REGION REPORT: SCANDINAVIA
EU’s F-gas Regulation spells transformation for the region
September 2016
SUPPLEMENT
FEATURE
VARsity
Sun’s the limit
Samsung, LG, Daikin and AHI Carrier ruminate on the Gulf’s VRF market
Is the industry ready to cool the region with solar?
Players in the MEP consultancy sector talk challenges, opportunities and their role in bringing to reality the region’s sustainable development goals Guest Columns Dr Mohanad Alshaikh on saudi vision 2030, Vijay Kumar on pressure-independent vavs, Stuart Corr on flammable refrigerants and Quentin Liebens on hygienic ahus
HEADLINES
DSCoE joins UN’s BEA partnership
Hira Industries receives DCL certification
Jumbo, TORO hold advanced cooling Challenge workshop
Farnek acquires Smashing!
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contents VOL. 11 NO. 9
SEPTEMBER 2016
COVER STORY
10 page
THE REGION’S MEP CONSULTANTS SPEAK UP On their role in delivering healthy and energy-efficient structures
INTERVIEW page
28 ‘Sustainable smart cities will be able to do more with less’ Dr Ioannis Spanos of KEO International Consultants reflects on the benefits of green practices
FEATURES page
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The airbenders Why grilles, diffusers and other air distribution systems can expect to enjoy steady demand
page
66 page
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Sun’s the limit Is the solar sector ready to take on the energy needs of the region?
September 2016
Biomass energy – back to basics George Kenich of Anagenesis Ecosystems Innovations speaks on why biomass is the future of energy
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STATE
Building The leadership in the GCC region has been introducing a raft of vision statements and measures to encourage, urge and support the multiple stakeholders to raise the bar on building performance. Such path-breaking initiatives and thought processes as region-specific Green Building regulations, buildingretrofit programmes, nearly zero-energy buildings, smart cities and IoT point to the right direction in terms of intent. Broadly, we are witness to market transformation and positive disruptive approaches, which have the potential to cut project timelines, and improve energy efficiency, indoor environment, reliability and resource conservation. But are building owners, architects, consultants, sub-consultants, contractors, sub-contractors and FM firms prepared to align themselves with these changes, broadly
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OF THE performance speaking? Are they showing a willingness to rise to the occasion? Or, are there factors – some selfinduced and some beyond their control – that are proving to be challenges in the pathway to optimising their performance towards delivering better buildings? Climate Control Middle East brings you a two-part state-of-the-industry report, with the focus on the MEP consultancy and MEP contracting sectors. At the same time, the narrative includes aspects related to building owners and the role of policymakers and planners in influencing best practices. This issue carries the first part of the report, where the focus is on the MEP consultancy sector‌
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PART 1 - MEP consultants speak up By B Surendar | Editor
I
n an extraordinary sequence of events, starting barely 10 years ago, the leadership in the GCC region began expressing its socio-economic and sustainable development aspirations and goals through a raft of vision documents. The most recent addition came from Saudi Arabia in the forms of Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program. Inherent in all the documents was a collective set of aspirations for the health, fulfillment and well-being of the population; strong economic health and for safeguarding the environment. Inherent in them was a multi-dimensional role for our HVACR industry, provided it shows a willingness to rise to the occasion and delivers to its fullest potential in ushering in better building performance, food safety and security, and reliable and efficient process cooling, to name three. This report looks at building performance, specifically the role of the MEP consultancy and the MEP contracting sectors in delivering structures that embody energy efficiency and good indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Of the two, the focus of this – the first part of the report – is on the MEP consultancy industry.
I We have seen some recent exciting tenders for nearly zero-energy buildings, and with Al Sa’fat and the sustainability initiatives in Abu Dhabi and, again, with Dubai keen on 3-D-printed buildings, we are seeing potential opportunities 12
t is generally agreed that MEP consultancy firms constitute a critical aspect of a building’s construction cycle. While it is argued in certain quarters that specialised MEP consultancy services are needed only for iconic structures or for specialised facilities like data centres, airports and malls, the broader sentiment is that MEP consultancy firms have a critical role to play in all spheres, especially in the context of the vision statements, which have indirectly and directly called out for good IEQ and energy efficiency of the highest order and unrivalled quality. Against this background, what is the typical mindset of the MEP consultancy sector when it comes to embracing change as the first response to a set of new aspirations and measures? For instance, what is the sector’s reaction to the call for developing smart cities, nearly zero-energy buildings and retrofit projects?
Stuck in the status quo Based on the evidence so far, the shift in thinking is barely discernible, though there is a comprehension of what the vision statements, measures or, for that matter, newly introduced regulations stand for. In some parts of the region, there has been a slight increase in activity than others. The UAE, for instance, has been trying to position itself as a centre of innovation, says Scott Coombes, Director at UAE-based consultancy firm, AESG. This has stirred some activity. “We have seen some recent exciting tenders for nearly zero-energy buildings, and with Al Sa’fat [the Green Building rating
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system being introduced by Dubai Municipality, this month], and the sustainability initiatives in Abu Dhabi and, again, with Dubai keen on 3-D-printed buildings, we are seeing potential opportunities,” he says. MEP consultancy firms, for a large part, though, have not moved towards a significant change from their long-held practices. As Coombes puts it, while there definitely is an appreciation of regulations, maybe unsurprisingly, there is not a huge change. “They appreciate the change, but at the end of the day, the majority of the firms are catering to what their design brief is, what their clients are looking for,” Coombes says. “They don’t have an opportunity to deviate. Clients won’t encourage that and view giving consultants a ‘blank sheet’ as risky, so they [the consultants] are not pushing the boundaries. Also, the Middle East markets cater to fast-track projects as opposed to investigative feasibility studies.” Mario Seneviratne, Director of UAE-based Green Technologies, mirrors Coombes’ words about consultants sticking to the design brief, saying that their interaction on Green Building projects or innovative work is with the clients. “If clients demand they want the tallest building, the consultants will rise to the occasion,” Seneviratne says. “The client has to drive the initiative. And if consultants don’t deliver, then they would have a legal framework to protect the client and also the consultant.” Kandasamy Anbalagan, Managing Partner of UAE-based Proleed Engineering Consultants,
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Mario Seneviratne
Dr Marcus George
Kandasamy Anbalagan
Scott Coombes
Mohamed R Zackariah
also says the onus is on clients to drive specialised assignments, such as nearly zero-energy buildings. To date, he says, he has not seen any bids openings up on such buildings. “We are currently bidding on a sustainable and technologically advanced building, but even there, they are not talking about a nearly zero-energy building,” he says. In his estimate, such a building represents a future business opportunity, which clients would consider seriously when they feel the cost would justify building them. In his opinion, the cost of every single element of a nearly zero-energy building could typically have a recovery period of beyond 10 years, so it would be up to clients to take a call on them.
Waiting for the green signal
I am hoping for the day when clients will ask if their building is 50% better than ASHRAE, and the architect listening will respond by calling an MEP consultant to ensure this 14
Leave alone nearly zero-energy buildings, despite Green Buildings dotting the GCC region’s landscape, the view towards green itself is still dependent on the client’s nod, which, perhaps, points to a lack of sufficient awareness among consultants towards sustainable development, as a first step to even suggesting to clients the need for incorporating green measures in the project. Coombes says there is only a slight shift towards consultants demonstrating a bit more awareness towards the environment, which he adds, is not an adequate response, given the fact that a sustainable environment has multiple benefits for not only the environment but also the economy and, in the context of the UAE’s Green Economy framework, will have a direct impact on the country’s GDP. The adequate response and a change in the mindset towards green are aspects that Ghaleb Abusaa, the Saudi Arabia-based CEO of consultancy firm, GASO, also eagerly looks forward to among the consultancy community. The change, he says, can only happen, though, when green is first appreciated in the heart. At the same time, he points out a contradiction. “I may like
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Ghaleb Abusaa
green as a consultant, but I need someone to give me that kind of a project.” Anbalagan seconds Abusaa’s viewpoint and says it is for developers to take the lead. In his opinion, most developers don’t have concern for the environment. Many of them, he adds, still talk about clusters of residential or commercial buildings, which are being constructed for the purpose of selling to end-users. In those circumstances, they don’t care about sustainable development. “On the other hand, if it is a mall by Emaar, for instance, they would consider something that is environmentally friendly. In the case of most other developers, though, unless commercially viable, the imagination is not going to be driven.” Seneviratne adds heft to the stand taken by Abusaa and Anbalagan by saying that it is a business-as-usual mindset in the case of most of the projects, unless the client insists on a LEED Platinum building, say. Seneviratne says there seems to be no idealism on the part of the consultant community, though they are proficient enough to design super LEED Platinum even. He says the mindset would perhaps change if clients were to show a bit more commitment towards green – and perhaps also a certain savviness. “I have been to Board of Directors meetings, where the clients are able to on their iPad ask, ‘What is the built-up area, and what is the rentable area?’ But they do not ask how many tonnes of air conditioning would be needed for that area or what is the energy consumed,” he says. “That savviness is not there in the client. I am hoping for the day when clients will ask if their building is 50% better than ASHRAE, and the architect listening will respond by calling an MEP consultant to ensure this.”
No wriggle-room for post-handover building assessments A key aspect of sustainable development-
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When you go into such facilities, you are dealing with junior maintenance staff, and they consider it harassment if you go to audit a building related best practices in the construction cycle of a building would be to measure its energy performance and also to verify its IEQ integrity. This naturally would necessitate the involvement of MEP consultants. Assessing a building they have designed would not only give them an insight into the impact of their design decisions but also provide a roadmap of fine-tuning their consultancy services for subsequent projects they undertake. In that context, visiting a project after it has been handed over to the client ought to be a given. Surprisingly, though, only a few undertake such visits. Seneviratne says that while he tries to meet the clients after the handover of the project, there is a drawback to the whole situation. Consultants, he says, are on a tight fee, so once they complete their contractual obligation they move on. The situation can be addressed, he says, if the client would bear the expenses of consultants undertaking an audit of the project, but traditionally, maintenance budgets have been a fraction of the construction budget. It is, therefore, likely to be financially suicidal for consultants to undertake such an audit. “If I were to go to audit an Existing Building and if I were to do design work, I should get the same fee,” Seneviratne says. “Auditing in maintenance is very bad. I do go on visits out of love of the job or when we have a friendly or passionate client, and we validate our energy systems. A good audit will take a significant part of the maintenance budget, because you have to go and measure on site, and there are equipment and skills involved. It is a highly skilled job, and the cost of it is huge.” Cost is just one aspect, though, Seniviratne says, adding that access to the project site, posthandover, can be a challenge. “When you go into such facilities, you are dealing with junior maintenance staff,” he says, “and they consider it harassment if you go to audit a building.” Anbalagan, sharing his experience, says his team and he don’t visit projects as a practice, unless it involves a client with whom the company has a long-standing relationship, or if it is called for during the Defects Liability Period (DLP); beyond that, his company does not see the buildings it designs. “I would say, we try to do it, but our fee does not allow it,” Anbalagan says, “though in an ideal scenario, you need to do it
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for your own improvement. But we do follow the procedure of design validation, which primarily addresses the gaps in design and construction, and we have a practice where we conduct internal sessions, which are about lessons learnt, in which we address issues and enter [them] into our system.” That way, Anbalagan says, his company is able to prevent the recurrence of the issues in future projects. On a parallel front, he says, he informally keeps talking with the clients to ascertain if they are having any problems. This service, he adds, he extends to clients even with whom he has had a short-term relationship. Abusaa echoes Seneviratne and Anbalagan, saying that the costs do not justify making postproject visits, unless the client pays for the service. Such a stance, Abusaa says, could attract criticism from the contractor or the client, but it is not fair to blame the consultant community. Saying that it cannot be a free service, he adds: “If a consultant designs five projects and he visits all of them, he will spend 20% of his time just visiting. Who will pay for this? He could face a loss. We have to remember that the contractor makes money in terms of equipment and labour, but the consultant makes money only out of his time.” Like Seneviratne, Abusaa highlights the issue of access also being an impediment to making site visits after handover. The consultant may not be able to enter the building owing to security reasons or because the owner does not want to inconvenience the inhabitants of the building, he says. He may not have a pass to enter the premises. Further, even if he is able to, and finds mistakes in the building, he has no power or the contractual support to remedy the situation.
Material certification – whose onus? Another key area of concern in the building industry has to do with the quality of the materials used for construction. Those HVAC manufacturers that get their products tested and certified for either fire safety or energy efficiency, often complain that some manufacturers and suppliers resort to misrepresentation of certification of products. They say it is the responsibility of MEP consultants to identify the miscreants and bring them to book. They add that misrepresentation is rampant, because consultants are failing in their duty. The MEP consultancy sector seems to be polarised on the issue. Coombes is of the opinion that the onus is on the contractor to do due diligence of his procurement chain. Seneviratne, on the other hand, says the consultant has a responsibility to do due diligence. If a consultant has approved a product that is not UL-listed, say, then the owner should even sue the consultant, he says, because he has hired the consultant on trust that he would do a proper job. At the same time, if the manufacturer or supplier is caught misrepresenting the certification, he should be
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The Middle East markets cater to fast-track projects as opposed to investigative feasibility studies
taken to task. All said, Seneviratne concedes that it would take a lot of skill on the part of the consultant to decipher a genuine product from a spurious one. “As a company, we go through a lot of hassle to ensure that every piece of furniture is Green Guard-certified, if we are trying to get LEEDcertified for furniture component,” Seneviratne says. “If a single piece is not Green Guard-certified, you won’t get the certification, and so we have to be thorough. It is the same with UL or with CTI certification for cooling towers. It requires rigour to do a CTI test. Likewise, all motors have to be ASHRAE 90.1. All my specs insist on that – all, small or big, without exception. Or if European, then I insist on European standard for efficiency of motors.” Abusaa has a different take on the issue, and does not agree that the responsibility entirely lies with the consultant to check for the authenticity of certification of a product. “People blame the consultant for not verifying, but my question is, did the client include this procedure in the contract?” Abusaa says. “What is the limit of the consultant’s responsibility? He would have written in his report that the product should be UL-certified, say, but if the owner goes to someone and brings equipment that is fake, why blame the consultant, if you don’t include the consultant in the contract to verify? Why expect him to do it for free? If no contract exists with the client to check the equipment, then the consultant is not to be blamed; if it exists, then the consultant surely has to be penalised.” Abusaa says it is highly challenging to verify the authenticity of products. And oftentimes, carrying out checks is tied with money – with what is paid the consultant for his services to a project. Writing specs and doing drawings are easy for consultants, Abusaa says, and therefore, people can compete on them and put low prices. When it comes to supervision, though, it is direct money – it is charged to the client, Abusaa adds. Those aspects can be very expensive. “Project Management takes 10-15% of the project value, and the FM people take a good part of annual charges,” Abusaa says. “They put 10-15 engineers at the job site just for supervision. You never charge so much for specs and design. The average consulting engineer’s charge is AED 15,000 per month, and 10 engineers means a lot of money. You need a lot of engineers
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to carry out supervisory duties to check the products on site. If the working hours are more than eight, you effectively have 20 people per day, and this is very costly and people avoid it. But they don’t realise that a mistake in the building will cost a lot of money to replace.” Abusaa says that the efficacy of verification of products on site as an activity varies from project to project. He says the problem of spurious products on site is rampant in small, private-sector projects. Government projects, on the other hand, don’t suffer as much. An infrastructure project costing hundreds of millions of dollars, he says, will have supervision engineers and project managers on site. But such projects are fewer. About 70% of the market is the small private-sector projects, and that is where the problem is, he adds.
Keeping an eye on the project Even in private-sector projects, there is a variation in circumstances, Abusaa says. If the client is building 100 apartment buildings, he will look at the critical mass and hire a supervising engineer. On the other hand, if he is building an individual villa, he will not invest in supervision engineering. “If you have more buildings, you can divide the cost,” Abusaa says. “You can supervise 20-30 buildings even if they are 10-15 storeys each, because not all are completed at the same time. One is probably at the foundation stage, another is at the glazing stage and yet another is at the MEP stage.” Speaking from his experience, Anbalagan says that generally speaking, consultants, faced with time constraints, don’t check products for authenticity, unless there is a suspicion, which is mainly triggered by a tip-off from a competitor of the party that is misrepresenting product certifications. “Most consultants are given very limited or nil post-contract supervision and administration responsibilities,” he says. “So I will design the job, and it goes to the site, and it will be supervised by somebody else. So I don’t even know what they put. Even in jobs where we supervise, we have limited time, and so it becomes practically impossible to check all the materials delivered to site.” Anbalagan says that when the scope of the contract allows it, his team checks the genuineness of the certification, by going online, but again, it
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In another case, he confronted the contractor over wrongdoing. The retribution was quick – the contractor moved him out of the project
is a sample. “We check to see randomly if it has a UL-sticker or not, but we cannot say whether the sticker itself is genuine, unless we receive a tip-off,” he says. “The time allotted, and the large volume of materials on site in large projects, pose a huge challenge to conducting a thorough check.” Another layer of complexity to the issue emerges when contractors act in a highhanded manner. It is a point that Abusaa raises when he speaks about the structuring of contracts. It is a point that Anbalagan feels passionate about. In a particular project, Anbalagan and his team received a tip-off that the products being used were not genuine. Anbalagan sought to address the issue with the contractor, but when he discovered he was making no headway, he had no choice but to walk out of the project. In another case, he says, he confronted the contractor over wrongdoing. The retribution was quick – the contractor moved him out of the project. “This happens more and more with design-and-build contracts, where the contractor himself has to be the watchdog, and they have a bigger role to play,” he says.
Looking for loopholes in the fine print There is perhaps an opportunity for the government to step in to address the issue, but the general view among the consultants is that a government intervention will be more of a deterrent than a prevention of malpractices. If the consultant is bound by a contract to check the materials on site, and is paid for the service, the government can move in and impose a penalty on the consultant or even blacklist him, if spurious products are used in the project. Again, this depends on the scope of the contract, because a thorough check of all the products involves resources and cost for the consultant. “If a consultant gets penalised, it is a big hit for him, because he is not there 100% of the time at a project, so they must include a supervision fee that is substantial,” Anbalagan says. “Typically, though, the supervision fee, depending on the type of the project, is only 20-25% of the engineer’s time. So there is a big loophole that needs to be addressed.”
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A loophole it may be, but the critics can be unrelenting in blaming MEP consultants for a lack of commitment when it comes to what they call negligence in addressing the vexing issue of misrepresentation of product certification. Likewise, the arguably phlegmatic attitude of consultants towards sustainable development and towards projects after handover may draw the ire of many. Typically, no matter the protestations of the consultants to the barrage of charges levelled against them, there will be those who will question the mindset of the consultant community as not being proactive in responding with their expertise to vision statements and multiple socioeconomicand sustainable development-related initiatives. Questioning the mindset is perhaps a simplistic reaction, though. MEP consultants strongly feel that the misperceptions related to how they execute their roles stem from their critics not understanding the compulsions they face on a daily basis. The mother of all maladies, they say, has to do with the deeply entrenched onesided approach to the structuring of contracts in the GCC region, and the unfair hierarchy that is generally in place in the construction industry. In a vast majority of the projects, the developer appoints an architect or a general consultant and, if at all, interacts with the MEP consultant through either of the two – and this system, the MEP consultants say, is exploited by either of the two. In effect, the architect or the general consultant controls the show, to the disadvantage of specialised MEP consultants.
General consultant or specialised expert? Dr Marcus George, the CEO of UAE-based Engineering Consortium Consulting Engineers (ECCE), belongs to the other camp – the general consultancy camp. His is a company that offers architectural, structural and MEP services. He is of the firm opinion that there is no need for specialised, independent MEP firms, seeing as he does a virtue in a comprehensive in-house team, which he says, ensures a collaborative approach to designing a project. This approach, he says, allows for unparalleled coordination, saves times
and minimises the mistakes and variations that often beset projects, large or small. More importantly, he says, the close-knit approach also allows him to speedily and smoothly acquire all municipality and civil defence approvals and also NOCs from all other related authorities. Abusaa sees nothing wrong in the approach adopted by Dr George, as it embodies the much-vaunted integrated project delivery mechanism. At the same time, he supports the need for independent MEP consultants to handle the numerous specialised requirements of MEP work, which a general consultant may not have a grip of. Smart buildings and smart cities, for instance, need specialised, focused expertise, as do nearly zero-energy buildings. Which brings the issue to square one – of unfairly structured contracts and the lack of a level playing field, as the MEP consultants put it.
Money matters Typically, the problem in such contracts, where the MEP consultant has no direct
contact with the developer and has to go through either the architect or the general consultant, is one of lack of transparency – primarily involving payment schedules. MEP consultants talk of how payments due to them are routinely delayed. The architect or the general consultant, under the pretext of not receiving the payment due to him from the developer, holds the payment of the MEP consultant and, in some cases, pays only a fraction of what is owed. Anbalagan describes how he felt the brunt of this “unfair treatment” in the last decade, characterised by a construction boom, followed by a deep recession. “For a small entity like mine, the losses we wrote off during the period starting from 2006 to 2009 amounted to over AED 8 million,” he says ruefully. “Some of them bluntly said, ‘We will not pay’, while some said, ‘If I collect, I will pay.’ Some of them were very big projects.” Anbalagan says he has learnt from the harsh lessons of the past and is careful about whom he works with. He has seen the contrast of working directly with the developer, where there is transparency in
For a small entity like mine, the losses we wrote off during the period starting from 2006 to 2009 amounted to over AED 8 million. Some of them bluntly said, ‘We will not pay’ terms of payments, and chases projects that involve a direct interaction. But at the same time, he says he cannot solely rely on such arrangements and, in his quest for a greater volume of business, has to work with architects and general consultants. He adds that nevertheless, he is measured in choosing the projects he wants to work on. “We have trimmed down to working with select clients,” he says. “Earlier, we used to grab whatever came our way, but we
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They probably sold cucumbers till not too long ago, but fabricated certificates that say they graduated 20 years ago
did not get paid substantial amounts. That was a wake-up call, and we had to restructure. Now, though we are not doing something sensationally big, we are content.” Despite the due diligence he brings into play in selecting who he wants to work with, Anbalagan says he is caught out at times. “Even recently, I have suffered a lot,” he says, the crease-lines clearly visible on his forehead. “We delivered 70%, and we got paid 10%. I know they might have collected the money but paid a fraction. This put us in a very big cash-flow situation.” Such payment issues – be they delays, nonpayments or partial payments – cripple the MEP consultants. In such circumstances, they say, they are constantly preoccupied chasing the money owed them. The distraction, they add, severely impairs their ability to deliver on projects and to infuse the projects with the quality they deserve. Abusaa puts it succinctly, when he says: “If you are happy, you will look to change the world for the better. If you do not have good income, you will look to fill the stomach of your family.” Such an atmosphere, he says, will delay the advent of a truly green culture. Under such circumstances, MEP consultants simply wouldn’t have the time to focus on offering top-notch sustainable development solutions. It is a matter of priorities.
Undercutting versus best practices Dismally enough, there does not seem to be a solution in sight. In fact, the issue of a lack of a level playing field is getting aggravated further by the arrival of a new breed of consultants, many of whom are willing to work for even half the compensation that seasoned MEP consultants typically charge; this is appealing to the commercial instincts of many developers and general consultants. Faced with such circumstances, the long-standing MEP consultants are finding themselves in a situation where they cannot complain about delayed payments or take legal recourse. Given the increase in competition and the need to even more severely fight for projects, they find that they simply cannot burn their bridges, and have to resort to toeing the line. Perhaps what makes the situation even more unpalatable for the seasoned MEP consultants is the knowledge that many in the new breed do
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not have the experience or exposure to properly deliver on projects. They get projects simply because they charge far less than what the senior consultants do. Seneviratne cites the case of an AED 10 million building-retrofit project, for which he charged AED 85,000 as his consultancy fee. The client’s response that he could get someone to execute the project for AED 45,000 startled him. “There’s a problem there, because you cannot finish the project in AED 45,000,” Seneviratne says. Seneviratne’s voice is one of conviction, because his experience tells him there is much more expertise that goes into a project – and it comes at a certain price. Anbalagan brings it up, when he describes how he has made a substantial investment in acquiring the Revit software in a bid to enhance the conceptualisation process, and in training his team to use it. Perhaps even more significant than acquiring a software is the legacy learning that consultants like Anbalagan have in their grasp. “As a company, our quality systems have improved substantially from the learning process we went through in 2008 and in the subsequent years, so internally we have better systems in place,” he says. “Thanks to the aggregation of knowledge, we will not repeat mistakes – designs that are highly oversized or specs that have been loosely put together.” Abusaa says the current state of affairs has deep ramifications, not only for the survival and well-being of long-established MEP consultancy firms but also for the region’s socio-economic development and sustainable development aspirations, which are such an integral part of the various vision statements. After all, he says, the quality of the work is at stake, if an inexperienced MEP consultant is hired to execute a complex job, with the money he has quoted being the sole criterion on the basis of which he was selected for the job. By way of elaborating on his point, Abusaa says that there needs to be tighter control in awarding someone a consultancy licence. “Unfortunately, in a lot of countries, the consultancy licence is given based on the year of graduation and the number of years of experience from the time the person graduated,” he says.
“There are engineers who can bring any certificate to the region, despite not having worked anywhere. They probably sold cucumbers till not too long ago, but fabricated certificates that say they graduated 20 years ago.” That is why, he says, it is important that we filter the licences and give them a grade.
Time for a paradigm shift Abusaa says that he is heartened by the fact that in Dubai, the Municipality has a rigorous procedure in place to verify licences. Anbalagan adds to this by saying that the Municipality has become stricter when it comes to issuing building permits, which, in a way, keeps a check on the quality of consultant hired to design a project. Both the senior consultants say they would like to see regulation covering other aspects, as well. For instance, they would like the government to intervene in ensuring that architectural and general consultancy firms show greater transparency over payment schedules. Ultimately, though, the consensus among the senior MEP consultants is that the best way of resolving the problem is by ensuring that developers gain a deeper level of awareness of the benefits of directly working with specialised MEP consultants. A deeper engagement with the developer will have a positive impact in addressing so many of the other issues that MEP consultants typically face flak over. For instance, the war-cry of those who say that the consultants ought to be less phlegmatic in their response to such pathbreaking initiatives, such as nearly zeroenergy buildings and entire smart cities, can be subdued, if the developer gains a heightened awareness of the benefits of
If local production can be encouraged, and they are given incentives, and those kinds of materials can be used in projects, then that’s the way to go forward
aligning himself to the initiatives. It is, then, in the interests of the MEP consultancy community to ensure a more enlightened developer, and for this, they must seize the bull by the horns and support the cause of better awareness-building. A more receptive developer would, in turn, over a period of time, be instrumental in breaking the established thinking among consultants that it is not their remit to go past the developer’s brief. As Coombes puts it, in the new paradigm, the consultant would be emboldened to recommend to the developer
to adopt nearly zero-energy principles and to even give a timeframe when the developer would start seeing the benefits of his investment. Coombes adds that the time is ripe for a strong culture of innovative practices in the building industry and that the developer and consultant working in concert can achieve wonders. “The UAE is trying to position itself as a centre of innovation,” he says. “At such a time, incentives for innovation would be a great driver.”
7d WmWhZ m_dd_d] YecfWdo
September 2016
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If a consultant designs five projects and he visits all of them, he will spend 20% of his time just visiting. Who will pay for this? 24
The general view is that establishing a regimen of incentives for procurement, say, could probably help to bring initial costs down, which would break the barriers raised by cost-conscious developers. Says Anbalagan: “If local production can be encouraged, and they are given incentives, and those kinds of materials can be used in projects, then that’s the way to go forward. Such an approach will not hike up construction cost.” For that to work, he says, there is a need to look at the approval process, though. He cites the example of a project where he had proposed concrete cooling systems as a solution, but could not get through, though, for want of a certain flexibility in thinking. “The innovative system could not be approved, even when we said that adopting the solution would increase efficiency by 50%,” he says. “As a consultant, if I start to bring technology that is not approved here, I will go nowhere. Concrete cooling is mass cooling, which will bring down cooling costs. But if the approval process will be delayed by six months, I won’t have time, unless I engineer first and then get approval. The government can perhaps look at such technologies with a bit more open mind. Nearly zero-energy buildings, for instance, might need outlandish thinking, so a more open-minded approach in the approval process might help. Till then, I would rather go with convention, because we anticipate that nZEB might need very innovative ideas and thinking, which might not be prevalent in the region. But there is hope, because the VRV or VRF technology, which was resisted earlier, is now receiving approval.” Coombes mirrors Anbalagan’s hopeful attitude and is optimistic that change will come about. He advocates a patient approach to bringing about change. “We have to remember that change does not happen overnight,” he says. “The government is putting initiatives now to push the envelope.” The same proactive approach and doggedness in engaging the developer community and in persuading the authorities is needed to push even green initiatives through, agree the consultants. Awareness is key to bringing about change, they add. Mohamed R Zackariah, Chief Consultant at Saudi Arabia-based Suhaimi Design-Protecooling, supports the proactive approach to engaging the developer. He strongly believes the best way to get the message across to clients is through awareness-building, provided it reaches the toplevel decision-makers in the developer company. Zackariah talks of how his colleagues and he, in fact, insist on meeting the CEO himself or, at the very least, a General Manager. “It is our practice to undertake an energy audit as a first step to a green initiative in a building,” he says. “When working with a developer, we insist on a meeting with the top management to make a presentation on the benefits of conducting an audit, because a lower-level manager might not have the capacity to take the final decision or might not wish to
September 2016
disturb the status quo.” In much the same way, there is a need for a decisive shift in thinking for addressing the other areas of concern – of ensuring that MEP consultants visit the project they designed after the handover process or that they play their part in catching product certification-related malpractices. The broad consensus among the consultants is that there is a need for a greater enabling environment – including some form of a government intervention – for them to be able to address the two issues. While government intervention is welcome, the consultants agree that enforcement measures should be balanced, so that there is no undue burden on the consultants. The biggest call among the consultant community is for a paradigm shift in approach. Coombes, speaking on the issue of post-project visits, suggests a model of incentives for consultants. For high-end consultants, who handle a limited number of projects and charge a premium towards their execution, the incentive would be the need to protect their track-record, but for the overall consultant community, he says, there is a need for something more. “I think there is a brilliant opportunity for incentives to encourage and to suggest that the performance of the building relates to reward to the consultant,” Coombes says. He recommends a model similar to the Esco approach to retrofitting Existing Buildings. Through a clever structuring of design and construction contracts, a good consultant can get reward for increasing savings for the client. “We could follow a similar structure to the Esco contract for post-event visits,” Coombes says. “If the baseline is established fairly early in design, if energy can be predicted and if they can achieve their target, then there can be a financial reward for consultants.” Suggestions such as those by Coombes and the others deserve a patient hearing. The region’s leadership is looking for extraordinary progress, as evidenced by the several vision statements. The aspirations coming to fruition will depend on a willingness on the part of multiple stakeholders to embrace extraordinary measures.
In October, Climate Control Middle East will be carrying Part 2 of the report, in which the focus will be on the MEP contracting industry.
HAVE YOUR SAY!
We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
We set standards: www.belimo.ae
September 2016
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Dr Mohanad Alshaikh is CEO of Al Salem Johnson Controls. He can be contacted through wisam.iskanderani@jci.com.
ERSPECTIVE
THE HVAC INDUSTRY HAS A GREAT TASK AHEAD Underlining that innovative solutions will help save energy and the environment in the long run, Dr Mohanad Alshaikh says that energy efficiency in all forms is vital to achieve Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, in which all companies need to be stakeholders. 26
September 2016
W
ith growing technological innovations and economic expansion, countries can now control extremity in global weather conditions, thanks to the vast energy resources at their disposal. However, due care is of paramount consideration in tapping these solutions, as damage to the environment would be the unintended consequence. Any delay in taking the appropriate action would result in severe negative impact in the future. Thus, there is an urgent need to find and adopt an appropriate solution to mitigate future total global warming, while saving energy. For instance, process cooling systems are critical in Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical industry, as addition or removal of heat is necessary during different stages of oil and gas production and transportation. While using seawater is the norm in the industry, owing to its availability, there are numerous problems that come with its use. The corrosive nature of seawater has been a huge concern for the petrochemical sector, as it decreases the efficiency of the systems and consumes more energy, thereby inflating expenditure. It is not just corrosion that comes with seawater but fouling, scaling, dust and microbial activity. With the recent unveiling of the Saudi Vision 2030, the HVAC industry has a great task ahead. The Saudi government has expressed its commitment to localise a significant portion of the renewable energy value chain in the country’s economy, including research and development and manufacturing, among others, in its aim to generate 9.5 gigawatts of renewable energy. This is in light of the forecast of tripling energy consumption by 2030. Against this backdrop, the HVAC industry, especially the leading companies, have deemed it fit to share its expertise to help the government in achieving the goal smartly.
The major industry players can step in by fostering energy-efficient technology solutions in the HVAC industry and offering the best Building Management Systems (BMS) and smart home automation tools that can help customers create a better environment, while providing safety, sustainability and flexibility. In fact, every company’s philosophy should be in tandem with the Vision 2030’s aim of increasing the competitiveness of the Kingdom’s energy sector. Increasing energy efficiency often costs money up-front, but in many cases, this capital outlay will be paid back in the form of reduced energy costs within a short period of time. This makes efficiency improvements an attractive starting point for reducing carbon emissions. Energy efficiency is always a good idea. Whether it is in silica and petrochemicals, it results in energy savings. Saudi Arabia is determined to move in this direction. To quote Vision 2030, it underlines that “we have all the raw ingredients for success…
we will guarantee the competitiveness of renewable energy through the gradual liberalisation of the fuels market”1. In the final analysis, efficient energy use is achieved primarily by means of a more efficient technology or process. Energyefficient buildings, industrial processes and transportation could reduce the world’s energy needs and help control global emissions of greenhouse gases. Moreover, improving energy efficiency is a key tool for reducing CO2 emissions, alongside energy conservation and low-carbon energy sources, such as renewables and carbon capture and storage.
Reference: 1. Vision 2030, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: http:// vision2030.gov.sa/en/node/6
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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27
VIEW
‘Sustainable
will be able to do more with less’ A Big 5 Kuwait speaker and a point of reference in Kuwait when it comes to low-energy, environmentally friendly urban solutions, Dr Ioannis Spanos of KEO International Consultants, discusses with Climate Control Middle East the benefits of green practices, as the construction event launches Sustainability Day on September 27, 2016.
By Pratibha Umashankar | Associate Editor
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September 2016
If the buildings are low-rise, then external insulation may be an option. This will have a triple benefit
T
oday, incorporating Green Building practices within Kuwait’s construction industry is imperative for meeting the country’s sustainability targets. Reflecting this, the State of Kuwait submitted an Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INCD) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris last year, while its 2035 Vision Plan focuses heavily on economic diversification through infrastructure investment. “Sustainability is not just about providing
something that is ‘green’; it is about providing a product of better quality and higher value,” says Dr Ioannis Spanos, Senior Sustainability Manager at KEO International Consultants. “Good sustainability design improves residents’ quality of life and makes sustainable buildings more desirable. On top of that, Green Buildings are good for the environment.” It is evident that Green Buildings have manifold advantages: In the global commercial real estate market, sustainable buildings hold the highest occupancy rate,
while scoring higher rents to the benefit of their developers. For the development of truly sustainable cities, however, proper urban planning is paramount. In this context, Dr Spanos warns, “A building cannot operate in a sustainable way if surrounding facilities do not support its functions.” He delineates: The design of street blocks can reduce energy consumption and cooling; the design of good roads can shrink distance travelled and commute delays; correctly designed pedestrian and bicycle paths can limit the number of cars, making individuals more active; and parks correctly placed in the urban-scape can provide elements of relaxation during stressful days. “All of these urban planning elements improve and contribute to a building’s sustainability rate,” says Dr Spanos. “Most importantly, they provide the foundation for sustainable buildings and sustainable living.” Dr Spanos believes that, in the future, individuals residing in sustainable cities will be happier, with a higher life satisfaction
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VIEW At the Big 5 Kuwait Dr Ioannis Spanos will deliver a presentation, titled ‘Developing a project management approach to the design of Net Zero Energy Buildings’, at The Big 5 Kuwait 2016 on September 27, as part of the show’s first dedicated Sustainability Day. Taking place from September 25 to 27, 2016 at the Kuwait International Fair, the building and construction event will introduce products, including building materials and Green Technologies. According to the exhibition organiser, dmg events, visitors will have the opportunity to attend, alongside the exhibition, over 20 free CPD-certified workshops.
One of the biggest business opportunities in Kuwait’s construction industry is the development of sustainable projects 30
rating. “Not only will sustainability provide financial, social and environmental benefits,” he says, “but sustainable smart cities will also be able to do more with less.” While more and more new buildings are designed incorporating energy-efficient solutions, industry experts are researching and developing innovative ways to increase sustainability in older, Existing Buildings. With reference to Kuwait, Dr Spanos says, “If the buildings are low-rise, then external insulation may be an option. This will have a triple benefit: reduce heat losses, reduce air leakage and stop any water penetration.” Despite highlighting that high-rise buildings present bigger challenges, owing to the difficulty of insulating existing walls, he adds, however, that "insulation is just a portion of potential energy-efficient measures”. He explains this, saying: “Nowadays, LED lighting, at the cost of the fluorescent tubes, and fans of air-handling units can consume 30% less of what they used to consume 15 years ago; chillers’ efficiency has also increased dramatically. If any equipment is planned to be changed, then it makes a lot of sense to go for the most efficient option. Finally, the most cost-effective solution with an immediate benefit is improving facilities management. Studies demonstrate that buildings are currently wasting 5-10% of their energy due to a lack of appropriate management.” Integration of photovoltaic panels is another option when it comes to increasing a building’s sustainability rate. For Kuwait, Dr Spanos recommends developing small-scale projects on the roofs of public sector buildings first. Here, evidently, installation costs can be kept low, energy can be used within the same facility and the overall financial benefit can return directly
September 2016
to the public. However, in order to support the diffusion of photovoltaic integration among private individuals as well, Dr Spanos calls for the development of large-scale, financially attractive plans. “Today, one of the biggest business opportunities in Kuwait’s construction industry is the development of sustainable projects, which will last for a long time, providing a space where people will want to work and live,” Dr Spanos says. In his opinion, stakeholders and developers are increasingly aware of the benefits of sustainability; however, he thinks there’s still a long way to go to fully implement sustainable best practices in the local design and construction industry. “Sustainable building techniques and materials have been tested globally, and their benefits proved,” he points out, adding: “In order for sustainability to be fully integrated in the GCC region’s construction landscape, contracts and design delivery should move forward to the construction process silos, and produce a more coherent approach to the design and development of the projects.” Alluding to the experience in the Western world and China, he underlines, “If Zero Energy Buildings are designed correctly, additional costs may be very small against the overall value and payback of the final product.”
HAVE YOUR SAY!
We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
important K-Flex Product Advisory K-Flex Gulf Manufacturing LLC is part of the Italy-headquartered L'Isolante K-Flex Group of Companies. In the early 1990s, the company introduced Kaimannflex elastomeric insulation in the UAE market, a product that went on to be specified by a large number of consultants in the region and installed in many prestigious projects. In the late 1990s, there was a change in the shareholding structure of L'Isolante, which resulted in the Kaimannflex brand being discontinued and the product rebranded as K-Flex for international sales and corporate purposes. Any company using Kaimannflex, in any form whatsoever, to sell their products in the MENA region, or elsewhere, is misrepresenting the brand and misleading customers. Moreover, it is completely illegal and obviously done with mala fide intentions. K-Flex Gulf Manufacturing, located in DIP, manufactures all range of elastomeric insulation products and accessories in compliance with the highest of standards, including ASTM and all European standards relevant to elastomeric insulation products, and has earned local and global certifications, such as DCL, UL, BS and FM. September 2016
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Vijay Kumar is President, International Business, Cylon Controls. He can be contacted at vijay.kumar@cylon.com.
ERSPECTIVE
THE
VAV
FAC T O R Pointing out that smart control programs deployed via BMS deliver superior VAV performance and efficiency, Vijay Kumar adopts a handson approach to make a case for pressure-independent VAV.
T
he Middle East HVAC industry has extensively used Variable Air Volume (VAV) terminal units for the past two decades. Initially popularised in low-rise residential units, pressure-dependent (by-pass type) VAV boxes were seen as a cost-effective solution compared to DX units. Over time, the more sophisticated pressure-independent VAV boxes replaced fan-coil units in high-rise multitenant buildings, facilitating easy retrofit to suit customer requirements. The sheer number of VAV box manufacturers across the region bears testimony to its widespread popularity. This article specifically deals with pressureindependent VAV, and describes how a smart
Pressure Independent VAV Control
control program can overcome performance problems. When deployed via Building Management Systems (BMS), such smart control programs deliver superior VAV performance and efficiency. Let us begin with some established facts – the pressure-independent VAV box is only as sophisticated as the electronic controller that controls it. And the electronic controller is only as sophisticated as the software control program that resides in it. The VAV box must be integrated into a VAV system; only then does its true performance show up. The crux of the performance problems arises due to different fit-out contractors working for different tenants, where their VAV boxes’
Deadband Challenge
CFM
CLOSE DAMPER
}
SETPOINT
F
SETPOINT
• Temperature Control Loop Adjusts Flow Setpoint
OPEN DAMPER T
• Flow Control Loop Maintains Flow, Independent of System Pressure • Ultimate Goal is to Control Temperature & Minimum CFM
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September 2016
DEADBAND
Time
• For accurate control, need narrow deadband • For maximum damper life, need wide deadband • Deadband must be > min damper motor “on” cycle
DUCT AIR-FLOW SIGNAL NOISE
Blue graph is actual air-flow Green graph is signal with noise error.
NON-LINEAR DAMPER PERFORMANCE
Classic S-shaped curve nature of air-flow through non-linear dampers.
integration with the building’s overall VAV system gets easily overlooked. This results in VAV boxes fighting each other and “starving” the very zones they were designed to satisfy. As tenants move in and out of buildings, retrofit becomes a continuous process, which means their VAV box integration with building’s VAV system must also become a continuous process. This process, known as VAV Test & Balance, is where the BMS can play a major role, using the smart VAV control programs. Several issues are addressed by VAV Test & Balance process. One of this is the deadband challenge, which deals with the sensitivity of control and its effect on damper motor life. Both are mutually exclusive, as a lower deadband is desirable to maintain comfort, whereas, it contributes to faster damper motor wearout. Another issue that’s seldom discussed is duct air turbulence, which creeps into the VAV system as tenant retrofit activity picks up. This causes air-flow signal noise, which impacts the accuracy of VAV box control. The air-flow graph diagram below shows a scenario, where a significant error (green graph) has crept into the control system through signal noise from duct turbulence. This noise is also caused by residual airflow in the ducts, even when all VAV boxes and associated supply air-handling units (AHUs) are shut off. Finally, and probably the most challenging, is the non-linear output of VAV box dampers. The mechanical design of dampers results in a classic S-shaped curve, where air-flow change is sluggish at the upper and lower 20% of damper operation and, hence, difficult to control. These complex challenges can be addressed collectively by using the smart VAV control program, of course, recognising the fact that it involves recommissioning the entire VAV system, that is, commissioning of not just a single VAV box but also all other “sibling” VAV boxes
September 2016
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ERSPECTIVE
DUCT AIR-FLOW SIGNAL AFTER NOISE ELIMINATION
Actual air-flow signal a er noise elimination and calibrated ero.
SLOPE-BASED AIR-FLOW CONTROL
he sensitivity of control depends on the slope of the damper curve.
4-STEP SEQUENCE TO SMART VAV CONTROL
connected to a common “parent” supply AHU. First, let us look at how to eliminate the noise resulting from duct air turbulence. Command the supply AHU fan and its supply air damper “OFF”, followed by a “CLOSE” global command to all sibling VAV box dampers on that chain. Use a mechanical flow hood at each VAV box outlet and take three separate airflow readings at three-minute intervals. Average these readings and set this as calibrated zero air-flow for that VAV box. This is an important step, often ignored due to the misconception that VAV controllers are factory-calibrated. Remember that factory calibration only involves setting the minimum and maximum CFM setting for each VAV box, not the calibrated zero, which can only be done at site. Next, address the deadband challenge. Standard VAV control programs only employ Proportional and Integral (PI) logic, but that is more suited to linear low control loops. Instead, have the control program use a slopebased air-flow control approach, as seen in the graph ‘Slope-based air-flow control’. Run the damper for short bursts, say one, five or 10 seconds, and take the CFM reading at the low-end of the range, mid-range and the high-end of the range. Capture these readings on a trend graph, then calculate the slope to infer the anticipated air-flow at various positions of the damper. In essence, the VAV damper motor will now know when NOT to over-control, and it will not try to overcompensate at the lower- and upper-end of the range. Rather than wait for a feedback signal to make further corrections to damper position (typical in standard PI logic), this smart VAV control program will use adaptive control from its learning of how much CFM will be delivered, at which position of the damper. This effectively eliminates the deadband problem and results in longer damper motor life, perhaps far beyond the manufacturer’s warranty period. Finally, let’s look at the non-linear damper control problem. This is partly addressed above, using the slope-based approach. However, what is yet to be addressed is how to respond to major changes, say, when an occupant adjusts the thermostat controlling the VAV. The smart VAV control program translates the temperature set-point change in terms of CFM required to satisfy the zone, then makes the initial damper adjustment, calculates the slope of the graph, as seen in the diagram, and then uses the slope value to predict if a second adjustment is required to reach the set-point. If so, for how long to run the motor is correlated with the minimum motor run-time value specified by the manufacturer. This effectively means a maximum of two damper movements to arrive at the set-point, rather than continuous adjustments to motor using traditional VAV control programs. No wonder then that smart VAV control programs are the way to go, to deliver better efficiency and longer equipment life under ever-changing indoor conditions. 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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September 2016
September 2016
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VRF
– time for a mindset change
36
September 2016
VARsity Looking into the world of variable refrigerant flow systems
September 2016
37
VARsity Looking into the world of variable refrigerant flow systems
VRF
– time for a mindset change
Until recently, though weighing heavily in its favour, the jury was still out on VRF technology as a serious contender in the region. That road hump has now been crossed. What has changed the narrative in the short interim? We read the signposts that signal the crossover, and the road ahead. By Pratibha Umashankar | Associate Editor, with inputs from B Surendar | Editor
Syed Jafar Imam
G
Ali El Zein
azing into the distance, many in the HVAC fraternity had prophesied that VRF technology, despite travelling light, might not make it in the long run. It was seen as a stop-gap arrangement and not a permanent replacement for District Cooling, until the sector – sagging under its own weight and slowed down by recession – would be in the running again. VRF was recession’s baby. Experts listed VRF’s many virtues, calling it a flexible technology that could minimise efficiency losses, offer lower lifecycle costs compared to conventional cooling systems and, thus, provide a sustainable solution. But (yes, there was always a but) it’s expensive, needs specialised technical
38
personnel to install and maintain, with not many being available in the region and is limited to smaller, low-rise projects – were a few of the drawbacks enumerated. Now that VRFs have become an integral part of the HVAC landscape in the region, the debate is no longer about which cooling approach is best – District Cooling, standalone chilled water systems, split systems/packaged units, aircooled chillers or VRFs. That has been put to rest with a horses-for-courses approach. Confirming this, Syed Jafar Imam, Deputy General Manager-RLC, Middle East & Africa, at AHI Carrier, says that consultants, contractors and clients are not talking of changing a project earmarked for VRF systems to ducted split
September 2016
systems, as doubts have yielded way to clarity. “The clutter in the mind is out,” he says. “VRF is no longer regarded as a default – that if chillers won’t work, let’s go with VRF.” So what’s changed? Citing one of several reasons for the acceptance of VRFs, Syed Imam says: “If we envisaged a blueprint with District Cooling in mind but suddenly learned that the huge development is not happening, then the viability of the whole project would be at stake. There is no such dilemma with VRF, because if you plan 10 floors and do only four floors, you don’t have to change the blueprint. So once designed for VRF, it stays a VRF project.” Adding another dimension, he says, “The reason people are moving to VRF is the simplicity of it all; there is no huge plantroom involved, like in a District Cooling system.” Ali El Zein, Head of System AC Division at Samsung Gulf Electronics, credits “strict governmental measures that call for improved energy-saving technologies” for VRFs coming
of age. The technology, he says, “was developed keeping sustainability in mind”, and since sustainable regulations in the region are being tightened, the market is diverting towards VRFs among standalone DX systems. Seconding this, Syed Imam says, “Everyone is talking of energy regulations, whether there is an economic slowdown or not.” Agencies like SASO in Saudi Arabia, ESMA in the UAE, QSAS in Qatar, Kuwait’s Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) and EWA regulations
VRF is no longer regarded as a default – that if chillers won’t work, let’s go with VRF
in Bahrain, he points out, have laid down “minimum efficiency standards” and are “setting the tone for bringing more energy-efficient products” into the region. “Now, if you have to bring more energyefficient products,” he says, “you have to move from R-22 to R-410A, so splits are more expensive.” Signalling that VRF has been the direct beneficiary of various green initiatives, he adds, “There is a conscious effort from all governments that there has to be low power consumption, and that is driving everyone to VRF.” El Zein underlines, “The technology is advancing faster than ever, going beyond R-22 DX and chillers that we see today.” In this scenario, the allegation of being an expensive technology no longer
holds good, as the VRF market has been growing at a steady pace, bringing the prices down by “15-20% from four or five years ago, owing to critical mass”, says Syed Imam. And, with an increase in the number of projects, he adds, “the gap in price between ducted splits and VRF is shrinking”. Also, many players vying for a piece of the VRF pie, as against the earlier monopoly market, says Syed Imam, has led to a healthy competition, where “people are able to source the best at a lower price”. Flexibility, VRF’s proven virtue, is now being seen in a new light. “It is a phase-byphase installation”, says Syed Imam. “You don’t have to bring 1,000 TR chiller. You can install VRF for two floors alone, if that’s the demand.”
Pinning down the elusive market Calling VRF “a big ticket item”, Syed Jafar Imam pegs the UAE VRF market at 4.5% of the HVAC sector. “If you consider only the DX market, VRF enjoys 6.5-7% market penetration in the UAE,” he says. He expects it to go from 4.5 to 6-7%. Saudi Arabia, he says, is at two per cent of the sector, while Qatar has 7-8% VRF market size and is the fastest growing market, because overall, it’s relatively small compared to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Ali El Zein says that the commercial and residential segment holds the largest share of the VRF market, with an expected growth of around seven per cent in the GCC region. He adds that BSRIA expects the market to grow at around 11% CAGR between 2013 and 2018, with the biggest growth coming from the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Globally, the major markets for VRFs, he says, are manufacturing hubs China, Japan, South Korea, United States, Europe, Turkey and India.
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• Jeddah, KSA • Toronto, Canada
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Allied has grown into one of the leading Engineering and Project Management firms in the Middle East, boasting offices in 3 major Countries in the Middle East (Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Kingdome of Saudi Arabia). Allied offers full range of Engineering and Project Management services provided by nearly 140 dedicated professionals distributed among Egyptian, UAE and KSA locations. The company is a multidisciplinary consulting firm and has a track record and specialization in Buildings, Industrial Works and District Cooling and Power Generation Plants.
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VARsity Looking into the world of variable refrigerant flow systems
VRF systems have the ability to condition multiple zones in a building, each of which may have different cooling needs
El Zein underscores this, saying: “A major factor accelerating the market is the growing need to meet individual needs within a building. VRF systems have the ability to condition multiple zones in a building, each of which may have different cooling needs.” The fear that VRF is a high-maintenance proposition demanding expertise with little room for installation errors, has lately been allayed. Syed Imam pointing out that no system is error-proof, gestures towards a growing trained workforce in the region and contractors with knowledge to handle VRFs. He adds that in the last five years, new brands “have done a lot of handholding”, with engineers from big brands offering support for mega projects. “So the comfort level has gone up,” says Syed Imam. The high and low of it The myth that the VRF technology works only for villas, in esoteric projects like those in Dubai South, has been exploded. “Already successful in Europe and Asia, and now growing in significance in the GCC [region], VRF technology is now widely accepted in every application from high-rise residential towers, community villas, school buildings, commercial institutions, warehouses, labour camps and metro stations,” says El Zein. Syed Imam agrees and adds that VRFs have found favour with contractors in the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia for high-rise buildings, including
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apartment blocks like Wasl Properties in Dubai. “Makkah and Madinah are full of hotels, and that is the fastest growing sector, and they are 8 to 10 floors,” he says. He underlines that due to shortage of power and labour, the region has had to go vertical, restricting the space needed for installation of conventional cooling systems. “So, the highest growth for VRF is coming from there,” he says. Citing another instance, a 40-storey building in China with provision for outdoor units, he adds, “They don’t want chilled water systems (District Cooling), because if one chiller goes down, then there’s a problem.” Viewing the issue from a different angle, El Zein says, “Moreover, this [VRF] technology is also beneficial over chilled water systems, where fresh water is not easily available.” Thus, irrespective of their relative merits, the lack of adequate water could be a key factor that might tilt the scales in favour of air-cooled VRFs. Date with 2020 and 2022 Of late, all market drivers have come to be hypothecated to the region’s two mega events – World EXPO 2020 in Dubai and FIFA 2022 in Qatar, which Syed Imam dubs the “bright spots” expected to propel the economy in general and the infrastructure sector in particular, ushering a surge in all segments after a lull in 2017, which will benefit the VRF market. This prediction doesn’t need any crystalball gazing. However, what’s unpredictable is the global
September 2016
fiscal climate, underpinned by sagging oil prices and the slowing down of the economic giant China, raising a spectre of doubt over everything. Cheaper oil and Chinese whispers While conceding that there are market pressures engendered by these two factors, leading to “de-growth” pushing companies to indulge in “value engineering” and forcing a price drop, Syed Imam dismisses the fear they could be major threats to the VRF sector. “Overall, oil will not derail or stop VRF projects” is his sanguine opinion. He explains: “If the market is slowing down by 3-5%, and if the market size is only four per cent of that, then [there is] no significant impact, because the VRF market size in the GCC region, in terms of the share of the total size of the HVAC market, is not comparable to other regions around the world.” El Zein, too, brushes aside the market slump, saying, “In spite of low oil prices hampering the growth of the HVAC industry, we continue to see a growth in adoption of VRF due to its unique benefits, like high efficiency, long life, advance control options, etc.” Adding credence to this, he reveals, “We introduced a new side discharge VRF unit – the DVM S Eco 10HP – in the GCC HVAC market this April.” There’s, perhaps, more merit to this optimism, for as Syed Imam, who is looking beyond 2020
and 2022, points out that “oil yo-yo” and “Chinese whispers” – as he calls them – notwithstanding, “Qatar is not just chasing 2022, it also has the 2030 Qatar National Vision”. Similarly, there’s the UAE National Agenda, Vision 2021 and Abu Dhabi 2030, with analogous goals countries in the region have set for themselves. Therefore, sustainable growth will continue. However, with sustainability evolving into a key issue in the HVAC sector, the question of whether VRFs can withstand the rigorous energy-efficiency scrutiny is an open-ended one. Turning the corner Syed Imam thinks the time for mulling over challenges posed by VRFs is over. The technology has been embraced globally, with, for example, 65% market size in China going the VRF way. “They have made peace with VRF, why not here, then?” he asks. He believes the region needs to be nudged to “move out of the comfort zone” and have a “mindset change”. That demands a big leap of faith.
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Off the roof
Many in the industry may doubt the feasibility of using VRF systems in high-rise buildings, but Dharmesh Sawant of LG Electronics contends that they are not only a viable option but also a practical choice, especially for building owners looking to reduce their piping and energy costs. By Fatima de la Cerna | Assistant Editor
D
harmesh Sawant is mindful of the fact that VRF technology, while showing signs of gaining traction in the Middle East market, is far from being a popular cooling choice among the region’s consultants and developers, particularly when it comes to high-rise buildings. He has a theory on why this is so. To him, the industry seems to suffer from a general unwillingness to break old habits and pursue a new line of thinking, try new practices. “I think everyone’s too comfortable following the same practices that
have been around since practically the dark ages,” the Senior Sales Manager for B2B AC at LG Electronics Middle East says, with a smile acknowledging the exaggeration in his statement. “They seem hesitant to deviate from what they consider the standard way of doing things.” Elaborating on what he means by “standard way”, he broaches the subject of how DX systems are typically installed in buildings. “With DX systems, the outdoor units are usually kept on the roof, with piping running from the roof to the apartment, for example, being cooled,” he
There’s less energy loss because you will no longer be taking the electrical energy up to the roof – you’re now dealing with same-floor piping
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VARsity Looking into the world of variable refrigerant flow systems
The company coordinated with the consultants at the early stages of the project, an exercise that helped the architect take the 'smart' decision of providing two plantrooms on each floor, where the VRF outdoor units can be installed
says. “Very few question this, because it’s seen as the norm. But it’s a waste of energy. You’re taking electrical energy from the apartment to the roof to power the unit, and then bringing down the refrigerant. Again, you’re taking the energy up and then down – that results in considerable energy loss, especially if we’re dealing with high-rises and long piping.” As a solution, he proposes keeping the outdoor unit on the same floor, saying that clients can make note of this requirement during the concept stage of the project to ensure proper coordination between the architects and the MEP consultants. “During the concept stage, usually only the architects are involved, with the MEP consultants coming in later,” says Sawant. “But architects and MEP consultants need to communicate and work together, so they can provide space on each floor for the outdoor units. That way, they’ll only be running the cabling on that floor. The client could then save on the
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piping and cabling costs. The shafts will also be free from any risers, and with no risers in the shafts, they will be available for plumbing and other services. And even from an energy-efficiency perspective, there’s less energy loss because you will no longer be taking the electrical energy up to the roof – you’re now dealing with same-floor piping.” In addition to reduced costs and energy consumption, setting aside space on each floor for the outdoor unit offers the benefit of maintaining equipment lifespan, Sawant adds, saying: “Imagine the unit getting exposed to the sun during summer, when the ambient temperature is so high. Imagine what that would do to the equipment. If the units were moved from the roof, they would always be shaded and would be less exposed to dust, which would ensure the longevity of the condenser unit, thereby, protecting the lifespan of the system.” When asked why placing the outdoor unit on the roof has become the standard practice
September 2016
in the industry, Sawant explains that it’s primarily because the market used to be dominated by ducted splits, which made space an issue. “With one-to-one ducted splits, you need a lot of space,” he says. “With VRF systems, however, space requirements are considerably less. Now, the industry doesn’t have to be intimidated by the idea of creating space on each floor for the outdoor unit.” In support of his views, Sawant shares details about a recent project that his company has been involved in – a G+34 tower intended for use as staff accommodation. “With a tall tower, the obvious cooling option would have been a chiller,” he says. “But the client decided against it for two reasons: First, the capital cost was coming up high. Second, the operating cost with a chiller would have been high as well, because the crew is a floating population – they come, they go. And since the crew will not be paying the electricity bill, they’re likely not to pay much attention to how efficiently they’re using the building’s air
conditioning. The company would be shouldering the bill.” To address both challenges, he continues, the client decided to go for VRF. Sawant says that his company coordinated with the consultants at the early stages of the project, an exercise that helped the architect take the “smart” decision of providing two plantrooms on each floor, where the VRF outdoor units can be installed. “You know what happened?” he asks, and answers: “The capital cost came down by around 15 to 20%, because VRF is more economical than a chiller system. Plus, they’ve reduced the piping costs and can look forward to reduced electrical costs. They’ll also be eliminating energy losses associated with long piping. Like I said, it was a very smart decision.”
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‘The opportunity for using VRF in retrofits depends on the problem we are going to solve’
As the region braces itself to meet the second wave of retrofits, spurred by demand for energy efficiency and backed by government initiatives, a team from Daikin speaks with B Surendar of Climate Control Middle East about the role and relevance of VRF technology in the present scenario.
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n terms of projects, how vibrant and promising is the building-retrofit market, in view of the positive thrust being given by different government agencies like the UAE Ministry of Infrastructure Development, Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, DEWA and Dubai Municipality? The region’s past three decades have witnessed continuous growth in the building sector, and the market is probably at its second wave of retrofits. The first wave was triggered by unsatisfied users, while the second seems to be supported by public agencies interested in using proven new technologies to reduce the environmental impact of the building sector. In your estimation, what is the size of the retrofit market in the UAE and the rest of the GCC region? The fraction of products sold into the retrofit market, as a percentage of the total market, has been gradually but constantly increasing. The retrofit market is more visible through the service channels and includes installation services, which make it difficult to estimate accurately.
What are the opportunities for the VRF industry to be part of the retrofit initiative in the region? Is the VRF technology tailormade for retrofit projects, considering, for example, the minimum period of disruption to the operation of Existing Buildings? As opposed to retrofitting a building with, say, ducted splits, which would require more downtime, would the reduction in the number of units (outdoor) and the simplicity in installing pipes offer a shorter downtime, in
We hope some of the newly established green funds and Esco project financing will give the private building owner the opportunity to finance his retrofit project
the case of VRF technology? All the above-mentioned are merits of VRF systems, which were not available on the local market until recently. The opportunity for using VRF systems in building retrofits depends on the problem we are going to solve or the cost that we want to reduce or the performance that we want to improve. In addition to the above-mentioned features, VRF systems use around 30% less energy, thanks to the use of inverter technology, while keeping a very close control on the set-point temperature. Does the modular nature of VRF technology offer flexibility to owners of buildings undergoing retrofitting to accurately match the load profile, and overall give them better demand management? True, the flexibility is also powerful in terms of separate billing possibilities, for the building owner to avoid paying one full bill, then divide it fairly among his tenants. Does the modular nature also work to the advantage of the owners in terms of cost of the project, especially considering that banking finance for privatesector retrofit projects
seems hard to secure? We hope some of the newly established green funds and Esco project financing will give the private building owner the opportunity to finance his retrofit project. Would you like to add anything else in terms of VRF technology vis-à-vis the region? The VRF system is a building solution to problems usually encountered in design or in building retrofits. However, the energy-efficiency benefit is mainly derived from using compressor inverter technology that is used more and more in ducted or nonducted split systems. The Middle East is one of the few regions in the world that has not yet embraced the inverter technology in its DX products, and we believe that is the next step to take towards building a sustainable future in the region.
HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
September 2016
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REPORT
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September 2016
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ith the launch of its ‘Digital Ceiling’, Cisco has, with its many partners, boosted the level of interest in convergence, and cabling suppliers and channel players are expecting to see an increase in demand for cabling, higher specification cabling in particular, says the recent BSRIA market intelligence report on the cabling industry. The study found that the worldwide structured cabling market declined by three per cent, measured in USD in 2015, while the increase in copper cables sold by volume was very low, indicating some competitive pressure in the market. A small increase in sales of copper cables is expected in 2016, the report revealed. Overall, according to BSRIA, “not much” growth is expected from sales of cabling for data points. The main area of future growth is expected to be in the cabling of wireless access points and other services also called Distributed Building Services, such as CCTV, access points, access control, AV, whiteboards, digital signage, lighting and BACS/HVAC controls.
The report highlighted that most of the large converged intelligent buildings are new-build or major refurbishments in verticals like retail or shopping centres, highend offices, universities, hospitals, airports, sport stadiums, governmental buildings, hotels and luxury departments. Summing up the market outlook, Lone Hansen, WMI Manager, I.T. Cable Group at BSRIA, said: “The impact of convergence on the structured cabling market will continue to be limited, as the growth in WAPS and DBS is coming from a small base. The main factor that could boost the market is the performance of solutions for the retrofit market. Most of the buildings in the UK and western world date from before 1990, and only 15-20% have been built since 1990. An estimated 20-25% of non-residential buildings in the Western world have a sophisticated enterprise management system. “Most buildings have LAN network, although the standard and quality will vary, and the option of adding new products and services to existing networks are limited.
The main factor that could boost the market is the performance of solutions for the retrofit market “The uptake of IP products has increased, particularly for BACS, CCTV and access controls. However, many of these solutions are installed as standalone solutions, and not converged. This is partly due to the silos in the construction industry, which each area generally tender separately, which leads to a lack of holistic thinking.”
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September 2016
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GRILLES AND DIFFUSERS
THE
FEATURE
While mega events in the region will register a market surge for grilles and diffusers, said air distribution systems will also continue to enjoy a steady demand, as they play a pivotal role in ensuring occupant comfort and better IEQ, while aesthetically blending into the architecture of a built environment. By Pratibha Umashankar | Associate Editor
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t appears that these days, one cannot help but allude to Dubai EXPO 2020 and Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, when attributing a spurt in demand for construction and HVACrelated services, products and components in the region. And rightly so. The two mega events are, indeed, the main market drivers. But when it comes to air distribution systems, such as grilles and diffusers, one may begin by invoking the two events, but it doesn’t have to stop there.
Growth drivers Beyond the arenas, stadiums and exhibition areas, and beyond hospitality and airport projects planned around the events, there is a steady, albeit imperceptible growth in the residential and commercial construction sectors, with buildings of all denominations raising their heads, as cities are expanding, economic fluctuations notwithstanding. And grilles and diffusers are required in these projects, echoing the demand for air control and duct accessories, and will continue to reap the growth dividend. Add to this Dubai’s ambitious drive to retrofit 30,000 buildings by the year 2030, which includes HVACR retrofit projects, and you have a regional market for grilles and diffusers in the
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foreseeable future. Worldwide, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to spur the growth in the air distribution sector, again hypothecated to construction activities and better economic outlook.
When it comes to selection David A John, an authority on the subject, highlighting the finer points involved in selecting the right kind of grilles and diffusers, warns, “An air-distribution system that provides occupant thermal comfort can be a complicated system to predict and analyse.” He then goes on to explain: “Providing comfort depends on variables from the obvious thermal conditions in a space, which include radiant temperature, air speed, air temperature and humidity, to the less obvious occupant metabolic rate and even choice in clothing. A system can be successfully designed by understanding what makes us comfortable and selecting the proper air-distribution products and layout.”1 There is more to selection of grilles and diffusers than meets the eye, as is borne out by John’s caveat. However, shorn of all ramifications, it is predicated to three main factors, both technical and non-technical – performance,
compulsions and engineering demands for better airflow – the correct introduction of air into a space to avoid the possibility of creating localised hot or cold spots – and improved acoustics. In such cases, custom-designed grilles could be the answer.
Price, at what cost? The nub of the problem, however, is predictably the price tag, often overweighing all other considerations, including quality and performance. Compromise on the quality to reduce the cost poses a challenge not only to engineers, who need to deal with substandard products, but also established manufacturers of grilles and diffusers, as they are forced to compete with cheaper substitutes flooding the market. Another challenge in the region, as probably elsewhere in the world, is products not being tested in accordance with internationally accredited standards in a primarily price-driven market, rather than a specifications-driven ethos. It is not rocket science to deduce that the additional capital cost incurred for procuring
aesthetics and cost, not necessarily in that order – if selection pattern is any indication. Delivery time could also influence product selection in certain cases. The cardinal rule of selection depends, or needs to depend, on the physical space where the systems are going to be used, their design vis-à-vis efficiency and their placement. Once the right systems are selected, their placement will determine the distance the air will travel and how much of area they will cover. Since indoor environmental quality (IEQ), thermal comfort and acoustics directly affect the occupant’s well-being and productivity, placement and performance of the systems are of prime importance. It is selfevident that an inferior system with incorrect design or placement leads to an unevenly distributed air, accompanied by noise. Corroborating this, but delving deeper, Jim Aswegan and Randy Zimmerman say: “The design, selection, and installation process of an air-distribution system can be advanced by understanding the principles of human comfort. In general, when a person is comfortable, thermal conditions in the space allow the body’s heat loss to equal the body’s heat production. Because the human body loses heat through radiation, conduction, convection and evaporation, space factors of dry bulb and radiant temperature, relative humidity and air motion are important to the occupant’s comfort. … Another important factor in the selection process is sound.”2 Along with the quality of the product, and sometimes divorced from it, aesthetic considerations influence product selection. This could lead to a tussle between architectural
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GRILLES AND DIFFUSERS
FEATURE
It is self-evident that an inferior system with incorrect design or placement leads to an unevenly distributed air, accompanied by noise
efficient air distribution systems that have been properly tested and certified is worth it in the long run. John points to other, indiscernible but incremental savings when he says: “Using proper air-distribution device selection methods can… reduce the number of devices. This has the added value of reducing the amount of ductwork required and the associated accessories and labour. These savings can be accomplished by the designer without a significant amount of additional design time.”1 In his erudite journal article ‘Selecting AirDistribution Outlets: Designing for Comfort’, John, under the section tellingly titled ‘Cost of Discomfort’, says: “A review of existing literature found that the effect of comfort on productivity generally covers ventilation rate and temperature. The literature suggests that the potential annual saving or productivity gain (in 1996 US dollars) can be as much as USD 20 to USD 160 billion.1.1 The financial costs due to reduced productivity associated with occupants’ thermal discomfort are significantly greater than the costs due to the much-publicised sick building syndrome.”1
Change is in the air Though not appreciable enough to be termed a marked trend, there’s a growing awareness that quality outweighs cost, that has emerged from the groundswell within the HVAC industry about IEQ and occupant comfort, spurred by a wide dissemination of knowledge via discussions at industry stakeholder conferences and other forums. The end-users themselves, on their part, are becoming discerning about the efficacy of an even distribution of air and the importance of low noise levels in the indoor space. This has led to the realisation that grilles and diffusers play a vital role in thermal comfort and better IEQ and acoustics. Additionally, struggling to keep afloat and remain relevant in a highly competitive market, manufacturers are now earmarking funds for
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R&D to come up with better features to enhance indoor air quality and thermal comfort. Supplyair outlets are already available with adjustable pattern controllers that are designed to deflect air in different directions. Other changes have evolved over the years, like integrating light in the diffusers, as also fitting them with sensors so that they adapt to the conditions of a built environment. There are products in the market that help reduce the velocity of the incoming airflow, thus reducing the noise level a system creates. Governments in the region, too, are initiating stringent regulatory requirements and rigorous testing standards to ensure better product quality. In a nutshell, there is an all-round awakening that one can opt for inferior air distribution systems at one’s own peril. This augurs well for all – be they manufacturers, specifiers, project developers or end-users.
References: 1. John, David A, PE, Member ASHRAE. ‘Selecting AirDistribution Outlets: Designing for Comfort’, ASHRAE Journal, 2011: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ashrae/ ashraejournal_201109/index.php?startid=38 1.1. Fisk, WJ. ‘How IEQ affects health, productivity. ASHRAE Journal, 44(5). 2002. (Cited in above article by David A John) 2. Aswegan, Jim and Zimmerman Randy. ‘Grilles, Registers and Diffusers – Impact on Comfort’: RSES Journal, November 2010: http://www.rses.org/assets/rses_journal/1110_ Grilles.pdf
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We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com
PERF RMANCE THAT LASTS LONGER
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Air | Air Conditioners
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Quentin Liebens is Project Development Manager, Eurovent Certita Certification. He can be contacted at q.liebens@eurovent-certification.com.
ERSPECTIVE
– an option for cleaner air Eurovent has recently announced launching a three-level hygienic certification option for the Eurovent Certified Performance programme under the existing Certita Certification for air-handling units, with an avowed objective of improving air quality. Quentin Liebens delineates on the subject.
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e now live in an ethos where the market has increasingly become demanding in terms of energy performances, environmental challenges and quality. In response to this, Eurovent Certita Certification has decided to develop a new three-level hygienic option for the Eurovent Certified Performance (ECP) programme for air-handling units (AHUs). The aim of this option is to guarantee the hygienic aspect of an AHU by checking the quality of the material used, the components selected and the level of maintenance of the casing and the components.
towards the term “hygienic”, which is, for most of us, typically reserved for hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry. This is a direct consequence of the existing hygienic standards, which don’t fit into the paradigm for commercial buildings, as they have been written for hospitals. However, some manufacturers agree that several AHUs manufactured for commercial buildings answer to hygienic criteria but are not recognised as such, mostly because they are not perceived to be necessary.
Why the certification? It’s within this context that Eurovent Certita Certification has decided to launch the hygienic option for its existing AHU programme, to bring within its ambit a wide range of buildings. The AHU hygienic option has been developed with the help of a compliance committee consisting of AHU manufacturers who are already participants of the Eurovent Certification AHU programme. The proposed programme has been checked
AHU – the starting point The quality of air within a building, whether it is a commercial structure, a school, an office or a hospital, is a key element in its design, and AHUs constitute the beginning of air movement within these built spaces. It is, therefore, essential to ensure good air quality from this very point. Hygienic air is already vital for a few types of buildings, such as hospitals, food processing areas, pharmaceutical environments and white rooms. However, the concept of hygienic air can be extended to other types of buildings. Though several environmental labels advocate good air quality for commercial buildings and work towards achieving it, it is unusual to see specific requirements on AHUs for these kinds of labels. This is rather a shame, when we know that an AHU is the first step in the process of the air treatment in a building. This lacuna is due to the attitude we have
Several AHUs manufactured for commercial buildings answer to hygienic criteria but are not recognised as such, mostly because they are not perceived to be necessary September 2016
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ERSPECTIVE
The hygienic option includes requirements for filters, heating and cooling coils, heat recovery systems, fans, humidifiers, dehumidifiers and silencers
1 star for offices, commercial buildings, schools and hotels 2 stars for hospitals 3 stars for pharmaceutical, food processes and white rooms Figure 1 and validated by a group of experts known as the Certification Programmes and Policy Commission, comprising four colleges: end-user representatives, manufacturers, technical and scientific experts and, finally, national authorities.
How it works The certification programme proposes a hygienic rating from level 1 to level 3, represented by stars. The higher the rating, the more hygienic the AHU unit is deemed to be. The objective of the programme is to declare an AHU suitable for different applications that is easy to identify, thanks to a simple classification system (see Figure 1). This certification programme provides reliable guidelines to end-users willing to get the benefits of good air quality, irrespective of the type of building, and entails requirements related to manufacturing, shipment, materials, maintenance, casing performance and the arrangement of components and their performances. As a first step, manufacturing an AHU correctly is vital to ensure the quality of the product at the very beginning of the process. Materials used in the product is another key element in manufacturing a hygienic AHU, to protect it from microorganisms and corrosion. The metallic components need to be stainless and durable
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to ensure that the AHU has a long lifespan. Standards are already in place to cover these factors. The hygienic programme endeavours to ensure that the quality of materials selected and used by the manufacturers are in compliance with these standards. Checking the quality of the product after it is manufactured guarantees smooth and clean surfaces to allow easy maintenance and cleaning of the casing. The process of shipment can be an area where a product is prone to damage. Therefore, a proper system of protection needs to be in place when it is stored and shipped from the factory to the building site. Installation and Operational Manual (IOM) of the products and quality management systems of the manufacturers must be written to ensure protection of the AHU after manufacturing. The hygienic option also proposes a list of requirements to check the quality of the components selected, and subsequently guarantee the hygienic aspect of the AHU. It includes requirements for filters, heating and cooling coils, heat recovery systems, fans, humidifiers, dehumidifiers and silencers. Easy access to components is the key to efficient maintenance of an AHU. It aids in cleaning and changing them quickly. Therefore,
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.
SNIPPET Smog-eating air purifier for Beijing
D
aan Roosegaarde, who owns the Rotterdam-based design firm, Studio Roosegaarde, along with his partners, has designed a 23-foot Smog Free Tower – the world’s first outdoor air cleaner, The New York Times has reported. A powerful vacuum inside uses ionisation technology to suck up smog, filter out dangerous particles and release purified air, the report elaborated. Roosegaarde claims that in 36 hours, it can eliminate 70 to 80% of the impurities in the air from an area the size of a football stadium. He said that he plans to install the tower at a public location in Beijing this month, to test its performance in the smoggy city, and cover four other Chinese cities over the next year.
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The accessibility of all components within an AHU, as well as the maintenance and cleaning of the casing and the components must be ensured
the accessibility of all components within an AHU, as well as the maintenance and cleaning of the casing and the components must be ensured. In this regard, the Eurovent Certified Performance programme tests and certifies the casing performance of an AHU. The hygienic option includes the minimum criteria to be achieved in order to comply with the set standards. The final goal of the requirements is to safeguard the various hygienic facets of an AHU, along with its components, to ensure minimum performance and criteria. Fulfilling the criteria will help certify AHUs as being hygienic to meet today’s quality challenges.
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September 2016
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Stuart Corr is Techno Commercial Director, Mexichem. He can be contacted at info@mexichem.com.
ERSPECTIVE
or not Since the lowest GWP products tend to be flammable, typically falling within the ASHRAE 2L category, the industry is faced with the dilemma of using the lowest GWP fluid and the attendant degree of flammability, or accepting a higher GWP refrigerant but with non-flammability. Stuart Corr discusses the finer points of the issue.
B
y now we are all aware that regulation of fluorinated refrigerants is in place in Europe through the Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) Directive for automotive air conditioning, or the F-gas Regulation for all other refrigerant applications. Over the last few years, the chemical
Figure 1
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manufacturers have been looking to develop reduced GWP products that are capable of meeting the requirements of these regulations, while maintaining the high levels of safety and efficiency we have come to expect from hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants. We are in a position where the refrigeration
In order to understand the range of applicability of a refrigerant, it is necessary to consider a range of national and supra-national regulations
and air conditioning industries have a number of options available to them across the range of application sectors, and many of the equipment manufacturers have active programmes to thoroughly investigate the performance and reliability of these alternatives, and to optimise system performance based on the properties of the new fluids. As with many of the higher GWP products they are to replace, for example R-404A, many of the new alternatives proposed are blended HFCs. The building blocks for these alternatives include hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs) as well as the more familiar lower GWP fluids, such as R-32 and R-152A. All of these components are flammable, falling into the ASHRAE 2L safety category. While they can be blended with non-flammable components in order to achieve non-flammability, for the majority of air conditioning and refrigeration applications, it is an unfortunate fact that the lowest GWP products will tend to be
flammable to a degree, mostly falling within the ASHRAE 2L category. The industry is then faced with a choice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to use the lowest GWP fluid and accept a degree of flammability or to accept a higher GWP in order to maintain nonflammability. Central to this choice is how to meet the GWP regulatory requirements while maintaining a high degree of safety? In some circumstances, the choice is made for us by the regulations. For example, the MAC Directive requires use of refrigerant GWP below 150, and with the exception of CO2, there are no viable nonflammable candidates. Similarly, looking ahead to alternatives for R-410A in smaller (< three kilogramme charge) single-split air conditioning systems, the F-gas Regulation imposes a GWP limit of 750 and, again, there are no viable non-flammable candidates identified to date with R-32, and blends based on R-32, coming to the fore. The first step in introducing a refrigerant
is to determine the flammability and toxicity classification for the fluid. This is most commonly done through the internationally recognised ASHRAE classification system (Figure 1). Whilst this process is essentially complete for the MAC sector, the stationary applications are more complex. In order to understand the range of applicability of a refrigerant, it is necessary to consider a range of national and supra-national regulations. These regulations principally relate to the safe use of the refrigerant in a range of application sectors and govern aspects of equipment design, location and installation requirements. These regulations are generally based on the refrigerant safety classification or the data used to obtain that classification, for example, flammability limits. While highly flammable hydrocarbon refrigerants and the less-flammable ammonia have been used for a number of years, most in relatively small domestic
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Flammable refrigerants â&#x20AC;&#x201C; implications for the Middle East
ERSPECTIVE
R
-22 is the most commonly used refrigerant in the Middle East, but it is rapidly approaching the end of its life under the Montreal Protocol. However, matching the performance of R-22 with alternative refrigerants is particularly challenging in hot climates, in part because many of the alternatives have a lower critical temperature, resulting in a drop in performance at very high ambient conditions. R-410A is a non-flammable, established and efficient alternative to R-22 in many application sectors, including HVAC. There are lower GWP alternatives with good critical properties, including R-32 and blends of R-32 with other HFCs, that may be more suitable for hot climates. However, all of these alternatives are mildly flammable and, in some cases, would require equipment redesign and additional safety measures in some applications. Retraining in the correct handling of these fluids would also be required in order to ensure safety in use. In choosing an alternative for R-22, we need to weigh safety, efficiency and environmental impact for each application sector. Currently, the priority in the Middle East remains to reduce ozone depleting refrigerants. When weighing the refrigerant options available, companies should consider the two possible courses of action: using a proven non-flammable HFC blend, such as R-410A, or opting for a newer and lower GWP refrigerant with a degree of flammability. Regardless of the choice, updated standards and industry regulations should provide information on safety and best practice for different alternatives to R-22 in the Middle East.
Figure 2
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AHU & FCU
Split Units Ductded & Packaged Units
refrigeration applications or in industrial applications, the industry has generally relied on the use of non-flammable fluids to ensure a high degree of safety across a wide range of applications and operating environments. Many countries have regulations that prohibit the use of flammable refrigerants in many applications. With the introduction of the 2L flammability category in 2010, it was recognised that there was a group of refrigerants that, while flammable, had the potential for lower risk in use than the more flammable hydrocarbons. While current standards and codes provide safe boundaries for the use of flammable refrigerants, most do not yet recognise the 2L category. Accordingly, if 2L refrigerants are to be used in current equipment and environments, they must be treated as if they were category 2. Under the current EN378, the maximum charge for propane in a wall-mounted indoor split air conditioning unit in a 3-squaremetre room is around 0.23 kilogrammes, while that for R-32 is around 3.08 kilogrammes. While this is still potentially very attractive for 2L fluids in some application sectors, there are other regulations, many of them at a national level, that place more severe limitations on their use. For example, both Italy and France currently prohibit the use of flammable refrigerants in room air conditioners. EN378 is currently under revision to incorporate and provide new limits for the 2L classification, and is expected to be issued in October or November this year. If we are to exploit many of the low GWP fluids to their maximum extent, we need to understand how widely applicable they are, and we need to understand how regulations should be amended to incorporate the new classification, while critically maintaining end-user and practitioner safety. Figure 2 provides an overview of some of the regulations and codes that are either under current review or which may need to be reviewed in order to address 2L refrigerants. Any amendment of standards and building codes must be undertaken with a significant degree of conservatism with respect to safety. Furthermore, many of these codes and standards are only reissued on a three-yearly or so basis, and with a degree of interdependence. As a result, it will be a number of years before the potential for 2L fluids to provide low GWP solutions across a range of sectors will become clear.
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REGION REPORT
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September 2016
SCANDINAVIA
Torben FunderKristensen
S
candinavia has long been celebrated for being a sustainability hub that continues to make innovative advancements in support of global green efforts. Comprising mainly Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the region is known for the great strides those countries have made with regard to integrating sustainable practices that cut across various sectors. It is evident that key decision-makers within the economy consider promoting environmentally ethical business practices not a luxury but a necessity. Companies, on their part, invest in research and development not only to back government initiatives but also in the knowledge that doing so will provide them with significant competitive advantage. The HVACR sector is no exception to this tenet.
Following in EU’s footsteps The region has been undergoing a dynamic change, confirms Torben Funder-Kristensen, Head of Public and Industry Affairs, Cooling Segment, Danfoss (Denmark), who says, “We are in a transformation phase, impacted by the F-gas Regulation, with dedicated focus on refrigeration, especially supermarkets and commercial refrigeration.” The European Union (EU) has adopted the F-gas Regulation and the MAC Directive as part of its measures to control emissions from fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases), including hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which have a detrimental effect on the environment.1 While the MAC Directive focuses on air conditioning systems in small motor vehicles, the F-gas Regulation’s scope includes all key applications, with specific recommendations to contain and improve emissions from equipment and proposals for proper training and certification to equip personnel with up-to-date skills and information in facilitating such products. The legislation also imposes restrictions on the marketing and use of equipment with F-gases. Although originally adopted in 2006, it was replaced by a new regulation with updated policies and was officially adopted in 2014, before finally taking effect on January 1, 2015. Since then, the EU has phased out such equipment, bolstered by innovative technologies that have been proven to be equally efficient and far more cost-effective. The EU’s efforts have allowed it to meet its goals 10 years ahead of schedule1, and Scandinavian countries have played an important role in this regard. In accordance with EU’s strictures, the region has been successful in developing and implementing its sustainability programmes, which is evident in the government’s ability to instill green values within the ethos of business practices and public consciousness. “There is a high focus on improving energy efficiency in general,” says Funder-Kristensen. Giving insight into
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recent trends in the cooling and heating sector, he adds, “We are following the EU directives plus building and energy directives proposed by the EU Commission, owing to the fact that heating and cooling are major energy consumers.”
Sustainability paving way for innovation
We notice a continuous development in CO2 applications for smaller refrigeration systems, and development of CO2 components for larger systems to obtain higher energy efficiency at elevated ambient temperatures 60
The call for sustainability has increasingly found followers globally. With the emergence of unified policies that emphasise the need for international cooperation, “Scandinavia has always been a frontrunner” in these efforts, especially with regard to “COP and the Montreal Protocol”, says FunderKristensen. In this regard, to reinforce their position in the market and continue the positive impact their results have had on the overall well-being of the citizens, Scandinavian companies in the HVACR sector are committed to investing in R&D and exploring areas of cooperation through strategic global agreements, in order to, as FunderKristensen puts it, “leverage and improve solutions and innovations worldwide”. Keeping in step with this, the Scandinavian region’s legislation has been favourable towards supporting the growth of the market in line with its long-term economic goals. “As an example, Denmark has complied with very strong measures, and targets beyond the EU targets,” says FunderKristensen. “That [has] definitely triggered a lot of innovation, especially in combining heating and cooling and CO2 system development.” Thus, although global policies vigorously shape the region’s HVACR sector, Scandinavia, on its own, has paved the way for its advancement, which is most recently reflected in its move to advocate and utilise natural refrigerants. This is in line with its efforts to not only become EU-compliant but also address the market’s massive demand, particularly in the commercial refrigeration segment.
Trends and alternatives Nordic countries feature economic powerhouses with a thriving retail market and vibrant business landscape, all of which would require cost-effective and energy-efficient systems. This has also greatly impacted the sector, confirms Funder-Kristensen. Giving specifics, he says: “Heat recovery is a
September 2016
major trend in colder climates. We also notice a continuous development in CO2 applications for smaller refrigeration systems and development of CO2 components for larger systems, to obtain higher energy efficiency at elevated ambient temperatures.” To address this need, HVACR suppliers are pushing for more innovations. Companies, such as Danfoss, says Funder-Kristensen, are promoting ejector technology for use in CO2 refrigeration systems, which are set to be launched in the near future. This technology, he elaborates, “has successfully been trialled in CO2 systems, proving that it can save significant energy, both in systems with heat reclaim and in periods of hot weather”. Focus on energy efficiency has also resulted in the region’s move to look for alternative energy sources and products that can accommodate them. At the moment, more than 30% of Denmark’s electricity is generated by wind turbines, Funder-Kristensen reveals, and adds, “In the shift towards greater electrification of the energy grid, heat pumps are increasingly being seen as an alternative to expanding District Heating networks.” This is a trend that is expected to resonate stronger in the near future and spread to the rest of the region.
Technology steps in The emergence of big data, Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud technology points towards a need for more integrated and streamlined operations in the HVACR sector. The shift towards digitalisation has driven the demand from business entities looking to update old systems or install new ones, especially in the smart store segment. Sharing details about his experience with Danfoss, which facilitates over 50,000 food retail installations worldwide, Funder-Kristensen says: “First of all, we are working in a mature economy. So the efficiency factor is driving the renewal of equipment when installing, for example, equipment in a smart store. There has to be a business case in all investments. The market seems, however, to be influenced by digitalisation, smart use of data and smart service and support.” With commitment to honour the F-gas Regulation, quest for alternative energy resources and pursuance of innovative developments being
Scandinavian model in the global context
top priorities for Scandinavia’s HVACR sector, Funder-Kristensen admits that both more pragmatic models and out-of-the box solutions are being propelled in the region. “This implies increased usage of heat pumps and integrated system thinking, where we combine heating, cooling and the electrical grid (smart grid),” he explains. “Flexibility in cooling demand, connection to District Heating/Cooling networks and use of surplus compressor capacity are some of the exciting new opportunities that can make the stores an energy supplier, adding valuable capacity to the energy network and new revenue streams to the business.” As a result of this, Scandinavia has showcased how environmental goals do not need to contradict economic prosperity, thus providing the HVACR industry with an environment that is conducive to growth. This appears to be only the beginning, as new possibilities open up for a region that has set its mind for long-term goals in lieu of short-term gratification, in a show of foresight.
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“High standards, solid quality and a welleducated workforce,” answers FunderKristensen when asked what sets the Scandinavian HVACR industry apart from the rest of the world. He elaborates, “The combination of high-quality and technically advanced products with high application knowledge and well-documented results and solutions is the essence of being a global player with a strong Scandinavian outset.” It appears to be an enviable model for countries looking to implement similar programmes and initiatives. The GCC region might benefit from the ethos that drives the Scandinavian countries towards sustainability, and explore possibilities of replicating operational models for application within the Middle East. As the Gulf countries are moving away from their dependency on oil and the hydrocarbon sector, Scandinavia could prove to be a valuable ally in such efforts. Scandinavia is proof that an economy working as a single organism towards
prosperity and unified goals can engender slow and steady change. Now the question remains, is the region and the rest of the world ready to follow suit?
References: Cited: 1. http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/f-gas/ legislation/index_en.htm Other sites referred to: 1. http://airconditioning.danfoss.com/products/ compressors/turbocor/ 2. http://www.coolingpost.com/world-news/ danfoss-prepares-ejectors-for-launch/ 3. http://ensia.com/features/scandinavian-stylesustainability/ 4. https://sweden.se/nature/sustainable-living/ 5. http://food-retail.danfoss.com/applications/ smartstore/
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the
SUN'S LIMIT The Middle East is reporting a surge in interest in solar energy with record-low price bids for projects like the UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, but is the solar sector ready to take on the energy needs of a region heavily reliant on cooling technologies? By Fatima de la Cerna | Assistant Editor
Y Hadi Tahboub
Cornelius Matthes
ou know you’re speaking with someone invested in solar energy when he tells you that the most interesting part about the Matt Damon-starrer The Martian is not the space exploration aspect of the film – not even the bit about growing potatoes in Martian soil or the climactic rescue scene – but the way Damon’s character utilises solar panels to be able to traverse the Red Planet. “If you want to see an example of a beautiful implementation of solar energy, watch The Martian,” says Hadi Tahboub, President of the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) and Executive Director – Development, Middle East at SkyPower. “He [Matt Damon] uses solar panels to power his electric rover on Mars. How cool is that? And it’s not myth or science fiction. There are no myths when it comes to solar energy; it has been powering mankind’s push into space since the ‘50s or the ‘60s.” Discussions of space travel aside, Tahboub maintains that market behaviour points to solar energy being “here to stay”, which is a view that Cornelius Matthes shares.
Exceeding expectations Matthes, who is Senior Advisor at Pawame and several other organisations in the renewable energy field, as well as a member of the advisory board of Intersolar Middle East, an event taking place on September 19 in Dubai, UAE, says
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that solar power has already transitioned “from PowerPoint to power plant”. He adds: “After years of national action plans and talks, massive projects are finally being realised, as led by the United Arab Emirates, Dubai in particular. This powerful development is actually happening faster than I expected, and it is driven mainly by economic factors, like the significant drop, by approximately 80%, of LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy) for PV over the last five years.” Tahboub, admitting to also being surprised by the solar industry’s progress, describes the implementation of solar in the region as being “exponential” in scale and pace. “Up until November or December 2014, everyone thought that the price of solar energy tariffs, plus utilities, will be in the range of 14 to 16 cents/kWh,” he says, before pointing out that Dubai has been “sending out ripples across the world” with the record-low bids in price it has received for its Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
Breaking records In June, what is arguably the most notable of those bids made headlines when it was reported that DEWA, for the 800 MW third phase of the solar park, signed a contract with a Masdar-led consortium after the latter submitted a bid of 2.99 cents/kWh – besting the phase two lowest bid of 5.84 cents/kWh made by the Saudi Arabiaheadquartered ACWA Power and the Spanish
Few players can afford to play in a setting where margins are squeezed to a minimum
company TSK. Commenting on the bids that have allegedly shattered world records in solar prices, Matthes says: “The massive drop in proposed long-term PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) prices has had a positive impact on the deployment of solar. For example, following the very low prices proposed by ACWA Power for the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum phase two, DEWA decided to immediately double the planned capacity from 100 MW to 200 MW.” It’s not all positive, though, for Matthes observes that the reduced costs can also present difficulties to the solar industry, saying: “The cake is, for sure, getting bigger due to lower prices, but the race to the bottom also has some challenges. For instance, other MENA countries think they can achieve equally low prices without having the same favourable conditions. Also, few players can afford to play in a setting where margins are squeezed to a minimum, where long-term quality and performance need to be delivered at low prices.” He stresses, however, that the “positive effects outweigh the challenges” and that the low prices will, in fact, “further accelerate the roll-out of solar in the region”. For his part, Tahboub believes that the reduction in prices has led to one significant achievement, which is getting people to talk about solar energy. “Imagine 2.99 cents! It’s a record, definitely a jaw-dropping price,” he says. “Even when the phase two
bids were publicised – that already had the world paying attention. Everyone’s been saying, ‘Okay, now we’re talking. Now, solar energy is affordable’. Not only that, the situation is also pressuring the panel manufacturers to come up with cheaper, more efficient panels.” Tahboub goes on to say that owing to the way the situation has been progressing, the market is gaining more awareness about the benefits of solar and other renewables. And by market, he’s not just referring to utility companies like DEWA but also endusers and consumers – the “masses” as he calls them. “I’m talking about you, me and everyone who pays utility bills,” Tahboub explains. “I could put solar on the rooftop of my house and maybe power the garden pump, or in the case of DEWA, benefit through net metering. It means that if I’m able to plug into the grid a certain amount of energy, next month, DEWA will deduct it from my bill.”
Looking to the sun for cooling Despite the impressive developments that Tahboub and Matthes have observed in the solar industry, however, both acknowledge that it has yet to reach the stage wherein it can supply the energy needs of the Middle East, a region whose notoriously harsh climate makes it dependent on cooling technologies. “HVAC systems are very power-hungry,” says Tahboub, “and the solar industry, in
terms of compactness and ruggedness, is not there yet. Of course, you can power a building’s air conditioning load with solar energy, but the ratio of space is a problem. You need so much space to be able to feed the energy load, the energy needs.” Citing storage as another problem, Tahboub says: “And we’re not there yet in science, in terms of energy-efficient energy storage. The Tesla Group has come up with the Tesla Powerwall, but we’ve yet to see how effective that is, and it’s still not a reality in this part of the world. So yes, there are challenges. We’re not at a point where we can say, ‘Solar panels are powering the air conditioning equipment in my villa’. Solar panels might be able to power a ventilation fan but not actual chillers.” Matthes, meanwhile, regards solar cooling as a great opportunity but recognises that its development is still in its infancy. “Utility solar can contribute for peak shaving up to a certain degree,” he says, “but the potential lies in developing solar cooling technologies and in utilising them in a wide range of applications.” Expressing confidence in the industry, Matthes adds that the HVAC grid for large-scale utility solar projects is quite sophisticated, saying: “There are even regional interconnections that will be able to boost future electricity exchange among the GCC countries. The GCC Interconnection Authority is working on this.”
The future of solar Other than opportunities in solar cooling, Matthes thinks that the future will present developments in PV sub-technologies, like crystalline and thin film, specifically on which will prove to be most appropriate for regional conditions. “There are specific technologies best suited to special conditions,” he says. “The market will have a steep learning curve from operation projects in harsh desert environments, both on the material and O&M sides.” And like Tahboub, he considers storage an area of opportunity for the industry, saying: “Storage will be a powerful development owing to the continuously decreasing costs. PV will be able to deliver base-load power in a few years, which will lead to the next revolution in the power sector.” Tahboub, on the other hand, thinks that the next big thing in solar will be rooftop energy. He elaborates: “In Dubai’s Jebel Ali Freezone, for instance, a lot of companies, warehouse owners and facility owners are looking at installing solar power on rooftops. It just makes sense. Rooftop opportunities are everywhere, and they will influence the
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We’re not there yet in science, in terms of energy-efficient energy storage
future design of buildings – may they be villas or factories or commercial facilities – from an architectural perspective. The next trend will be for people to build flat-roofed houses, so they can place solar panels on top. Big opportunities are there, definitely.”
Hurdles to overcome To be able to tap into available opportunities, however, the industry first needs to address a number of challenges, says Matthes, who gives a couple of examples. “The biggest challenge is ensuring a continuous execution of government procurement programmes,” he says, “and the introduction of regulatory frameworks, especially net metering schemes, to enable projects. There have been many setbacks in the different GCC countries, and the UAE can serve as a model on how to execute a reliable and bold plan.” Another challenge that Matthes feels must be addressed is fossil fuel subsidies, which he believes must be “further reduced to create a level playing field for projects with private offtakers”. Elaborating, he says: “With Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman reducing fossil fuel subsidies significantly in 2016, there is an important development in progress that needs to be not only continued but also accelerated. Hand in hand with this, public utilities need to be charged higher, and there should be fair market prices for electricity. Electricity prices, especially on the residential side, are far too low compared to international standards.” Matthes points out that while the concerns he has so far shared can “only be addressed by policymakers and public utilities”, the issue of financing requires the involvement of the banking sector. “On the financing side, the extremely lowinterest-rate environment has been a big driver for renewables in the past years. Even GCC [region] banks have become comfortable with financing solar projects. Local financing conditions, though, have been more challenging recently, and we can only hope that the international and local market
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environments will support financing in the years to come. For smaller projects, more innovative financing structures need to be developed.”
Free for all While he agrees that financing and subsidies are issues that require attention, Tahboub, like Matthes, considers regulations as the most important topic on the solar power agenda. “Regulations are good,” he says. “They are there and are evolving properly. But there’s room for improvement in the implementation. Right now, for example, when building owners want to implement solar energy, the process can be tedious. They’ll need to look into what specifications to adhere to, as well as coordinate with the technical teams of public utility companies in charge of carrying out the inspection and commissioning, among other functions. So yes, it can be tedious, but that’s to be expected. You can call it the teething stage, something that’s very much part of the progress or evolution of any industry.” Underlining that this “teething stage” is not only expected but also temporary, Tahboub states that there’s no doubting the wisdom of the leaders of the GCC region, and adds: “They know that the region is sunbathing under immense free energy, so they’re tapping into that, which is something that they’re doing very well so far. And soon everyone will be on board, because solar is the easiest to acquire and the most accessible energy in humankind’s history. You don’t have to drill several kilometres into the ground. You don’t have to build a 100-metre wind turbine. You don’t have to power a noisy diesel generator. All you have to do is have panels sunbathe under your source of power, and voila, you’ve got it.”
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September 2016
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Biomass energy – back to basics Calling it the future of energy, George A Kenich, CEO of Anagenesis Ecosystems Innovations, makes a case for biomass energy and exemplifies how it can meet the region’s sustainable power demands. By Pratibha Umashankar | Associate Editor
R
uing the insufficient attention often given to biomass energy, George A Kenich of Anagenesis Ecosystems Innovations (AEI) has set for himself the task of raising awareness about it and stressing, as he says, “the need to deal with the crosscutting problems and opportunities associated with the biomass sector for the UAE”, which he believes is crucial.
share of electric capacity added worldwide.” Some of the recent predictions, he adds, “suggest that biomass energy is likely to make up more than one-third of the total world energy mix by 2050”. He claims that this is because biomass is one of the most cost-effective renewable energy sources and “has lower grid-level cost”.
Time to tap the potential Growing energy Biomass, simply put, is organic matter used as fuel, especially for the generation of electricity, with plant material like dried vegetation, animal waste, wood products, crop residues, as also garbage constituting the source for biomass energy. According to an article in the site Union of Concerned Scientists, “Biomass is a renewable energy source not only because the energy in it comes from the sun but also because biomass can re-grow over a relatively short period of time compared with the hundreds of millions of years that it took for fossil fuels to form.” This is because “through the process of photosynthesis, chlorophyll in plants captures the sun’s energy by converting carbon dioxide from the air and water from the ground into carbohydrates…. When these carbohydrates are burned, they turn back into carbon dioxide and water and release the energy they captured from the sun1.” “Biomass energy,” says Kenich “has rapidly become a vital part of the global renewable energy mix, and accounts for an ever-growing
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Despite this, and despite the fact that the cost of biomass power generation in Europe and in the Middle East is less than the cost of wind, solar PV and thermal energy, Kenich believes that this great source of energy has not received the attention it deserves and, therefore, not been tapped to its fullest potential. In fact, for most people, what comes to mind when they think of renewable energy is the wind and the sun. “But biomass… is the oldest source of renewable energy used since our ancestors learned the secret of fire1”. The lack of attention could be because of lack of awareness, posits Kenich, saying: “In the UAE, we can have cost per kWh with less than 10 Fils/kWh. This is one of the lowest price per kWh worldwide.” He claims that the lifespan of a biomass power plant “is 40 years, while solar is only 25”. He further claims that AEI, an R&D company based in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, was founded with the avowed goal of popularising biomass energy, “dealing with the new generation of zero emissions and zero waste biomass power plants,
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‘Magic tree’ AEI reveals that it has developed, over a 17-year period, the Anagenesis Trifolia tree through a breeding process involving various tree species within the Scrophulariaceae family, “with no genetic modification or artificial manipulation”. The company claims that the patented “fastest growing, regenerating and pollution-clearing ‘magic tree’ is fire-resistant, drought-and cold-tolerant and suitable for hard environments with minimum water requirements”. The company adds, “In a short time, the trees will be produced in our new laboratory with UAEU in Al Ain.”
Making the desert bloom AEI has purportedly put forward a proposal for the new Desert Rose Development initiated by the Dubai Municipality. Following are the highlights: “The project proposal is to plant 510,000 Anagenesis magic trees. These trees will provide a continuous and sustainable yield of wood biomass on a daily basis for a stable year-round renewable energy that exceeds the most stringent emissions targets. The project is expected to eventually cover 300Ha in the Green Belt, creating a liveable and recreational environment. The continuous and sustainable supply of the high-thermal biomass (and/or solid wasteMSW) are capable of producing 96,720 mWh annually, of clean, green electrical energy via the gasification biomass power plant. The power produced is enough for a minimum of 2,600 villas or 8,000 apartments or a combination of villas and apartments, totalling 8,611,000 square feet in the Desert Rose Development.
Some of the recent predictions suggest that biomass energy is likely to make up more than onethird of the total world energy mix by 2050 68
with biomass made in the UAE in coordination with the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). “AEI Ltd has signed an MoU with the UAEU on November 25, 2015,” he says, “and a ‘Strategic Operation Agreement’ for cooperation” in R&D in renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy studies laboratories.
Bridging the technology gap in Green Energy He highlights that biomass produced in the UAE will convert desert wastelands into a natural resource ethos, contribute to the local economy and create a healthier and sustainable environment.
September 2016
He reveals that the company is using new generation CHPC tri-generation gasification power plants to convert high-thermal biomass and/or garbage, solid waste and Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) into a synthesis gas, which is ignited to generate electricity with a closedloop system, with no emissions and no waste for heating and cooling. Kenich’s company claims that biomass energy will: Hjeedgi i]Z J6: ZcZg\n Y^kZgh^[^XVi^dc VcY energy mix strategy GZYjXZ i]Z XVgWdc [ddieg^ci EgdbdiZ hjhiV^cVW^a^in VcY egZhZgkZ i]Z Earth’s natural resources by using renewable resources in electricity generation 8dcig^WjiZ id ^begdk^c\ i]Z iZX]cdad\n jhZY for electricity generation 9ZkZade i]Z J6:¼h ZmeZgi^hZ ^c i]Z [^ZaY d[ renewable energy >cXgZVhZ VlVgZcZhh VWdji Xa^bViZ X]Vc\Z and sustainable energy >begdkZ V^g fjVa^in Wn ^cXgZVh^c\ i]Z aZkZa d[ oxygen and reducing CO2, greenhouse gas and dust Hjeedgi i]Z J6:¼h k^h^dc [dg ZcZg\n! lViZg and food security In light of the above, Kenich believes that biomass is the key to change the UAE’s “environment and energy map”.
References: 1. ‘How Biopower Works’ in Union of Concerned Scientists: http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/ renewable-energy/how-biomass-energy-works.html#. V8KPBZh97b0)
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NEWS REGIONAL
Dubai Supreme Council of Energy joins UN’s BEA partnership Move aimed at doubling rate of building energy efficiency by 2030
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ighlighting that building efficiency policies can result in 25-50% reduction in energy demand from both new and Existing Buildings, Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) has announced joining the Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA) partnership, launched by the United Nations, to double the rate of energy efficiency by 2030. “DEWA adopts a clear vision based on sustainability and develops plans and objectives according to the highest standards of efficiency,” said H.E. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the DSCE. “Through
L-R: H.E. Waleed Salman, H.E. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer and Stephane Le Gentil
the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, we are working to diversify Dubai’s energy mix and increase our use of clean energy sources.” Al Tayer revealed that Dubai is one of 12 new cities to join the BEA programme, making a total of 23 cities. H.E. Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, Secretary General of the DSCE, on his part, said, “The BEA is an important programme for Dubai to achieve the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 to reduce 30% of energy demand by 2030, and the demand side management programmes, including building retrofit, particularly in energy security and renewable
Dubai Municipality awards Hira Industries DCL Certification
energy.” Jennifer Layke, Director of the Building Efficiency Initiative at the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, added, “The BEA partnership brings technical experts together with local governments to improve policies, deliver more efficient buildings and technologies, and transform cities.” Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Chief Partnership Officer of Sustainable Energy for All, stressed that reducing the energy use and demand of buildings is the most costeffective way for cities to reach a low-carbon future.
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Company recognised for maintaining Green Building Regulations & Specifications
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ira Industries, manufacturer of Aerofoam insulation, has announced receiving the Dubai Central Laboratory (DCL) quality certification from Dubai Municipality, for maintaining Green Building Regulations & Specifications standards across its products and operations. Hira Industries revealed that it was awarded the certification for Aerofoam XLPE & NBR, following a comprehensive assessment of the company’s internal quality control system. The company claimed that XLPE & NBR is Standard Specification: GBRS Clause 502.11-compliant and meets the most stringent standards for fire performance and energy-efficient products. “We are deeply honoured and humbled with the DCL certification,” said Umesh Unni, Regional Commercial Manager, Hira Industries. “The DCL Certification is a testament of our commitment to develop quality solutions that are in line with the Dubai Green Building Regulations & Specifications. It reflects our commitment to achieve the UAE government’s vision to create a smart city that provides sustainable living, implementing the best international practices.”
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E-mail: betai@betag.com
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NEWS REGIONAL
Grundfos to showcase its products at WETEX Company says it will provide region-specific sustainability solutions
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rundfos has announced that it will be attending the Solar Show at the Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX), organised by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). WETEX 2016, which will take place from October 4 to 6, 2016, under the directives of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, and under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and President of DEWA, under the umbrella of Green Week, is the “natural choice” for it to showcase its products, Grundfos said. Grundfos also revealed that last year,
it received the United Nations Climate Change Award during COP 21 in Paris, for its approach to sustainable water supply in Kenya and Uganda. Speaking about the company’s wider environmental achievements, Henning Sandager Andersen, Area Managing Director of Grundfos Middle East & Turkey, said: “Aside from giving competitive advantage, we believe that by constantly improving and innovating our solutions, we can help our customers to reduce their energy consumption. Sales of our highly-efficient circulator pumps in the EU between 2005 and 2015 represented accumulated savings of 4.5 billion kWh per year. This is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption
of 1,000,000 European households. These same products can provide region-specific solutions to the challenges of the Middle East and the long-term visions in place by many of the governments, authorities and municipalities.” Andersen added that the company is excited to showcase many of its new technologies in energy efficiency and sustainability at this year’s WETEX.
Johnson Controls supplies process cooling systems for gas plant Systems serve as thermal storage application
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ohnson Controls (JCI) has announced recently executing a major order to supply process cooling systems for a gas plant in the Middle East. Giving details, JCI said that its scope on the project is six operating and two standbys of 2.75 MW, R-134A systems, utilising a total of 16 screw compressors, with a total cooling duty of 33 MW, cooling water from 33 degrees C to seven degrees C. According to JCI, it is a thermal storage application, which takes advantage of a reduced ambient temperature to build a cold water inventory at night. The process water, it added, is cooled in two steps to save energy. The project, the company claimed, had very stringent technical and quality specifications, which were complied, including a special requirement for performance test. For such custom-built cooling systems, the company said, performance testing is typically not carried out in the factory due to constraints, such as package size, power requirement and difficulty in simulating site conditions in the factory. However, JCI reportedly accepted the challenge, and the requisite testing was conducted for one complete cooling system in the AHRI-certified test laboratory in its China factory.
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Leminar opens seventh showroom in UAE
New space is dedicated to air conditioning units, ventilation fans, valves and pumps
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eminar Air Conditioning Company has announcing opening its second showroom in the Deira area of Dubai, taking the total number of its showrooms in the United Arab Emirates to seven. Leminar said that, located close to its existing shop in the ‘Air Conditioning Market’ cluster of the Al Rigga area in Deira, the new showroom showcases products from international brands, such as Rheem, Mueller, S&P and Hattersley. According to Leminar, strengthening the company’s retail profile is in line with its strategy for growth despite regional slowdown. “Our existing showroom in Deira showcases the entire product range of Leminar, whereas the new one is exclusively dedicated to engineering products like air conditioning units, ventilation fans, valves and pumps,” said Pramodh Idicheria, General Manager of Leminar. Navin Valrani, the company’s CEO, added: “Even as other businesses are trimming down their workforce and adopting containment measures, Leminar has kept up the momentum. This is possible because of the sound fundamentals on which our company is built, and the experience we have gained over the past 25 years of our operations.”
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IMEC to hold DESMI Pumps Seminar Panel discussion to focus on locally assembled pumps versus factory-assembled and tested pumps
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MEC Electro Mechanical Engineering has announced that it will hold the DESMI Pumps Seminar on September 21, 2016, in Dubai, to discuss pump-related issues. Michael Hager, General Manager of DESMI Middle East, the announcement said, will deliver the welcome address, which will then be followed by a technical introduction of DESMI’s products. A presentation on ‘Hydraulic analysis of liquid/water piping systems for District Cooling’ by Mohammed Ali of Marafeq Qatar will be one of the highlights of the events, as will two panel discussions, the announcement revealed. According to the announcement, the first panel discussion will raise a variety of issues, including vertical inline/vertical split case vs horizontal split case pumps; when to use end suction, vertical inline and horizontal split case in the HVAC pump design; and when to use direct coupled and flexible coupled pumps in the design, and will be initiated by Ahmed Abdulghani of Allied, Rehan Shahid of P&T, Ismail Salam of NFPC and Ahmed Saber of DESMI. The second panel discussion will reportedly revolve around the topic, ‘Local assembly vs factory assembly and testing’, to be conducted by Aslan Al Barazi from IMEC, Sufian Majed from D&S, Ali Sleiman from ADC Energy Systems and Masood Raza from Jumbo Engineering. A discussion on pumping different water types, to be led by Henrik Ottesen of DESMI, will also be held during the seminar, added the announcement. The event, said the organisers, will offer network opportunities for participants.
Farnek acquires Smashing! Cleaning company’s services will complement Farnek’s FM, sustainable maintenance, smart home solutions and SME packages
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nited Arab Emirates-based facilities management company, Farnek, has announced that it has acquired multi awardwinning company Smashing! Cleaning Services. The announcement added that Smashing! will be integrated into the Farnek Group company Hitches & Glitches, with James Day, who is currently the Managing Director of Smashing!, heading the new Hitches & Glitches entity, assisted by Lukas Eigenmann, COO of Farnek. Smashing!’s services, said Farnek, includes air duct cleaning, IAQ testing, kitchen exhaust cleaning, water tank cleaning and pipeline disinfection. “These specialist services dovetail neatly with our existing proposition – traditional FM, sustainable maintenance, smart home solutions and SME packages,” said Markus Oberlin, CEO, Farnek. “This new acquisition is yet another milestone for Farnek, as we continue to roll out our strategic development plans with the aim of becoming the top FM service provider in the UAE.” Day added, “I believe that being acquired by Farnek will bring all of the advantages of a large quality-focused company to the staff and customers of Smashing!.”
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Jumbo Engineering and TORO WATT hold Advanced Cooling Challenge workshop Introduce new technology that purportedly consumes less energy than conventional air conditioning By Fatima de la Cerna | Assistant Editor
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aying that they hoped to generate local awareness about a global initiative launched in early June by the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), Jumbo Engineering and Canadian company TORO WATT recently teamed up to organise the Advanced Cooling Challenge workshop. The event was held on August 16, 2016 in Dubai, UAE, and was attended by a select group of industry stakeholders that included developers, contractors and consultants. In his presentation on the campaign, Tiger Aster, CEO of TORO WATT, revealed that the Advanced Cooling Challenge – which counts India, the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia and China among its founding members – seeks to encourage public- and private-sector participation in CEM’s drive “to make a foreseeable impact on the use of energy” through the development and deployment of “super-efficient” air conditioning technologies. “The objective of the Advanced Cooling Challenge is to get
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everyone to find smart, superefficient and environmentally friendly air conditioning solutions to reduce power consumption,” said Aster. “The opportunities are huge. The growing market in developing markets is so humongous that it cannot possibly be serviced by one or two players, and so the Clean Energy Ministerial is looking to get more participants and get in funding to support the scaling up of new technologies, as well as bring in talents from universities and educational institutes who can come in and start doing pilots as soon as possible.” Adding to Aster’s statements, Darshi Dhaliwal, CTO of TORO WATT, announced that his company was among the latest of the over 20 governments and companies that have declared their participation in the AC Challenge. “Each company is promising that it will make an effort to reduce the power consumption of air conditioning by 50%, which is the goal of the Challenge,” said Dhaliwal. “For instance, we have committed that our production line will have nothing but equipment that will save that much energy. We will not settle for less – not 10 or 30%.” To give an example of what their production line is offering as part of their commitment to the Advanced Cooling Challenge, Dhaliwal introduced TORO WATT’s Dual Path Technology to those present at the workshop. The product, he claimed, differs from conventional air conditioning technologies in that it “identifies and treats heat and moisture separately, leading to lower capital and operational expenses and a smaller carbon footprint”. Traditional systems, on the other hand, have temperature as their singular focus, Dhaliwal pointed out. Picking up and expanding upon Dhaliwal’s observation, Masood Raza, General Manager of Jumbo Engineering, said: “Since 1928, when refrigerants came on the market, there has hardly been any development in the air conditioning industry. It’s quite surprising that we have seen very little change in technology, in upgrades like bringing in natural cooling, for example.” With the launch of the Advanced Cooling Challenge, not to mention the COP 21 agreement in place, Raza said he hoped that the industry will finally shake off the lethargy it has been displaying – a sentiment that Jumbo Engineering’s CEO, Vishesh Bhatia shared, saying: “The traditional way of cooling is no longer valid, with the world now quite aware of COP 21 and the Montreal Protocol. Yes, the world has been a bit sluggish, but we want to break this conservatism that surrounds this whole industry.”
NEWS GLOBAL
Daikin establishes Daikin Egypt Says expanding business in Egypt key strategy for Middle East and Africa
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aikin Europe, headquartered in Ostend, Belgium, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daikin Industries, has announced partnering with BPE Partners SAE, an Egyptian private equity firm, to establish Daikin Air Conditioning Egypt (Daikin Egypt), with its headquarters in Cairo. The new entity, the announcement added, began operations in August 2016. Daikin said that it established the Egyptian subsidiary against the backdrop of the development of mega projects and cities in Egypt, such as the New Capital City, the New Suez Canal Development
Area and the expansion of Cairo on the east and west borders, as well as other urban development projects. In establishing a subsidiary in Egypt, Daikin said that it is laying the groundwork for business development to compete for large-scale projects, collaborating with the Daikin Middle East Office in Dubai. Daikin claimed that with energy-saving products ranging from residential to commercial use, the company is poised to substantially expand business in Egypt, which will act as a springboard for future development in the Middle East and Africa.
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Visit www.climatecontrolme.com to read the stories
ACEEE ranks Germany world’s most energy-efficient country Country scores most points in national efforts, buildings and industry categories
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n its recent report, ACEEE (American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy) has rated Germany the most energyefficient country in the world, Trade & Invest, the foreign trade and inward investment agency of the Federal Republic of Germany, has announced. ACEEE, the announcement said, ranks nations using 35 policy and performance metrics spread over four categories: buildings, industry, transportation and overall national energy-efficiency efforts. Germany reportedly scored the most points in the national efforts, buildings and industry categories, while India tied with Italy and Japan for first place in transportation; the latter two countries were tied for second overall. According to Trade & Invest, the concept of Energiewende (Energy Transition) aims to achieve a highly efficient and almost carbonneutral economy in the country by 2050 at the latest, while the National Action Plan
on Energy Efficiency (NAPE) focuses on innovative industrial processes, energyefficient buildings and products and longterm investments. “It is brilliant to see Germany’s efforts in energy efficiency recognised in the ACEEE scorecard,” said Rob Compton, Manager of Energy Efficiency and Smart
Cities at Trade & Invest. “Germany has a wide range of funding programmes in this area, ranging from energy efficiency in buildings and industry through to generous specific programmes, for example, in heat recovery. This has caught the interest of international investors.”
September 2016
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ASSOCIATIONS & SOCIETIES
ASHRAE invites comments for Standard 214P Proposed standard aims to provide unity in rating systems
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SHRAE has announced that Standard 214P, Standard for Determining and Expressing Building Energy Performance in a Rating Program, is open for public comment until September 19, 2016, the details of which are available at www.ashrae.org/publicreviews. The proposed standard, ASHRAE claimed, will provide a standardised approach for determining and expressing building energy performance in a rating programme, standardise the content of a label associated with the energy component of a rating programme and establish minimum requirements for rating programme documentation. Contextualising the proposed changes, Wayne Stoppelmoor, Chair of the Standard 214P committee said that there are many entities in the marketplace that rate
buildings utilising a number of different building rating systems, yielding varying results. The proposed standard, he added, is meeting a need for uniformity in the building energy labelling and disclosure process. The standard, ASHRAE revealed, underwent a public advisory review in August, resulting in 40 comments, with one of the changes made as a result of the exercise being the revision of the title, purpose and scope of the standard to better reflect its content. The title, purpose and scope were also reportedly revised to state that the standard is to be used with one or more energy performance metrics. ASHRAE said that other major changes to the proposed standard include revision to allow the rating programme to define its methodology sampling rate; the addition
of two means for an assessor to demonstrate competence and the addition of a Code of Conduct section.
SNIPPET Electrifying news!
A
ccording to the August issue of Nature Communications, research at Michigan State University (MSU) has revealed how Geobacter bacteria grow as films on electrodes and generate electricity that can be scaled to industrial levels. The biofilm is a combination of cells with cytochromes, metal-based proteins and pili protein filaments, discovered and patented by MSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gemma Reguera, Associate Professor of Microbiology. The article elaborates that each cell is a power plant, generating electrical discharges that are delivered to the underlying electrode using a network of cytochromes and pili â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a hair-like appendage found on the surface of many bacteria. The cytochromes reportedly act as transformers and towers supplying electricity to the city, and the pili are akin to powerlines that connect the towers to the grid.
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BACnet Standard ASHRAE 135-2016 released Will help equip BACnet protocol for future developments in IT
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he BACnet Interest Group Europe (BIG-EU) has announced that four years after the publication of the last version, the new BACnet Standard ASHRAE 135-2016 has been released, with several addenda and revisions included in the 400 additional pages. Among the most important developments, BIG-EU said, are BACnet’s support for IPv6 networks and RESTful Web Services, which it claimed is a step towards equipping the BACnet protocol for future developments in Information Technology. It highlighted that additional functionalities for elevator and lighting controls have also been added. According to BIG-EU, in total, the standard was expanded to include 30 additions and revisions in the addenda, which will help BACnet meet the requests that have appeared as a result of the
expansion of the standard to an increased number and varieties of buildings and properties. Conceived in 1995 by ASHRAE as a protocol for open and interoperable building automation, the BACnet standard has reportedly been continuously developed and improved upon, and was also released as ISO-Standard 16485-5 in 2004. In the meantime, said BIG-EU, BACnet has come to include functionalities for the monitoring and control of heating, ventilation, climate, fire protection, security systems, energy management, lighting controls, access control and elevator monitoring. The 2016 edition will also influence the ISO and EN Norms, the company claimed, revealing that a new version of the corresponding ISO and EN Norms 16484-5 will follow.
#DidYouKnow 9 out of 10 #HVAC system failures are caused by damage from dust and dirt? #HVACism
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COMINGS & GOINGS
Eoin Crowley joins TROX Middle East Appointed Business Development Manager for the region
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ROX Middle East has announced recently appointing Eoin Crowley as Business Development Manager for the Middle East. Moving from TROX UK after six years in the group, the announcement added, Crowley joined the Middle East team based in Dubai, to head the business development division in the region, primarily to liaise with the consultants and expand the TROX portfolio. Crowley reportedly graduated from the
This section contains updates on regional and international products.
MARKETPLACE
SPX FLOW CombiTherm Plus pump
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PX FLOW, in an announcement introducing the CombiTherm Plus pump, claims that its product provides safe and reliable transfer of hot fluids without the need for additional external cooling systems. The manufacturer lists the following product features and benefits: I]Z V^g"XddaZY 8dbW^I]Zgb Eajh ejbe `ZZeh [aj^Y iZbeZgVijgZh uniform to ensure processes are efficient and predictable. I]Z YZh^\c d[ i]Z ejbe egdk^YZh Zc]VcXZY Xdda^c\! jh^c\ dei^b^hZY cooling fans and large fins to keep the temperature around the shaft sealing below 220 degrees F (104.4 degrees C) even at high process temperatures of up to 660 degrees F (348.8 degrees C). I]Z ]ZVkn"Yjin XZcig^[j\Va ejbe ^h XZcigZa^cZ"bdjciZY! Vaadl^c\ thermal expansion without affecting shaft alignment. I]Z XdbW^cVi^dc d[ adl iZbeZgVijgZ VcY eZg[ZXi Va^\cbZci egdiZXih seals and bearing. Also, the seal is easy to position and assemble for maintenance. Id egZkZci i]Z \gZVhZ [gdb WZ^c\ lVh]ZY dji d[ i]Z WVaa WZVg^c\h! ^c case of a mechanical seal failure, the bearings are protected with two separate seals and an open drain. Id egZkZci lZVg dc i]Z h]V[i! i]Z dji"WdVgY hZVa d[ i]Z fjZcX] X]VbWZg runs on a hardened shaft sleeve, and the ball bearing area is sealed using contactless seals. I]Z jhZ d[ V _djgcVa WZVg^c\ XVgig^Y\Z bV`Zh bV^ciZcVcXZ VcY replacement easy. I]Z ejbe ]Vh Vc deZc fjZcX] hnhiZb l^i] k^hjVa aZkZa ^cY^XVi^dc VcY optional remote leakage detection. I]Z egdYjXi ^h VkV^aVWaZ ^c ild Xdc[^\jgVi^dch hj^iVWaZ [dg i]Z ejbe^c\ of hot oil or hot water. The hot-water model comes with a steam eliminator on the seal chamber. I]Z ejbe XVc ]VcYaZ ]^\] egZhhjgZ i]gdj\]dji i]Z^g [adl gVc\Z#
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Cork Institute of Technology with a degree in Building Services Engineering, and has worked in the HVAC industry since 2010. On his new role, Crowley said: “It is exciting and challenging to be in such a fast-paced rapidly evolving industry, and my appointment by TROX Middle East is part of the company’s expansion in the region. I’m excited to be part of this growth, which focuses on increasing the overall quality of HVAC installations in the region.”
September 2016
Hormann Middle East V 3015 Clean roller door
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aying that air purification in clean rooms can result in a pressure difference of up to 50 Pa, Hormann Middle East has released an announcement introducing V 3015 Clean, a high-speed roller door that the company claims aids air purification. The manufacturer lists the following product features and benefits: I]Z K (%&* 8aZVc! l]^X] ^h ^ciZcYZY [dg jhZ in clean rooms, comes with a fully transparent curtain that has a thickness of 4.0 mm. I]Z XjgiV^c! ^cXdgedgVi^c\ heg^c\ hiZZa stabilisation, is tightly integrated in the special side guides. This minimises air loss (leakage) and enables an optimum design for ventilation systems. L^i] hiVcYVgY ;J Xdcigda! i]Z bVm^bjb opening and closing speed is 1.5 m/s and 0.5 m/s, respectively. >i XdbZh l^i] V hiV^caZhh hiZZa XdkZg dc i]Z shaft and operator. >c eaVXZ d[ ZbZg\ZcXn deZc^c\h! i]ZgZ ^h a crank handle, with the option of automatic door opening via UPS, in case of power failure. I]Z l^cY adX` hig^e ^h VkV^aVWaZ ^c V gVc\Z of colours, including zinc yellow, pure orange, carmine red, gentian blue and agate grey.
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