevertheless, the Middle East has recently witnessed a quantum leap in this growing sector and has been able to promote sustainable development without harming the environment and wasting natural resources.”
echnology is revolutionising the way buildings work, said Rohit Mansukhani, Director, Digital Solutions, India and the Middle East, Johnson Controls Middle East. He said: “Information Technology is strengthening the foundation of better buildings. Digital savviness plays a predominant role in reducing the operating costs of buildings. Initially, we had a stand-alone automated system with end-to-end controls, but today, the focus is Rohit Mansukhani more on system integration.” Present-day projects are all about how a BMS talks to the many access points in a building, and innovation in IoT has pushed data on to the cloud, increasing conversations around sensors, which then directly connect to a network, Mansukhani said. Highlighting a challenge, he said: “Today, the focus is on data integration. The power is in the data, and until a few years back, technology was not as advanced as it is now.” With regard to wayfinding, he said, “All customers we speak with are looking for smart wayfinding. External data can also be used to enhance security and with everything on social media. The feed itself can be used to drive security.”
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‘we will not sacrifice quality to be pricecompetitive,’ says fischer middle east Company MDs highlight commitment to the region, explain strategies for 2019 and hold live telecast of EXPO 2020 and Riyadh metro job sites By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
hen you compromise on quality, you always have a problem,” said Sven Haag, Managing Director, Asia, Middle East and Africa, fischer, on the sidelines of a media event, held at the company’s Jebel Ali Freezone warehouse, on January 16, in Dubai. This was the take-off point to Haag’s comprehensive overview of Fischer Group of Companies’ five divisions: fischer fixing systems, fischer automotive systems, fischertechnik, fischer consulting and LNT Automation. Highlighting the company’s commitment towards providing innovative MEP technology solutions, Haag said the 2025 strategy of the family-owned enterprise, which exports to more than 100 countries, is to invest further in Asia, Middle East and Africa,
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▶ L-R: Sven Haag, Jayanta Mukherjee; and Wolfgang Pott, Head of Corporate Communications, fischer group of companies
which, he said, “is responsible for 55% of global construction growth”. He emphasised, “Either you invest in the region, or you will be out of the market right away.” Jayanta Mukherjee, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, fischer, echoed this, elaborating further on the company’s presence in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya and Pakistan, before providing a historic perspective on the company’s role in iconic projects in the United Arab Emirates. Mukherjee also facilitated a live telecast from the EXPO 2020 job site, where the company’s products are being installed in the Nakheel Harbour metro station, along with colleagues on the site discussing MEP services offered by the company. Mukherjee further facilitated a live telecast from colleagues in Saudi Arabia, working on the Riyadh Metro project. Mostafa El Hosseiny, Head of Technical Services MEA, subsequently held a tour of the JAFZA facility, which housed the products used in the EXPO 2020 project, as well as those in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Pakistan, Kuwait and East Africa. The tour revealed that the facility houses 2,886 pallet positions in the warehouse for the full product range, except for chemical products, which are located on another site. The tour also shed light on the business philosophy at the heart of the company and the day-to-day activities of the company’s 150 employees across the GCC region. El Hosseiny also showcased the Fischer Regional Training Center, which, he said, serves as a venue for training and demonstrating MEP product capabilities to potential customers. Haag further highlighted the company’s commitment to training, stressing that “employees are the most important factor for success”. In discussing how MEP is a critical part of the company’s business, Mukherjee said, as the company is involved in a number of key infrastructure projects, “safety is the
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first, second and third mostimportant thing”. Mukherjee highlighted how the training centre exemplifies how the company’s layer of engineering knowledge serves as a strong competitive advantage, pointing to the importance of having a strong knowledge of BIM as one example. El Hosseiny elaborated on the value of BIM in a presentation, stressing that “BIM is a software but also a process” and that communication is vital for proper execution and delivery of projects. “BIM can control resources, communication, documentation approval and maintenance,” he said. “If a client has a BIM model, he knows when to make maintenance for HVAC, change lamps, etc.” Outlining the company’s initiatives for 2019, Mukherjee said, Fischer Middle East is set to open an experience centre in Abu Dhabi for its range of products in the construction sector. “The objective is not just to sell,” he said. “The objective is show them what we can do and advise on the right products. Because we work with consultants and contractors, there are many questions so when they come, they can see the product.” Mukherjee said the opening of the experience centre will be complemented by plans to roll out engineering support vehicles that will assist engineers on-site. Mukherjee added that the company is in the process of signing an MOU with management and engineering schools, as part of efforts to extend an award to recognise outstanding students in the fields of engineering and management. He added there are also plans to hold an award that will recognise contractors for their outstanding engineering products. Lastly, Mukherjee said, the company will introduce a new product range for the Middle East within the year.
rheem joins eurovent middle east HVACR industry association continues expansion, says representative By CCME Content Team
heem has joined the Eurovent chapter in the Middle East, expanding the association’s membership base to more than 45 members, the association announced in a Press communiqué. Rheem is a nearly 100-year-old American company that operates in three main business verticals: air conditioning, water heating and refrigeration, the communiqué said. The company owns brands such as Rheem, Ruud, Russell, Raypak, Mohammad Farooq Richmond and Sure Comfort, the communiqué further said. In the Middle East region, Rheem has been operating for more than 30 years and has installed over a million tonnes of air conditioning equipment and thousands of water heaters, through its extensive distribution and service network, the communiqué added. Mohammad Farooq, Managing Director, Rheem Middle East, said: “We appreciate the work Eurovent Middle East has done to gather the main industry players under one roof. It enables dialogue and discussions on the region’s regulatory development and provides us with opportunities to shape the future of this market, together with our Markus Lattner fellow contenders, our clients and the authorities in the Middle East.” According to Eurovent Middle East, the decision by Rheem also reflects the association’s approach of open industry representation, regardless of the origin of its members. Accounting for today’s globalised economy, Eurovent Middle East is focused on providing a neutral platform for the region’s HVACR industry, furthering cooperation and coordination between the industry and authorities, as well as key audiences for the market, the communiqué said. Markus Lattner, Managing Director, Eurovent Middle East, said: “Every single member is an important part in the process we have started two years ago – bringing the industry together and working towards trust and understanding for the challenges of the future. We thank Rheem for the support and look forward to a fruitful cooperation.”
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Oman prepares for The BIG Show Trade show, which will feature specialised forum for HVAC, will take place from March 25 to 27, says organiser By CCME Content Team
he BIG Show 2019, the 16th international exhibition of building materials, construction equipment, ceramics and bathroom fittings, wood machinery and interior design, will take place from March 25 to 27 in Muscat, Oman, the organiser, OmanExpo said in a Press communiqué. The Trade show will take place at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, Muscat, the communiqué said. According to OmanExpo, the event will host specialised forums for HVAC, real estate and interior design disciplines. It is expected to attract over 400 exhibitors from 20 countries. It will host the display of over 3,000 products from various segments, such as construction equipment, pumps and valves, pool and spa, elevators, steel, concrete and cement, ceramic and marble, doors and windows and wood and woodworking machinery. It will play host to seven country pavilions, namely China, Germany, India, Iran, Kuwait, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The event will also feature free-to-attend workshops by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and Project Management Institute (PMI) for industry professionals.
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Empower holds discussions with ASHRAE at Winter Conference
DSM discusses ways to enhance efficiency of solar power generation
The utility provider’s CEO holds talks on the latest developments in the District Cooling sector with ASHRAE President
Company representative presents floating solar and desert-proof PV as ideal solutions for the Middle East region
By CCME Content Team t is only natural that solar power will play an extremely important role in the Middle East,” said Vivek Chaturvedi, DSM’s Regional Business Director – IMEA, underscoring the value of the quantity and quality Vivek Chaturvedi of sun across the region. In discussing the growing opportunities in solar power, Chaturvedi addressed concerns related to the amount of space needed to produce the solar power required to operate air conditioning systems in buildings in the region, which is responsible for approximately 70% of the power consumed. Chaturvedi said these issues will be solved by the industry over a period of time; it is a matter of “when” and not “if”. Chaturvedi said that the company is committed to enhancing the capabilities of solar “so the same square meter can generate more solar power”. Addressing issues, such as area availability or lack thereof, Chaturvedi pointed to floating solar fields as a possible solution, particularly in areas within the region, where there is not enough land. “There is a big opportunity in installing solar in water bodies,” he said. “DSM is developing materials that make floating solar affordable and viable.” Chaturvedi said that current practice in the industry leads to the use of glass panels over water bodies, but this makes the overall structure heavy, which would require more floaters and lead to the delivery of infrastructure at a higher cost. “We replace it with DSM’s co-extruded endurance backsheets, which have a far superior moisture barrier, obviating the need to incorporate glass,” he said. “Not only is it cheaper, but it also makes solar panels lighter, therefore reducing the cost of the balance of system.” Chaturvedi said floating solar projects have been rolled out in Singapore, Japan, China and India, stressing that as the scale grows higher, the cost comes down. Further elaborating on the company’s innovations towards improving the efficiency of solar, Chaturvedi also touched on DSM’s tie-up with SunTech Power, a Chinese solar panel producer and KarmSolar, a solar technology company in Egypt, to build their largest PV plant in the region to use DSM’s desert-ready modules. This, he said, will contain DSM’s Anti-Soiling (AS) coating and DSM’s Endurance backsheet. The AS coating, he added, helps in solving a major problem of solar installations in desert regions in Middle East and Africa, as soiling is “a big issue that eats into the return for investors”. Three years ago, DSM partnered with both companies to set up a 2 MW site with DSM’s AS coating,convinced by its performance they are has comparable anti-reflective properties in addition to the anti-soiling properties, convinced by its performance they are now in the process of setting up a 6MW site. He added that there is a pipeline of 60 MW in Egypt, which will use DSM AS coating as a default.
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▶ Ahmad Bin Shafar with Sheila J Hayter
mpower CEO, Ahmad Bin Shafar discussed the latest developments in the District Cooling sector and various means for enhancing cooperation, with ASHRAE President, Sheila J Hayter and ASHRAE Executive Vice President, Jeff Littleton, during their meeting at the ASHRAE Winter Conference, the utility provider announced in a Press communiqué. Empower participated in the Conference, which took place from January 12 to 16 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the communiqué said. Commenting on Empower’s presence at the conference, Bin Shafar said: “It’s our pleasure to meet the representatives of ASHRAE to exchange views on the challenges and difficulties facing the District Cooling sector and to find practical and advanced solutions for energy efficiency. The conference also aims to review the most innovative energy-saving technologies and solutions that support sustainability, by creating the required balance between economic development and the preservation of the environment.” The communiqué said Bin Shafar commended Empower’s close relationship with ASHRAE, which is the global sustainability partner of several District Cooling companies. The communiqué further said Bin Shafar highlighted Empower’s commitment to offer all the necessary support to ASHRAE. The communiqué added that Empower has recently announced its support to ASHRAE in issuing the District Cooling Guide for Building Owners, as well as the updated edition of the District Cooling Guide, since both are excellent references for refrigeration professionals and researchers from around the world.
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empower discusses district cooling utility’s ai initiatives CEO says pilot project to be completed in October; provides update on potential stadia projects and opportunities to export knowledge to other countries; shares news of how the utility achieved a net profit of AED 804 million in 2018 By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
mpower discussed the growing role that Artificial to enter the World Cup and they need air conditioning services Intelligence will play in improving the efficiency and for the stadium, absolutely, we can do it,” he said. “We will not reliability of District Cooling plants, with Ahmad Bin Shafar, hesitate, and we have the expertise, the strength and the ability CEO, providing an update on the unmanned and fully to supply this.” automated 50,000 tonnes of refrigeration (TR) District Cooling During the same Press conference, Empower announced it plant the company is developing in Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC). had achieved steady growth in 2018 with a net profit of AED Bin Shafar, who was speaking during a Press Conference on January 804 million. Total revenues, Bin Shafar said, reached AED 2.03 23 in Dubai, said that the plant is currently in the early stages of billion, an increase of approximately four per cent, compared to its construction and is expected to be completed by October 2019. the previous year. “I strongly believe what happens this year and Bin Shafar added that while the JVC plant serves as a next year reflects the market conditions and change trial, the company is committed to the success of the in the environment of the economy, especially in the pilot project’s operation and maintenance as part of District Cooling projects,” Bin Shafar said. its efforts to upgrade business operations. Eventually, Providing an overview of key business figures he said, Empower will look to make all plant rooms in 2018, Bin Shafar said the total cooling capacity unmanned. The company, he added, is committed to reached 1.43 million tonnes of refrigeration (TR) and investing in R&D to provide services in the most efficient that Empower’s customer base expanded to provide manner possible. 15,000 additional services over the last year, making On whether there will be a move to export Empower’s the number of customers jump from 85,000 to 100,000. Ahmad Bin Shafar knowledge and expertise to other countries in the region, “It’s a really big number,” he said. “We have increased such as Iraq, in view of the nation’s rehabilitation efforts, Bin Shafar by seven per cent in terms of connection, close to 90,000 tonnes underscored the cost associated with the expertise the company – that’s a company in itself.” He added that the total number of has gained through its growth. “The know-how we have costs buildings served by Empower has reached 1,090, underscoring money, time, effort and salaries,” he said. Sharing of knowledge, that approximately 7-8 buildings per month were connected last Bin Shafar added, can come in a mutually beneficial manner. “I can year. The number of plant rooms, he said, has also increased give you a good final product with the system and everything, but from 73 to 75. there is a cost to it,” he said. “But we can give something suitable, Bin Shafar further added that Empower settled loans worth we can advise on what to do, or we can fix it, employ people from AED 672 million (USD 183 million), ahead of schedule. With your country and my country to make you reach that level, and we these repayments, he said, Empower has fully settled its bank will agree on an exit strategy. If you don’t want us to be there, we borrowings, for a total value of AED 2.67 billion (USD 728 will go, if you want us to be an adviser and be with you until you million), and closed its books with “Zero Debt” balance in 2018. become mature, we will give you a choice to continue with us.” The event concluded with announcement of Empower’s new Commenting on recent reports of the United Arab Emirates headquarter, which is set to be completed by 2021, with a total possibly co-hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, provided issues are budget of around AED 300 million. resolved, Bin Shafar said that Empower would be willing to supply chilled water to stadia projects. “If the United Arab Emirates agrees
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February 2019
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fischer reports significant demand for plastic dowels, steel anchors in mea Product range of fixing solutions and customer service have garnered national and international clients for fischer fixing systems, claims company representative By CCME Content Team
he subsidiary of fischer fixing systems in the United Arab Emirates is involved with the realisation of large infrastructure measures and the construction of numerous large-scale projects for industry and trade, as well as sport and culture, the company announced in a Press communiqué. Its innovative products and solutions mean the company is well-positioned for the Arab market and an increase in turnover is also expected in the coming years, the company claimed through the communiqué. According to fischer, the Middle East as a whole, has become one of the top construction hubs in the world, in recent years, with many iconic and large-scale projects, such as the Burj Khalifa, the Burj Al Arab and the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi. The communiqué said fischer has been a part of them all. The communiqué further said that some of the most recent high-profile projects in the United Arab Emirates, such as the Expo Metro Line, the various Expo 2020 projects, Zahia City Center and Khalifa Hospital, also show the
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Kingspan showcases new solution for cold stores ModularisCold has the potential to save nearly USD 60,000 in investments, otherwise used in constructing conventional cold store warehouses, says company By Ranjana Konatt
diversity of fischer’s fixing systems that were implemented for the various requirements of these buildings. Many opportunities for growth are arising for fischer fixing solutions in the Arabian peninsula in the years ahead, the communiqué said. Be it plastic dowels, steel anchors or chemical fixings – there is significant demand for professional and safe anchoring, the communiqué further said. The fischer subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates, founded in 2006, distributes products and also offers their customers a complete system of solutions and technical services through their team of engineers, the communiqué added. According to fischer, the company offers comprehensive design calculation support through its Fixperience software suite. The services, the communiqué said, also include on-site seminars and training, pull-out tests and product application training and direct delivery support of products to the construction sites.
sually, cold stores are built out of steel structures, the external roof is panelised and then the contractor comes in and works on the internal panels, said CEM Sungar, Marketing Manager, Kingspan Insulated Panels, while elaborating on Kingspan’s recent cold store solution, ModularisCold, on the sidelines of the ninth edition of Food Chain, the Middle East Cold Chain Food Safety Conference, held on January 21 in Dubai. “With Modularis,” he said, “we are able to utilise the load-bearing capacity of the panel itself, so that you are able to build cold stores without the need for a steel structure.”
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When compared to conventional cold store warehouse facilities, Sungar said, one major difference is that we can get rid of the steel, so that you can save on space. “With the solution," he said, “we are able to provide an additional 10% storage volume inside the cold stores, which is otherwise taken up by the steel structure. You don’t need a contractor to erect the steel frame and don’t even need a structural engineer to design the steel structure.” This, he said, can result in saving nearly USD 60,000 in investments
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February 2019
People try to counterfeit products from a trade compliance point of view, says Honeywell Business Leader for company’s Fluorine Products says Honeywell has been tackling counterfeiting by working closely with local authorities By Ranjana Konatt
s with any other country, the quality of products being manufactured in the United Arab Emirates is advancing technologically, said Amir Naqvi, Business Leader for Fluorine Products, Middle East, Honeywell. With regard to the reported influx of Chinese products or accessories entering the United Arab Emirates or the Middle Eastern market, Naqvi said, “Every country is making quality products.” As the share of the product grows, he said, it gains brand equity and loyalty in the market; however, there is collateral damage, too. “From a trade
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compliance point of view,” he added, “people try to counterfeit products, and we have been tackling the issue in various ways by working closely with local authorities. We have also built awareness around how to buy a product, while keeping in mind the various nuances involved.” Elaborating on Honeywell and its contribution to IoT, Naqvi said, “Players in the refrigeration industry are increasingly looking for IoT-enabled solutions that provide them with tangible value on their return on investment.” Overall, he said, the aim is still focused on energy efficiency. “Our
aim is to help supermarkets reduce energy consumption, maintain food freshness and reduce unplanned maintenance by providing clear actionable insights through data analysis, combined with Honeywell experts’ recommendations.” Stressing on the challenges with regard to the acceptance of IoT in the market, he said, “Everything new comes with its set of challenges and opportunities.” Given the positive developments around energy efficiency and customer preferences, he said, “We are confident that the industry will soon be willing to adopt these technologies.”
collaboration paves the way for more efficient buildings, says enova Company official underscores value of integrated approach and importance of retrofit projects By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
ollaboration will pave the way for more energyefficient buildings, said Francisco Ramalheira, Director – Business Development and Marketing, Enova, highlighting that the disconnect between stakeholders within a construction project is a common problem, not just in the region but around the world. “In a vast majority of cases,” he said, “you end up with a building that has been re-engineered, value engineered and not suitable or adequate to the purpose. Everyone should sit at the round table at the beginning of the project, to ensure all requirements, concerns and challenges are addressed concurrently.” Ramalheira was speaking from his own experiences,
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with what was being handed gleaning from successful projects over to us.” in the company’s portfolio, which Ramalheira said that there he attributes to the company has been positive movement being able to have a voice early towards collaboration of late and on, such as with Mall of the that the growing popularity of Emirates for Majid Al Futtaim. LEED and BREEAM certification, “Right from the design stage, as well as initiatives under we gave advice not only in the sustainability terms of access agenda, enable a areas and waste more collaborative management, but approach between also in terms of designers, operators energy efficiency and owners. and the selection Ramalheira said of equipment,” that economics he said. “Our view Francisco Ramalheira is another factor has been built in paving the way for redesigning the greater collaboration. “The cost concept design to ensure that of utilities is not the same as it is constructed thinking about it was 10 years ago,” he said. the handover to operation. We “Today, building owners look at were also involved during the last the operating cost in a different stages of construction to ensure way. This can be an enabler for commissioning was done in a a whole process of thinking, to way that we felt comfortable
ensure it’s not going to be an impact later on, in terms of the operating cost.” Ramalheira said that while there has been better practice associated in the construction of newer buildings, the fact is that there is an existing building stock “that has been built fast and built without purpose”. He said: “There is a lot to be done, not with the new buildings, but with the existing building stock. We have got to revisit all these buildings and understand the gap that exists between an optimum or an adequate scenario and the exact position that they are in and try to bridge that gap.” In this context, he added, energy performance contracts in retrofits “makes perfect sense”.
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EuROvEnT MIddlE EAST PuTS THE SPOTlIGHT On EnERGy-EffICIEnT COld STORAGE SOluTIOnS International and local experts discuss smart solutions for food retail stores; industry association announces working group for refrigeration and cold storage By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
data, annually. If you collect data from said. “We want to test it here urovent Middle 300-400 such-sized buildings, it would be with the high temperature East highlighted more than the entire data generated by conditions.” opportunities to all the users pressing the ‘Like’ button in Discussing energy reduce the energy Facebook in the course of a year – that efficiency within smart stores, bill in cold store facilities is how enormous the data from buildings Alexander Abrass, Senior Sales in the latest edition of the is.” Joseph also underscored how data Manager, Danfoss, spoke on industry association’s HVACR Brian Suggitt can identify opportunities in terms of how a holistic approach can Leadership Workshop series, performance leaks, to ensure energy convert existing challenges, held on January 28, in Dubai. savings, better efficiency, such as customer Brian Suggitt, Managing increase lifecycle and provide demand, profit Director, Systemair, and predictive service, which can margins and Chairman, Eurovent Middle deploy an FM personnel before unclear regulations, East, kick-started the seminar a failure can occur, reducing into opportunities by highlighting the valuable downtime and operational cost. to save money, role cold chain plays in food Representing ebm-papst stressing that safety and reducing food waste, Middle East, Marco Duarte, “whenever we are underscoring how the solutions Arul Joseph Marco Duarte Business Development enhancing systems, to be presented by international Manager, discussed the we are protecting guest speakers and local experts benefits of choosing EC the food”. Abrass will help retailers “do more with technology, underscoring the underscored the less”. heavy consumption that fans importance of Delivering a presentation on impose on the building sector providing end-toenergy-efficient refrigeration in and highlighting redundancy end smart solutions food retail stores, John Austinas a benefit in addition to to customers, Davies, former Chair of the energy savings, in a wide range which could include British Refrigeration Association John Austin-Davies Jan Svallingson of applications. Duarte also simple monitoring and former Director of EPTA discussed case studies of air and management systems UK, said that innovation must take conditioning and refrigeration and HVACR integration. “We into account the basic requirements of retrofits in the retail sector. want supermarkets that are ensuring the preservation of food at the Markus Lattner, Managing generating energy during the right temperature with no compromise Director, Eurovent Middle day and selling to the grid,” he on short- and long-term reliability. He East, concluded the workshop said. “This is smart energy.” also discussed the global move towards with an announcement on Arul Joseph, Directornatural refrigerants and the need for the development of a working Digital Solutions, Data Enabled training to ensure proper installations. Markus Lattner group for refrigeration and Business, Johnson Controls – Jan Svallingson, Director, Business cold storage with the aim of GCC, spoke on the shift from Development, Frico, discussed how air bringing the industry together to deliver stand alone systems to connected and curtains can be used to reduce thermal recommendations that could be brought converged digital platforms that facilitate energy losses in the retail sector. The forward with the local municipality in integration of data for actionable insights. solution, he said, is more hygienic, the move towards establishing minimum He said: “Typically, 100 meters and enhances visibility, offers a safer working standards. Lattner said this is the third sensors and more than 50 sub-systems environment and reduces maintenance working group the association introduced, are at work in a 10,000-square-metre cost, whereas PVC strips are prone to with two ongoing working groups on air building, generating more than 100 ice build-up owing to condensation. conditioning focusing on establishing variations of the data, because markets Svallingson highlighted energy savings SEER standards in Saudi Arabia and differ and usages of buildings differ, as achieved with case studies of projects in another, on air distribution and filtration, do the way the buildings are designed Asia and concluded his presentation with working closely with the Abu Dhabi and installed. Between the various subthe announcement that Frico is working Quality and Conformity Council. systems, close to half a million sample on releasing an air curtain for trucks data points are captured every day, which in the coming months. “We have done equates to more than 10 gigabytes of some tests in Europe and Thailand,” he
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Ras Al Khaimah Municipality launches Barjeel Green Building regulations unveiled in the presence of H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, says RAK Municipality By CCME Content Team
▶ H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, attending the inauguration event of Barjeel, RAK’s new Green Building regulations
as Al Khaimah Municipality has officially launched Barjeel, Ras Al Khaimah’s Green Building Regulations, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, at a stakeholder workshop, held at Rixos Bab Al Bahr Ras Al Khaimah, the body announced in a Press communiqué. Barjeel, which covers all new buildings in Ras Al Khaimah, is the most important programme of the RAK Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Strategy 2040, established under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, the communiqué said. The Strategy targets 30% energy savings, 20% water savings and 20% share from renewable energy by 2040, with Barjeel contributing the largest share of energy and water savings, the communiqué further said. In 2018, RAK Municipality held broad stakeholder workshops, as part of the consultation process for Barjeel, the communiqué also said. The resulting regulations are designed to be simple and focused primarily on energy and water efficiency, with clear economic benefits, the communiqué added.
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Buildings in line with Barjeel are expected to consume 30% less water and energy, with minimal impact on construction costs, the communiqué said. This will translate into strong, direct economic benefits for Ras Al Khaimah, the communiqué further said. Barjeel will also bring indirect benefits to the Emirate – part of the savings from Barjeel are expected to be spent or reinvested in the local economy, and the development of a supply market for Green products and services will elevate the capabilities of local firms, the communiqué added. To allow time for the market to adapt to the new regulations, Barjeel is being introduced gradually, starting with a voluntary phase from January 29, 2019, the communiqué said. RAK Municipality is taking several steps to support a smooth implementation, including consultant and contractor training and financial incentives for early Barjeel adopters, the communiqué further said. His Excellency Munther Mohammed bin Shekar, Director General of RAK Municipality, said: “The Government of Ras Al Khaimah considers the launch of Barjeel an important milestone in the urban development and modernisation of the Emirate. Thousands of buildings are being developed in Ras Al Khaimah every year, and through Barjeel, we will ensure that these new buildings embed higher sustainability standards. A more efficient building stock reduces the costs for residents and businesses and supports the competitiveness of our economy. Contribution from the private sector is essential for the successful implementation of Barjeel. Therefore, we welcome early adopters of Barjeel, and during the voluntary period we will encourage them with reduced building permit fees.”
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AMCA hosts ASET-ME Conference
The UAE government wants to ensure sustainable development, while preserving the environment and achieving the perfect balance between social and economic development, says Vice Chair, EmiratesGBC By Ranjana Konatt
▶ L-R: Michael Ivanovich, Habiba Al Marashi, Mandarr Agshikar, Director, AMCA Middle East, and Amit Ahuja, Member of Board of Directors, AMCA
he Air Movement and Control Association International (AMCA) hosted the Air System Engineering and Technology Middle East Conference (ASET-ME) on January 27 in Dubai. Michael Ivanovich, Senior Director, Global Affairs, AMCA International, reaffirmed AMCA’s mission and commitment to education, while addressing the participants. He said, “We have a strong role in educating the market, while having courses formulated for engineers.” The conference, he said, was started last year and will be hosted annually. Elaborating on AMCA’s role and commitment to developing tests and standards, he said, “As a global association, and as more than half our members are outside America, we have an investment of USD six billion dedicated to developing tests and standards.” He further said the process of certification is rigorous, engineering-intensive and not simple. “We encourage engineers to specify certified products, as it increases the reliability of ratings,” Ivanovich added.
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Habiba Al Marashi, Vice Chair and Treasurer of the Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), gave the Keynote Address. With a special focus on EmiratesGBC’s contribution to leading transformation in the Green Building Industry, she said: “EmiratesGBC is a nonfor profit established in the year 2006 and is a membership-based organisation. We do not work in isolation; instead, we work in collaboration. Though the journey is young, the numbers are promising.” Al Marashi highlighted that there is a clear strategy of diversifying energy with regard to retrofits. “Today, we are talking about the business case, and while we are very responsible, the customer is educated and expects the developer to be doing his work in a responsible manner,” she said. “The UAE government wants to ensure sustainable development, while preserving the environment and achieving the perfect balance between social and economic development.” Jeff Boldt, Principal and Director of Innovation and Quality, KJWW Engineering
Consultants, delivered a session on highperformance air systems in new and existing buildings. He said, “One of the topics we need to talk about is keeping fan horsepower for systems down at a level that complies with the code.” Big buildings like hospitals and laboratories, he said, can have trouble with this, and it includes all the fans running at peak. Another aspect to think about is belts, as they use energy, in addition to small fans that tend to consume a lot of power, which is a big deal, Boldt added. Pointing to a crucial aspect, he said, it is important to begin by selecting efficient fans. “You can probably create static pressure, and the supply fans will be more efficient than the others,” he added. Elaborating, he also pointed to air-handling units and said that in terms of energy, they must not consume more than 40% of the total supply fan allowance. “House supply fans,” he said, “should be oriented to the velocity pressure, and there should not be more than four to five fittings or turns before the air reaches the VAV box.” Hernando Miranda, Sole Proprietor, Soltierra Consulting, provided insight on specification practice for Green Buildings. He said, “We need to be sensitive while working with contractors, as today there is a need for building it right.” Today, he added, it’s all about getting what the engineer and the owner wants. Pointing to an issue, he said, “There is a disconnect among the designer, the engineer and the contractor, as they are not on the same page.” This, he said, can lead to confusion, making it difficult to interpret the intent of the design. The solution is to learn by first-hand experience, Miranda asserted and, as an engineer and designer, there is a need to follow through. “Green Building standards in the United Arab Emirates,” he said, “are progressive.”
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February 2019
the export market is not stagnant, says alessa industries Tamer El Damaty, Operations Director, Alessa Industries, in this exclusive interview with Climate Control Middle East, given during HVAC R Expo Saudi in end-January in Riyadh, speaks on viewing Iraq, Egypt, the UAE and Lebanon as strong export markets, on the issue of refrigerants and on the company’s roadmap for 2019. Excerpts... By CCME Content Team
ould you elaborate on Alessa Industries’ priorities as a manufacturer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and in the broader Middle East region? Alessa is one of the largest manufacturers for air conditioning in the Kingdom, the GCC region and the Middle East. Our factory has been established for approximately 40 years, and we presently have four factories for air conditioning. The first is for producing window units, split air conditioning units and coolers. The capacity of the factory is approximately 850,000 units a year. We also have a factory for refrigerators and freezers, the capacity of which is 70,000 units a year. In addition, we have Tamer El Damaty been running a state-of-the-art factory for large air conditioning units for commercial products for the last six years. We have been producing air-handling units with a thermal break, along with our rooftop packaged units, which we developed. The requirement by SASO is around 11.2 ER, but all our units exceed 11.6, 11.7 and 11.8, which makes us save energy for customers, as we get paid back for initial cost during the first or second year. We also have our own fan-coil units and chilled and hot water coil units. Our fourth factory is for plastic components, mainly for residential units. We recently also established a state-ofthe-art assembly line, where we produce rooftop packaged and split units. Recently, we established large commercial labs, which are testing for 50 tonnes for splits and 100 tonnes and 200 tonnes for air-cooled chillers.
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Could you name some of the brands Alessa Industries is working with? And further, could you elaborate on what’s recent at the exhibition, this year? We have our own brands, like Crafft. In addition, we are the sole agent for many other international brands, such as Gibson and Hitachi units. We have the agency for Samsung for their ACs, which is a commercial agreement, but we intend to assemble the units here in our factory. With regard to the exhibition, this year, our focus has been on air-handling units. At the exhibition, we launched our rooftop series, which is from five to 30 tonnes. Our focus is on high quality and performance in conditions that can reach 56-58 ambient degrees Celsius. Our double-skin, fresh-air packaged units are mainly for hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. We have also launched our multi-fan air-handling units, where we have used German fans. This is in addition to data cooling, where we are co-operating with OEM manufacturers.
In your opinion, as a manufacturer, how are you ranked in the Kingdom versus your competitors? Alessa is a well-known manufacturer in the GCC region and among Arab countries, as a whole. It is well known in Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon. The export market is not all that good; however, presently, our biggest market is in Iraq followed by Egypt, UAE and Lebanon. As a manufacturer, what is your take on the use of refrigerant, R-290? Have there been any updates lately? Yes, we are cooperating with UNIDO, as it supports the use of environmentally friendly alternatives. We are co-operating with them to use R-290, which is not in the market yet and cannot be produced without the equipment. Presently, we are working on a prototype, which is being tested; however, we still need to prepare a pilot for production before launching into the market. On the other hand, we need cooperation from UNIDO, because we are providing freezers. We have received new foam-injection machines suitable for environmentally friendly chemicals. How do you see the future for your local market here? We understand it’s been quite challenging in the recent few years. How do you see 2019 and beyond? The government is launching a mini mega project, and they just announced a budget of SR 450 million for the projects. The market is not stagnant anymore, and we would like to believe that it has begun to improve, as compared to the year 2018. The challenge, however, lies with Chinese products, and that’s why Alessa has the vision to focus on large units, which is why we have invested more than SR 10 million in assembly lines and laboratories, to develop new platforms.
February 2019
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benchmarking required for energy efficiency There is considerable energy loss in existing buildings, says Head of Sustainability, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology By Ranjana Konatt
Muna Kris
oday, we have the luxury of being energy efficient in new buildings, but the real challenge lies in existing buildings,” said Muna Kris, Head of Sustainability, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia. Elaborating on the performance evaluation in existing buildings, she said: “Unfortunately, in this part of the world, there is a considerable amount of energy
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loss in existing buildings. While looking at the distribution of energy in the GCC region, we can firmly say that 80% of all buildings that exist in the United Arab Emirates today will exist by the year 2030.” Kris said: “As much as 70% of energy consumption comes from cooling these buildings, which makes energy efficiency the main area of focus. The first step is to benchmark, for which there are a number of ways. One way is to compare one
building to another. The second method is to compare buildings, using ASHRAE standards to the energy consumption in similar buildings. The third is to compare the building to itself. After analysing where you stand using benchmarks, the next step is to do the energy audit, where you look at maintenance. One thing we often struggle with is having good data in terms of quality and quantity, because if you don’t have the data to measure, you cannot include it.”
Pointing to awareness as another part of the process, Kris said, residents must be spoken to about the simplest aspects to saving energy. “Factors such as regulating temperature settings can help save up to 80% on energy bills,” Kris said, adding that building operators, too, have a part to play and need to know how to work with simple things, such as programmable thermostats and LED light bulbs, in order to save on energy.
NEWS GLOBAL
engie refrigeration records high demand for quantum chillers with r-513a German company bags various projects with alternative safety refrigerant, says CEO By CCME Content Team
ngie Refrigeration has reported recording particularly high demand for Quantum chillers with the refrigerant R-513A, the company said in a Press communiqué. In the future, R-513A will be used by operators of data centres and hospitals as well as carmakers who have recently ordered an air-cooled or water-cooled Quantum, the communiqué said. The German company added the alternative refrigerant to its portfolio in April 2018, the communiqué further said. Jochen Hornung, CEO, Engie Refrigeration, said: “With R-513A we are betting even more heavily on sustainability. This refrigerant possesses a lower global warming potential and, therefore, already meets the future requirements of the F-gas Regulation, today. That is how we at Engie Refrigeration help our customers convert their refrigeration systems to an eco-friendly alternative.” The alternative is very popular with customers, the communiqué said. In the past few months, Engie Refrigeration reported 10 new orders involving Quantum chillers with R-513A, the communiqué further said. Hornung added: “When the refrigerant R-513A is used in a Quantum chiller, it achieves the same cooling performance
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▶ Quantum chillers from Engie Refrigeration are available with the refrigerant R-134a, R-1234ze or R-513A.
and approximately the same energy efficiency as with R-134a. That is why this combination is suitable for a variety of applications and can help ensure an optimal cooling supply in many different applications.”
ISK-SODEX ISTANBUL 2019 International Exhibition for HVAC&R, Pumps, Valves, Fittings, Fire Prevention, Water Treatment and Insulation
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57
NEWS GLOBAL
Bitzer provides spare parts with QR codes This is a measure in the fight against product piracy, says company representative
Washington State introduces bill to phase-down HfCs The legislation restricts the use, sale, installation or lease of any equipment or product that contains HFCs with a high global warming potential, with certain cut-off dates, says AHRI By CCME Content Team
By CCME Content Team
ermany-headquartered air conditioning and refrigeration technology manufacturer, Bitzer has started adding QR codes to the packaging of its original spare parts, the company announced in a Press communiqué. This is a measure in the fight against product piracy, the communiqué said. By scanning the code, users can check the authenticity of their products as well as obtain further relevant information, the communiqué further said. Bitzer compressors have been equipped with QR codes for an authenticity check for years; this service will now be included for most Bitzer original spare parts, as well, the communiqué added. According to Bitzer, the company has been monitoring the proliferation of counterfeit spare parts and continuously improving measures to confront this known problem and protect its customers. The secure QR code protects against counterfeits, as it contains information that only Bitzer can provide, the communiqué said. Each QR code is linked to the specific part and the package it comes in, the communiqué further said. When scanning the code, customers receive the respective part description and picture, part number, Bitzer specific protection data as well as direct access to the relevant documentation in the Bitzer spare parts software – Eparts, the communiqué added. The communiqué said the use of non-original spare parts puts compressor safety and reliability at serious risk, as it can lead to significant damage and even cause the compressor to break down. The communiqué further said Bitzer recommends that customers do not use such components. The communiqué added that customers are advised to contact their nearest Bitzer office, if they doubt the originality of their supposed Bitzer spare parts or upon discovering counterfeits.
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epresentative Joe Fitzgibbon of Washington State on January 10 introduced HB 1112, AHRI announced in a Press communiqué. The bill directly relates to reducing and regulating greenhouse gas emissions from hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Its introduction comes on the heels of Washington State Governor, Jay Inslee’s announcement that phasing out HFCs is a major component of his overall Climate Action Plan, the communiqué said. According to AHRI, the legislation restricts the use, sale, installation or lease of any equipment or product that contains HFCs with a high global warming potential (GWP), beginning in 2020, for supermarket systems, remote condensing units, standalone units; 2021 for refrigerated food processing and dispensing equipment; 2022 for residential consumer refrigeration products, other than built-in residential consumer refrigeration productions; 2023 for cold storage warehouses and built-in residential consumer refrigeration products and 2024 for centrifugal chillers and positivedisplacement chillers. The legislation also includes language that directs the Building Code Council to adopt rules that permit the use of allowed substances and tasks the Department of Ecology with taking the lead on completing a study that addresses how to increase the use of refrigerants with a low GWP in mobile sources, utility equipment, and consumer appliances, as well as how to reduce other uses of HFCs in Washington, the communiqué said. The report would be due to the legislature by December 1, 2020, the communiqué further said, and would include recommendations for how to fund, structure and prioritise a state incentive programme for eliminating the use of HFCs.
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kelvion launches plate heat exchanger np150x It is ideal for use in high-rise building cold supply and data centre cooling, says company’s representative By CCME Content Team
elvion has launched a new plate heat exchanger, the company announced in a Press communiqué. Gasketed plate heat exchangers for District Cooling stations, high-rise building cold supply or data centre cooling, require peak performance in terms of heat transfer, while withstanding high system pressure, the communiqué said. The new Kelvion plate heat exchanger, NP150X is tailored to meet these requirements, thanks to an extremely shallow plate gap
K
and a smaller pitch, the communiqué further said. These attributes ensure highly turbulent flow and, in turn, a good heat transfer at very small temperature differences, the communiqué added. According to Kelvion, the proven OptiWave design enhances this effect by providing a highly uniform flow across the entire plate width. The new heat exchanger plate is able to achieve higher NTU values than the sister models of the NT and NX series, the communiqué said. These measures increase
ashrae in net-zero initiative Board has approved a USD 15.7 million budget to begin renovation of the world HQ building into a net-zeroenergy structure, says Society By CCME Content Team
SHRAE has announced receiving board approval of a USD 15.7 million budget to begin renovation of its new world headquarters building in metro Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States, through a Press communiqué. The building located at 180, Technology Parkway in Peachtree Corners, is Sheila J Hayter approximately 10 miles north of ASHRAE’s current location, the communiqué said. The 1970s-era building was selected from existing building stock with a goal of retrofitting it into a modern, high-performance building, designed for net-zero energy efficiency, the communiqué further said. Sheila J Hayter, President, ASHRAE, said: “ASHRAE is excited to demonstrate innovative leadership in our industry by transforming an existing commercial building into a state-of-the-art built-environment. We want our new world headquarters to be an example of all that we stand for as a society and all that our industry has to offer. This project will serve as an exemplary model for other organisations looking to incorporate similar approaches and designs into new and existing facilities across the globe.” The renovated world headquarters building will provide a technologically updated, cutting-edge workspace for ASHRAE members, staff and the public, the communiqué said.
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efficiency and overall performance, the communiqué further said. The new Kelvion NP150X plate heat exchanger is available in plate material 1.401 and 1.4404 (US: AISI304 and AISI316L), as well as in the thicknesses 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6 mm, the communiqué said. It is suitable for a test pressure up to 42 bar g, the communiqué further said. The NP150X is the first size of the new plate development and will be supplemented later by other models, such as the NP250L, the communiqué added.
Hayter explained: “We believe that renovating existing buildings represents the single best opportunity for making a significant impact on sustainability, resiliency and energy efficiency. Reuse of existing buildings and the embodied carbon in those structures is the ultimate form of sustainability. Our challenge is to undertake a retrofit process that will address the uniqueness of this building and to do so costeffectively. This is a significant milestone for our society.” According to ASHRAE, the goals of the renovation project are: Id je\gVYZ Vc Zm^hi^c\ Wj^aY^c\ id deZgViZ Vi V ]^\]Zg sustainability level – anticipating net-zero operation – which may be substantiated through available certification programmes, such as LEED, Green Globes, WELL Building or Living Building Challenge. For this effort, ASHRAE will work to reduce energy consumption to a level below 22 kbtu/sq ft/year, with a limit of maximum daytime plug load to 0.5 W/sq.ft. Id ZmXZZY 6H=G6: hiVcYVgYh! l]ZgZ edhh^WaZ VcY ZXdcdb^XVaan justifiable, by including ASHRAE Standards 90.1-2016, 62.1-2016, and 55-2017. Id WZ V bdYZa [dg gZYjX^c\ i]Z XVgWdc VcY Zck^gdcbZciVa impacts of business operations in a cost-effective and replicable way. The communiqué said that the renovation project will be overseen by a committee of ASHRAE volunteers and that a subcommittee of volunteers will advise on systems and technical components.
According to Kelvion, the NP150X fits into the same universal frames as the equally sized Kelvion plates of the NX and NT series. The communiqué said the new NP series also has advantages in common with these, such as the EcoLoc system for a perfect fit of the glueless gaskets or the PosLoc design, which ensures precise alignment of the plate pack.
Bristol's tallest block of flats is first to join city's heat network #districtheating #districtenergy
The UKDEA @TheUKDEA
February 2019
59
NEWS GLOBAL
MEfMA underscores fM opportunities in mixed-use development projects Conducts networking event, titled ‘Diversity of Facility Management activities for Mixed-use Development Projects in Egypt’ By CCME Content Team
he Middle East Facility Management Association (MEFMA) recently hosted a networking event, titled ‘Diversity of Facility Management activities for Mixed-use Development Projects in Egypt’, in Cairo, the body said in a Press communiqué. The event aimed to highlight diverse facilities management (FM) opportunities in the rising number of mixed-use development projects in the country, the communiqué said. The MEFMA-organised event was aligned with the Association's efforts to raise the regional FM community’s global competitiveness and drive growth by hosting industry-focused events and forums, the communiqué further said. The event featured a presentation by Hazem Hosny Mohamed, Senior Consultant, Strategy, FM and Operation, followed by a panel discussion, during which the participants discussed the future of the mixed-use developments and the best juncture for FM companies to participate in the development process of a master-planned community, the communiqué said. They also talked about the challenges of transitioning
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‘Open communication tests’ for smart buildings at Munich Airport BACnet Plugfest 2019 to be held in a state-of-the-art test environment, say organisers By CCME Content Team
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February 2019
▶ Participants and panellists during MEFMA’s networking event
FM into community management or city management, the basic elements of the FM strategy for mixed-use projects and the optimum performance management techniques for FM commitments for mixeduse communities, among others, the communiqué further said. The panellists included Haitham Zahran, Head of Facilities Management, Capital Group Properties; Hesham Kamel, Vice Chairman, National Air Navigation Services Company; Mohamed Fathy, Executive Manager, Engineering System Group Egypt
and Yasser Zannoun, Business Development Manager, Elofoq Facility Management. Commenting on the event, Ali Alsuwaidi, Vice President, MEFMA, said: “The networking event attendees were engaged in meaningful exchange of experiences in effectively and efficiently managing multiuse facilities in Egypt and other parts of the Middle East. It was also an opportunity to tackle common challenges facing the regional FM players and emphasise key success factors to thrive and be competitive.”
he BACnet Plugfest 2019 will be held from May 22 to 24 at the Information Security Hub (ISH) at Munich Airport, the organisers announced in a Press communiqué. The event will be of interest to software developers and product managers from the smart building industry, worldwide, the communiqué further said. Marc Lindike, Head of Cyber Defence and ISH, Munich Airport, said, “Our professional test and practice environment offers the perfect opportunity to test new products and services under realistic conditions.” The 13th Plugfest of the BACnet Interest Group Europe (BIG-EU) is ideally equipped to further optimise interoperability in building systems, the communiqué said. Manufacturers from all over the world will be testing their latest BACnet developments and software
versions to ensure that commissioning on construction sites runs smoothly during the three days of testing, the communiqué further said. Members of the BACnet standardisation committee, the ASHRAE SSPC-135, will be on site with first-hand information, the communiqué also said. Networking opportunities and short talks will provide opportunities for knowledge sharing, the communiqué added. The communiqué said with the ISH, Munich Airport has been offering an ultramodern test and practice environment for IT security since 2018. The communiqué further said that companies, authorities and other institutions can train and educate security experts for their organisation, as well as jointly put future technologies and procedures through their paces.
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MARKETPLACE
This section contains updates on regional and international products.
GEA
Six-cylinder compressor HG66e By CCME Content Team
T
▶ GEA HG66e compressor
he HG66e, a new semi-hermetic compressor is a completely new six-cylinder series for large capacities, with high efficiency in the fields of air conditioning and refrigeration, GEA announced through a Press
release. According to the company: >c i]Z =<++Z hZg^Zh! [djg h^oZh XdkZg i]Z gVc\Z from 116.5 to 180.0 m3/h displacement (at 50 Hz). <:6 cdl d[[Zgh hZkZc bdYZa h^oZh l^i] '* displacement stages from 5.4 m3/h to 281.3 m3/h (at 50 Hz). These are HG12P, HG22e, HG34e, HG44e, HG56e, HG66e and HG88e. I]Z cZl XdbegZhhdgh VgZ Zfj^eeZY l^i] i]Z mexxFlow 2.0 valve plate system. The system consists of a valve plate with highly efficient double ring fins and an optimised system of valve plate and cylinder head. >c VYY^i^dc id i]Z bZmm;adl '#% kVakZ eaViZh! the latest generation of electric motors and
improved gas flow in the compressor increase overall efficiency. All compressors use the proven, direction-independent oil pump lubrication system, which enables a wide speed control range in operation with frequency converters. The reliable and safe oil supply is guaranteed by the single-circuit lubrication system. The resulting low oil throw increases the efficiency of the entire refrigeration system. The easily removable oil strainer facilitates maintenance. I]Z ^begdkZY ZbZg\ZcXn"bdYZ deZgVi^dc X]VgVXiZg^hi^Xh VgZ particularly important for operation with Low-GWP and natural refrigerants. The HG66e compressor is approved for the current Low-GWP refrigerants. >c VYY^i^dc id Z[[^X^ZcXn VcY gdWjhicZhh! dcZ d[ i]Z [dXVa ed^cih is ease of servicing. Thanks to the sliding seat, the stators can still be changed on site without special tools.
E+E Elektronik
EE850 sensor for CO2, humidity and temperature By CCME Content Team
E
+E Elektronik has announced introducing the EE850 sensor for CO2, humidity and temperature, which features an RS485 interface with Modbus or BACnet protocol. According to the company: I]Z ::-*% YjXi bdjci hZchdg XdbW^cZh 8D2, relative humidity (RH) and temperature (T) measurement in a single device. The sensor can be easily integrated into a bus system via the RS485 interface (Modbus RTU or BACnet MS/TP). The 3-in-1 device is dedicated for building automation as well as for demanding process control. I]Z ::-*% [ZVijgZh i]Z : : YjVa lVkZaZc\i] C9>G CO2 sensing cell, which is particularly insensitive to contamination. The CO2 auto-calibration and temperature compensation lead to high accuracy and long-term stability over the entire working range of 0…10,000 ppm CO2 and -20 degrees C to +60 degrees C. I]Z G= VcY I hZch^c\ ZaZbZci adXViZY ^ch^YZ i]Z egdWZ is optimally protected from dust, dirt and corrosion
▶ Digital EE850 sensor for CO2, humidity and temperature
by the proprietary E+E coating. The coating improves the measurement performance and long-term stability in harsh environments by preventing stray impedances caused by deposits on the active sensor surface. I]Z 8D2, RH and T measured data as well as the calculated dew point temperature (Td) are available on the RS485 interface with Modbus RTU or BACnet MS/TP protocol. Alternatively, the EE850 features current and voltage outputs. The digital interface also provides other parameters, such as absolute humidity (dv), mixing ratio (r), water vapour partial pressure (e) or enthalpy (h). 8dc[^\jgVi^dc VcY VY_jhibZci XVc WZ eZg[dgbZY l^i] an optional adapter and the free EE-PCS configuration software. I]Z [jcXi^dcVa ZcXadhjgZ [VX^a^iViZh bdjci^c\ i]Z ::-*% with a closed cover. This protects the electronics from construction site pollution during installation. A mounting flange is included in the scope of supply.
February 2019
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ORBIT FIT
ORBIT+
COMBINE SMARTLY. APPLY EFFICIENTLY. The new ORBIT+ and ORBIT FIT series take compressor performance to a new level, enabling users to meet the strictest energy effi ciency standards. ORBIT+ with line start permanent magnet motor boosts scroll chiller and heat pump system effi ciency. The economiser operation of ORBIT FIT (Flexible Injection Technology) enlarges the application envelope and increases capacity as well as effi ciency. All ORBIT series can be used with BITZER Advanced Header Technology (BAHT) in numerous tandem and trio combinations. The technology guarantees proper compressor lubrication and reduces costs, increasing overall system economy. All series are suitable for A1 refrigerants like R410A, as well as R454B, R452B and R32 of type A2L. Learn more at www.bitzer.de // mail@bitzer.ae