Country rEPort: FrAnCE How are HVACr manufacturers coping with the government's proactive measures to promote sustainability?
July 2018
• The move towards greater energy efficiency continues unabated in the United States, despite unprecedented contrarian tugs and pulls from some quarters • Canada is on a roll with strong government support towards accelerating the adoption of energy-efficient products
interviews
‘Europe’s HVACR industry in the spotlight’
Is Microsoft’s underwater data centre the future?
Alex Rasmussen, Outgoing Eurovent President
Ben Cutler, Manager, Project Natick
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THE INROADS VRF TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE IN THE KINGDOM
17 SEPTEMBER 2018 NAJD BALLROOM, RIYADH MARRIOTT HOTEL, SAUDI ARABIA Such a conference represents an excellent platform to bring together interested manufacturers and legislation entities to formulate a clean vision for the future approach of VRF industry in the region.
OVERVIEW With increasing attention being given to reduce power consumption, as enshrined in the Saudi Vision 2030 (National Transformation Programme), talks on energy-related regulations have intensified like never before in the Kingdom. GCC Standardization Organization (GSO), along with Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO), is expected to play a leadership role in the conference, in terms of offering much-needed clarity to VRF manufacturers, enabling them to increase the market share of the technology, among other cooling approaches, in the Kingdom. In short, the conference comes at an opportune time and is highly relevant.
H.E. Nabil Molla, GSO Secretary General, GCC Standardization Organization (GSO)
SPEAKERS
Ahmad Numair Alamdar, Independent Consultant Wael Allan, CEO, Saudi Lebanese Tarouk Contracting Company Khalid A Al Mulhim, Business Development Director, Suhaimi Design Protecooling, Saudi Arabia Tarek M Al-Sitt, Senior Standards Researcher Standards & Metrology Department, GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) Ahmad Arabiat, Research & Development Engineer, PETRA Engineering Industries Co. Dr. Moataz T Bakheet, Director, Madinah Office & Western Region Projects, Zuhair Fayez Partnership Amr ElMasry, Regional Director Marketing and Strategic Projects, Carrier Middle East Limited Rui Fonseca, Consulting Sales Manager, Daikin Saudi Arabia
Eric Fouchertot, Senior Manager – International Affairs, Eurovent Certita Certification Syed Abid Hussain, Products & Application Support Manager, Carrier, Saudi Arabia Magdy Khattab, ZAM Deputy General Manager, Zagzoog for Air Cond. & Maint. Co (ZAM) Markus Lattner, Director, Eurovent Middle East Saad Abo Ulaa, Deputy General Manager - AC, Al Asasyah Basic Electronics Co. - Gree Air conditioners Mohamed R Zackariah, Chief Consultant, Suhaimi Design – Protecooling, Saudi Arabia Tarek Zarzour, VRF Department Head, High Gulf Contracting Representative from SASO
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July 2018
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VOL. 13 NO. 07
INTERVIEWS
coVER SToRy
Europe’s HVACR industry in the spotlight
The energy efficiency-IEQ conundrum Climate Control Middle East looks at the momentum of energy efficiency in the builtenvironment across North America and whether this is coming at the expense of lower investment towards IEQ-friendly technologies.
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JULY 2018
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Alex Rasmussen, Outgoing Eurovent President, shares his thoughts on industry developments, digitisation, the year 2030, and highlights of the upcoming Eurovent Summit, in Seville, Spain.
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Is Microsoft’s underwater data centre the future? Ben Cutler, Manager, Project Natick, speaks exclusively on Microsoft’s move to build an underwater data centre as part of its efforts to look into the benefits of a standard and deployable undersea data centre for cloud users worldwide.
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‘Canada to set energyefficiency standards at the highest level possible’ Jocelyn Argibay, spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources Canada, provides an update on the government’s strategy to accelerate the adoption of more energy-efficient products, efforts to embed more stringent regulations in building codes and the move towards net-zero-energy buildings.
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‘No doubt, the next data centres will be water cooled’ James L Connaughton, President and CEO, Nautilus Data Technologies, speaks on the company’s patented water cooling technology and the future of data centres.
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find inside VOL. 13 NO. 07
JULY 2018
LIcENcE To chILL Still waters run risks Dan Mizesko, Managing Partner, US Chiller Services, discusses the many problems caused by stagnant water in chiller tubes
coUNTRy REPoRT
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‘Make Our Planet Great Again’ French President Emmanuel Macron's call to 'Make Our Planet Great Again', against the backdrop of the One Planet Summit, has emboldened stakeholders in the field of sustainability. What paradigm shift has this caused in terms of building practices and how are HVACR manufacturers in the country capitalising on the momentum to edge out competition in foreign markets?
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MARKET FEATURE Building it right, making things better With no shortage of options in the valves market, what is being done to cultivate greater transparency and ensure the correct product is chosen, and maintained properly, to avoid underperforming buildings? Is emerging technology enough to override human shortcomings?
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REPoRT REGULARS
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eDItor'S note No place for silos and blinkers
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Regional News
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Global News
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COMINGS & GOINGS
Europe District Cooling market to grow to over USD 40 billion by 2024 The Europe District Cooling Market is set to grow from its current market value of more than USD 35 billion to over USD 40 billion by 2024, according to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc.
July 2018
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EDITOR’S NOTE
No place for silos and blinkers
T
Surendar Balakrishnan Editor @BSurendar_HVACR
COUNTRY REPORT: FRANCE How are HVACR manufacturers coping with the paradigm shift caused by the administration’s proactive move to promote sustainability in the built-environment?
July 2018
Get the next issue of Climate Control Middle East early!
• The move towards greater energy efficiency continues unabated in the United States, despite unprecedented contrarian tugs and pulls
• Canada is on a roll with strong government support towards accelerating the adoption of energy-efficient products
interviews
‘Europe’s HVACR industry in the spotlight’
Alex Rasmussen, Outgoing Eurovent President
‘No doubt, the next data centres will be water cooled’
James L. Connaughton, President and CEO, Nautilus Data Technologies
Is Microsoft’s underwater data centre the future?
Ben Cutler, Manager, Project Natick
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Visit our website: climatecontrolme.com/digital Also available at
he Abu Dhabi Department of Transport, in collaboration with the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, is undertaking a pilot project to paint asphalt on roads, pavements and parking lots in light-grey, in a bid to reduce heat from the surface. While we await data to arrive from the project site to endorse the efficacy, or otherwise, of the initiative, credit ought to be given for the thinking that went into it. The heat generated in urban areas is enormous, and scientists the world over are calling for climate-sensitive design principles not only with regard to individual buildings but also entire cities. There is conclusive evidence to suggest that the replacing of natural surfaces with three-dimensional structures made of concrete has a direct effect on surface and air temperatures. The urban heat island (UHI) effect is a reality, and relatively recent research in Singapore suggests that it is threatening to raise temperatures beyond the threshold of human adaptability in our cities – an alarming fact in itself. Sadly, there is no disconnect between outdoor temperature and indoor temperature, which is compelling us to increase air conditioning usage and, consequently, more energy, which in turn, is increasing the emission of greenhouse gases, given that much of the energy is produced by burning fossil fuels. Greater surface and air temperatures in urban places is a matter of deep concern for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, considering the fact that more than 226 million people will be living in cities in the region by 2020, according to a UN estimate. In the GCC region alone, according to the same UN estimate, over 45 million people – 85% of the total expected population – are expected to reside in its cities by 2020, which mean exponential growth in the use of air conditioning and, consequently, the use of fossil fuel-generated energy, unless of course clean forms of renewable energy can alleviate the situation in a reliable and effective manner. And unless of course the HVACR industry is able to address the need for reducing the energy demand through innovative and even disruptive technologies, backed by support from such bodies as Abu Dhabi Department of Transport and the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi. The region needs holistic solutions and an integrated approach towards mitigating climate change, be it through climate-sensitive design principles or through the proper installation and operation of HVACR equipment. Time and options are running out in the fight against global warming. Silos and blinkers have no place in the modern paradigm.
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July 2018
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North America on Energy Efficiency
F O G E N I S A V O M AC T E K R A M Y C E I H L T O P F O D A AHE ugh irm eno onment, f a id vir ity la built-en tainabil e s h u t s in such in g d in y e t r c a u n t c a ie o ffic tm adv nergy e as the marke from the need tory of e is f h o s ’ m a eric entu ts? H ifted nd rth Am he mom ives and targe novate has sh ing the dema t e r u Has No s petitive e to in n to en nment incent ddress m iv a io r o t d o c a t ’ l d s s a n r tion fou glob ture over , regula ards gaining anufac ss of g g m le in d t R r c a li C f g A w re to con HV efforts , often er that a mann with changing ers and taking y… ply um to com ducated cons y has the stor e U of more ? Hannah Jo e g advanta
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orth America generally does not shy away from participating in the dialogue on sustainability, with a number of well-known organisations, certification bodies and manufacturers paving the way for initiatives that promote greater energy efficiency within the built-environment, not only across the continent but worldwide.
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James K. Walters, Vice President, International Affairs, Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), in identifying trends across North America, states that the work of standardisation bodies in this regard and the uptake of programmes, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) have helped moved the dial towards a more integrated approach in addressing building requirements. “We are supportive of climate change mitigation efforts,” Walters states. “We are supportive of rational energyefficiency standards and of approaching them holistically.” Mahesh Ramanujam, President and CEO, United States Green Building Council (USBC), believes that the trend towards
more efficient buildings will persist, despite the viewpoint of incumbent powers, emphasising that policy decisions are no longer the sole driver impacting the progress of “Green”. As many as “88 of the Fortune 100 companies have mandated LEED as their global Green Building rating system,” he says. “It is a market-driven tool and a voluntary management tool – it’s not regulation.” Ramanujam says this extends to government organisations, with 400 municipalities, 32 states and 15 federal agencies in the United States mandating and recommending LEED as a best guideline and practice protocol. “This means two decades worth of change management that has happened, globally,” he says. “It has been integrated as part of the core strategy. Sustainability is no longer about being a nice thing to do.” Giorgio Elia, Vice President, UTC CCS Middle East, shares the company’s history
with LEED in this regard. “Carrier was the first company to join the U.S. Green Building Council in 1993,” Elia says, “and is the only company to be a founding member of Green Building councils on four continents, including in Argentina, China, France, India, Kuwait, Singapore and South Africa.” Carrier in the Middle East, he adds, is licensed as an Education Partner to train in the LEED curriculum and has trained more than 500 people in the region. Carrier’s Middle East headquarters in the UAE, he adds, is certified LEED Gold, while Carrier Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah office is certified LEED Platinum. Providing a manufacturer’s perspective, Saad Ali, General Manager – Middle East and Africa, SPX Cooling Technologies,
says LEED certification is frequently a goal of designers of many North American buildings. He says: “Energy savings is a key driver for many companies, as well, so power consumption is declining. The impact of that will be evident in the next couple of years. Changes in government policies could impact these initiatives with fewer energy credits and subsidy programs available to companies for producing energy-efficient products for the market. But I think overall support for energy-efficient products will continue.” Regulations no longer seem to be a pre-requisite to encourage uptake and investment in energy-efficient technology, as James L. Connaughton, President and CEO, Nautilus Data Technologies, says. As an “ardent practitioner of free
market environmentalism”, he believes a better product will always win out in the end. Connaughton, however, believes while government policy is not needed to encourage acceptance and investment of better products and solutions, it can play a role in hindering its advancement. This, he says, can happen by taking too long to permit more efficient and environmentally friendly technologies [to enter the market] and subsidising inefficient competitors. “That,” he says, “would not be helpful because government is providing our competitors with the economic advantage to improve their facilities.” Connaughton adds that while energy-efficiency standards are helpful in driving consumers and investors, they tend to work in favour of the incumbent. Thus, he says, they have to be designed appropriately so they can drive faster investment in economically beneficial outcomes and accomplish its objectives. Ali says that while the rollback of some EPA clean energy rules by the current administration has caused headlines, it hasn’t deterred companies that develop HVAC products from continuing to pursue new technologies. “The recent paradigm shift in lighting serves as an example,” he says. “The introduction of LEDs as
replacements for traditional incandescent light bulbs met with some consumer resistance. New technologies are often more expensive until they gain traction and acceptance.” Kit Fransen, Director, Product Management, North America, Tecumseh, adds: “It’s no secret that there has been a shift in how buildings operate, as well as how people live and work in them. The sustainability movement is becoming more mainstream every day and plenty of manufacturers, including Tecumseh, look
James K. Walters
Mahesh Ramanujam
to reduce their overall environmental footprint, because it is shown to be profitable and drives innovation.” LEED and Green Globes, he says, are just a few programmes that were niche but now have become standard place in most building designs “as you can see with the continued integration of their requirements into ASHRAE or other international standards”. Fransen adds: “To meet these needs, manufacturers and end-users are now making investments with natural refrigerants such as hydrocarbons that require significant investment to operate equipment efficiently and safely. Before
July 2018
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North America on Energy Efficiency
LEED or other ‘Green Building’ type standards, most people did not connect the dots regarding how much time we spend in commercial and industrial facilities that can impact our health as well as the world around us.” Ramanujam adds: “In the United States, Republicans and Democrats have disagreements on climate change and ‘Green’, but our growth was strong [even] during the Republican presidency. I’m hoping in the current trend we will grow more. Why? Because it provoked individual engagement, and that is what we are looking for.” LEED, he says, is about taking responsibility and accountability in saying “I want to go further and beyond”. Ramanujam says: “We don’t want somebody to tell us a regulation. We are going to do it, because we believe in it and we are going to push the envelope further. In a subtle way, it’s a good thing for the market, because people are going to do something about it.”
Giorgio Elia
ask, ‘What is my cost to operate this?’ More than the acquisition, stakeholders are looking at life-cycle and operation.” This, he says, comes from building owners paying more attention, as there would be no incentive to choose such products unless otherwise specified. Rakesh Saxena, President, Trimac Inc., says there has been an increasing demand for proper sealing of ductwork from building owners and mechanical HVAC construction engineers in North America. The current ASHRAE standard No. 90.1, he says, notes the impact of duct leakage on energy consumption and IAQ. “ASHRAE standards require a duct to be sealed to the Sheet Metal and Air-Conditioning Contractors’ National Association’s Seal Class A regardless of pressure,” he says. “This means that all seams, except spiral lock seams, joints and penetration in medium- and lowpressure, return and exhaust ductwork must be properly sealed.”
BY POPULAR DEMAND
The market does, indeed, seem to be doing something about it, with manufacturers reporting an uptake in consumers showing more willingness to invest in a more efficient technology. Ali emphasises that technological advancements owing to countries’ efforts to reduce reliance on petrochemicals inevitably cascades to other industries, especially HVAC, which, he stresses, is a high priority for building owners, given that it consumes as much as 70% of energy in commercial buildings. “Every consumer is looking for efficient HVAC units, with the best coefficient of performance and the least energy cost,” he says. “While environmental impact may not be their first consideration, some consumers want to balance energy efficiency with sustainability. Consumers are protected to some degree by regulations that restrict the use of refrigerants that damage the environment and so they know that available products must comply with a range of environmental standards.” Robert Presser, Vice President, Acme Engineering and GlobeOwl Solutions, also says that he has seen more focus being placed on high-efficiency motors and VAV fans. “Twenty-five years ago, people will look at an air-handling unit and ask, ‘How many cfns?’ Now they look at an AHU and
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July 2018
Saad Ali
Dean Wood
Stuart Engel
You may have a LEED-certified building with the latest equipment... without careful monitoring, regular inspection and diligent maintenance, the initial energy efficiency will decline dramatically over the next five years
Speaking on increasing emphasis for energy efficient equipment in new build specifications, Dean Wood, Sales and Marketing Manager, EnviraNorth Systems, says HVLS fans are a common inclusion in all commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. "More than anything local regulations and cost savings drive designs and purchasing decisions,” he
says, adding that the company’s products have gone from a “possible inclusion to an integral component of most specifications”. Stuart Engel, International Business Development, Fresh-Aire UV, says that owing to greater emphasis on energy conversation there has been an uptake in using UV to irradiate the cooling coils in HVAC applications. “Design engineers have realised that by including UV to irradiate cooling coils the end-user can benefit from
the fact that the coils will remain clean and not become blocked by biofilm growing,” he says. Walter Ellis, Executive Vice President and General Manager, RGF Environmental Group, echoes this. “Studies show the correlation of continuous UV treatment of coil surfaces to prevent microbial fouling of the coils,” he says, “and how this technology,in turn, reduces the associated loss of heat transfer efficiency due to the bio-fouled coils. As well as energy-
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July 2018
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North America on Energy Efficiency
recovery systems specific for fresh air makeup systems. These are primarily focused on industrial and commercial markets, with some more progressive adoption in the consumer market.” Engel says, “Depending on the cost of electricity, installing UV on cooling coils can save between 15 and 25% of the annual HVAC energy cost and virtually eliminate having to manually clean the coils. Payback time for installing UV will depend in part on the cost of power, annual operating and cooling hours and will normally be between two and 11 months.” Sean Holloway, National Sales Manager HVACR, RectorSeal LLC, says the company continues to see greater emphasis towards energy efficiency across North America, in particular, for variable-speed compressors for residential applications, variable refrigerant flow (VRF) technology for commercial applications, and mini-split applications for both residential and light-commercial applications. The company, he says, is aiming to address the demand by helping contractors with accessories to encourage building and homeowners to opt for minisplit and VRF/VRV systems. “More and more individuals,” he says, “are willing to pay more up front, for higher efficiency equipment in order to use less energy, and have less negative impact on the environment in the long run.” Fransen says that while the past decade has seen Energy Star, LEED, and other programmes push for lower energy use intensity (EUI) in all building types, reduction in energy use for commercial refrigeration has only begun “due to the tackling of “low-hanging fruit” in energy consumption such as lights, HVAC, and process loads.” This, however, is beginning to change. “Recent governmental regulations, such as requirements for walk-in coolers and freezers from the US Department of Energy with a mandated performance level of Annual Walk-In Energy Factor (AWEF) is just the first of many requirements where energy performance will become more regulated in the commercial refrigeration market place,” he says. “Technologies, such as variablespeed components, including fans and compressors, in addition to control strategies such as floating head pressure control will become more common in refrigeration system design.” Fransen adds that in staying abreast with upcoming standards to develop new products surrounding mandated and voluntary programmes, Tecumseh sees variable speed compressors and systems as well as low-GWP refrigerants transitioning
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Walter Ellis
James L Connaughton
Kit Fransen
Robert Presser
over to the commercial market “once energy standards and regulations become more prevalent across the globe”.
INDUSTRY 4.0
Another key trend Walters identifies in North America is the growing move towards the use of air conditioning and water heating equipment that are connected and able to talk to the grid and electricity supplier, relative to adjusting supply with demand. “It’s not an on-and-off switch,” he says.
Fransen echoes this, adding that the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected devices are quickly changing the way consumers use products, and that the company sees a similar trend in the commercial refrigeration market. “More and more components are connected, which helps end-users with a variety of different tasks, to simplify their work,” he says. “Regarding refrigeration components, some examples could be a means to show diagnostics for quick servicing or a webbased predictive analysis tool that would show when components in a system may potentially fail based on specific parameters.” Presser adds that LEED certification also plays a role in this. “When you choose to get LEED certification for a building,” he says, “you incorporate a lot of intelligent energy controls.” However, he says, no one is dictating the backbone communication architecture to be used, whether it is an HVACR standard or an industry open standard. Presser says that the adoption of LEED certification will promote greater building intelligence and technology, but that the industry still has a long way to go. The industry, Presser says, is currently promoting a standard that does not interface with technologies coming into buildings and devices and that he sees a move towards an international standard of communication in the HVACR space. “My feeling,” he says, “is that eventually product developers are going to take a look at the HVACR space and come with an open standard product that will ensure lower cost and ease of connectivity, which will displace proprietary technologies. You also have to realise you have a huge installed space, the opportunity will be when you look at existing buildings and you want to add intelligence. Who will win?” Ali says that being one of the biggest retrofit markets, North America may be a little ahead of the rest of the world, in terms of planning for maintenance. “Along with
new development and construction, there is a lot of renovation, where older buildings are updated and using the latest technologies,” he says. “Predictive maintenance comes into play here. You may have a LEED-certified building equipped with the latest equipment with IoT technology to communicate building conditions 24/7. Without careful monitoring, regular inspection and diligent maintenance, the initial energy efficiency will decline dramatically over the next five years.” Maintenance, Ali stresses, is an essential component to successful energy management. He adds that though North America is a huge continent with diverse climates and with each state having its own mindset, regulations, capabilities and budget to maintain infrastructure, building owners are more or less aware of the important role that maintenance plays in ensuring
Rakesh Saxena
Sean Holloway
a healthier environment, better indoor air quality and better, energy-efficient buildings. “If you are a building manager or owner of commercial real estate,” he says, “that would be in your mindset in order to compete in the marketplace.” Ali adds that building owners and equipment suppliers need to work together to conduct energy audits and implement ongoing maintenance programmes. “Right now,” he says, “follow up is often lacking, whether it’s in North America, Asia or in the Middle East.” While HVACR manufacturers in North America navigate the demands of the local market, most operate in a largely international market and grapple with the changing winds of an increasingly globalised and inter-connected consumer base.
HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
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July 2018
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Ben Cutler, Project Natick
T
he Natick Phase One vessel was operated on the seafloor, approximately one kilometre off the Pacific coast of the United States, from August to November 2015. Thereafter the Phase Two vessel of Natick, deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney Islands, United Kingdom, in June 2018, aims to demonstrate that you can economically manufacture full-scale undersea data centre modules and deploy them in under 90 days from decision to power on. Could you give us an insight into what prompted the company to launch Project Natick? Project Natick reflects Microsoft’s ongoing quest for cloud data centre solutions that offer less resource-intensive options, rapid provisioning, lower costs and high agility in meeting customer needs. Essentially, the project is focused on bringing about a cloud future that can help better serve customers in areas that are near large bodies of water, where nearly 50% of society resides. The vision of operating containerised data centres offshore, near major population centres, anticipates a highly interactive future, which will require data resources located close to users. Deepwater deployment offers ready access to cooling and a controlled environment and has the potential to be powered by co-located renewable power sources.
From what we understand Natick data centres consume no water for cooling or any other purpose. Could you speak a little bit more about what makes this possible without compromising critical data components? Seawater flows through heat exchangers within the data centre. The heat exchanger is like a car’s radiator, which uses cool air to cool the hot water flowing through the car’s engine. We’re the same, but we use water to cool air. Very little cooling is due to the walls of the vessel.
Is Microsoft’s underwater data centre the future? Ben Cutler, Manager, Project Natick, speaks exclusively on Microsoft’s move to build an underwater data centre, as part of its efforts to look into the benefits of a standard and deployable undersea data centre for cloud users worldwide. Excerpts from the interview with Hannah Jo Uy…
Modern building cooling systems, including data centres, use city tap water for cooling. This use of water greatly reduces the electricity required for cooling, but this water use can be significant. Natick puts no pressure on city water supplies and instead uses seawater, which is then returned directly to the ocean, unchanged.
Could you comment on the unique challenges that come with cooling large-scale electronics in this context and how the company addressed them? Today, each land data centre is subject to local environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, particulate matter, building materials and electricity supply, which differ significantly across data centres and across seasons. Natick uses the same computers used to deliver our cloud services from land-based Microsoft data centres today and, as previously mentioned, because Natick data centres provide a sealed environment, we can use a nitrogen atmosphere, with no oxygen and very little water vapour. This reduces problems such as corrosion and allows us to provide the computers with the same operating environment, regardless of where in the world we deploy.
How could subsea data centres contribute to the growing dialogue of optimising resources in operations in a sustainable manner? The project represents Microsoft’s investigation in the numerous potential benefits that a standard, manufacturable, deployable undersea data centre could provide to cloud users all over the world. If successful, we are on the quest for a future, where cloud data centre solutions offer less resourceintensive options, rapid provisioning, lower costs and high agility in meeting customer needs. Natick requires no footprint on land, which is a significant issue in some locations. Being offshore allows us to bring the cloud close to customers even without this footprint. Because Natick is more energy efficient, we put less pressure on the electric grid. We are investigating the idea of co-locating Natick with its own locally generated renewable energy. In this kind of configuration, we would be off-grid. The Energy Information Administration says long-distance transmission typically costs five per cent of electrical power, so this reduces energy use while eliminating the need for long-distance transmission, including the transformers required in this process. As noted earlier, Natick uses seawater and, hence, doesn’t require city water. Drinking water is likely the most valuable resource in the 21st century.
HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the Q&A. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
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Microsoft’s Project Natick team L-R: Mike Shepperd, senior R&D engineer, Sam Ogden, senior software engineer, Spencer Fowers, senior member of technical staff, Eric Peterson, researcher, and Ben Cutler, project manager. Photo by Scott Eklund/Red Box Pictures.
James L Connaughton, Nautilus
‘No doubt, the next data centres will be water cooled’ James L Connaughton, President and CEO, Nautilus Data Technologies, speaks exclusively with Hannah Jo Uy on the company’s patented water cooling technology and the future of data centres…
W
better. We are 80% more efficient than the industry standard and about 30% more efficient than some of the newer designs. We are also able to accomplish this at about half the possible expense. The more efficient data centres accomplish that at a higher capex. Our solution also uses a lot less material. That is just the energy efficiency of the cooling system, which means our net energy efficiency for the whole data centre is 30-40%. Secondly, we don’t rely on potable water to run an evaporative cooling system. We lower consumption and eliminate the burden on waste water treatment systems. Next, we don’t need to abuse any chemical refrigerants, greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting substances. Finally, because we are efficient in our cooling, we can handle three times, or more, the number of computers and servers in the same space, hence, our real estate efficiency is better. Also, we want quiet and cool; it’s an attractive environment for data centre operations.
hat drove the company to pursue this approach?
The company was formed five years ago by a group of engineers and information technology executives with a proposition that current methodology for air conditioning data centres is utterly unsustainable, when it comes to the future computing that lies ahead. You have to rethink the right building envelope for the cooling of thousands of servers. Our design criteria was how do you accomplish direct water cooling at the lowest capex with the lowest opex and with the smallest environmental footprint. And to do it in a way that can be applied anywhere in the world. I say this because there are some clever niche applications that are specific to particular geographies. The other piece of our mission was to do this in a way that could help accelerate access to modern data services by people in emerging economies.
Can you highlight the operational benefits of these solutions? In your opinion, why are current data centres inefficient? We improve the energy efficiency of the cooling system by 40–80%. The industry average power usage effectiveness (PUE), according to the U.S. Department of Energy, is about 1.7. New data centres are doing
James L Connaughton Ironically, air conditioning is very inefficient and imposes a big burden on public water systems. Water cooling doesn’t consume water. The great advantage of our systems is that its pumps and pipes, the atmospheric intrusion is significantly diminished as opposed to air-handling units. Water cooling by any measure, is a lot more energy efficient than evaporative air cooling systems. The hardest places to cool data centres are in the equatorial region. The Middle East is hot and dry, the Pacific like Singapore is hot and wet. Water cooling is ideally suited for cooling data centres in the region compared to air conditioning methods currently being used. In a place like the Middle East, we have an advantage. Our cooling system can efficiently generate hot water that can lower the cost of desalination, or other industrial applications. We have the advantage of co-location with other industrial infrastructure to improve efficiency. We are designed to be mega modular, in that we pre-fabricate what we do and assemble it on site, systems are simpler
and the process of building a data centre is faster.
Water cooling for heat exchange has been used for over 100 years. Why did data centres not follow this methodology? Several of our team, including me, come from other sectors. Water cooling is traditional for heat exchange. When we came to bring expertise to data centre cooling, we were surprised that data centres did not employ that technique. Data centres became an arm of real estate development. Techniques adapted for data centres worked and innovation stopped. It worked for a lot of engineering and vendors that are heavily invested in the approach, and now everyone uses it. We classically are entering the market with a much more effective product that takes engineering skill and production skill and does it at a scale and reliability that data centres require. We made the investment to figure all that out. What’s interesting is, as indicated, the system’s much simpler and more reliable to operate. It delivers a very reliable cooling regardless of the load in the server rack. We can support configurations of 120 kilowatts of load, which means we can have high performance computing, [which is] widely commercially available and affordable.
Do you need regulations to encourage uptake of this solution in the market? I am an ardent practitioner of free market environmentalism. I believe if you can invent a technology that delivers the same or better performance at the same or lower cost in terms of environmental impact, you can accomplish a lot more, faster. We are an example of that. We make sense economically, operationally and environmentally. We don’t need help from the government, because we have a better product…. There is no doubt in my mind that the next data centres will be water cooled. We have had a high level of interest from all the major players, who are waiting the construction of our first facility to look at the commercial operability of what we are doing and that includes a number of entities that will be customers in the first production. We do have to educate on an enterprise-toenterprise basis.
HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the Q&A. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
July 2018
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‘A HUMANCENTRIC DESIGN’ How is IEQ viewed by stakeholders across North America? Has it been granted as much importance as energy efficiency, which has steadily attracted investment and recognition in the move to reduce opex and emissions? Are decision-makers truly aware of the impact of indoor and outdoor air quality on inhabitants? Hannah Jo Uy has the story….
“A
Green Building, at the heart, is about people.” This is a statement Mahesh Ramanujam, President and CEO, US Green Building Council, makes with utmost sincerity, emphasising that the efficiency
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of a building is useless if people are not comfortable. “It is about a humancentric design,” he stresses. Energy efficiency has traditionally taken centrestage in discussions related to sustainability, with issues related to indoor environmental quality (IEQ) often placed on the backburner. In North America, however, the tides are changing, in view of more damning evidence coming to the surface. “Over the past 20 years,” says Sheila J Hayter, 2018-2019 ASHRAE President, “our understanding of the relationship between IEQ and the health, productivity and comfort of occupants has advanced substantially. Employers recognise that healthy buildings not only play a significant role in the reduction of operating costs but also result in reduced absenteeism and healthcare-related costs.” Giorgio Elia, Vice President, UTC CCS Middle East, weighs in: “A follow-on study in the US found that the indoor environment
previously associated with a doubling of cognitive function test scores can be achieved at an energy cost between USD 14 and USD 40 per person per year and result in as much as a USD 6,500 equivalent in improved productivity per person per year. When energy-efficient technologies are utilised, the study found the energy costs to
be between USD 1 and USD 18 per person per year, with a minimised environmental impact equivalent to approximately 0.03 cars on the road per building per year. This is yet another way that the higher initial investment in green buildings is offset by long-term savings.” Dr Joseph G Allen, Assistant Professor, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, and Director, Healthy Buildings, Harvard Center for Health and the Global Environment, can certainly attest to this, being one of the pioneering minds responsible for the COGfx Study. Providing an example, Dr Allen points to a study carried out in New York State. “They looked at test scores for 10 years in New York state,” he says. “It turns out when kids took a test on a day that [meets] ASHRAE’s thermal comfort parameters versus a day that was very warm, they were 12% more likely to fail the test when they took it in hot conditions in the building. To me that’s in line with everything we know and see about how
Mahesh Ramanujam
Sheila J Hayter
Masterpiece in Motion
thermal conditions of buildings affect adults and workers.” Elia highlights the progress that Dr Allen and his team have made over the past few years. “In 2015, COGfx Study 1: Indoor Environmental Quality set the methodology,” he says. “In 2016, Study 2: Buildingomics took the research out of the lab, connecting Green Buildings with occupants’ health and productivity. Now, Study 3: Global Buildings has scaled the research globally.” Highlighting the critical role research plays quantifying the relationship of IEQ to health and productivity, defining acceptable IEQ parameters, and determining the best methods and costs of improving IEQ, Hayter stresses that “increased knowledge in these areas will lead to our ability to create and maintain wellness in the built-environment”. “The most effective research in this field,” she says, “will be multidisciplinary, involving building design, construction, commissioning, maintenance and operation.... Understanding occupant behavior will
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help our industry improve designs, reduce energy use in buildings, and better meet occupants’ needs.”
A NEW BREED
It would seem that historical research and new data have significantly contributed to cultivating a new breed of building occupants, all of whom, Ramanujam says, are spurring innovation and becoming the driving force for a variety of changes based on their expectations of what the builtenvironment should be. “This is pushing the boundary on products, design, construction and operations,” he comments. Walter Ellis, Executive Vice President and General Manager, RGF, echoes this, stressing that in certain situations, such as problematic buildings, with specific complaints from a portion of its occupants, companies or institutions are now using resources to a higher degree to directly address specific IAQ issues. “There is now a general acceptance that these complaints must now be taken more seriously and acted upon,” he says. Observing a similar trend, Stuart Engel, International Business Development, FreshAire UV, says consumers in North America are becoming more aware and demanding of indoor air quality (IAQ) in their homes and workplaces. “Hospitals are addressing Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) much more aggressively as governments have placed the burden of these HAIs squarely on the Hospitals,” he says. This, Engel says, has resulted in consumers moving towards cloud-based monitoring of their indoor environments with equipment that can detect and act on volatile organic compounds (VOC) contaminants to improve their air quality and keep them abreast of the temperature, humidity and VOC levels, remotely. Also using the uptake in demand for certain products as a means to track interest and awareness towards IAQ, Robert Presser, Vice President, Acme Engineering and GlobeOwl Solutions, shares macro and micro level insights with regard to air quality monitoring from the perspective of both his companies. “When you want carbon monoxide diesel fume and VOC detection, that’s ACME,” Presser says, as the sales of the product line is directly related to large multi-level buildings with large vehicular
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Dr Joseph G Allen
Giorgio Elia
Stuart Engel
Technology and increased use of renewables will probably be the biggest drivers of the movement towards balancing energy efficiency goals with the need for good indoor environmental quality
spaces. “When a city wants a greater idea of general levels of pollution and wants to model the data as you accumulate concentration of gases at different times of day and model dispersion, that’s GlobeOwl,” he says, as it addresses the demand of public authorities to see the profile of pollution in the outdoor environment to measure the effect of policy. As to whether there has been an uptake or downturn in demand for monitoring systems from public authorities in one country over another, Presser stresses that it’s not about Canada versus the United States. “I don’t think there is a border divide in this issue,” he says. “It’s about which cities have the financial means to undertake this investment. I think only bigger cities that have the intelligence infrastructure will invest. If you are looking at legislation, green initiatives from central government, there will be a diversion. I don’t think Trump will impose environmental regulations in the cities; if anything the cities will adopt these programmes on their own, in response to local demand for cleaner environment.” In Canada, Presser says, there is heavier emphasis on provincial jurisdiction. “The Canadian government can fund environmental and green initiatives,” he says, “which it does, but it does so in a province-to-
province and case-to-case basis. It’s for them to put forward to their own initiative.”
The cost of comfort As to whether this is translating to greater willingness to invest in more sophisticated technologies, Ellis maintains that while RGF has seen greater awareness on implementation of more IAQ-conscious design and operations, there is still room for improvement. “We typically see the implementation of IAQ systems for air treatment in either troubled environments or in new facility construction with involvement from more progressive clients and architect/ engineers,” he says. “Best IAQ practices are not yet universal in implementation; there is still a cost basis that is very much in consideration.” Ellis adds that tight building envelops resulting from modern building construction techniques have necessitated a growth in fresh air makeup systems, he says, which are increasingly being looked at as a way to
Robert Presser
Walter Ellis
improve indoor air quality. “However, these are typically a very costly option,” he says, “as bringing in very hot or very cold outside air, directly necessitates additional energy to heat or cool this introduced air. Energyrecovery systems can help reduce this cost, but these systems are also very expensive. Utilising an integrated IAQ treatment system within an HVAC system can greatly reduce and, in some cases, eliminate the costly expense of fresh air make up systems.” Presser says that while the cost considerations vary greatly between new and existing structures, noting that the vast majority of the developments are “Class B or C office spaces, with older buildings”, the two things have to happen to increase uptake of IAQ across the built-environment. “You have to ask as a building owner to invest in better HVAC technology,” he says, “and that tenant is going to have to be willing to pay for it; nothing is free. If the tenant is willing to pay 5-10 % per square metre, the owner can invest in better IAQ. The whole
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thing is an exercise in economics; if IAQ is important to a tenant, they are a class A office space renter, where they can move to the latest building with the best HVAC.”
Clean energy paving the way for improved IEQ With cost very much a concern, could a move towards clean forms of renewable energy ease the burden posed by IEQ products and solutions? Hayter believes that the direction North America is taking towards renewables could help address the IEQ and energy efficiency conundrum. “Technology and increased use of renewables will probably be the biggest drivers of the movement towards balancing energy efficiency goals with the need for good indoor environmental quality,” she states. Ellis believes that while renewables are increasing, it is not at the same rates as adopted in many other countries. “Integrating renewable energy in the design of buildings, such as greater adoption of solar systems, both grid-operated or building-specific, continues to rise,” he says. “The mainstream acceptance of the benefits of these technologies and their adaptation is becoming the reality, though as an environmental company, we do wish its implementation and adoption in the United States was much more accelerated.” Hayter believes that technology could help play a role in this regard, as innovations continue to impact the industry at the design, construction and manufacturing levels. “New technology will create new forms of energy in the United States,” she says, “that can translate into new opportunities for the developing world. Instead of developing 20th century grid infrastructure, areas without electricity may be able to leap into new technology.” ASHRAE, she says, aims to play a key role in accelerating the use of innovative technologies. “As we consider the changes taking place in both the electricity and buildings sectors, the challenges and the opportunities, we must not lose sight of the fact that buildings are built for people,” Hayter says. “The best building design, construction and operation will achieve two important goals: To ensure occupant safety, wellness and comfort and to become an active partner in a new electricity sector.” While the ‘energy efficiency-IEQ’ debate continues, it would seem that the possibilities being offered by new and emerging technologies and the growing emphasis on renewable energy could help address both requirements, in the move for industry stakeholders to develop the ideal “healthy building”.
HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
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Giorgio Elia, Vice President, UTC CCS Middle East: “Many countries in the Middle East have steadily improved and implemented minimum energy-efficiency standards by adopting the latest technology trends in response to a growing demand for energy efficiency. New regulations and standards have, in turn, led to an increased demand for higher efficiency air conditioning solutions from end-users, consultants and contractors in the region. Historically, chillers were evaluated on cooling capacities. Now, they are evaluated on system part load value, or SPLV, which looks at efficiency during actual operation versus at a theoretical point. Upcoming projects in the GCC [region] are focusing on higher SPLV plants in an attempt to lower annual energy consumption. District cooling plants are popular in the Middle East, because they provide higher efficiency and diversity when compared to air-cooled systems. Thermal energy storage systems are also being implemented to shift demand from peak to off-peak (mostly nighttime). At Carrier, we have sustainability at the core of our engineering philosophy, and we pride ourselves on providing energy-efficient products at competitive prices. We are starting to see our HVAC customers look at the total cost of ownership rather than the transactional product price, which we expect will drive increased demand for innovative energy-efficient products.”
Saad Ali, General Manager – Middle East & Africa, SPX Cooling Technologies: “We are pursuing modularisation – compact, energy-efficient pre-assembled components. We are also studying water consumption. We continue to believe in the value of product certification by organisations like the Cooling Technology Institute (CTI). The selection of products we offer here [in the Middle East] are marketed based on what is suitable. While our preassembled modular cooling towers are preferred in areas with high labour costs, here in the Middle East labour is not an issue. Labour is cheaper here, while in the United States it is high. The appeal of modularisation is currently more the exception than the rule here. But modularisation also offers advantages like faster delivery to the job site, shorter construction duration and safer erection techniques – important considerations for project managers.”
How are North American manufacturers addressing the Middle East market?
VOICES:
Dean Wood, Sales and Marketing Manager, Envira-North Systems: “While competitors have traditionally moved the discussion from performance to appearance, we’ve streamlined our HVLS fans to improve their appearance, while maximising air velocities and minimising energy consumption. Any decision to purchase a fan should be based upon the fans' capabilities to circulate air while reducing energy consumption and providing comfort to occupants. Educating end-users drives our sales and creates an environment where customers are happier and more likely to become repeat customers.”
Walter Ellis, Executive Vice President and General Manager, RGF Environmental Group: “On average we launch 2-3 new products a year. We have several projects in R&D now, some are still too early for us to comment on. Some that we are very close to launching, that include the adaption of new low wavelength UV LED technology to our products. This technology will offer increased life, and higher energy efficiencies. In addition, we have a brand new photocatalyst, with higher conversion efficiencies that will soon replace our existing catalysts.Our current IAQ technology is very effective in this market; however, both materials of construction, as well as specific component designs are sometimes specifically designed to suit applications within these markets.”
Kit Fransen, Director, Product Management, North America, Tecumseh: “We see variable-speed compressors and systems as well as low-GWP refrigerants transitioning over to the commercial market once energy standards and regulations become more prevalent across the globe. A great example of our innovation in this area is VTC, a variable-speed compressor that works with R-290 refrigerant meant for light-commercial refrigeration applications.Tecumseh’s unique experience and expertise in commercial refrigeration have been developed over many decades through our global footprint of manufacturing and local teams. Having four global technology centres strategically located around the world gives Tecumseh a clear advantage to design and develop optimal solutions that are tailored to local needs. Those capabilities have enabled Tecumseh to develop products, such as AW compressor series, HTA condensing units, RK2 and RN2 rotary compressors and electronically controlled compressor and system solutions, that are particularly suitable for the high-ambient conditions in the GCC region.
Stuart Engel, International Business Development, Fresh-Aire UV: “We have developed unique and proprietary computer generated sizing programs for HVAC coil and air as well as room and surface disinfection applications that allows us to customise the equipment to the specific application, whether it is in the GCC, North America, or anywhere else. Freshaire UV is the only leading UV manufacturer that except for the UV lamp, carries a lifetime warranty on all parts.”
Rakesh Saxena, President, Trimac Inc: “The key of meeting the lowleakage requirement is to use a quality sealant that is flexible during application and stays flexible over time, without cracking, to handle mechanical vibrations and expansion or contraction due to pressure and temperature cycling. Carlisle Hardcast’s rolled mastic sealants and water-based Spray Seal offer an efficient means to provide good metal adhesion and prevent air loss at the point of sealing. Carlisle products have also been used at iconic projects in the Middle East, such as Midfield Terminal, Abu Dhabi Airport and Qatar Rail.”
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Jocelyn Argibay, Department of Natural Resources, Canada
‘Canada to set energyefficiency standards at the highest level possible’
Jocelyn Argibay, spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources Canada, shares the government’s strategy to accelerate the adoption of more energy-efficient products, embed more stringent regulations in building codes and move towards net-zero-energy buildings, with Climate Control Middle East. Excerpts from the interview with Hannah Jo Uy…
C
initiatives?
ould you provide us with an update on how the government is taking action on climate change, especially in terms of green building codes for new homes? Are there any updates on retrofit
In response to a call to action from Canadians on climate change, the federal and provincial governments developed Build Smart, Canada’s Buildings Strategy, to help Canadians and Canadian businesses realise the many benefits of making homes and buildings more energy efficient. Through the Build Smart Strategy, we are working with provinces, territories and industry on energy-code development, data sharing, research and development and market transformation strategies for the building sector. We are working closely with our provincial and territorial governments, industry partners and the National Research Council to develop model national codes for provinces to adopt. For new buildings, federal, provincial and territorial governments are committed to developing a net-zero-energy-ready model code by 2022, for adoption by provinces and territories by 2030. For existing buildings, retrofitting makes sense. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, retrofits save homeowners’ money by lowering energy bills while increasing the value and comfort of their home.
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What is being done in terms of regulating and enforcing minimum-energy performance of appliances, especially in the field of HVACR? Canada’s Building Strategy calls for new standards for high-efficiency equipment, including market transformation measures to accelerate adoption of next-generation, low-carbon technologies. With effective use of technology, we can make our homes and buildings work for us — ensuring our physical comfort while lowering our energy costs and our environmental impact. The Government is updating Canada’s Energy Efficiency Regulations for appliances, equipment and products. We will set energy-efficiency standards at the highest level that is technologically and economically possible. Canada has proposed more stringent standards for residential gas furnaces and residential and commercial gas boilers to condensing levels. The forward regulatory plan is available here: http://www. nrcan.gc.ca/energy/regulations-codes-standards/18318. We are taking action to help transform the market for higher performance, energy-efficient equipment for homes, including windows, space- and water-heating equipment.
This will help overcome barriers to mainstream adoption of energyefficient equipment, like availability and affordability, and accelerate its uptake. Canadians are also well aware of the ENERGY STAR symbol. It is the internationally recognised and trusted mark of high efficiency. By looking for this symbol, Canadians can easily identify products, new homes and buildings certified as energy efficient.
What is being done to educate stakeholders in the builtenvironment to ensure compliance with and awareness of the latest environmentally friendly building codes? Sub-national authorities will ultimately determine how homes and buildings are constructed in their respective jurisdictions in keeping with commitments agreed to under the Pan-Canadian Framework. Accordingly, we are working closely with government stakeholders to come up with solutions that work for all Canadians‎. While model energy codes are developed at the national level, they must be adopted by a province or territory to have force in law. NRCan is also working closely with building and construction industries and conducting public consultations as part of the code-development process, which is collaborative and consensusbased. Together, we are researching, developing and demonstrating projects to lower the cost of building to higher standards and undertaking energy retrofits in existing buildings. Development of codes for both new and existing buildings will consider cost-effectiveness and affordability and will benefit from evidence-based research.
How is Canada striking the balance when it comes to meeting its environmental goals and protecting the economic interests of local manufacturers and industries? Could you comment on the role of incentives – tax credits, grants or subsidies – in spurring innovation and best practices among manufacturers? To ensure we created objectives that work for Canadians, in the lead up to the Pan-Canadian Framework we consulted with the federal, provincial and territorial Energy Implementation Group, along with provincial and territorial ministries of energy and environment. We also consulted industry stakeholders, such as the Canadian Green Building Council, BOMA Ottawa, and the PEMBINA Institute. A target date of 2030 was set to provide time for a gradual transition to net-zero-energy-ready model code for new buildings, deployment of new construction practices and market transformation strategies for high- performance equipment, all of which will lead to decreased consumer costs.
NRCan is already working with the construction industry through research, development and demonstration projects to lower the cost of building to higher standards and undertaking energy retrofits in existing buildings. We are also supporting proposals from a wide number of applicants, including builders, developers, provinces and territories to target real-world demo projects in all climate zones across the country. These Research, Development and Deployment (RD&D) projects will help reduce costs to meet new building codes while increasing knowledge and skills in the construction industry. As we move forward with the five-year process to develop the new model energy codes to meet the commitments under the Pan-Canadian Framework for new and existing homes, we will be conducting extensive public consultations.We will be looking at ways to engage homeowners and building owners more extensively on key questions in order to gauge how best to apply model energy codes, particularly for existing buildings. We expect to do this in tandem with the provinces, territories and industry to ensure we have codes that work for Canadians. 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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Alex Rasmussen, Eurovent
I
n May this year, it was three years for you at the helm of Eurovent. Could you evaluate your work in this time?
Throughout the past three years, I have continued the development path initiated by my predecessor, Christian Herten, to consolidate our association’s activities and initiated measures for sustainable development. At the Eurovent Association, we have initiated various special projects keeping in mind the year 2030 and beyond. For example, the Product Group ‘Air Handling Units’ is working on an industry-first lifecycle cost standard and software that allows everyone to assess the performance of a unit over a lifetime. One of our core priorities is to push the market for the highest possible focus on performance, quality and sustainability. Another important point is European legislation. We are actively involved with all major European Union product- and application-oriented regulatory measures that significantly impact our industry. While we fully support such measures and believe
that they have pushed innovation, we should ensure that requirements remain achievable and enforceable. A last issue is globalisation. In Europe, we would do well to overcome national issues, while acting as one European industry. To support our industry, we have started to set up chapters abroad, with Eurovent Middle East being a prime example.
What are the main objectives of the association, and how many national associations and companies does it represent? With the addition of the Portuguese association, EFRIARC and the Swiss association, ProKlima this year, Eurovent is currently home to 18 national member associations and more than 1,000 manufacturers. European manufacturers are generally known worldwide for their product quality and high level of innovation. At Eurovent, it is our core objective to constantly push for the next level. We support strong and thought-through legislative requirements, contribute to
the advancement of standards and raise awareness on state-of-the-art technologies in Europe and internationally. Among the many objectives we have at Eurovent is uniting our industry and bringing people from the close to 50 countries within our organisation together. Our members appreciate that we introduce new markets, perspectives and sharpen the European idea. At Eurovent, even the strongest competitors can become friends.
In these three years, how have each of the sectors that are present in the association evolved? What are some important achievements, and what is still to be achieved? When I took over the Presidency, the tough times following the financial crisis were mostly overcome. With the exception of Russia, the European HVACR market has evolved in a stable manner. The Spanish market is on the way up, markets in Central and Eastern Europe have evolved well. This stable development is also driven by European Union legislation, such as the
Alex Rasmussen
Outgoing Eurovent President, Alex Rasmussen shares his thoughts on industry developments, digitisation, the year 2030, and highlights of the upcoming Eurovent Summit, in Seville, with Climate Control Middle East. Excerpts...
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Ecodesign or F-Gas Regulation and the Energy Performance of Building’s Directive, which pushes consumers to invest in sustainable technologies.
One of the key points on which Eurovent focuses its attention on is energy efficiency. Do you think that the objectives set by the European Union for 2030 are sufficient? In today’s Europe the application of stateof-the-art, direct-driven EC fans are the norm. Refrigeration technologies with natural refrigerants are experiencing an impressive development. In Air Handling Units, incorporating energy-recovery systems and high-efficiency air filters is now considered a must. Innovative heat pumps can slowly but steadily be found in heating and cooling applications all over Europe. We need to ensure that the 2030 plans make sense through, for instance, incorporating climate zones, focusing on not only heating recovery but also cooling and to take into account aspects such as controls that play an essential and useful role in pushing for even higher efficiency levels.
What do you think about the Ecodesign Regulations? Which solutions do you propose for their development? Ecodesign Regulations were, and are, surely the right way to go. In Europe, we were the first continent entering such a forward-thinking direction.Yet, there are still challenges that need to be tackled. The level of enforcement and market surveillance needs to be increased; Ecodesign needs to evolve beyond energy efficiency, incorporating issues such as life-cycle costs, circularity and indoor air quality. Measures should be developed in a way that they can be usefully applied all over Europe and outside Europe. Manufacturers should receive enough time and information to prepare themselves for major changes.
What importance and benefits does the certification of HVAC products and equipment have? What role does Eurovent play in this regard? At the beginning of the 1990s, our members have decided to set up ‘Eurovent Certified Performance’ schemes for various HVACR products. This became necessary due to a lack of regulation at the time. Over the past decades, ‘Eurovent Certified Performance’ has evolved into the leading certification scheme for HVACR products in Europe and is a recognised and trusted brand all over the world.
How impactful are the new digital technologies? Are companies prepared to adapt to all these changes? Digital technologies are surely having a large impact. Not only do they change the way in which users can control HVACR products, but they can also contribute to higher energy efficiency, comfort and safety. A particular focus of our members is also put on applying digital technologies throughout manufacturing processes and the entire supply chain. We also want to use the Eurovent Summit to show that connectivity is not an all-purpose answer and bears certain risks such as data security.
On February 27, the new CEIS test laboratory was inaugurated in Madrid. How does Eurovent participate in this project? Eurovent holds in-depth relations with many accredited laboratories across Europe. While we expect the maximum possible testing quality and accuracy, we do not favour one laboratory over another.
How do you judge recent developments in the field of F-Gases, the price increases and the phasedown, in general? At Eurovent, we represent users of refrigerants and not refrigerant suppliers. We do not promote the usage of particular types of refrigerants, as long as they comply with the EU F-Gas Regulation. We fully support the European Union F-Gas Regulation and help other regions worldwide in implementing similar measures. Together with our partner association eurammon, we were one of the first to raise awareness on natural and alternative refrigerants from very early on.
Could you explain what is the PRODBIM project? And what are its objectives? As many formats of products coexist within BIM today, many manufacturers within the HVACR industry see a need for a harmonised, European library to ensure correct, accurate, and updated product data. This is where PRODBIM comes as a unified European solution, aiming to avoid a proliferation of different BIM databases across European member states.
Is there any relation between PRODBIM and ‘Eurovent Certified Performance’? Participants do not need to be Eurovent certified to join the PRODBIM database. It
is open to all manufacturers. The publicly available data of ‘Eurovent Certified Performance’ will be published on the PRODBIM database. Manufacturers do not have to enter any kind of data again that is already available. The data deriving from the ‘Eurovent Certified Performance’ database is certified. This data will also be highlighted as ‘certified’ in the PRODBIM database.
Organised by Eurovent, AEFYT and AFEC, at the end of September a new edition of the Eurovent Summit will be held in Seville. Why have you chosen Spain? What do you expect from this edition? Each edition of our biennial flagship event EUROVENTSUMMIT is organised in a different region of Europe. The reasons for choosing Spain are manifold. Not only do we have two highly valued and dedicated member associations in Spain with whom we co-organise the Summit, AFEC and AEFYT, but also the Spanish market has revived following the financial crisis. Spain also historically acts as a bridge country towards Latin America.
What impact will the exit of the United Kingdom from the EU have on the importing companies? At this stage, this is difficult to judge as the future relations between the EU and the UK are still not clear. As most companies have European-wide supply chains, higher costs due to expected tariffs will eventually be passed on to the British consumer. Within Eurovent, our team is in regular touch with hundreds of manufacturers and does manufacturer visits on a weekly basis. They are reporting that many UK manufacturers are setting up offices on the mainland. The other way around, from the EU to UK, our members tend to reduce their investments due to increasing uncertainties. All in all, the situation is very unfortunate and not really based on rational, economic grounds. For our industry and Europe as a whole, this is, bluntly speaking, a real shame.
If you wish, you can add a final comment. I would like to cordially invite all readers of Climate Control Middle East to join us for the 2018 Eurovent Summit [September 25-28] in Seville.
HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
July 2018
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REP RT
Europe District Cooling market to grow to over USD 40 billion by 2024 Energy consumption to reach 13,000 TJ by 2024, research body says
T
he Europe District Cooling Market is set to grow from its current market value of more than USD 35 billion to over USD 40 billion by 2024, according to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc. Acceleration in the demand for space cooling systems along with growing concerns about carbon emissions will drive the market size, the report said. Extreme climatic conditions across the region, including Sweden, Italy and Germany, will stimulate product penetration, â–ś Norway District Cooling market size, by production technique, 2017 and the report further said. For 2024 (USD million) instance, in 2017, the number of annual cooling degree days (CDD) in Italy was 295, as compared with 200 in 2016, the report added. According to Global Market Insights, ease sustainable building solutions, the report government targets toward sustainable of parity, economies of scale in the long said. The increasing commercial floor space technology adoption, will fuel business run and high standards of operations and due to the flourishing service sector, along growth, the report also said. Geographical maintenance are some of the key features with ongoing investments in infrastructure proximity to the Gulf Stream will further that will stimulate the Europe District Cooling development will stimulate industry growth, encourage product adoption across the market size. In addition, the high reliability the report further said. According to nation, the report further said. In 2017, and flexibility of systems with various Europe Real Estate the investments across the government of Sweden, had planned production techniques will positively influence commercial establishments were valued at to invest USD 103.5 million toward the business growth, the report said. USD 107.8 billon in the fourth quarter of development of the renewable energy sector The District Cooling market in Sweden is 2016, the report added. by 2020, the report added. set to reach over 3,000 TJ by 2024, the report According to Global Market Insights, the The Commercial District Cooling market said. Increasing penetration of renewable heat pump District Cooling market is set share is set to grow due to increasing energy technologies, owing to ambitious to witness a growth of over two per cent emphasis on energy efficiency and
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REP RT by 2024. Increasing adoption of the product across Northern Europe, due to its ease of compatibility with conventional heating technology, will foster industry growth, the report said. These pumps are being widely used for cooling and heating purposes across residential and commercial establishments, where the technology uses waste heat to generate energy, thereby reducing the carbon emissions effectively when compared with its competitive counterparts, the report further said. Technological advancement in product development and design, along with ongoing research and development activities, will propel product growth, the report said. Increasing government focus toward sustainable and energy-efficient establishments, along with stringent emission reduction targets will propel the
District Cooling market in Europe, the report further said. The EU’s ‘Renewable Energy Directive’ has enforced standards toward the limitation and reduction of emissions caused by industries established across the region, the report added.
According to Global Market Insights, the District Cooling market in France will grow due to stringent government norms toward the adoption of energy-efficient technologies, along with accelerating population across the nation. In addition, the ongoing development of energy management systems, coupled with increasing investments toward innovative energyefficiency solutions, will stimulate the DC grid network, the report said. According to Global Market Insights, major industry players are focusing on product customisation and continuous research and development activities as a key strategy to sustain their presence across the region.
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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Dan Mizesko is the Managing Partner of Al Shirawi US Chiller Services. He can be contacted at dan@uschillerservices.com.
LICENCE TO
Still waters run risks Stagnant water in chiller tubes can cause many problems
W
e were walking through a District Cooling plant recently; the plant was in the process of being commissioned for operation. We questioned the engineer in charge of the plant whether the condensers were filled with water, and we were told, “Yes”. We further enquired how long the chillers have been sitting with water, in the tubes and were informed, “For a few weeks now.” We informed the engineer in charge that it was detrimental to the health of the chillers to allow water to sit stagnant in the tubes for long periods of time, and the response I received is what inspired me to write this chapter of ‘License to Chill’. The engineer in charge told us, “It’s not a problem, the lines have been flushed and all chemicals were charged in the loop and protection is satisfactory.” This statement could not be further from the truth. Enhanced and super-enhanced tubes are now standard in the comfort cooling segment of centrifugal chillers. The consequences of ignoring or not understanding the special needs these tubes require, will be catastrophic and lead to excessive power consumption, but more importantly, premature condenser tube failure. Special attention needs to be given to these types of tubes. I’m just going to touch on the operational
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considerations of enhanced and super-enhanced tubes in this segment -- stagnant water is a prime consideration. However, there are other considerations that the reader should be up to speed on regarding enhanced tubes, to be sure the chillers are properly protected and operate efficiently. One of the biggest operational issues is how to handle the off-line unit. Such off-line status could result from alternating operational units to achieve uniform service life patterns. In comfort cooling systems, special attention must be given to units that cycle off at night. An offline unit, even when kept full, invites fouling and corrosion. In stagnant water, increased microbiological growth, settling of water-borne solids and entrainment of gas bubbles that get separated from the water and are trapped in the rifling of the tubes can occur. These conditions can lead to localised corrosion of the tubes. Consideration should be given to lead/lag timing, recirculation with load or draining and flushing. Typically, if a condenser is to be left full and not operating for more than two to three days it should be recirculated every six hours, for one hour, to replace stagnant water. Others in the industry have recommended that if this condition is to exist for more than one week, the system should be drained, flushed and allowed to dry. One other means to prevent deposition and corrosion circumstances under stagnant conditions is to install a small re-circulation pump on the unit. This pump should be integrated into the system so it maintains flow when the unit is off-line. A small filter housing could be installed to allow addition of biocide and/or extra corrosion inhibitors or dispersants during down times. This arrangement would provide some flow, possible filtration and a means to restore protective levels of chemical inhibitors. As the chillers and chilled water plants in the Gulf region are rather large, the installation of the re-circulation pump would be a more economical solution, as draining and taking down large condensers can be time consuming. In closing, the facility I described at the start of this segment had the stagnant water in the tubes for weeks! Obviously, this engineer is just uninformed of the requirements of enhanced and superenhanced tubes. Everyone wants to do a good job and excel in his or her industry, and I see stagnant water as an issue in the majority of sites I visit worldwide, thus the reason for this short but extremely important article. 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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‘Make our
I great again’ French President Emmanuel Macron’s call to “Make our planet great again”, against the backdrop of the One Planet Summit, has emboldened stakeholders in the field of sustainability. What paradigm shift has this caused in terms of building practices and how are French HVACR manufacturers capitalising on the momentum to edge out competition in foreign markets? Hannah Jo Uy has the story…
f there was ever any question with regard to the stance that France has towards climate change, President Emmanuel Macron’s call to “Make Our Planet Great Again”, against the backdrop of the commitments made during the One Planet Summit in France, no longer leaves any room for doubt. Jacques Moussafir, President and CEO, Aria Technologies, a company focusing on air modelling, pollutants dispersion and renewable energy, believes that the current administration beckons the end of the “era of denial”, supported by those unconvinced of the impact human activity has on the environment. “‘Make our planet great again’ was the better line of the year in my opinion,” Moussafir says. “We are lucky to have elected a president that is serious about this and not in denial. The immediate reaction of the French president to Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement made those of us that work in this field very happy because we think that was the smart move.”
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COUNTRY REPORT
FRANCE
Observing new contracts and projects in the pipeline, Moussafir says that he sees consciousness among stakeholders growing in this direction, citing large energy companies, such as Engie. “We have energy giants that started to say, 'ok, we shall not base our strategy on fossil fuel',” he says. “If we do, we shall die – as persons and as companies. I think we’re moving forward, and I hope my company could be a very small part of this process.” This mindset, he says, has trickled down even among insurance providers, who are being called to increase premiums to recognise cost of infrastructure associated with renewable energy projects, such as wind farms. Franck Lesueur, Chairman of the Board, Enekio, an energy-efficiency solutions company, facilitating smart grids, says that he observed an uptake in the use of solar power in France, in keeping with the trends across Europe. Pierre-Yves Thoulon, Cofounder and COO, Crosslux, a French startup producing transparent solar panels to replace glazing in building façades, echoes this, adding that the growing demand is owing to the strong normative context in France to move towards zero- or near-zero energy buildings. By the end of the year, he says, you cannot build a public building that is not zero energy or near-zero energy, “so you have to have some technique to produce electricity or energy in the building itself". Thoulon admits that the varying definitions across Europe as to what qualifies as zero or near-zero can be tricky, but that the general move towards clean and renewable energy makes a case for photovoltaics. He adds that as cities grow, design practices move towards high-rise buildings, and the limited roof space will not provide standard photovoltaic panels with enough room to generate the energy needed, making integration of solar façades a logical solution. Innovations in the integration of solar have also emerged in other fields. HELIO is one such example. The brainchild of Thierry Carlin, CEO, Marine Tech, HELIO, takes advantage of solar power to produce potable water. Carlin points to the scalability of the technology, which was launched last October, and its ability to produce drinking water using clean energy for a family of 5–5,000 people, depending on design implementation, in addition to the wide range of implications it has on utility providers. Moussafir, while commending recent developments, says that research in this field still largely remains in the hands of the public
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Jacques Moussafir
Ella Klubnichkina
Thierry Carlin
sector and universities, and there must be a move towards “climate engineering phases” that sees private industries recognising the urgent nature of climate change. This, he says, is an advocacy of the company, adding that they look to be an interface in terms of research, as they recognise that small companies are not able to absorb the cost that come with such investments.
Energy efficiency and IEQ A conversation about climate change would not be complete without touching on its implications for the built-environment. An emerging issue is the need to strike a balance between energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality (IEQ). “In terms of heating or air conditioning,” Moussafir says, “If you create too much recirculation, you’re in trouble. You don’t want fresh air renewals because you will lose energy.”
Moussafir says that this dilemma is further compounded by unique parameters imposed by older buildings. Citing the Louvre as an example, he says that integrating efficient air conditioning for such buildings is a “masterpiece of engineering”, given the heavy foot traffic and priceless works of art that have to be properly maintained. “The Louvre has an incredible number of visitors per year, approximately eight million. You need not intoxicate these people, because you want them to return to Paris,” he remarks. Moussafir says that he believes modelling and numerical simulations are particularly useful in the field of indoor air quality, as fluid dynamic simulation of indoor modelling can reveal propagation of pollution. “If you have the tools to do that, you can design very good and effective buildings,” he says. Moussafir says that the company saw a demand for its solutions from department stores. “In Paris, we have famous department stores that attract as many people as the Louvre,” he says. “The air flow inside a department store is immensely complicated, because you have the ventilation system that needs to renew the air in a situation, where you have an enormous number of people inside a restricted space.” Moussafir adds that challenges related to air quality inside old historic buildings vastly differ from those related to new developments, where designers are able to more easily implement the necessary environmental measures, use new materials and design to optimise orientation, which he says will affect the organisation of the airflow. “You cannot have a single-minded strategy for indoor air quality,” he says.
A customised approach The collective efforts to encourage environmental consciousness has seemingly emboldened French brands to further enhance their international profile and share knowledge and best practice to better position themselves. “We have the innovation, we have the R&D centres, and we have the know-how,” says Lesueur. “The people of the Gulf trust French technology, but they want to be sure technology in France, which has a nice climate, can be feasible and adapted in the Middle East. That’s why it important to be here. When you go to Kazakhstan, you understand [how] minus 56 degrees C [feels], when you are here you will understand [how] plus 55 degrees C [feels].” Dr Stéphane Sényarich, Marketing and Business Development, Arts Energy,
speaking on the company’s range of battery technology using nickel metal hydride, which he describes as robust in the face of the region’s high-ambient conditions, emphasises that the company also designs products with higher endurance to address local needs. He presents, as an example, plastic casing on the mechanical design to improve thermal exchanges. The company, he adds, supplied the battery for the solar street light that was recently awarded the Zayed Prize. Ella Klubnichkina, Sales Director, SFA group, says the French manufacturer is leveraging its investment in quality certifications as it pushes its air conditioning and boiler pumps. A niche, she says, they have not focused on enough in the past. Klubnichkina emphasises that air conditioning pumps have been sold across Europe for the past 20-30 years, yet the solution has not caught on in the Middle East, despite the fact that it offers design flexibility and is particularly ideal for the region, as equipment is prone to damage due to dust and sandstorms. She says: “We implement
it quite nicely in Europe. About 4/5 of minisplit installations require pumps or [require that] it can be used with a pump. Here, unfortunately, a majority of consultants are not aware of this particular type of approach in installation. That’s our biggest task, we need to create awareness and educate the market about how to make it work.” Thoulon points to the value of an integrated approach, gleaning from the company’s experience speaking with architects on solar facades, as “they are the ones that need convincing”. Thoulon says the company actively works with stakeholders throughout the value chain, which includes evaluating the impact of glazing on building energy balance upon design, providing monitoring tools, and partnering with joinery companies to help implement an effective and working ecosystem so “the product is easily integrated”. Advocating the importance of customisation, Lesueur says: “You cannot say ‘My solution in my city will be a [fitting] solution for a village in Africa’.” Enekio’s
strategy towards adapting to the needs in the region, he says, is through demonstrating and validating its products. “It’s important for people to take the solution for themselves,” Lesueur says. “If I will explain to you how to live in your country, it will not work. You have to say I have a solution, I would like to make R&D, and I want to test my solution in your country with your usage." Lesueur says he has seen a significant shift among stakeholders in the Middle East and that the region, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, holds great opportunity for efficient products and solutions owing to the increasing prices in water and electricity. “When it starts to hurt you, you find solutions to the problem,” he says, emphasising that cost, at the end of the day, is a strong incentive for people to seriously consider energy-saving measures.
HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
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July 2018
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COUNTRY REPORT
FRANCE
Voices: “HQE is the most used building efficiency regulation in France, then BREEAM, and there are only few LEED. The RT (Réglementation Thermique = Thermal Regulation) is related to greenhouse gas reduction in both new buildings and retrofitted ones; in the case of thermal improvement works, a certain level of efficiency is requested. The primary energy consumption has to be lower than 50 kWh/m2/year. The current RT is the RT 2012 with some updates done. The new version planned is RT 2020 with new requirements forcing to build passive or energy-positive buildings, producing more energy than consuming, with a special care about its own [energy production] and environmental impact. BBC (Bâtiment Basse Consommation = low consumption building) label is a mandatory regulation for all new buildings. It is not mandatory for retrofit, but it becomes mandatory while applying for the BBC label with again the 50 kWh/m2/year max energy consumption + an extra rule related to air leaks. The concept of ice storage was invented by one of the company founders, Mr Jean Patry. The technology has evolved a lot. Ice storage offers the benefit to require 6-8 times lower volume than chilled water systems: the stored energy in 1 m3 (one cubic meter) is average 45 kWh (= 13 TRh) with ice compared to 8 kWh (= 1,8 TRH) with chilled water. As the ice is contained in relatively small ‘balls’ (136 mm diameter) these can be stacked and stored in any container shape or room (with columns inside or unusual shapes). For many countries this is something interesting, in order to push end-users to save electricity, because night tariffs are cheaper than day. We are active in HVAC, District Cooling, data centre cooling, TIAC (turbine inlet air cooling) and industrial apps. With big international references for District Cooling applications, one of the main priorities of the company is to expand in the Middle East, in Europe and several Asian countries.”
Nicolas Winkler, Export Director, Cryogel France
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“All over France, the situation is good and controlled, but Paris is a big city and the capital, [where] we have 10 million people in and out of the suburbs. It is congested, and there is a problem of pollution. [There are] a lot of programmes, projects and innovations to enhance and improve indoor air quality, with guidelines for all sectors. This is something driven by the public and private sectors. This is top priority in France and also in the EU, because a lot of laws are communicated from France and Germany. The main entry point is to educate, create a lot of awareness and lobby with government authorities and decision makers. Dubai Municipality, Ministry of Health, all these authorities are looking for new technology, and they want to find adequate solutions for the problem of indoor air quality in the UAE, as it’s not the same as in France. For each problem you need to find and adopt the right solution. They can benefit from the experience [of French manufacturers] and, at the same time, find a solution that suits the market and industry here. Innovation [in France] is driven by the need of the market and the French market and companies are very into bringing new and innovative solutions and taking care of the sustainability of those solutions. Innovation by French companies is driven by the need of each company.”
Joseph Moussallem, General Manager, Igienair Middle East
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July 2018
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FEATURE
Valves
Building it right, making things better
With no shortage of options in the valves market, what is being done to cultivate greater transparency and ensure the correct product is chosen, and maintained properly, to avoid underperforming buildings? Is emerging technology enough to override human shortcomings? Hannah Jo Uy reports…
V
alves are integral components that determine the quality and performance of a building; and their growth is inevitably interlinked with that of the construction industry. Colin Bridges, Business Development Manager, Belimo Automation, speaks on this integral correlation. “Because we are so closely allied to the buildings construction market,” he says, “where there is increased investment in projects – commercial, residential and governmental buildings – you see a growth in components that make those buildings' cooling systems work. Control valves track construction. If construction is high, that generally calls for more demand for things like control valves.” Bridges adds that since the Middle East is a cooling market, with air conditioning being a prerequisite, it is even more important to balance and control the circuits providing the cooling. Heiri Walker, Business Unit Head, CPS Middle East, Siemens Building Technologies, provides an estimation for the control valves and actuators market to be at approximately USD 10–15 million in the UAE, and USD 20–25 million in Saudi Arabia, “with the major growth area being Pressure Independent Control Valves (PICVs)”. Taha Kook, Global Operations Manager, Advanced Technical Solutions (ATS), says the overall control valves market is expected to grow from USD 7.19 billion in 2016 to reach USD 11.24 billion by 2023, with a CAGR of 6.5%. “The Middle East and Africa
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Industrial Valves Market [will be] worth USD 10 billion by 2019,” Kook says. “The gate and ball valves and control valve are expected to hold a larger share of the control valves market by 2023.” This, he says, is owing to the growing demand for building and construction, from growing economies, such as GCC [region] countries, China, India and Brazil, emphasising that valves have an important role in ensuring safety, efficiency and profitability. Bridges says that with regard to control valves, the size of the market is split into two. “There are the conventional control valves,” he says, “which are lower cost, lower technology and not normally associated with premium buildings – that would be a costbased solution, whereas the PICV is more of a quality-based solution. The decisions are based more on a cost basis or a quality basis.” Bridges adds that with available options in the market, ensuring the proper choice is further complicated as PICVs have become “commoditised”. "About 15-20 years ago, there were only a handful of manufacturers,” he says. “Now there are probably 30 or 40 suppliers. Some make, and some have others make for them.” Providing a perspective on why this is so, Bridges says that controls for air-handling units and fan-coil units are installed by the hundreds of thousands in a typical large-scale project. “You can see why commoditisation has crept in,” he says, “because you have huge numbers and volumes of these devices. Any manufacturer
wants to capture that market, so cost does become an issue. He’s competing with everyone else making a PICV, the temptation, therefore, is to produce at lower cost and things that cost less normally don’t perform so well. Cheap cars are not as nice as expensive cars and there’s a reason for that – you make a choice.” Bridges stresses that the qualities, thus, vary enormously. “What that means is,” he says, “greater care needs to be taken in the way in which the valves are selected. Because of the breadth of quality from poor to high, and everything in between, it’s made the users, consultants and the contractors’ jobs much more difficult.” Kook says, though cost and energy savings is a main driver, he has seen an encouraging response from stakeholders in their efforts to move away from cost-centric thinking, prompting the company to not only focus on price but also on innovation. “All ATS products are pressure-tested at the factory to assure that there are no leakages or malfunctions owing to manufacturing defects,” he says. Walker reports a similar trend, adding that since HVAC systems can be responsible for 60-70% of a building’s energy use, though optimising the systems is a key challenge it also provides owners with a big opportunity. “We are seeing MEP consultants beginning to move away from conventional control valves, towards energy-efficient PICVs,” he adds. “Capex, of course, remains an important consideration.
SAUTER – Middle East We are committed to carry forward the mission of SAUTER – Switzerland to provide best of the products & systems across the Middle East and Africa. We are keen to provide these services by establishing the network of “Solution Sales Partners” for BMS projects and “Sales and Services Representatives” for HVAC controls products across the region. Interested companies are welcome to send their credentials, having their company profile and details of current operations to us at below email address. All type of technical, marketing and development support shall be provided by our highly skilled team based at our office in Sharjah-UAE and our Head office at Basel Switzerland. Sauter Middle East FZC
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P.O. Box 122353 Sharjah, UAE Phone +971 6 5578303 info@sauterme.ae www.sauter-controls.com
July 2018
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FEATURE
Valves
However, as the market matures, we are increasingly seeing operating costs, such as energy consumption and maintenance, considered at the design stage.”
A booming retrofit market The allure of cost-savings is not only confined to new projects, it also extends to the existing building stock. For the most part, valve manufacturers view the retrofit market across the region as promising. Kook says: “One of the biggest advantages to retrofit HVAC replacement is the fact that a new HVAC system will always run more efficiently. The system will use less energy to operate. This will save us a very significant amount of money. Depending on where our building is located, the cost savings will be greater in regions where the electricity rates are higher. However, energy costs are currently rising substantially almost everywhere, so we have to save a ton of money with a commercial HVAC replacement, regardless of where your building is located.” Kook says that this is especially true if you add up the energy cost savings over the lifetime of the new commercial HVAC system. “However, updating some equipment is less costly than changing the whole commercial HVAC system,” he adds. Walker says that Siemens also sees huge potential in the region’s retrofit market as buildings are ageing, utility prices are increasing and awareness of the advantages of energy efficiency continues to gain traction. “A perfect example of a retrofit programme,” he says, “would be our recent contract with Dubai Airports, which will focus on implementing efficiency measures to guarantee annual energy savings of around 20%.” Bridges says the uptake in retrofit projects is further underpinned by the prevalence of underperforming building HVAC systems that were “built and commissioned in haste and perhaps not with the care and attention that they might have received”. The maintenance and operation of the HVAC system is not always getting the attention it deserves. As a result, he says, there is a growing retrofit market putting some of these buildings right. “Some of these buildings," he says, “if they were built correctly in the first place wouldn’t require it. But as technology advances and smarter products come to market, it is our obligation to continuously engage and educate potential customers.”
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Colin Bridges
Heiri Walker
Taha Kook
A lack of understanding The importance of education and engaging with customers, Bridges says, cannot be emphasised enough for the benefit of all stakeholders involved. “There is a lack of understanding in the technical nature of control,” he says, “and as manufacturers, we have the responsibility to explain the way in which our products work in an honest and proper way.” Bridges adds that like many manufacturers, Belimo seeks to engage consultants through technical presentations. “I do mean technical,” he stresses. “I don’t mean just a sales pitch. We talk about fundamentals, the ways in which systems work or should work, the characteristics of certain devices and systems, and we try to engage with the customers about what’s really truly important in selecting and sizing and choosing these types of equipment, so people can understand what they’re buying, and how what they are buying will perform.
If price is the only criteria, the system generally will suffer, and value engineering is a phrase bandied about, which in reality often becomes merely cost cutting.” Bridges laments the gaps in the necessary skillset to ensure quality of building performance. “When we go to buildings and ask the important questions to establish how the system operates or how it’s intended to operate, one constant is that usually the persons we are talking to – the system operator, FM operator or maintenance crew – don’t really truly understand the way in which the system should operate, and it’s not their fault.” In the handover process, Bridges says, there should have been a more concerted effort to educate the company responsible for managing the system on how to understand it better and continue to operate the equipment in the way it was intended. Narrating a real-life encounter, Bridges shares: “I was called recently to four buildings and I asked a series of questions in helping sort and mitigate a Low Delta T issue. Simple questions like pump sequencing, chiller sequencing and what the design flow rate should be for the air-handling unit, were not able to be answered. And if you don’t know the answer to these questions how can you know when they are underperforming? You have to have some real data that serves as a 'start point'.” Walker echoes this, touching on Siemens' efforts to collaborate with organisations such as the Emirates Green Building Council and ASHRAE to run technical presentations to increase awareness. “We’ve worked with customers in the region to demonstrate that intelligently applied technology can make significant resource savings for a building or group of buildings,” he says, “and the results speak for themselves. We believe in using technology to drive sustainability; this is demonstrated by our commitment to ensuring our operations are carbon-neutral by 2030. By then, all Siemens production facilities and buildings are set to achieve a net-zero-carbon footprint. Increasingly, we are seeing greater understanding that sustainability doesn’t just benefit humanity and the environment, but that there are also sound economic and business advantages.” Kook weighs in, agreeing that incorrect installation, lack of proper maintenance and improper product selection, can cause breakdowns. This, he says, is why the company has been driving the industry to change “from the conventional valve by using separate valves assembled together at the site and change it to the valve package ATS FCU-Link”, which he says has become increasingly popular.
New answers to old problems Bridges believes the introduction of new data-driven technologies could help address these issues. “We are dealing with a retrofit market and a new build market,” Bridges says. “What we are finding to be difficult is there is often a lack of a holistic approach and important data devices are either not installed or, in situations where they are installed, the devices are not working together to allow the system operator to have the clarity neeeded to control better. What you can't measure, you can't save. Our device is a good case-in point. It offers complete transparency, when there was little before, you could collect the data from a building management system, if it was working properly, if all the sensors were fully operational and accurate, if they were all connected in a way that presents the data on the screen allowing a more pro-active approach to system operation. What the energy valve does is – it has all that multiple data from a single source, so it’s already there; you don’t have to gather it, it’s gathered for you. It can be programmed to act without you even knowing it, as it's smart algorithms act autonomously in favour of efficiency. Further, these actions are recorded in a date-stamped timeline for review and actions based on hard data.” Bridges stresses that hard data in real time paves the way for predictive maintenance and greater efficiencies throughout the life of the system. Walker echoes this, emphasising that the potential of the Internet of Things to revolutionise building technologies is huge. “Already we are seeing more and more HVAC devices connected to the IoT,” he says, “the challenge is to analyse the data they produce, and use it to generate real-world optimisation of building performance. Software is playing an increasingly essential role, which is why we have built a portfolio that includes technologies such as MindSphere; a cloud-based operating system for the Internet of Things, to connect physical infrastructure to the digital world.” MindSphere, he explains, analyses huge volumes of data and uses intelligent algorithms and applications to optimise sustainable building management for greater energy and equipment efficiency, better space utilisation as well as increased user efficiency, comfort and safety. Bridges says he believes there will be a continuous growth of these kinds of devices and an increase in the types of platforms where that kind of information can be seen and used. “That’s where the cloud comes in, because it allows you to store data and retrieve it as you wish; the real chance for the cloud is, in my opinion, multiple connectivity.” While technology is evolving in a more intuitive manner to help alleviate old problems, as with any tool, it is only as good as the person wielding it.Therefore, the call to cultivate a more educated market, which will optimise emerging features and benefit from existing solutions, is more relevant than ever, to ensure the best performance of buildings for years to come.
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NEWS REGIONAL
Etihad ESCO signs service agreement with Jamal Al Ghurair Group
Etihad ESCO to propose energy conservation measures for the Group’s first retrofit project in Abu Dhabi, after detailed study of two of its facilities, CEO says By CCME Content Team
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tihad ESCO announced the signing of an agreement with Jamal Al Ghurair Group, to retrofit two of their industrial facilities in Abu Dhabi, Gypsemna and Porcellan, through a Press communiqué. Etihad ESCO and Jamal Al Ghurair Group formed the partnership after identifying the enormous energysavings potential of the project, the communiqué said. Being the first retrofit programme to be undertaken by Etihad ESCO in Abu Dhabi, the project is set to pave the way for increased adoption of retrofit measures in the capital, the communiqué further said. Etihad ESCO is undertaking a detailed analysis of the two sites, after which Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) will be proposed, based on the requirements, the communiqué said.
Speaking about the agreement, Ali Al Jassim, CEO, Etihad ESCO, said: “We are glad to form this partnership with Jamal Al Ghurair Group, which is the first of many retrofit projects we are set to undertake in the UAE’s capital. Al Ghurair’s commitment to promoting energy efficiency will encourage other public and private entities in Abu Dhabi to join the march towards sustainability.” Commenting on the partnership, Jamal Al-Ghurair, Group Chairman, said: “Through the adoption of such measures, we aim to contribute to the UAE’s sustainable development. We are optimistic that the Ali Al Jassim ECMs proposed by Etihad ESCO after conducting a detailed study of our industries will help us gain from savings, in terms of both cost and energy.” According to Etihad ESCO, the implementation of the retrofit project will be completed in 2018.
UAE has a growing demand for retrofit solutions, says Taqeef CEO highlights VRF technology’s efficiency and ease of installation for retrofit projects By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
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Ghussein said, with VRF technology, the here is a growing demand for existing structures can remain in place. retrofit solutions in the United This, he said, would not be Arab Emirates, said the case if the chiller was Tariq Al Ghussein, being replaced with another CEO, Taqeef, adding that this chiller, where everything will trend is what prompted the have to be replaced. “No company to set up its retrofit point having a brand new solutions division. “Dubai chiller with old rusted pipes, identified 100,000 buildings because the damage has that need retrofitting,” Al been done,” he said. Ghussein said, “and they Tariq Al Ghussein Pointing to a recent want to do 30,000 by 2020.” retrofit project of Taqeef’s Al Ghussein outlined the as an example, Al Ghussein benefits of VRF technology in said that it took the company three days such projects, emphasising its efficiency to replace each flat with a VRF system, and ease in installation. installing a decorative split in each unit. “If you replace a chiller system,” he “We got EMS, a Dubai-certified energy said, “[the energy efficiency] is going management company, to do an audit,” to improve anyway because that was he said. “They came back with a 67% an old chiller and this would be a new saving on electrical consumption. I think chiller. With VRF we reckoned it will save, we would like to do another audit and I in theory, 50–60%.” Additionally, Al
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think we can save even more because that was with all the units on.” Al Ghussein said that often discussions on retrofit resolutions revolve around simply replacing LED lights and donning controls, while not enough emphasis is being placed on air conditioning, which he said, is a core issue in the context of energy efficiency, given that it places the biggest burden on electricity consumption. “If someone came to me and said, 'Help me save 50% on my electricity bill,' it’s a no brainer,” he said. “I would go and do it, and you would get return on investment.” Al Ghussein said that the company is committed to investing in retrofit projects through their division, and that while there has been significant uptake in demand, there is still room for improvement. “Before, no regulation existed,” Al Ghussein said. “Now they do, and technology has improved, so there is a lot to be done in old buildings."
Empower receives four awards at IDEA Annual Conference Recognition reflects Empower’s determination and leadership in District Cooling, CEO says By CCME Content Team
“For sustainability to take hold, it has to be costeffective”
Industry insider highlights financial benefit of integrated design approach in the construction industry By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
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Ahmed Bin Shafar with IDEA President, Rob Thornton
high-performing building is a better building, said Lynelle Cameron, CEO, Autodesk Foundation and Vice President, Sustainability, Autodesk. “For sustainability to take hold, it has to be cost-effective,” Cameron said. “Ten years ago it might have been more investment to design a highperformance building. Today you can make those decisions early in the design process so it doesn’t cost more and you reduce the cost over time. It has to be driven by economics, in addition to the regulatory environment,” she added.
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mirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), received four awards at the 109th International District Energy Association (IDEA) Annual Conference and Tradeshow 2018, held in Vancouver, Canada, from June 11 to 14, the company said in a Press communiqué. The awards are: IDEA Innovation Awards Honourable Mention for the “360° Solution for Metering Artificial Intelligence (AIMS 360°)”, IDEA Innovation Awards Honourable Mention for the “Energy Transfer Solution Flow Control Optimisation using Statistical Process Control”, “Gold Award for Total Number of Buildings Committed” and “Gold Award for Total Building Area Committed”, the communiqué said. The first Innovation Award won by Empower was for the “360° Solution for Metering Artificial Intelligence (AIMS 360°)”, which is a remote and integrated system, the communiqué said. The system’s objective is to effectively manage District Cooling needs at both ends of process, the communiqué further said. The solution is designed to serve customers with accurate billing requirements, auto-detect and analyse meter faults for real-time rectification and provide sustainable supply of District Cooling for customers, the communiqué added. The second Innovation Award was received for the “Energy Transfer Solution Flow Control Optimisation using Statistical Process Control (SPC)”, the communiqué said. Applying SPC, Empower is committed to meet the contractual demands of the end user in terms of flow requirements and supply temperature, the communiqué further said. The flow requirements are met using the flow control valve, which is modulated to ensure sufficient water flow for the building. Standard deviations and control charts are used to monitor and enhance the performance of the control loop, thus resulting in improved quality of service and effective usage of chilled water, the communiqué added. On receiving the awards, Ahmed Bin Shafar, CEO, Empower, said, “This recognition reflects Empower’s determination and leadership, and its ability to innovate solutions and technologies in the District Cooling industry, which has put Dubai on the map of global cities in District Cooling.”
Lynelle Cameron
Cameron admitted that there are different levels of adoption in terms of relevant technologies for the construction sector, owing to differing regulations in various countries, as well as private sector acceptance. She commended the UAE government for making bold commitments to sustainability through smart cities, renewable energy and solar projects. Cameron said: “I’m more optimistic than ever that the construction industry will adopt the technology, because there is the economics behind it to design and construct things better. It’s a combination of technology being readily affordable and available and the government’s vision of where we want to be in the next couple of decades being the key drivers.”
July 2018
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Empower signs MoU with Wasl to provide District Cooling services to Wasl Tower Deal will provide 3,900 TR of District Cooling services to Wasl Tower, Empower official says By CCME Content Team
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mirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) has signed an agreement to provide 3,900 Refrigeration Tonnes (RT) of District Cooling services to Wasl Tower, the company announced in a Press communiqué. According to Empower, the 300-metrehigh Wasl Tower has 64 floors, features one of the world’s tallest ceramic façades and includes offices, hotels and residential spaces. The tower, which is located on Sheikh Zayed Road, will be delivered by 2020, the communiqué said. Empower also announced that the project will be served from its District Cooling plant in Business Bay, and that
His Excellency Hesham Al Qassim and Ahmad Bin Shafar, signing the agreement
work to connect the building has already commenced and will be delivered in the last quarter of 2019. Empower’s cooling plants will be linked through the construction of a network using state-of-the-art technology to connect pipes via a tunnel under Sheikh Zayed Road, the communiqué said. Commenting on the deal, Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower, said: “Empower is in the process of serving more leading real estate projects and aims to provide all Dubai sectors – residential, commercial and entertainment facilities – with District Cooling services that have sustainable international standards. This supports Dubai's pioneering
role in reducing carbon emissions, which is in-line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.” His Excellency Hesham Al Qassim, CEO, Wasl Asset Management, said: “It is our pleasure to partner with Empower to have District Cooling systems with environmentally sustainable specifications that support the environmental approach and sustainable development objectives of Dubai installed in our tower. This will further enhance the sustainable real estate sector in the UAE.”
GCC region a source of renewable energy, says CESI Managing Director highlights opportunities for energy export from the GCC region By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
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Dr Floris Hendrikus Schulze
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he GCC region offers huge potential for renewables, said Dr Floris Hendrikus Schulze, Managing Director and Head of CESI Middle East, citing it as one of the most ideal places in the world for renewable energy to thrive. This, he said, is because the region enjoys two of the main elements needed for solar power – climate and ample available land. “We anticipate that the GCC will become a key powerhouse energy source,” he said, “with the capabilities to support a significant part of the world’s energy demands of the projected 10 billion population in 2050.” Dr Schulze added that not only is each country individually investing in the industry, the region is fully understanding of the power of connecting the GCC to other countries and continents further afield. “In 2001, the GCC Interconnection Authority (GCCIA), was established to interlink all the national power systems,” he said, adding that now there are 25 interconnections amongst the GCC counties – a mix of electricity and gas – and the potential to connect with neighbouring countries and into Africa and Asia is being actively pursued. “The region also doesn’t have a choice,” he said. “With the steady decline in oil prices, it has to reduce its reliance on oil and look at new revenue streams.”
July 2018
Smart sensors make energy saving second nature
New Multi V 5 system prioritises energy efficiency while tacking humidity, LG official says By CCME Content Team
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hile many top-of-the-line VRF solutions are designed to keep temperatures under control, efficiently creating the ideal environment also involves tackling humidity, LG Electronics said in a Press communiqué while introducing its new Multi V 5 VRF system. Office productivity and morale suffer if responsible steps are not taken to guarantee employee comfort by reining in temperature and humidity, the communiqué said. The need to combat humidity is felt even more acutely at production facilities, since these concerns apply to costly equipment and machinery as well as employees, the communiqué further said.
According to LG, these issues are addressed by the dual-sensing control capabilities of the new Multi V 5. It raises user comfort while increasing control, allowing the Multi V 5 to perform real-time climate evaluations down to the smallest detail, the communiqué said. Unlike conventional air conditioners, which only track temperature, the Multi V 5 is able to measure the temperature and humidity levels of surrounding outdoor and indoor environments, the communiqué further said. This comprehensive understanding of its surroundings helps the Multi V 5 tailor its performance to not only be green and promote healthy environments but achieve optimal energy efficiency and indoor comfort levels, the communiqué added. Commenting on the new Multi V 5, Sook Wang Lee, General Manager, System Air Conditioning Business, LG Electronics Gulf, said: “Most VRFs don’t take room humidity into account when calculating airflow output. This can cause users to overuse their air conditioner as they seek to create a comfortable temperature. Similarly, in rooms that have lower levels of humidity, air conditioners may be able to operate at lower levels despite the user tendency to turn up the AC at every opportunity.” According to LG, efficient systems like smart load control make it possible to control the outdoor unit’s discharge refrigerant temperature, increasing energy efficiency by up to 31%. The communiqué said that the addition of the comfort cooling function and dual-sensing control gives the Multi V 5 the ability to maintain operation around a desired temperature, delivering maximum user comfort.
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Integrated solutions for a clean environment
July 2018
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NEWS REGIONAL
Digitisation can play a vital role in water and energy consumption Ecolab official highlights best practices with regard to District Cooling operations; outlines benefits of 3D Trasar Technology By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
Arjan Arjan Boogaards Boogaards
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igitisation can play a vital role in maintaining operating reliability and ensuring asset protection, said Arjan Boogaards, Senior Vice President and President, Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, Ecolab, speaking in the context of the company’s 3D Trasar Technology for cooling boilers and membranes, which he said, helps to reduce water usage by as much as 30%. Boogaards said: “In some countries where water is cheap, you may say that is not a lot, but in these parts, it is more scarce. It will get even scarcer, and prices may go up. Municipalities in the Emirates are very concerned about water scarcity and drive programmes to lower consumption in large water [consumers] like District Cooling providers.” The technology, Boogaards said, aims to provide visibility in the organisation across multiple plants, with engineers in system assurance centres remotely monitoring the chemical treatment programme’s performance, and intervening immediately, if needed, to ensure systems operate with the lowest possible water consumption. Further highlighting the benefits that implementing proper controls have on District Cooling operations, Boogaards said this could also positively impact energy consumption. “Let me focus on what I think is critical in all cooling applications,” he said, “especially in chillers: keeping the surface clean. That sounds simple, but there are three things that influence the cleanliness of service: microbiological fouling, scaling and corrosion. These are the three things in chillers you have
Looming environmental targets make a case for insulation, says industry insider Khansaheb Industries says ductwork’s impact on lifecycle cost higher in the Gulf region By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
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Paul Groves
ooming environmental targets have made a case for integrating energyefficient equipment at every turn, said Paul Groves, Business Development Manager, Khansaheb Industries. Speaking on the importance of insulation in this regard, Groves cited recent research from AECOM concluding that up to 24% of a building’s total lifetime cost was directly related to ductwork. “This may well be higher in the Gulf,” he said, “and if AC ductwork can enhance the energy efficiency of a system, then there are large savings to be made.” Speaking in the context of the UAE’s environmental targets, Groves made a case for the company’s product, Spiralite, highlighting the design’s contribution to energy efficiency, sustainability, reduction of carbon footprint and optimising lifecycle cost. Thermal and airflow
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to control. Fouling means less heat transfer, more energy consumption.” Boogaards said that with the government’s increasing emphasis towards addressing water consumption and in view of the energy-saving opportunities inherent in such technologies, he is optimistic the market will grow exponentially in the coming years. Boogaards said the company also believes that data centres will drive demand for relevant technologies in the region, based on the trends Ecolab has observed from its portfolio of activities abroad. “There are roughly more than 100 smallscale data centres across Middle East and Africa,” he said. “In the region, we are not on the same scale as you see in the rest of the world. This is beginning to change with Microsoft and Amazon announcing they are going to build large-scale centres in the UAE and Bahrain in 2019.” He added that the company cultivates a strong relationship with Microsoft, citing Ecolab as “the preferred data centre cooling partner for Microsoft globally”. Speaking on the company’s strategy, Boogaards said that traditionally, Ecolab has focused on targeting end-users and large OEM manufacturers and they have also established connections with FM companies, stakeholders that play a vital role in operating District Cooling plants.
efficiencies, he said, are due to the rounded shape, internal laminate and use of phenolic DCD approved insulation. “In recent projects we achieved energy cost savings of 27% and 38%,” he said. “These are serious numbers when taken over the lifetime of the building.” Circular ductwork, Groves added, also has had a big impact, as in Scandinavia the use of circular ductwork has increased from five per cent to 85% in the last 40 years, “driven almost entirely by energy cost increases”. In the USA, Groves said, the recently completed multi-billion-dollar refurbishment of the Pentagon had a mandated 35% energy saving, “a substantial portion of which was achieved by converting all the AC ductwork from rectangular to circular or flat oval”. Further highlighting Spiralite’s features, Groves said that its being airtight and pressure resistant up to 7,667 pa, is also a significant factor in its enhanced performance. “In a recent study,” he added, “the cost of wasted energy due to air leakages alone increased from GBP 850 (USD 1,121) to GBP 24,580 (USD 32,419) when comparing Spiralite to Class A metal ductwork.” Groves said that this also significantly impacts IEQ, stressing that the use of circular insulated, non-leaking and pressureresistant ductwork facilitates the “optimal delivery of conditioned air at the right temperature, quantity, speed, location and humidity, and preferably, at a reduced noise level”. [Currency conversions in the article are as per 29 June 2018.]
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2-6 years sales experience with HVAC valves in UAE market Degree Qualification - Mechanical Engineer Valid UAE driving license Native Arabic speaker and fluent in English
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4-6 years sales experience with HVAC/Air filtration products in UAE market Degree Qualification - Engineering or science degree preferred Valid UAE driving license Fluent in English
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July 2018
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Danfoss conducts survey to assess sustainable food consumption Residents in United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia take action to reduce food waste, survey reveals By CCME Content Team
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anfoss, the engineering solutions provider, commissioned a survey to assess the sustainable food consumption of residents in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and how well they are complying with their governments' appeal to reduce food waste, the company said in a Press communiqué. According to Danfoss, the survey revealed that 83% of respondents understand the impact of food waste on the environment and 77% actively take action to reduce their food waste footprint.
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Food waste is a serious issue in the Middle East and has increased in recent years due to the surge in hotels, restaurants and cafeteria openings in the region, which send large amounts of food waste to landfills, the communiqué said. In Saudi Arabia, it was recently revealed by Al Arabiya that the estimated cost of waste per year is USD 13.3 billion, amounting to one-third of the country's food production, the communiqué further said. Similarly, in the United Arab Emirates, 40% of waste generated in the country is derived from food waste, while in Egypt the average Egyptian throws away around 73 kilograms of food each year, the communiqué added. Ziad Al Bawaliz, Regional President for Turkey, Middle East and Africa, Danfoss, said, "The food consumption habits in the Middle East are some of the most concerning in the world and this has a significant impact on the global environment, whether it's because of overflowing landfills or the emission of greenhouse gases as a result of the food waste." According to Danfoss, the reduction of food waste helps the environment by diminishing the landfill stream of decomposing food, which releases methane gas and, in turn, contributes to global warming. Fortunately, initiatives are already being put in place to Ziad Al Bawaliz ensure this proposed reduction becomes a reality, especially during Ramadan, the communiqué said. Saudi Arabia, for example, has launched a national programme to tackle the issue of food waste while in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai is planning to be the first city in the Middle East to achieve zero food waste through the UAE Food Bank, a nonprofit charitable organisation launched last year, the communiqué further said. Wasteless Egypt, a mobile phone application that launched last year in cooperation with the Egyptian Food Bank, lets residents donate leftover food and clothes to the less fortunate areas with the click of a button, during Ramadan and year-round, the communiqué added. According to Danfoss, such initiatives have had a positive impact on residents with 79% of survey respondents claiming they are especially more conscious of the food they waste during Ramadan because of the numerous food-saving activities taking place. However, that is not to say they are unaware the other 11 months of the year – 68% of respondents often take home their leftovers when they eat at a restaurant and 83% would, if given the opportunity, give their leftovers to the less fortunate, the communiqué said. Al Bawaliz said: Through this survey, we wanted to spread awareness on the issue of food waste. These results are extremely positive; proving that the Middle East region is finally starting to sit up and take notice of the damage being caused to the environment through their own actions is everything we could wish for. It is my hope that the Middle East continues on this path and achieves the goal of zero food waste." According to Danfoss, the survey was conducted by YouGov in May 2018, with 3,000 participants from across the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Integration of robotics in solar park helps reduce opex, says Masdar Head of Project Delivery highlights customised innovations in Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park project By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
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ollowing completion of 200 MW as the first stage of the third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, Fawaz Hadi Salem Ali Al Muharrami, Head of Project Delivery, Masdar, spoke Fawaz Hadi Salem Ali Al on how the project is one of the Muharrami first in the Middle East to use dry cleaning technology. “It is basically using a robotic system to clean the panels without using a drop of water,” Al Muharrami said. “It is environmentally good, as well as a cost-effective solution for the project. We have more than 40-50 robots to clean the models, reducing a lot of cost in the operation phase of the project,” he added. The robotic system, Muharrami said, will be implemented across the third phase’s planned 800 MW. Another unique feature, he said, is a tracking technology to follow the path of the sun, “which basically allows us to produce more energy”.
Muharrami said though these features were designed for the project, they can be replicated in other PV projects. He added that for the solar park, in particular, the robots were designed specifically to manage the different types of panel, which are lightweight and, thus, cannot accommodate heavy systems, else they crack the model. “You need to be a little bit more careful,” Muharrami said, “and you need to design specifically for the model. You have to get the certification approved from the supplier of the model on cleaning robots.” Muharrami emphasised how the price of the solar park, in breaking the USD 30 per megawatt hour mark, set an industry benchmark. “At the time we bid, it was the world record,” he said, “and it was significantly lower than the previous one. It has driven all investors to really innovate and think of other ways to reduce the cost.” For this project, he added, the robotic system is only one in a number of factors in the move to drive the price down, emphasising the project’s holistic design and construction approach to ensure optimisation of capex and opex.
Techem Energy Services to advance presence in Middle East region Managing Director says company to establish strong alliances with key market players By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
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echem Energy Services is to advance its penetration in the Middle East region, said Bissan Abbas, Managing Director, Techem Energy Services Middle East. “The plan for the short term,” she said, “is to branch out locally in the other emirates, such as Abu Dhabi and Ras Al-Khaimah, as well as in the neighbouring countries. “Techem is looking to echo the same approach in the UAE and GCC [region], in the short to long term, via establishing strong alliances with the key market players and to use its over 10 years experience in the UAE to provide the right energy-efficiency model.” Bissan said that Techem hopes to participate in efforts to reduce wastage in energy consumption and establish transparent and fair cost allocation to end users. “Cooling in mid- to high-rise buildings costs from 60-70% of their total yearly budget,” she said. “Therefore, it’s essential to participate in recording consumption to ensure fairness to endusers while keeping a measure of control with our clients.”
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July 2018
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Metito's CEO to join International Desalination Association's Honorary Council
The aim of the Council is to encourage research, disseminate information and support education in desalination and water sciences, official says By CCME Content Team
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he Board of Directors of the International Desalination Association (IDA) invited Mutaz Ghandour, Chairman and CEO, Metito, to become a member of the IDA Honorary Council and an IDA Ambassador, the company announced in a Press communiqué. Mutaz Ghandour The aim of this Council is to leverage the wealth of knowledge and experience that resides with its members to fulfil the IDA's mission around the world and its commitment to encourage research, promote and exchange communication, disseminate information, and support education in the field of desalination and water sciences, the communiqué said. Commenting on the invitation, Shannon McCarthy, Secretary General, IDA, said: "The IDA Honorary Council is recognition of notable individuals who have devoted their time to the Association
Public support drives use of TSE for cooling towers, says Metito
Managing Director says uptake in penetration of District Cooling expected in the MENA region and South East Asia in view of growing population By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
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upport from the public sector will continue to drive demand for Treated Sewage Effluent (TSE) in cooling tower applications, said Fady Juez, Managing Director, Metito, adding that growing recognition of the efficiency of District Cooling Fady Juez will contribute to its uptake in hot climate areas such as South East Asia, Middle East and Africa, in view of their increasing urban population. “We believe it will grow more in cities where you have buildings and towers,” he said. The company, Juez said, has been active in promoting the reuse of water, calling it an “ignored wealth”, especially in view of the initial investment required to desalinate. Of late, Juez added, there have
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and who have distinguished themselves in the field of desalination and advanced water treatment solutions. Through the support of the Honorary Council members, who will act as ambassadors for the Association, IDA will intensify the engagement with the world's policymakers to help ensure sustainable solutions to growing water scarcity challenges." IDA is a non-profit association and is associated with the United Nations as part of a growing international network of non-governmental organisations, the communiqué said. The IDA Honorary Council will be balanced by regional representation from five regions: Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and Africa, North America, Pacific and Asia, the communiqué further said. Commenting on his invitation, Ghandour said: "It is an honour to accept this expression of confidence and invitation from the IDA. Water scarcity is not an industry issue, but an issue of general and global importance, and I hope the IDA Honorary Council can add shared value on this front.”
been strong and proactive efforts from the government and private sector to support the use of waste water for cooling towers, especially for heavy consumers, such as cooling towers in District Cooling projects. “In this respect,” he said, “we have seen a surge in the use of TSE.” Juez said that in view of the scarcity of water in the region, District Cooling stakeholders must consider TSE as the only option available, and the government and private sector have been aware of the importance of this issue. This is especially true, he said, in the UAE where cost of a cubic metre of water is an actual cost, and not a subsidised cost. Stakeholders, Juez said, have an option to use TSE and polished TSE through a process that utilises reverse osmosis technology. In the GCC region, Juez said, there is a lot of focus from the government on the use of waste water, adding and that there is a steady move to establish regulatory framework procedures to ensure quality. In other companies, he said, where water is not as scarce, regulations are focusing more on the disposal of wastewater into rivers and seas, and not into use or treatment. Slowly, he said, there has been a move towards reuse. The company, he said, is heavily involved in supporting technical and commercial viability and reuse of wastewater. Providing an example of recent projects, Juez pointed to the wastewater recycling and TSE plant in downtown Dubai. The project, he said, was a milestone owing to the challenges the company addressed, such as available space given that the area’s prime location is expensive. He explained that the recycling and polishing plant has the capacity to recycle 20,000 cubic metres per day and addresses the water demand for District Cooling plants in the downtown area. He also highlighted the company’s move to complete, commission and operate the plant.
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Bitzer receives 2018 Deutscher Kältepreis Award Company earns third place in the ‘Refrigeration and air conditioning innovations’ category, official says By CCME Content Team
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he refrigeration compressor manufacturer Bitzer received the third place in the ‘Refrigeration and air conditioning innovations’ category of the 2018 Deutscher Kältepreis awards, presented by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, the company announced in a Press communiqué. Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister for the Environment, presented the award to Bitzer at the Berliner ENERGIETAGE conference on May 7, the communiqué said. According to Bitzer, Dr Armin Walz, Head of Application Engineering, Bitzer and Andreas Riesch, Director of Sales - Germany and Switzerland, Bitzer, received the award. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Walz said, "The Deutscher Kältepreis award is an impressive validation of our decades of development activities in the area of compressor technology for the refrigerant, CO2. The fact that these efforts have been acknowledged by the highest political level is a huge honour for us." The communiqué said the Berliner ENERGIETAGE conference is one of the most important events in Germany on the topic of energy efficiency. The communiqué further said the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety has presented the Deutscher Kältepreis award for the sixth time as part of the National Climate Initiative.
Climate Wizard supplies cooling to South Australia schools
Seeley International installs technology in six schools, company official says By CCME Content Team
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tudents in six South Australian schools have been enjoying cooler and healthier learning environments this summer due to the installation of Climate Wizard cooling technology by Seeley International, the Frank Seeley company announced in a Press communiqué. According to Seeley International, the 18 Climate Wizard air conditioners involved in these installations have been designed and manufactured at a factory in Adelaide's southern suburbs. These air conditioners achieve cooling conditions comparable to the best conventional systems, but use up to 80% less energy than equivalent cooling capacity reverse cycle systems, the communiqué said. The air conditioning systems have been installed in a range of areas within the six schools, including a library, technical studies classrooms, large economics area, multipurpose halls and a canteen, the communiqué said. All but one location (Coober Pedy) have integrated heating, using the same duct work to deliver warm and cool air, the communiqué further said. Commenting on the installation, Frank Seeley, Founder and Executive Chairman, Seeley International, said the Australian manufacturer was delighted that South Australian schools are benefiting from this innovative technology.
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Systemair AB predicts lowerthan-expected earnings in the fourth quarter of 2017/18 Company estimates its operating profit will also decline, official says By CCME Content Team
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ystemair AB predicts its fourth quarter 2017/18 earnings are likely to be lower than market expectations, and estimates that its operating profit will decline to SEK 5 million (USD 558,800), the company announced in a Press communiqué. Adjusted for the items affecting comparability, the operating profit is estimated at SEK 49 million (USD 5,477,710) the communiqué said. Net sales are estimated to increase by 5.4% to SEK 1,827 million (USD 204,091,246) the communiqué further said. According to Systemair, the company had signed an agreement in May 2018 to divest its Norwegian subsidiary Reftec A/S, which resulted in a goodwill impairment cost of SEK 11.2 million (USD 1,251,134) accounted for in the fourth quarter of 2017/18, the communiqué said. Reftec will continue to exclusively distribute Systemair AC products in the Norwegian market, the communiqué further said. During the fourth quarter, Systemair has also recognised a provision for anticipated bad debts of SEK 12.2 million (USD 1,363,574), which relates to a larger customer in the Middle East, the communiqué added. According to Systemair, all figures are preliminary and have not been finally audited by the company's auditor. [Note: Currency conversions in the article are as per 29 June 2018.]
District Heating experts from Denmark and China collaborate on pilot project The pilot project is to develop heat scenarios for two towns in Shaanxi province, China, experts say By CCME Content Team
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xperts on heat planning in China and Denmark are working together for a Sino-Danish pilot project on energy-efficient District Heating, the Danish Board of District Heating (DBDH) announced in a Press communiqué. According to DBDH, the aim of the expert panel is to act as advisors to a pilot project for heat planning as well as validators of the recommendations made for the project. They also wish to create connections between the members of the expert panel in order to improve their aggregated knowledge and create the foundation for a Sino-Danish District Heating knowledge network, the communiqué said. The pilot project is going to develop heat scenarios for two towns, Tongchuan North and Yijun, in Shaanxi province, China, in cooperation with the authorities in the region, the communiqué said. The towns are primarily heated with individual coal boilers or stoves and natural gas boilers, the communiqué further said. Both excess heat and biomass residues are available in the areas, the communiqué added. According to DBDH, the pilot project will demonstrate how dedicated heat planning can evaluate different scenarios for heating, and finding the best solutions for the economy and
Seeley International appoints Conair as Breezair distributor for Hungary Conair to diversify its business into the HVAC industry, company official says By CCME Content Team
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ustralia-based Seeley International has appointed Conair as the new distributor for its Breezair range of air conditioners for Hungary, the former company announced in a Press communiqué. The communiqué said Conair is part of ConDoor, a producer of insulated overhead doors for industrial and residential buildings. The communiqué further said Conair has decided to expand into the HVAC industry by taking over Breezair distribution for Hungary.
environment, by considering consumer prices, local economy, company economy and social economy. It is important that the society’s costs from pollution are a part of the overall calculations, otherwise the chosen solutions may be expensive for society, the communiqué said. Speaking about the project, John Tang, Long-term Advisor for the Danish Energy Agency’s collaboration with China, said: “It is my hope that the pilot project can demonstrate an easy way for authorities to establish systematic heat planning in existing small and large town areas considering renewable sources, excess heat or other efficient heat sources. For the expert panel it is my hope that both the Chinese and the Danish experts can improve the proposed heat planning model, can refine the planning model to a Chinese context and find technical and political suggestions for future heat planning methodology benefitting both countries.” Commenting on the collaboration, a Chinese member of the panel, Xia Jianjun, Associate Professor, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, said: “I would like to work with the experts on how can we set up reasonable evaluating indicators for the heat planning, how to improve the heating system efficiency, and work on the new technologies for the District Heating system.”
DUS showcases a role for 3D printing in the AEC industry
Company developed Aectual to provide global platform for 3D printed products, official says
By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
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utch architectural firm, DUS foresees an important role for large-scale 3D printing for the entire Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, said Hedwig Heinsman, Co-founder and Partner,DUS. This, Heinsman said, led the company to professionalise its architectural 3D-printing expertise with the launch of a new firm, Aectual. He said: “Aectual offers state-of-the-art robotic and software technology to develop smart printed building products, such as flooring, facades and staircases, on an industrial scale. Our aim is to provide a global platform for 3D-printed building products, and, thus, bring premium, tailor-made architecture to a much larger audience.” Speaking on the company’s latest projects, Heinsman said a 3D-printed cabin and canal house, in the process of being built, uses natural ventilation. “Aectual will soon launch a printed façade cladding that can also double up as a brise soleil shade panel providing natural shading during the summer and letting the sun through in the winter period,” he said. Owing to digital technology, Heinsman said, it is easy to customise each panel according to the solar angle of a particular building. Integrated design, Heinsman said, is vital as the industry moves forward.
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REN21 releases Renewables 2018 Global Status Report In 2017, the power sector added 178 GW of renewable power globally; however, the heating, cooling and transport sectors lag behind, report says By CCME Content Team
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EN21, the global renewable energy policy network, has announced the publication of its Renewables 2018 Global Status Report (GSR), in a Press communiqué. According to REN21, the GSR is the most comprehensive annual overview of the state of renewable energy worldwide. Renewable power accounted for 70% of net additions to global power generating capacity in 2017, the largest increase in renewable power capacity in modern history, the GSR said. However, the heating, cooling and transport sectors, which together account for about four-fifths of global final energy demand, continue to lag far behind the power sector, the GSR further said. New solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity reached record levels: Solar PV additions were up 29% relative to 2016, to 98 GW, the GSR said.
More solar PV generating capacity was added to the electricity system than net capacity additions of coal, natural gas and nuclear power combined, the GSR further said. Wind power also drove the uptake of renewables with 52 GW added globally, the GSR added. Investment in new renewable power capacity was more than twice that of net, new fossil fuel and nuclear power capacity combined, despite large, ongoing subsidies for fossil fuel generation, the GSR said. More than two-thirds of investments in power generation were in renewables in 2017, thanks to their increasing cost-competitiveness – and the share of renewables in the power sector is expected to only continue to rise, the GSR further said. According to REN21, investment in renewables was regionally concentrated: China, Europe and the United States accounted for nearly 75% of global investment in renewables in 2017. However, when measured per unit of gross domestic product (GDP), the Marshall Islands, Rwanda, the Solomon Islands, Guinea-Bissau, and many other developing countries are investing as much as or
Seeley International appoints Giovanni Pierazzuoli as Technical Manager EMEA Appointment will strengthen the support to distributors in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, company says By CCME Content Team
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eeley International has appointed Giovanni Pierazzuoli as its new Technical Manager EMEA, the company announced in a Press communiqué. The communiqué said Pierazzuoli’s technical background will be a useful addition to the team, strengthening the support given to distributors in Europe, Middle East and Africa, enhancing the commitment to local markets and improving the focus on indirect evaporative cooling.
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In transport, increasing electrification is offering more in renewables than developed and emerging possibilities for renewable energy uptake despite the economies, the GSR said. dominance of fossil fuels, the GSR said. More than 30 Both energy demand and energy-related million two- and three-wheeled electric vehicles are CO2 emissions rose substantially for the being added to the world's roads every year, and 1.2 first time in four years, the GSR said. million passenger electric cars were sold in 2017, up Energy-related CO2 emissions rose by about 58% from 2016, the GSR further said. Electricity 1.4%, while global energy demand provides 1.3% of transport energy needs, of which about increased an estimated 2.1% in 2017, one-quarter is renewable, and biofuels provide 2.9%, due to economic growth in emerging Rana Adib the GSR added. Overall, however, 92% of transport economies as well as population energy demand continues to be met by oil, and only 42 growth, the GSR further said. Renewable countries have national targets for the use of renewable energy uptake is not keeping pace with energy in transport, the GSR said. this increasing energy demand and the continuous According to REN21, for these sectors to change, the right policy investment in fossil and nuclear capacity, the GSR added. frameworks need to be put in place, driving innovation and the According to REN21, in the power sector, the transition development of new renewable energy technologies in the sectors to renewables is under way but is progressing more slowly than is that are lagging. possible or desirable. A commitment made under the 2015 Paris Commenting on the report’s findings, Rana Adib, Executive climate agreement to limit global temperature rise to "well below" Secretary, REN21, said: "Equating 'electricity' with 'energy' is two degrees C above pre-industrial levels makes the nature of the leading to complacency. We may be racing down the pathway challenge much clearer, the GSR said. towards a 100% renewable electricity future, but when it comes to If the world is to achieve the target set in the Paris agreement, heating, cooling and transport, we are coasting along as if we had then heating, cooling and transport will need to follow the same all the time in the world. Sadly, we don't." path as the power sector – and fast, the GSR said. These sectors have Arthouros Zervos, Chair, REN21, added: "To make the energy seen little change in renewables uptake in heating and cooling, the transition happen, there needs to be political leadership by GSR further said. Modern renewable energy supplied approximately governments – for example, by ending subsidies for fossil fuels and 10% of total global heat production in 2015 and national targets nuclear, investing in the necessary infrastructure, and establishing for renewable energy in heating and cooling exist in only 48 hard targets and policy for heating, cooling and transport. Without countries around the world, whereas 146 countries have targets for this leadership, it will be difficult for the world to meet climate or renewable energy in the power sector, the GSR added. sustainable development commitments." According to REN21, small changes are under way. In India, for example, installations of solar thermal collectors rose approximately 25% in 2017 as compared to 2016, the GSR said. China aims to have two per cent of the cooling loads of its buildings come from solar thermal energy by 2020, the GSR further said.
Empower participates in IDEA Workshop on ‘District Energy for Warmer Climates’ highlights the role of District Cooling in smart cities By CCME Content Team
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workshop was held on the first day China, the communiqué said. The workshop of the International District Energy was jointly organised by global agencies Association (IDEA) such as IDEA, Asia Pacific Annual Conference Urban Energy Association and Tradeshow 2018, which was (APUEA) and UNEP ‘District held in Vancouver, Canada, from Energy in Cities’ initiative, the June 11 to 14, Emirates Central communiqué further said. Cooling Systems Corporation Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO, (Empower), said in a Press Empower, highlighted that communiqué. the future of smart cities lies The workshop was specially in the adoption of District Ahmad Bin Shafar organised on ‘District Energy Cooling systems, which for Warmer Climates’, citing are characterised by great cases from cities and developing environmental and economic districts in the Asia Pacific region – benefits and are the ideal solution for new Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, India and real estate projects, during a panel discussion
entitled ‘Perspectives from Expanding Markets’, the communiqué said. Empower participated in another session, held on ‘Financing, Governance and Operations’, the communiqué further said. The session discussed funding enterprises, competing for and managing public/private capital, risk mitigation, optimising rates of return, privatisation strategies and monetising assets, concession agreements and re-financing or re-capitalising assets, the communiqué added. According to Empower, the workshop featured global industry experts sharing experience from real-world cases, enabling deeper discussion on complex issues, with special emphasis on business models and strategies for successful development and financing of District Energy systems and microgrids. The communiqué said the workshop included experts in the areas of district cooling, energy, water, finance and investment, as well as climate change specialists.
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Japan moving away from dependence on gas and imported fuels Industry expert highlights public-private sector collaboration in emerging smart communities By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
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he Japanese are trying to move as quickly as possible to hydrogen to displace dependence on gas and other imported fuels, said Andrew DeWit, Professor in the School of Economic Policy Studies at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, Japan. To further prove his point, DeWit pointed to Hioki city in the Kagoshima Prefecture, one of the myriad of emerging smart communities that features cogeneration. Hioki city, he said, “is a collaboration among the city, Taiyo Gas, Hitachi and other local businesses.” DeWit added, “For the Japanese, Hioki and other local-production-localconsumption projects boost energy security, alleviate exposure to price
and geopolitical volatility, help secure local basic energy supply for disasters, revitalise local economies, and avoid wasting scarce funds on large-scale grid and transformer infrastructure that might not be used due to ageing and depopulation.” DeWit said that since heat from cogeneration cannot be moved efficiently for more than two or three kilometres, there are also thermodynamic
Kigali Amendment gains momentum More than 30 stakeholders signed a letter to President Donald Trump requesting the administration to send the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to the Senate, AHRI says
reasons to emphasise micro and mesolevel solutions rather than go macro, via, for example, a nationwide grid. Essentially, DeWit said, the country emphasised solutions that resolve multiple issues and interest multiple stakeholders. This, he said, is the only way to get things done, “in a country that’s ageing and otherwise rather slow to take action.”
Mexico's retaliatory tariffs include HVACR equipment Step is the latest in a series of retaliatory tariffs from trading partners of the United States, AHRI says By CCME Content Team
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he Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) announced, in a Press communiqué, that its joint efforts with the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy has resulted in a significant number of recent media reports about support for submitting the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol for consideration to the United States Senate. According to AHRI, more than 30 stakeholders signed a letter to President Donald Trump requesting the administration to send the Kigali Amendment to the Senate; 13 Republican senators have requested the same. The communiqué said that both of these were positive steps towards building the case to submit the Amendment this year.
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exico has announced its response to the United States Section 232 tariffs, publishing a retaliatory tariff list for a variety of goods, including fans, the Air-conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) said in a Press communiqué. The communiqué said that AHRI performed a preliminary analysis of Mexico's retaliatory tariff list and identified the following member equipment: “8414.59.99 – Other (fans)”. According to AHRI, Mexico’s step is the latest in a series of retaliatory tariffs from trading partners of the United States, including Canada, the European Union and Turkey. The communiqué said "Other" fans imported into Mexico from the United States will be subject to a 10% tariff, effective from June 6, 2018.
University of Birmingham outlines key takeaways from Clean Cooling Congress Development of living labs, centre of excellence and system-level design included in recommendations, says Professor in Cold Economy By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
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working together to accelerate new science through demonstration, ooling is at the heart of safety, resilience and validation and manufacture to accelerate delivery of workable economic advancement of society,” said Toby products into the global market. Peters, Professor in Cold Economy Finally, Peters said, with regard to advocating at the University of Birmingham, system-level design and harnessing waste and United Kingdom. “It materially impacts our lives renewable energy sources, it is important to bring on land and at sea. It is essential to address major together technology and systems innovation into challenges around access to food and medicine, “a cross-sector, needs-driven systems approach addressing subsistence farming and rural poverty, for specific markets harnessing renewable and delivering sustainable, resilient and safe cities, waste energy sources”. “There is an urgent need to managing energy and natural resources including understand the extent of the challenge and how to water, and protecting our environment.” It was meet it,” he said, “not only at a sectoral level but against this backdrop, he said, that the Clean Cooling Toby Peters also at the system level. This also needs to identify Congress, held from April 18 to 19, 2018, was the barriers to intervention and how to create robust designed to create a dialogue and enable strategic commercial models for industry to engage and the government understanding and adoption of the opportunity to build skills in-country to deliver and maintain.” This, agenda. Sharing key takeaways from the workshops, Peters said the he said, should take the form of a comprehensive study to deliver recommendations included the development of living labs, a centre a cooling strategy framework and energy and technology impact of excellence and greater emphasis on system-level design. roadmap to deliver overall system efficiency, operational energy Living labs, he said, fill the critical gap in understanding, resilience, reduce lifecycle carbon emissions and pollution, and designing and deploying multi-sector, multi-technology, multi-energy minimise overall costs of cooling, whilst meeting economic and social source integrated approaches to cooling, to deliver and balance aspirations. maximum economic, environmental and societal impact. A centre At the close, Peters said, it was agreed that the Congress was a of excellence, Peters said, would create an international coalition valuable event and a second event should be held next year, possibly of partners including technology innovators and stakeholders from in India or UAE, with the aim of being a global Congress. the academic, public, financiers, for-profit and not-for-profit sectors
Bitzer enhances its selection software Software update offers a reliable tool for users to select the appropriate components for their systems, official says By CCME Content Team
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he compressor manufacturer, Bitzer has announced through a Press communiqué that its latest software update allows customers to calculate the performance data for even more components within its product range. With this, Bitzer offers a reliable tool for users to select the appropriate components for their systems, the communiqué said. According to Bitzer, the version 6.8 software now includes the newly introduced Orbit+ and Orbit Fit scroll compressors for the refrigerants R-410A, R-454B and R-32, as well as the CSVW variable speed compact screw compressor series with
permanent-magnet motor. Furthermore, users can now carry out the motor selection for Bitzer OS.95 screw compressors, the communiqué said. Bitzer has added the Varipack frequency inverter selection for its Ecoline+ series of reciprocating compressors, as well as for the two-stage semi-hermetic reciprocating compressors, the communiqué further said. According to Bitzer, users can now customise the dimensions of Bitzer liquid receivers and condensers. The necessary
documents can be downloaded in the software via the 'Dimensions' button, the communiqué said. Bitzer has also added new refrigerants for the receiver calculation, the communiqué further said. The company's largest horizontal oil separator OAHC100051A for ammonia applications has been made available with the update, the communiqué added. The communiqué said, the software can be accessed from the Bitzer website: https://www.bitzer.de/websoftware/ and is available for download from: https:// www.bitzer.de/shared_media/files/ BitzerWinSetup_6-8-0-1996.exe.
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Silenceair International launches soundproof ventilated door Managing Director says product is specifically designed for hotel applications and eliminates the need for acoustic transfer ducts By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor
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ilenceair International launched a soundproof ventilated door during its participation at the ARBS 2018 trade show in Sydney, Australia. Chris Matthews, Managing Director, Silenceair International, said the product is specifically designed for hotel applications where acoustic privacy is required, but relief air is needed for the bathroom exhaust fan. “This will eliminate the need for Chris Matthews acoustic transfer ducts,” he said, “and will also address the issue of excessive bathroom steam setting off fire alarms.” Elaborating on the product’s features, Matthews said the soundproof ventilated door is also aimed at venting rooms that have a VRV split system and require venting to address accidental refrigerant leakages. Speaking in the context of IEQ, Matthews said, “The office door version of our technology is designed to address the growing evidence that sound pollution has a serious health and productivity impact on office environments.” Matthews said Silenceair is looking to introduce its new products to the wider global market, where their technology is protected by 16 patents. Matthews further said the company is currently supplying to Australia, with limited sales in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, and is leveraging its experience from 15 years of operation to innovate products aimed at global markets.
AHR Expo 2019 to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Trade show to be held from January 14 to 16, 2019, organisers say By CCME Content Team
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he International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo) will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, for the first time since 2001, the organisers announced in a Press communiqué. The show will be held from January 14 to 16, 2019, at the Georgia World Congress Center, the communiqué said. The AHR Expo is co-sponsored by ASHRAE and AHRI, endorsed by many industry leading organisations, and is held concurrently with ASHRAE’s Winter Conference, the communiqué said. The AHR Expo brings more than 60,000 attendees an exclusive opportunity to be at the forefront of experiencing and adopting the latest industry applications and products, as well as the chance to learn about emerging technologies before they are mainstream, the communiqué said. Over 2,100 companies exhibit from 35 represented countries, making the three-day show an opportunity to network with enough potential business partners to build out an entire year's business prospects, the communiqué further said. Commenting on the show, Kevin Bergin, Director, Aspen Pumps Inc., said: "We come to the show to check the pulse of the industry, and to get an opportunity to build relationships with new and existing customers in the United States. Based on the [2018 Show], we're seeing a lot of confidence, and in our product category, the industry is still growing and that's a big opportunity for us in the United States."
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Armstrong launches global “2 in 22” initiative
Company to partner with industry leaders to reduce GHG emissions, CEO says By CCME Content Team
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rmstrong Fluid Technology has announced an initiative to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by two million tonnes by the year 2022, the company said in a Press communiqué. It has also issued a challenge to industry participants to set similarly aggressive targets for the same four-year time frame, the communiqué said. Lex van der Weerd, CEO, Armstrong, said: “Organisations globally are being driven to achieve a zero footprint future. We believe this can best be achieved through key stakeholders focusing on solutions and timelines that will make zero footprint a near-term reality. We are both inviting and challenging all organisations to join us in pursuing the goal of zero footprint operations.” At the recent Global Energy Summit in Toronto, Armstrong announced its commitment to reducing GHG among its installed customer base by two million tonnes by the year 2022, the communiqué said. This is equivalent to taking 600,000 cars off the road or offsetting the average annual CO2 emissions generated by 100,000 people, the communiqué further said. Armstrong has already launched a global validation effort across a wide range of customer types and applications with the results being validated by Bureau Veritas, the communiqué said. According to Armstrong, the company is also significantly expanding the team of energy-savings specialists that will work closely with existing customers to measure, manage and enhance their current operations.
USTR announces China Section 301 tariffs Tariff list includes HVACR and water heating products, AHRI says By CCME Content Team
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he Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced plans to move ahead with the phasein of Section 301 tariffs against what the United States government has described as, “China’s acts, policies, and practices involving the unfair and harmful acquisition of United States technology”, the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) said, in a Press communiqué. AHRI said that USTR has published a first list of 818 tariff lines, which is now final. U.S. Customs and Border Protection will collect the tariffs starting July 6, 2018, the communiqué said. According to AHRI, a second list of 284 tariff lines includes new products that were not mentioned in the April preliminary list published by USTR. This list is still subject to a public notice and comment period, including a public hearing and is, therefore, likely to change, the communiqué said.
SimScale announces FDS preview programme for fire simulation Preview programme is a response to customer requests to combine a Fire Dynamics Simulator with SimScale's cloud-based simulation infrastructure, CEO says By CCME Content Team
AHRI said, its staff has analysed both tariff lists, and a summary of the analysis follows: • The first list of 818 tariff lines (finalised list): AHRI member products include: boilers, pumps, compressors, furnaces, refrigerators, freezers, water heaters, heat exchangers, motors, and control equipment. • The second list of 284 tariff lines (list is subject to change): AHRI member products include: heat exchangers, motors, and control equipment. According to AHRI, China announced that it will respond if the USTR implements the Section 301 tariffs. In April, China released a retaliatory list of 106 products imported from the United States that would be subject to a 25% tariff, the communiqué said. AHRI staff did not identify any HVACR or water heating
products on that list, the communiqué further said. According to AHRI, President Trump announced that the United States "will pursue additional tariffs if China engages in retaliatory measures", in a Presidential Statement published on June 15. The AHRI communiqué said the trade association would continue to track developments and update members on this matter.
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imScale announced the launch of the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) explorative preview programme, for modelling fire and smoke, in a Press communiqué. Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) is a solver developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the United States Department of Commerce, in cooperation with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the communiqué said. Throughout its development, FDS has been aimed at solving practical fire problems in fire protection engineering, while providing a tool to study fundamental fire dynamics and combustion, the communiqué further said. According to Simscale, the preview programme is a response to the request of many customers to combine the maturity and reliability of FDS for modelling fire and smoke with the convenience and scalability of SimScale’s cloud-based simulation infrastructure. Most of these requests come from AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) companies working on projects that require performance-based design, fire reconstruction, test planning, compliance with fire-related codes and standards, dispersion, calculation of smoke venting systems or indoor air quality, the communiqué said. David Heiny, CEO and Co-founder, SimScale, said: “SimScale’s CFD capabilities that are in production today, along with its seamless deployment, collaboration functionality, and scalability, have made it the tool of choice for many AEC companies. The request from these customers to extend SimScale’s feature set to also cover fire and smoke scenarios seems like a natural next step for our development.” According to Simscale, the FDS preview programme will explore and validate an offering of a simple workflow-driven interface for quick and robust modelling and visualisation of complex fire scenarios in buildings, particularly parking garages and tunnels. The communiqué said, interested engineers and companies can apply for the programme, giving them a chance to shape the future workflow and user interface of the FDS integration, while having their fire management-related simulation projects solved by SimScale’s engineers.
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NEWS GLOBAL
ASHRAE Awards recognise members’ achievements
Awards were presented at the 2018 ASHRAE Annual Conference, organisers say By CCME Content Team
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SHRAE recognised the outstanding achievements and contributions of members to the Society and the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration industry at the 2018 ASHRAE Annual Conference, which was held from June 23 to 27, in Houston, Texas, United States, the association said in a Press communiqué. According to ASHRAE, the list of awards and recipients is as follows: Lincoln Bouillon Award: Oscar Eduardo Ricaño Conseĵo, Ing., Monterrey chapter, received the award, which recognises a member who performs the most outstanding work in increasing membership. Chapter Program Star Award: Abhishek Khurana, Toronto chapter, received the award, which recognises excellence in chapter programme endeavours. William J. Collins, Jr. RP Award: Adam Graham, Ottawa Valley chapter, received the award, which recognises a chapter RP chair who excels in raising funds for ASHRAE's RP campaign. Environmental Health Award: Pawel Wargocki received the award for excellence in volunteer service focused on environmental health issues. Homer Addams Award: Alireza Behfar received the award, which recognises a graduate student who has been engaged in an ASHRAE research project at a university that has graduate programmes in the areas of heating, ventilation and air conditioning and has achieved a high standard of performance in this work. Grassroots Government Advocacy Award: Jui-Chen Roger Chang, National Capital chapter, received the award, which recognises individuals for outstanding effort and achievement in state, provincial and local government activities, in connection with technical issues related to the Society. Lou Flagg Historical Award: Bruce L. Flaniken, Houston chapter, received the award, which recognises an individual for preparing the most outstanding historical presentation related to HVACR. Standards Achievement Award: Gerald J. Kettler received the award, which recognises exceptional service in the area of standards leadership and technical contribution. Ralph G. Nevins Physiology & Human Environment Award: Dusan Licina received the award, which is given to an investigator for significant accomplishments in the study of man's response to the environment and its effect on human comfort, health and wellbeing. Student Activities Achievement Award: Yumei Mata Hi received the award, which recognises a chapter student activities chair for growth of student activities.
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ASHRAE Journal Paper Award: Omar John Hawit and Trevor Jaffe for "Water-Energy Nexus: Heat Rejection Systems", judged to be the best article published in ASHRAE Journal. Science and Technology for the Built Environment Best Paper Award: Daniel Bacellar, Vikrant C. Aute, Zhiwei Huang, and Reinhard Radermacher, for "Design Optimisation and Validation of High Performance Heat Exchangers using Approximation Assisted Optimisation and Additive Manufacturing". Crosby Field Award: Michael Roth, received the award for "Updating the ASHRAE Climate Design Data for 2017", which was judged to be the best paper presented before the Society. ASHRAE Technical Paper Award: This award recognises the authors of the best papers presented at Society conferences: • Omar Abdelaziz, and Som S. Shrestha, for "Evaluation of Alternative Refrigerants for Mini-Split Air Conditioners". • Mohammad Rafati Nasr and Carey J. Simonson, for "Experimental Measurement of Frosting Limits in CrossFlow Air-to-Air Energy Exchangers". • Alejandro Rivas Prieto, Li Song, Wesley M. Thomas and Gang Wang, for "In-Situ Fan Curve Calibration for Virtual Airflow Sensor Implementation in VAV Systems". • Bryan P. Rasmussen, Chao Wang, and Kyaw Wynn, for "Experimental Comparison of Energy-Optimal Coordinated Control Strategies for Heat Pump Systems". Poster Presentation Award: Robert J. Hitchcock, John R. Butterfield, Elizabeth Ford Wilkins, and Francisco Forns-Samso, received the award, which is presented for "BIM-Enabled Operations and Maintenance Work Processes". Willis H. Carrier Award: Mohammad Rafati Nasr, received the award, which is given to a member 32 years of age, or younger, for presenting an outstanding paper at a Society conference. The award is presented for "Experimental Measurement of Frosting Limits in Cross-Flow Air-to-Air Energy Exchangers". Distinguished Service Award: 21 members received the award. Exceptional Service Award: Four members received the award. Distinguished 50-Year Member Award: 28 members received the award. Andrew T. Boggs Service Award: Van D. Baxter Louise & Bill Holladay Distinguished Fellow Award: William P. Bahnfleth ASHRAE Hall of Fame: A. Damon Gowan.
ACREX India 2019 to be held in Mumbai, early next year Trade show will be held from February 28 to March 2, 2019, organisers say By CCME Content Team
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he 20th edition of the trade show ACREX India will be held from February 28 to March 2, 2019, at BEC, Mumbai, the organisers announced in a Press communiqué. ACREX India is organised by the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ISHRAE), endorsed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and produced by NürnbergMesse, the communiqué said. The organisers say the highlights of ACREX India 2019 will be: • Participation of global players from more than 25 countries • Presence of over 500 exhibitors • Likely to attract more than 50,000 business visitors • Spread over 32,000 square metres gross area • Focus on building automation and IAQ • Concurrent activities: Technical seminars, Interactive panel discussions, curtain raiser, ACREX Awards of Excellence and ACREX Hall of Fame For more information, visit: http://www.acrex.in/acrex-india-2019
HVACR Vietnam 2018 attracts more than 200 global brands Trade show’s first edition in Hanoi ends with 75% of the exhibitors rebooking for the 2019 show, organiser says By CCME Content Team
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he first Hanoi edition of HVACR Vietnam 2018 was held from April 18 to 20, 2018 at the National Exhibition Construction Center, the organisers said in a Press communiqué. During the three-day exhibition, more than 200 global brands and companies were represented in the show and over 640 on-site meeting appointments were conducted between the exhibitors and 300 VIP buyers, the communiqué said. There was significant attendance at the multiple seminars and 75% of the exhibitors have rebooked for the 2019 show at Ho Chi Minh City, the communiqué further said. To cater to the local market demand, the organiser, Informa Exhibitions, will rotate the exhibition between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with Hanoi hosting it on even years, and Ho Chi Minh City hosting it on odd years, the communiqué said. Describing their participation in the show, James Huang, General Director of Leading Electric and Machinery Vietnam, said: “This is our first time exhibiting in HVACR Vietnam, and we have managed
to secure new sales leads. The exhibition is a solid platform for us to promote our company, showcase our products and meet existing clients, so we certainly wouldn’t miss the next edition.” The communiqué said the Vietnam Green Building Council, which co-organised a series of seminars (with Informa) at the recently concluded edition of HVACR Vietnam, will also lend their support to the event next year. Commenting on the exhibition, Jack Wei, General Manager, Informa Global Exhibitions (Asia), said: “HVACR Vietnam is an effective platform for companies looking to showcase new products, gain access to new opportunities, raise the company and brand profile, establish a market presence, meet quality buyers and seek joint venture partners. We are very pleased that HVACR Vietnam has again helped so many companies, local and international, to connect and grow their business together." The communiqué said that HVACR Vietnam 2019 will be held from March 27 to 29, 2019, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
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NEWS GLOBAL
ASHRAE appoints 2018–2019 president, office bearers President, executive committee officers and directors installed during Annual Conference, ASHRAE says By CCME Content Team
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SHRAE installed its 2018–2019 president, executive committee officers and directors during its Annual Conference, which was held from June 23 to 27, 2018, in Houston, Texas, United States, the organisation said in a Press communiqué. ASHRAE’s 2018–2019 president is Shelia J. Hayter, Fellow ASHRAE, the communiqué said. During her inaugural presidential address, Hayter announced her term’s theme will be “Building Our New Energy Future”, the communiqué further said. The theme focuses on the important role buildings will play in our energy future, as the traditional electrical grid continues to evolve toward a smart grid with advances in renewable energy, the communiqué added. Speaking on the occasion, Hayter, said: “ASHRAE is eager to establish new networks and partnerships as we expand the Society’s opportunities to engage the many industry sectors that have a stake in our new energy future. We will strengthen our leadership position by serving as a bridge that connects buildings, energy and the environment to new ideas and
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technologies to advance toward a more sustainable world for future generations.” According to ASHRAE, while serving as the Society’s president, Hayter will continue her role as a group manager with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. She will also serve as chair of ASHRAE’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee, the communiqué said. According to ASHRAE, elected officers who will serve oneyear terms are: • President-Elect: Darryl K. Boyce, Fellow Life Member ASHRAE, assistant vice president, facilities management and planning, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • Treasurer: Charles E. Gulledge III, Member ASHRAE, HBPD, senior mechanical engineer, Environmental Air Systems LLC., High Point, N.C. • Vice President: Julia A. Keen, Fellow ASHRAE, BEAP, HBDP, professor, Architectural Engineering & Construction Science Department, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan. • Vice President: Malcom Dennis Knight, Fellow ASHRAE, BEMP, owner, Whole Building Systems, LLC, Mt. Pleasant, S.C. • Vice President: Michael C. A. Schwedler, Fellow ASHRAE, applications engineering manager, Trane, La Crosse, Wis. • Vice President: Farooq Mehboob, Fellow Life Member ASHRAE, principal consultant, S. Mehboob & Company Consulting Engineers, Karachi, Pakistan The communiqué said, ASHRAE also introduced its newest directors, who will serve three-year terms, from 2018 to 2021: • Region I Director and Regional Chair: Christopher G. Phelan, manager of engineered services, Thermco, Clifton, N.J. • Region II Director and Regional Chair: Jeff Clarke, CEO, Enviroair Industries, Inc., Mont-Royal, Quebec • Region III Director and Regional Chair: Dunstan Laurence Macauley III, HBDP, senior associate, WSP, Fairfax, Va. • Region XI Director and Regional Chair: Russell J. Lavitt, senior mechanical engineer, Stantec, Winnipeg, Manitoba • Region at Large Director and Regional Chair: Ahmed Alaa Eldin Mohamed, chairman, Middle East Gate Holding (MEG), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates • Director-at-Large: Katherine G. Hammack, Fellow ASHRAE, partner, Ernst & Young, Mclean, Va. • Director-at-Large: Sarah E. Maston, CPMP, president, Green Footprints Commissioning, Inc., Hudson, Mass. • Director-at-Large: Chandra Sekhar, Fellow ASHRAE, professor, Building Services, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Canada’s retaliatory tariffs include HVACR equipment The tariffs, in response to United States Section 232 tariffs, are effective from July 1, 2018, AHRI says By CCME Content Team
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anada, on June 29, released its final retaliatory tariff list for a variety of goods, in response to United States Section 232 tariffs, AHRI said in a Press communiqué. The tariffs will be effective from July 1, 2018, the communiqué
said. According to AHRI, it has analysed Canada’s final retaliatory tariff list and identified the following member equipment: •
• •
8418.10.90: Combined refrigerator freezers, fitted with separate external doors: Other (10%tariff; this tariff line includes commercial and residential products.) 8419.19.00: Instantaneous or storage water heaters, nonelectric: Other (10% tariff) 8418.10.10: Combined refrigerator freezers, fitted with separate external doors: Absorptiontype, combination gas and electric powered, designed for permanent installation in recreational vehicles and for use in the manufacture of such vehicles (10% tariff)
Although the last item in the list does not appear to reference member equipment, members should examine it thoroughly due to its categorisation, the communiqué said. Notably, Canada did not include “9032 – Automatic regulating or controlling instruments and apparatus”, which was included in the preliminary list, in its final tariff list, the communiqué further said. In a related development, Chrystia Freeland, Foreign Minister, Canada, announced an aid package for the country’s steel and aluminum industry, the communiqué added. The communiqué also said that AHRI encourages members to review the final tariff list carefully for any products not included in its analysis.
COMINGS & GOINGS
Danfoss announces new Sales Director, MENA
Alexander Abrass will head the Danfoss Cooling Solutions sales team across the Middle East and North Africa region By CCME Content Team
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ngineering and cooling solutions provider, Danfoss, has announced the promotion of Alexander Abrass as Sales Director, Danfoss Cooling Solutions, Sales Middle East & North Africa (MENA), with effect from July 1, 2018, the company said in a Press communiqué. According to Danfoss, Abrass started as Sales Engineer with Danfoss Power Solutions in Venezuela in 2006, moved to Industrial Automation a year later, and steadily progressed until he became Sales Manager for the Andean Region (Colombia, Chile, Argentina and Venezuela). In 2013, he was appointed Sales Director for the Andean Region for Danfoss Cooling Solutions, the company said. In 2015, he joined the Turkey, Middle East and Africa team – the MENA team – as Sales Manager, where he faced many challenges, demonstrating unique leadership capabilities, over the past three years, the company said. According to Danfoss, in his new role as Sales Director, DCS-MENA, Abrass will continue to report to Ziad Al Bawaliz, TMA Regional President, Danfoss.
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AWARDS 2018 27 NOVEMBER DUBAI, UAE
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25 AWARD CATEGORIES: MANUFACTURER/SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR (AIR TREATMENT)
GCC REGION MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR HVACR ACCESSORIES MANUFACTURER/ SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR
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MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR (VEHICLE ENVELOP)
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Regional Office: LG Electronics Gulf FZE, P.O Box 61445, Dubai. Tel: +971 4 279 9222, UAE, Mr. Dharmesh Sawant, Tel: +971 50 559 9361, email: dharmesh.sawant@lge.com; Fortune International Trading LLC, Mr. Wail Halbouni, Tel: +971 50 481 3570, email: fortintl@emirates.net.ae; Ghantoot Trading, Mr. Nour Haboush, Tel: +971 50 109 4109, email: nour.h@ghantootgroup.ae; District Cooling Company, Mr. Ahmed Henedi, Tel: +971 50 658 4832, email: ahmed@districtcoolingcompany.com; Al Yousuf Electronics, Mr. Moitra, Tel: +971 50 457 6170, email: pmoitra@alyousuf.com; Bahrain, AJM Kooheji and Sons, Mr. Jayachandran, Tel: +973 36888801, email: v.jayachandran@ajmkooheji.com: Kuwait, Al Babtain Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Co., Mr. Naji Kataya, Tel: +965 5 051 5771, email: nkataya@albabtaingroup.com kw; British Link Kuwait, Mr. Imad Rhayel, Tel: +965 5 157 1229, email: irhayel@blk.com.kw; Oman, Oman Gulf Enterprise, Mr. Narender Kumar, Tel: +968 9 747 4505, email: narenderk@otegroup.com; Aspire Projects and Service, Mr. Vivek Wagh, Tel: +968 99357694, email: vivekwagh@aspireoman.com; Qatar, Video Home Electronics Centre, Mr. Adharsh N Kumar, Tel: +974 5 019 0206, email: adharsh@jumboqatar.com; Mohammad Hayil Group, Mr. Yousif Rustom, Tel: +974 7 001 7067, email: yousif.rustom@alsarh-holding.com; Azerbaijan, NBC LLC., Mr. Elkhan Sadikhov, Tel: +994 50 216 3363, email: elkhan.sadikhov@nbc.com; Al-Con Maxiwell Group, Mr. Vagif Alexperov, Tel: + 994 50 216 2092, email: maxiwellbaku@inbox.ru; Armenia/Georgia, ARAY Gulf, Mr. Vilson Melikjanyan, Tel: +374 9 307 7755, email: vilson@aray.am; Yemen, Modern House Exhibition, Mr. Khaled Jabr, Tel: +967 71 172 0202, email: mail@mhe-yemen.com; Pakistan, Iceberg Industries (Lucky Goldstar), Mr. Imran Jamil Khan, Tel: +923 21 277 6100, email: ceo@icebergindustries.net