CCME Jan 2016

REPORT CARD: District Cooling

A collection of views from market leaders on what’s in store for the region’s DC industry

JANUARY 2016

HEADLINES:

EDITORIAL CAMPAIGN

IEQ in Healthcare

Qatar Rail signs contract with Qatar Cool

‘Downtimes can cost lives, and that ought to tell you how critical MEP is’ – Syed Mahmood Akhter, M/S Builders and Contracting

Daikin introduces ESMAcompliant product range Sustainable City launches Diamond Innovation Centre

securing the chain

With the GCC region countries relying heavily on food imports, food safety is an issue of critical importance. But is the cold store sector doing its part to keep the cold chain unbroken?

INTERVIEWs

John Mandyck, Chief Sustainability Officer, UTC

Mario Seneviratne, Managing Director, Green Technologies

Kamal Pharran, CEO, Saudi Tabreed

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FEBRUARY 14, 2016 For advertising opportunities, contact: advertising@cpi-industry.com www.cpi-industry.com • www.climatecontrolme.com

contents vol. 11 no. 1  january 2016

SPECIAL MARKET SUPPLEMENT

Cold chain EDITORIAL CAMPAIGN page

12

COVER STORY

Cold case

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36

With cold stores playing a huge role in maintaining the cold chain, market leaders stress the need to follow best practices and train the spotlight on the different issues plaguing the sector.

page

22

IEQ IN

HEALTHCARE ‘MEP is the single largest block of cost and determines the patients’ comfort and satisfaction’ Syed Mahmood Akhter of M/S Builders and Contracting offers an MEP perspective on the various challenges facing the healthcare industry.

REPORT The food challenge Food took centre stage at the World Cold Chain Summit, with industry leaders from all over the world tackling the need to reduce food wastage and food loss through an improved cold chain.

Post-event report page

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REPORT

40

Exhibitors at one of the largest construction shows in the Middle East share their market outlook for 2016 and beyond, in light of an anticipated economic slowdown.

Lost in transportation Are practices in the cold chain management of food transportation in the Middle East region sound? Industry players reveal the pitfalls when it comes to transport refrigeration.

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Q&A

page

‘If we measured it as a country, food waste would be the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases’ John Mandyck of United Technologies Corporation (UTC) discusses the link between food waste and climate change and explains how reducing the former could help address the latter.

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January 2016

The big 5 Dubai

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Q&A The power of zero Mario Seneviratne of Green Technologies talks about how the SABIC Home of Innovation Demonstration Home and Collaboration Centre, with its Net Zero status, can bring change to the region.

PERSPECTIVE

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48

U-Value for money

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68

Stressing that there is a need to measure building elements empirically in order to obtain reliable and precise data on U-Values, Dr Holger Hendrichs of greenTEG AG shows the difference between calculated and measured U-Values.

PERSPECTIVE R-H2O

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50

Mark Hakbijl reveals what makes water a good refrigerant and explains how evaporative cooling technology can reduce electricity consumption and CO2 emission by more than 98%.

FEATURE SIMULATED REALITY Jemyung Moon of Samsung takes us on a tour of the company’s simulation facility in South Korea, where air conditioning performance is analysed and tested under real-life conditions.

page

SPECIAL MARKET SUPPLEMENT

70 country report Made in America

TRACKING THE DC INDUSTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST page

56

Report The DC report card Market leaders see energy-efficiency requirements and a boom in construction as future drivers of the GCC region’s DC sector.

page

60

Q&A ‘DC regulations are not yet in place to organise and streamline the relationship between the end-user and the developer’ Kamal Pharran of Saudi Tabreed, in an exclusive interview, shares his observations on the status quo, challenges and the future of District Cooling in the Kingdom.

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Perspective ‘The pump chosen needs to be as close to the Best Efficiency Point (BEP) as possible’ Aslan Al Barazi believes that design, material and other factors need to be carefully considered when selecting pumps for HVAC applications, and lists a few thumb rules.

Consistently setting the standard for the global HVACR industry, North America – the United States, in particular – is a market driven by energy efficiency, innovation and best practices, say experts.

REGULARS

Ed's note 06 TIMSS, PISA and all that NEWS 78 87 89

Regional Global Associations & Societies

page

74 MARKET FEATURE Heating up With increasing demand from emerging economies and rising industrial growth, market authorities are expecting the heat exchanger sector to see a growth in sales in the coming years.

page

76 LICENCE TO CHILL Overcoming turbulences Dan Mizesko, pointing out that turbulent water flow disrupts readings of water volume used, speaks about fragmentation technology and how it can help reduce water bills.

A combination of heat and humidity is likely to threaten millions of lives in the future http://buff. ly/1Ox7p41

ClimateCentral @ClimateCentral

January 2016

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TIMSS, PISA and all that wo specific goals of the UAE’s National Agenda 2021 are to place the UAE among the 15 highest performing countries in TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) and among the 20 highest performing countries in PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment).

As of June 2015, UAE schools ranked below the international average of 500. To fulfil the national agenda goals, students must rank 520 in all the subjects of the PISA exams.

And Grade 8 students must score 510 and Grade 4 students must score 530 in TIMSS. While education authorities in the country have been focusing on teaching and learning practices and on identifying the broad academic measures that must be implemented to improve academic performance, they are increasingly beginning to quote international research on student well-being and education, and are willing to recognise that happier school communities will lead to happier students, which in turn, will lead to an improvement in academic performance and, thus, to achieving the 2021 National Agenda goals.

The next step likely – and hopefully – will be an increase in focus on Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) in schools across the country. Countries like the United States and Finland have conducted extensive studies on the link between good IEQ and strong academic performance, and have found a strong correlation between the two aspects. In the past year, we extensively covered the subject through a six-month-long editorial campaign on IEQ in schools). At the time, we bemoaned the lack of a collective approach involving all stakeholders. While the UAE Government has initiated action – the Dubai Municipality has specific guidelines, for instance – the success depends on a self-regulatory mindset among schools to look beyond their bottom line and at the true welfare of their students. While schools are showing a willingness to help the UAE meet its twin goals relating to TIMSS and PISA, the transformation will come about only when they embrace a multi-dimensional strategy.

Like in any other sector, the transformation cannot solely come from within. And it is here where there is a specific role for the HVAC industry. While it has focused on hospitality and healthcare, the industry has often ignored the education sector, relatively speaking. It is now the industry’s responsibility to take the solutions into schools and to collaborate with conviction in working on economic models to ensure the numerous technologies available are incorporated in institutions across the region. There is a massive opportunity in front of the industry to participate in a large-scale socio-economic development initiative, which would in time to come, raise the bar on academic proficiency and regional development.

T

B Surendar Editor @BSurendar_HVACR

REPORT CARD: District Cooling

A collection of views from market leaders on what’s in store for the region’s DC industry

JANUARY 2016

HEaDlInES:

EDITORIAL CAMPAIGN

IEQ In HEaltHcarE

Qatar Rail signs contract with Qatar Cool

‘Downtimes can cost lives, and that ought to tell you how critical MEP is’ – Syed Mahmood Akhter, M/S Builders and Contracting

Daikin introduces ESMAcompliant product range Sustainable City launches Diamond Innovation Centre

securing the next issue the chainofGetClimate Control With the GCC region countries relying heavily on food imports, food safety is an issue of critical importance. But is the cold store sector doing its part to keep the cold chain unbroken?

INTERVIEWs

John Mandyck, Chief Sustainability Officer, UTC

Mario Seneviratne, Managing Director, Green Technologies

Middle East early!

Kamal Pharran, CEO, Saudi Tabreed

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CEO Nadeem Hood Associate Editor Pratibha Umashankar | prati@cpi-industry.com Contributing Editor Anoop K Menon | anoop@cpi-industry.com Assistant Editor Fatima de la Cerna | fatima@cpi-industry.com Features Writer Rajiv Pillai | rajiv@cpi-industry.com Events & Marketing Leader Ruqiya Shariff | ruqiyah@cpi-industry.com Events & Marketing Leader Kathleen Rebello | kathleen@cpi-industry.com

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Founder, CPI Media Group Dominic De Sousa (1959-2015)

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January 2016

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January 2016

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January 2016

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obituary

Infectious energy Dominic De Sousa (1959 - 2015)

I

n December 2015, with the passing away of Dominic De Sousa, the GCC region’s media landscape lost one of its leading lights. Dom, as he was affectionately known in media circles, was the Chairman of CPI Media Group and a partner in CPI Industry, the publishers of Climate Control Middle East magazine.

He died doing what he loved most – singing on stage, with the spotlights of Zabeel Saray at the Palm Jumeirah, in Dubai, UAE, solely focused on him. It was typical Dom – he loved the lights and thrived in situations that called for a star performer to hold the attention of a hardnosed audience.

The image of the man as a performer is compelling. Many of you, who have attended the Climate Control Awards in the past few years, will also remember him as an artiste with a penchant for vintage music, be it the nuanced, sonorous notes of Frank Sinatra or the cool baritone of Neil Diamond. But Dom was much more than that.

Many, many years ago, weary and wary of the straightjacketed approach to publishing, he carved a model out of the established norms of print journalism in his inimitable style and spent almost a professional lifetime burnishing it. His was a unique touch to a free market enterprise that allowed all the parts of the sum – the team leaders he fostered and empowered -- to be nimble and responsive to changing circumstances. He had neither the time nor the patience for dispiriting bureaucratic shackles

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December 2015

and hoary traditions, if they did not serve the purpose of progress. He scythed his way through pussyfooting corporate codswallop, always eager to get to the point, and perpetually persuading, cajoling and goading his team to be decisive and to act with clarity of thought.

At CPI Industry, this approach and outlook helped us through the worst of the economic crisis years, postLehmann. It was not easy, as many of you in your respective fields would probably agree, but we were able to rise to the challenge on the back of his unfaltering optimism, for the man who crooned on stage and almost always sported a becalming smile, was made of steel.

He was proud of the manner in which Climate Control Middle East emerged from the crisis and evolved into a stronger institution. He rejoiced in the regional and international accolades that began to come its way but, at the same time, gently reminded us of the many unfinished tasks at hand.

There is no doubt we will miss Dom’s benevolent presence but are determined to hold on to his memory by perpetuating his approach “from here to eternity”.

He built an empire of goodwill and enterprise with his infectious energy and, for that, his story needs to be told for long. Goodbye, Destiny’s Child!

Rest in peace and everlasting happiness!

By B Surendar, Editor, Climate Control Middle East

Multifaceted artiste John Magno (1989 - 2015)

J

ust a short time after the death on stage of Dominic De Sousa, Founder and Chairman of the Dubai-based publishing company, CPI Media Group, and just a few days before Christmas, one of the younger members of the firm’s Graphic Design team was killed in a tragic accident.

John ‘Joms’ Magno died whilst long-boarding, an activity he had taken up after being a passionate skateboarder.

Hailing from Nueva Ecija in the Philippines, Joms was a talented musician, playing bass in a band called 'Up the Ante', in Dubai. In the Philippines, Joms was the drummer of Amerie and guitarist of Avian Limit. His love of music came from his father, who was a keen non-professional player.

His favourite style of music was djent, a version of heavy metal music, which developed as a spinoff of traditional progressive metal. A music colleague recalled that he could play anything and was a master arranger of songs – “a real musician”.

In addition to extreme sports, Joms showed talent and enthusiasm for photography and gaming.

By Dave Reeder, Editor, Pro Chef Middle East (a CPI Media Group publication)

December 2015

11

COVER STORY

12

January 2016

Cold chain

The good, the bad and the ugly of cold stores The quality and efficiency of a cold store depends on the quality of the components that go into making it, reveal market leaders, who highlight best practices as well as the issues plaguing the sector.

By Rajiv Pillai | Features Writer

January 2016

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Cold chain

COVER STORY

“A

lpen Capital has released a study in May 2015 that indicates that food imports into the UAE is expected to grow from AED 13.9 billion in 2011 to a staggering AED 30.8 billion in 2020,” cites Brent Melvin, General Manager, Supply Chain Solutions at Massar.

Ghaleb Abusaa, Engineer and Arbitrator at The Three Factors Company, sharing another piece of statistics, reveals that the region imported as much as 37.2 million metric tonnes of food in 2007 – more than three times the food produced locally.

To say that the GCC countries largely rely on

Brent Melvin

Ghaleb Abusaa

Henrique Pereira

Because of the price pressure, a lot of ‘inventive ways’ are practised by some contractors to lower the price imports to meet most of their food requirements is to state the obvious. What needs to be highlighted are two facts which Abusaa and Melvin respectively share: a) “For food safety and an extended shelflife of food items, refrigeration is mandatory” and b) “Without cold stores, food wastage would be much higher than what it already is, leading to greater costs for consumers” Given this reality, cold stores play a critical role in the region.

Henrique Pereira, Managing Director at Seabra, putting it bluntly, says: “Without cold stores, we wouldn’t have food in the supermarkets or in the restaurants.”

Melvin adds, “In countries like the UAE, fresh and frozen produce would potentially be out of stock from stores as the supply chains try to keep up with the demand for just-in-time deliveries.”

Despite this ever-impending potential situation, what is the sector’s attitude towards building and maintaining efficient and safe cold stores? It seems like it is a mixed bag of good practices, challenges and ways of overcoming them, which could sometimes be devious.

The good – construction checklist

So what makes a cold store effective and efficient? The answer evidently is: The quality of the components that go into constructing it. But the issue is more complex than this

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January 2016

pithy statement would have us believe. In Pereira’s opinion, it is very important to understand the purpose that a cold store is going to serve. He explains through a series of questions: “What will it store? What is the product rotation and volume?

What is the input temperature and the desired storage temperature? How to minimise inefficiencies in the logistics process, for example, reducing the time the doors are open?”

Pereira believes that by being equipped with answers to these questions, one can design the best solution for a particular need. He stresses that there is no “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to cold stores.

Melvin agrees, and says that there are many cold store applications, be they for chilled, ambient or frozen storage.

He elaborates: “The type of products to be stored determine the type of facility, temperature and humidity requirements.

Fresh produce will significantly differ in storage requirements when compared to frozen or pharmaceutical products.”

Keeping the specifics aside, which apply to each cold store, Abusaa offers a basic checklist that the concerned personnel must follow when constructing a cold store: 1. Project total area As a rule of thumb, the total project area should be four times the built-up area. This is to allow for vehicular

January 2016

15

Cold chain

COVER STORY

Coldfacts How’s the health of the industry?

Due to its [cold store’s] nature and need for life, it almost has a steady growth rate, at least due to population growth and urbanisation. Add to that the ambitious plans… Expo 2020 and FIFA 2022 in Qatar, [and] the need for cold storage facilities to feed the visitors and the residents is very high in the GCC countries.”

– Ghaleb Abusaa, Engineer and Arbitrator, The Three Factors Company One thing remains constant during economic upturns or downturns, and that is people’s need to eat. Food logistics globally continues to expand, as food producers enter new markets and try to expand their product range across new territories, in an effort to achieve market share and revenue growth. With this expansion comes the availability of international food items in supermarkets and stores. And right behind that is the movement, storage and distribution of these products.

The growing demand is also driven by population growth, particularly in countries like the UAE, where the influx of expatriates remains high.”

– Brent Melvin, General Manager, Supply Chain Solutions, Massar

movement outside the main cold store building, service buildings, etc.

2. The weighing station This is required to monitor goods going in and out of the facility, and process data through computer programs for different purposes, including efficiency measures of the operation.

3. Docks These include dock levellers, dock shelters, barriers and doors 4. The building layout This is important to maximise the utilisation of the built-up area, and at the same time, to harmonise the work-flow.

5. The envelop It mainly covers the insulated envelop of the cold rooms and processing

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January 2016

areas. Thickness of insulation depends on the final temperature in each room or section of the cold store.

6. The civil works The civil works include the special loading on the floors, the finishing, belowzero-Celsius rooms, and floor protection against frost and ice formation 7. The pallets and forklifts This includes either a fixed racking system or removable pallets and forklifts passages within the refrigerated rooms 8. The refrigeration system Depending on the purpose, temperature levels, size of the cold store and refrigeration heat load, the systems

can be a standalone commercial type or a heavy duty centralised system.

9. Food safety in the cold store Abusaa suggests a few practices that need to be followed during the commercial operation

guided tours.

• Be armed with simple and effective tools.

•Update your knowledge.

The bad – the challenges

Following the aforementioned checklist should make life easy;

we have the counter-claim by clients who say that suppliers and contractors exaggerate markups and profit margins of the facility: a) For those running the facility: • Watch out for germs, moulds, microorganisms, insects, etc. as they might cause food deterioration.

• Control the temperature, humidity, oxygen and airborne contaminants to preserve the food.

• Do not underestimate minor issues.

• Keep condensers ventilated and avoid frost accumulation.

• Do not melt frozen products and re-freeze them.

• Avoid mixing many products.

• Appoint a person in charge and subject him to training, education and certification.

• Maintain proper records and use calibrated tools.

• Have an expert examine and analyse records and recommend required actions periodically.

• Keep track of industry and advancements in legislations and changes. b) For the inspectors: • Go where they do not expect you to go. Do not follow

however, there are a few other issues which invariably creep into the system. Pereira says that although an improvement in quality requirements by owners and developers has been observed, there still seems to be a long road ahead to be at par with the European or US standards.

One of the challenges is dealing with price wars. “A lot of pressure is put on price, instead of looking at the value delivered,” Pereira highlights.

“Sometimes people seem to forget that these facilities are built to last many years, and the total cost of ownership should be the main concern.”

The other issue is poor or sub-standard engineering design. “Because of the price pressure, a lot of ‘inventive ways’ are practised by some contractors to lower the price, taking advantage of the lack of technical knowledge of the owners and developers,” reveals Pereira. “We need more and better consultants who really control

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January 2016

17

Cold chain

COVER STORY

The nuts and bolts of cold storage Industry experts share their views on the equipment required to build a cold storage facility…

James P Reynolds

Abin P Kurien

James P Reynolds, VP, Training and Development at Lineage Logistics, says that there are many types of equipment associated with maintaining a refrigerated warehouse to meet specific requirements. “While the specific variants differ in terms of sizes, capacities and other features,” he says, “they all fall under the same basic component categories, such as evaporators, condensers and compressors.”

Abin P Kurien, Sales Manager at the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Division at Naser Al Sayer & Company (NASCO), says that cold storage units fall under different categories, based on the types of compressor technology, construction and refrigerants used. “The main compressor technologies used in cold storage equipment are reciprocating, screw and scroll,” he says. “Cold

storage machines could be of monoblock construction, individual condensing units with evaporators or package units with several parallel connected compressors.” He adds that the selection of the type of cold storage equipment depends on various parameters, such as initial investment and operational costs, environment friendliness, durability, ease of maintenance and governmental regulations.

specifications and make sure, in the end, we’re making the ‘apples to apples’ comparisons between offers.” The other troubling issues, he says, are difficulty in reaching desired temperatures and humidity levels and the lack of suitable control systems.

Abusaa agrees with Pereira when he says that, at times, cost is prioritised over quality.

He draws a vivid picture of what transpires behind the scenes of projects: “Suppliers and contractors claim that the clients’ decisions are driven by cost and not quality, thus quality issues start surfacing soon, upon putting into commercial operation. On the other hand, we have the counter-claim by clients who say that suppliers and contractors exaggerate markups and profit margins, and then those contractors give sub-contracts to non-qualified labour. This problem mainly exists in small-size projects, where qualified consultants are not involved.

“In medium-size projects, the same problem exists but this is because of not employing consultants. From the investors’ point of view, there is a lack of professional refrigeration consulting offices. It is claimed that those consultants ultimately go back to the contractors to help them design the projects,

thus impartiality is void, and extra consultancy fees are not justified.”

In Abusaa’s view, unlike HVAC projects, refrigeration projects require higher skills and knowledge. “Therefore,” he concedes, “the investors’ claim is somewhat justified.

There is, indeed, a lack of professional and qualified refrigeration consultancy firms.”

Abusaa thinks that in largesize refrigeration projects, this problem is not as severe as the small- and medium-size projects. “Because,” he says, “it involves pre-qualifications and careful selection due to the size of investment and the high financial risks involved with low quality.”

Throwing light on the current scenario in the UAE, Melvin says that like many industries, there are both good and bad operators. “UAE municipalities play an important role in ensuring that cold stores are up to the mark, meeting predefined criteria,” he admits. “Moreover, many cold store operators boast quality marks of ISO 9000, 14000, 18000 and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP).

In addition to the quality standards, robust warehouse management software is employed to control product flows in and out of the store, as well as to stock location and shelf-life of products.

“As a city, Abu Dhabi has made a concerted effort in striving to be a more sustainable city. We have a lot to showcase from classroom efforts of EAD’s Sustainable School Initiative to being among the first in the world to explore Blue Carbon science, with AGEDI’s Blue Carbon programme of work, which looks at the understanding and valuation of coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves, seagrass and salt marshes for carbon storage and their other benefits in Abu Dhabi, and more recently, expanding the research to the national level. I’m proud of the efforts we make as an agency. However, the responsibility is not just with me, it’s with all of us. It must be a collective effort, because it is only when we work together that we can make a real difference.”

- Ahmed Abdulmuttaleb Baharoon, Executive Director, Environmental Information, Science & Outreach Management, Acting Director, Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI)

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January 2016

January 2016

19

Cold chain

COVER STORY

Inspectors cannot inspect at all times Bobby Krishna Thulasi, Food Studies and Planning Specialist at the Food Safety Department of Dubai Municipality, in a brief conversation with B Surendar of Climate Control Middle East on cold storage construction in Dubai…

Are you happy with the quality of cold storage construction?

We need to look at how temperature control is working.

Is it really effective? Is the cold chain being maintained?

Are we safeguarding against temperature fluctuations?

Is it more of a food safety issue than a quality issue?

How much of it is a natural challenge – high-ambient conditions, where mild fluctuations would affect the food? Can we have a risk-based approach? One of the major limitations is monitoring and lowering your priority on low risk. Hotels would do temperature profile of high-risk foods and only then the low-risk ones.

As Government, we don’t look at the contracting side of cold storages. Why? Because warehouses don’t come to us for approvals. Only the building department does that. So yes, there is a gap and we need to look at that in the future. Because most of the food companies have licence for trading but not for warehousing. The warehousing aspect is added as an activity of general trading.

But do you not think this is a huge opportunity for contracting companies to flout and construct as per their will?

Absolutely! It is a huge opportunity for contractors to cut corners. Somebody builds a cold storage warehouse and leases it out. Of course, hotels would, as part of an internal audit, ask for the warehousing licence.

Restaurants also do so. But compliance has to come as part of self-regulation on part of suppliers because inspectors cannot inspect at all times. The liability is on the supplier of the food, not on the warehouse owner or the contractor who built it. So yes, there is a grey area.

Regulators need to get clear-cut policies, and we shall expand the Food Code to include this in 2016, before Q2.

Technical knowledge is a limitation, so inspectors need to be trained to inspect warehouses and also to inspect the equipment.

Would the inspection be applied to existing buildings, as well, or would it be applied only to new construction?

In the case of existing buildings, there is a red card system that will soon be in place to regulate temperature control, which has a correlation to warehouse quality, specification of equipment, opening and closing of doors (practices and design and build), etc. They can attribute temperature abuse to something else besides opening and closing of doors, so again, this is a grey area. The red card and yellow card system will catch temperature abuse.

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January 2016

Other health and safety best practices can be observed in many of the leading cold stores in the UAE.”

The ugly – but is there a monopoly?

Melvin reveals that there are a number of large operators in the cold store industry today, who compete for the same business, and quite often, have to discount storage or handling rates to win the demand. He elaborates: “So rather than looking at the industry as monopolistic, I think it is important to note that there are a few operators who have specialised in cold stores, and with the right investment and location, managed to grow substantially more than others. It is these market leaders who also adhere to best practice operations and define the cold store industry in the UAE.” In Abusaa’s view, monopolistic practices are a fact of life, which are hard to eliminate. “Our job is to reduce its effect,” he says.

“However, the dynamics of life is always against such practices, and the market always corrects itself.”

Abusaa, however, admits that as far as medium- and large-scale refrigeration jobs and cold stores are concerned, there is a monopoly, with limited choices in the GCC states, and even globally.

“Unlike the HVAC industry, qualified refrigeration systems manufacturers and contractors are limited to

a few number, nowadays, which is creating rich grounds for new highly professional smaller firms,” he reveals. Observing that the situation is even worse when it comes to consultancy, he says, “There are very limited number of highly qualified refrigeration consultancy houses in the GCC states.”

In conclusion

Abusaa believes that all issues and challenges pertaining to cold stores can be dealt with through proper education and awareness.

He, however, admits, “Education and spreading knowledge takes time.”

Harking back to his initiative in executing a small refrigeration event in Abu Dhabi five years ago, he says: “The result was very encouraging, and it was the start of what is now called ‘Food Chain’ – a series of events by Climate Control Middle East. What I want to conclude is that we are addressing the issues quite well.”

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

Write to editor@ cpi-industry.com

January 2016

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Report World Cold Chain Summit

Waste not, want not Food wastage does not garner as much attention as climate change does, which is quite a tragic situation, writes B Surendar.

FACT 1

FACT 5

We use 38% of our ice-free land for farming. The ugly truth is that we throw one-third, or 40%, of the food we produce.

The cost of food loss and food wastage is approximately USD

FACT 2

Only 1.3% of the world’s water is fresh water. We use 70% of that to produce food, and then we go ahead and throw 40% away.

FACT 3

We grow and produce food for 10 billion people, but of the global population of seven billion, only six billion get adequate food; the remaining one billion are malnourished.

FACT 4

The food we throw away creates a mountain of waste every year – roughly 1.3 billion metric tonnes.

W

elcome to the sordid world of food wastage, as enumerated

by John Mandyck, the Chief Sustainability Officer of United Technologies Corporation (UTC) and the co-author of the book, Food Foolish (see related interview on page 32).

In November 2015, Mandyck had presented the facts to a stunned audience that had gathered for UTC’s Distinguished Lecture Series in Abu Dhabi. In early December 2015 – the 2nd and the 3rd, to be precise – he presented them at the World Cold Chain Summit in Singapore, this time to an audience of over 120 delegates from 35 countries, which included stakeholders who are specifically fighting hard to reduce, if not eliminate, food wastage and food loss around the world; the effect he had on them was no less stunning.

Over the course of two days, other speakers at the Summit, an event produced by Carrier, expressed themselves in vivid detail, the anguish in their voice and the eagerness to set things right not hard to detect.

One of them was Dr Joseph Mpagalile, from the Food and

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January 2016

2.6 trillion

FACT 6 The embodied carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in food wastage alone represent 3.3 billion metric tonnes. That’s the total amount of energy that goes to produce the food we never eat, including fuel for tractors used for planting and harvesting, electricity for water pumps in the field, the power for processing and packaging facilities and more.

FACT 7

If food wastage were a country by itself, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind China and the United States.

Agriculture Organization (FAO), who, as if reinforcing Mandyck’s words, spoke of how 795 million people are malnourished globally.

“Sadly, the food that is produced could have helped these people, but unfortunately it is wasted, so we need to take serious steps to address this,” he said. Dr Mpagalile is the Agro-industry Officer (Logistic and Value Addition).

Among the serious steps, perhaps the most effective is a robust cold chain. As Mandyck put it: “Vegetables, fruits, milk, eggs, fish and seafood represent more than 50% of the food we waste, and all these have one thing in common – we can extend their life through refrigeration.” Added David Appel, the President of Carrier Transicold: “With cold chain technology, we can reduce food waste, we can feed more people. Today, this technology is readily available in developed countries, and we are working to make it available in developing countries.”

Just how much the positive impact of refrigeration is, was brought

Cold chain

home by Didier Coulomb, the Director of the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), when he said that 23% of food losses is caused by a lack of refrigeration, versus nine per cent in developed countries. By way of sharing the effectiveness of refrigeration, he spoke of how refrigerated capacity storage was 10-fold in developed countries. Pascal Chapot of Nestle further drove home the value of refrigeration in reducing food loss when he described how in Pakistan, which is categorised as a developing country, Nestle has established a dairy-related cold chain. “In 2010, we lost 365 tonnes of milk in a single district in Pakistan,” Chapot said. “In 2013, it went down to 94 tonnes, and still there is improvement potential.”

Chapot spoke with passion about preserving milk through protecting them from thermal

abuse, whereas, Judith Evans from London South Bank University spoke of how extending product life by a single day could have a profound effect on the high levels of food that are wasted.

She explained how storage lives could be extended for greater than a day, if the average domestic refrigerator temperature of 7 degrees C was reduced to 4 degrees C. In a broader context, the challenge in reducing the temperature, though, is the impact on energy use. Globally speaking, the aim of facility managers working in buildings has been to increase the set point temperature to at least 24 degrees C in a bid to reduce energy consumption through air conditioning. Refrigeration, though, is a different kettle of fish, especially in the context of preservation of thermally sensitive food

Just for the record…

The terms, ‘food wastage’ and ‘food loss’ are often interchangeably used, but they could not be more different. According to FAO, food wastage is when food moves through the supply chain and is fit for consumption but is not consumed and is discarded owing to negligence or conscious decision. Food loss, on the other hand, pertains to the food that is spilt, spoilt, lost or incurs a reduction in quality. It is the unintended result of the process or the institutional/legal framework.

The Summit reawakened the conundrum of the need for reducing food wastage and, at the same time, of ensuring energy efficiency products; the temperature cannot be increased without attracting the ire of food safety regulators, which limits the scope for refrigeration engineers to eke out better energy efficiencies. So, a case for reducing the temperature below the required bare minimum, in order to increase the shelf life and, thus, reduce food wastage, is not likely to go down well with the engineers. The Singapore Summit reawakened the conundrum of the need for reducing food wastage and, at the same time, of ensuring the need for energy efficiency from economic and environmental perspectives.

To add to the complexity, food wastage is not merely an environmental issue but also an economic issue, with several shades of social exploitation. As a member of the audience pointed out, small farmers in some pockets of India were forced to make a distress sale, owing to lack of facilities to preserve thermally sensitive produce, a fact exploited by middlemen. “What consumers paid to the middlemen, the member of the audience said, was far more than what

the middlemen paid to the farmers.”

The plight of the farmers, the member of the audience added, had attracted the attention of the refrigeration community in the country, and they had responded by offering low-cost intervention in the form of sea water evaporative cooling, as a result of which the farm produce was able to remain fresh for eight to 10 days and take the middlemen out of the equation.

Speaking in a different context – Perkins Cycle – Andy Pearson, the Group Engineering Director at UK-headquartered Star Refrigeration drew attention to an almost 30% wastage of energy in cold stores. Saying that he wanted to get to at least the 15% mark, he spoke of the need for focusing on building better structures. “We ought to reduce the heat load of a building through better construction,” Pearson said. “Thus, instead of having 5,000 kW of refrigeration, we can go for 2,000 kW, say.”

To improve the cold chain, Pearson called for greater government support, international cooperation, simpler systems, better

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Report World Cold Chain Summit

Cold chain

Sensors are becoming cheaper, and when they become cheaper than the cardboard box they come in, we will find sensors everywhere monitors, better metrics, product development, operator training and system integration. “We need to make things easier to use,” he said.

“Sensors are becoming cheaper, and when they become

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cheaper than the cardboard box they come in, we will find sensors everywhere.”

Dr Arthur Bamunuarachchi from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka called for solar intervention for cold chain to be considered for stationery and mobile units. Pointing to the many countries on either side of the Equator that lack grid energy and, as a result of which, face the constant risk of spoilage of food and medicines, Dr Bamunuarachchi said solar power was a no-brainer, especially considering the fact that the countries receive plenty of sunlight.

Pearson supported the call for the use of solar energy but recommended that the efficiency of solar panels be studied and also their robustness in terms of payback period. “If designed for 10 years, you don’t want a thunderstorm to knock them off in two years’ time,” he said.

“At the same time, there are already 20 countries in the world where the price of solar is cheaper than, or is at par with, conventional energy, so there is no excuse not to improve the technology.”

The role of transport refrigeration also came under the Summit’s spotlight.

Mark Mitchell, the Founder and Chairman of SuperCool Asia Pacific, in Australia, characterised the truck as a critical control point for the entire journey. Food loss reduction, he said, could be

achieved by dramatically improving the transport cold chain.

Mitchell described building a thermally insulated body as a common need. “Air tightness is a big aspect, but do we build an air-tight truck?” he asked.

“Nah! If you stop 10 trucks in a row, only one might be okay.

He bemoaned the lack of structure in the industry when it came to following standards.

“We have all the standards, but they are poorly implemented,” he said. “The truck needs to be fit-for-purpose. ATP and other standards prescribe fit-for-purpose and are based on such questions as ‘what is it going to be transporting’, ‘how many times will the doors be opened’, etc. Process, vehicle body building and refrigeration need to come together to ensure improvement in the cold chain to prevent food loss.”

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

Write to editor@ cpi-industry.com

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Report Transport Refrigeration

Lost Lostin intransportation transportation The use of temperature-controlled or refrigerated transportation solution is growing, be it by land, sea or air. But are practices in the cold chain management of food transportation, especially in the Middle East region, sound? A few of the players reveal the pitfalls when it comes to transport refrigeration.

Pribu John

By Rajiv Pillai | Features Writer

A

refrigerated truck is parked off-road in the middle of a long cross-country journey.

The driver of the truck is callously siphoning off as much fuel as he can, to sell it to make a quick buck. It’s business as usual, and fuel theft continues to grow in all parts of the globe, indirectly affecting the food products inside the refrigeration unit.

Pribu John, Director at Al Furat Refrigeration Devices Trading Company, explains the modus operandi: “When they [drivers] are stealing diesel, they shut down the machines, and nobody will know if the machine was ever shut down during transportation. So, when the truck leaves the starting point, the temperature is good.

When the truck reaches its destination and when its door is opened, the temperature is still good. But what happens en route, nobody knows.”

Prakash Krishnamoorthy, Service Development Manager at Carrier Transicold Europe, admits that the issue exists in the Middle East and globally. The other

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January 2016

issue, he says, is the improper temperature of food products during loading. He gives an example: “There were a few reported cases wherein a lot of fruits and vegetables were damaged. We went for a joint investigation with the customer and found that the supposedly chilled products were loaded with dry products at room temperature. So, this was generating heat, and the heat could not be pulled down by the unit.”

The other loophole, says John, when it comes to measuring temperature in transport refrigeration, is with the placement of temperature-measuring sensors. “The sensors must be placed where the return air goes in,” John says.

This is another area where people could indulge in a malpractice, by moving the sensors to a different place, and thereby, getting a different and manipulated temperature reading, he observes. Krishnamoorthy adds to this by saying that the temperature displayed and the temperature actually inside the box are not

verified. “So, typically, what happens is the displayed temperature in the cabin is part of one of the functions, but it is not necessarily the reality inside the box,” says Krishnamoorthy. “In Europe, for all the temperature recorders, an independent sensor is used to monitor the temperature. During the Food Chain Conference in 2014, Dubai Municipality claimed that they could not pinpoint that the reason behind certain cases of food poisoning was because of improper transportation.

If you have temperature recorders, you can fully understand the situation and this helps traceability.”

Krishnamoorthy also points out that the Dubai Municipality certifies all the vehicles used for the transportation of food. “The issue, however,” he says, “is that since the passing authority is only interested to see if the unit can reach the desired temperature, what happens is that the unit is run the entire night. And then the truck is brought for passing early in the morning.”

Prakash Krishnamoorthy

Darius Khanloo

Paul McGarrigle

James P Reynolds

Cold chain

A temperature of 4.4 degrees C must be maintained to ensure that pathogenic bacteria does not grow on them and potentially cause illness and/or death He adds: “Attention is not paid to measure the pull down time and temperature excursion, which really affects the product during a real-time operation like door-to-door delivery, to ensure product safety.”

Insulation is another area where people compromise, points out John, and says: “People go for low-density panels to save costs. In the initial years, it will all be good, but later on, there could be problems. If the insulation is not proper, you will not get proper cooling. The machine will have regular breakdowns.”

The pitfalls Krishnamoorthy adds that the lack of clear legislations and implementation in the Middle East region is a point of concern. He explains: “There are some companies that are proactively carrying out temperature monitoring.

The key is to monitor the temperature in real time.

There are temperature recorders available, which are mandatory in Europe.

Since legislation is not strictly enforced in the region, it is not being implemented by all.”

The other challenge in the Middle East region, Krishnamoorthy says, is the ambient weather conditions.

“The prime challenge is for the units to operate at highambient temperatures,” he

says. “You know in places like Kuwait and in many parts of Saudi [Arabia], the temperature hits close to 60 degrees C. And when you carry frozen goods, you are talking about a temperature differential of about 70 to 80 degrees C. This is a big challenge. So it’s key that units operating in the region are acclimatised.”

Darius Khanloo, Managing Director at Hormann Middle East, says that tricky issues occur normally when the product is moved from the truck to the cold rooms.

“Here, a lot of mistakes happen. This is the most important phase of a cold chain.” Krishnamoorthy elaborates on this: “A truck comes in for delivery at a store, and the door is left open, may be for 10 minutes or so. With high-ambient temperature outside, the product temperature goes up, typically for dairy products, as they are more sensitive. Managing sensitive fresh products is more difficult than managing frozen products.

If the temperature of milk goes beyond 8 degrees [C], for every 1 degree rise in temperature, there is drastic drop in the shelf life.”

When it comes to meat and seafood products, James P Reynolds, VP, Training and Development at Lineage Logistics, says that a

temperature of 4.4 degrees C must be maintained to ensure that pathogenic bacteria does not grow on them and potentially cause illness and/or death. He adds: “Temperature maintenance and proper recordkeeping are critical at all stages of the cold chain.”

Krishnamoorthy brings another issue to the table when he questions if the products are being loaded at the right temperature, to begin with. He elaborates: “Transport refrigeration units are only supposed to maintain the temperature, which means the product has to be loaded at the right temperature. They don’t work as a cold store unit, where it is able to pulls down the

temperature of the product.

There are many people who load on the streets. Many of them, I know, don’t load the products at the right temperature. If you don’t do this, you lose the freshness of the product, drastically reducing the shelf life. Or the rise in temperature can quickly ripen the product, especially fruits and vegetables.

These are the possible consequences.”

Yet another challenge Krishnamoorthy brings to light deals with the direct drive technology, where the compressor of the unit is driven by the engine of the van. “This means that the compressor most of the time is not running at its optimum level, as the

Riding in the sun Does Solar PV on trucks open up interesting possibilities of cost savings in refrigerating the truck?

Paul McGarrigle, Area Manager Middle East and Africa at Thermo King: “The primary function of Solar PV panels is not to generate operational cost savings; it’s to add another level of failsafe, while transport units are operating. Today, you will find many additional devices connected to reefer units, such as telematics devices, which are functioning even when reefer unit engines are not running, as temperature requirements have been fulfilled. So the USP is additional insurance, so that the main 12v battery in the reefer is being saved. As a consequence, cost savings are possible for protecting against unforeseen power failures. The direct cost of one load lost due to battery failure would be equivalent to the investment in the technology. It’s a safe bet in my book.”

January 2016

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Report Transport Refrigeration

There could be a lot of hot spots within the box, plus this will also lead to something called shortcycling compressor depends on the engine rpm,” he says.

“Typically, in the distribution setup, when you use vans, 40% of the time, your engine rpm is below 1,000. The compressors are all designed to exhibit optimum performance at 2,400 rpm. This means that the pull down time of the box takes much longer.

And the product is exposed to higher temperatures.”

in this should know how to use these things. So proper education must be there.”

Airing views John points out that the other problem that needs to be

Telematics chart

ones that need the most temperature control. Even bottled water requires a certain temperature.

Everything that is available in the local market should be temperature-controlled.”

Paul McGarrigle, Area Manager Middle East and Africa at Thermo King, sharing his views about overloading practices, says:

Let’s legislate

Why is there limited legislation in the Middle East when it comes to transport refrigeration?

Prakash Krishnamoorthy, Service Development Manager at Carrier Transicold Europe: “We posed this question to Dubai Municipality last year during one of your [CPI Industry] Food Chain events, because from our point of view and for the safety of the customers, this is extremely important. The Dubai Municipality is still looking at implementing an effective legislation. This will also help in traceability.

“ATP is a document that is released by a UN working body. ATP is the Association of Transportation of Perishables. There are some 49 countries that are signatories to this. And every year, there is a working committee, which is working on improving the food safety from the transportation “Overloading Krishnamoorthy perspective. This is considered as the bible and restricting believes that for the transport refrigeration proper airflow awareness is the key. industry.” within the cargo In John’s opinion, too, space will, without doubt, transport refrigeration negatively affect the issues need to be solved integrity of the cargo, which with proper education. “The addressed is concerning ultimately spoils the cargo, drivers need to be aware overloading. “To reduce leaving it immediately unfit of such things,” he says. the trip, people load the for consumption, or reduces “When they are loading or product up to the brim. And the shelf-life of the product unloading, they keep the there won’t be proper air dramatically.” door open. We have plastic circulation. There has to Krishnamoorthy agrees curtains to reduce the be proper air circulation,” with McGarrigle that temperature breakdown. he stresses, and highlights: overloading seriously affects The guys who are involved “Energy drinks are the

30

January 2016

the airflow inside the box.

Shedding more light on the problem, Krishnamoorthy says, “Overloading leads to hot spots within the box, plus this could also lead to short-cycling. The air that is coming out of the evaporator, is short-cycled back into the evaporator. The machine will therefore assume that the box is cooled, but in reality, there is no space for the air to flow across the truck to uniformly cool the entire box. So, we do conduct a lot of awareness training programmes for our customers.

We are advising many customers on the benefits of temperature monitoring, which will help them monitor the quality of the products and also improve distribution.”

The power of telematics Krishnamoorthy says that telematics – a branch of information technology that deals with the long-distance transmission of computerised information – helps inv monitoring, especially in longhaul assignments. “Telematics helps in fleet management,” he asserts. He gives an example on its advantages: “Even though the location of the truck is being monitored, we are never able to monitor if the unit is operational, or monitor the door openings and box temperature. Therefore, it is becoming very critical that the unit is also connected to telematics. There are two different kinds: there

Cold chain

is one-way communication and two-way communication techniques, depending on what the client wants. In one-way communication, you can get all the information from the unit.

In two-way communication, the fleet manager can change certain settings remotely. So, this is where we are heading.

They [the technologies] are already available.”

John, too believes that telematics can help in proper monitoring to avoid malpractices. “It [telematics] will ensure that the product that you receive is of high quality,” he says. McGarrigle reveals that fleet management and traceability are crucial to running a successful transport business, and assuring a good cargo quality throughout a trip, which is possible through telematics.

Body-building Another advice experts give with regards to proper food transport ethics is with the body-building of trucks. John says that he does it by making it a single panel. “We don’t cam-lock it (cam-lock is a type of latch used to connect and disconnect panels). If you camlock it, there is a percentage of air leakage,” he points out.

“If you make a single panel, the percentage of air leakage is zero. But again, the most important thing is the density.

If the density is not proper, it will affect the unit.”

Krishnamoorthy adds by saying that proper body-building comes with specification and legislation.

“As per the Agreement on the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs and on the Special Equipment to be used for

such Carriage (ATP) certification, the test is being conducted with the box and the unit combined, and every single box, will have to undergo the test and get certified.” (See Let’s Legislate).

The other key thing when it comes to body-building during the construction of the box is the K-factor, says Krishnamoorthy.

“K-factor is actually the isothermal factor of the body,” he explains. “The K-factor of the box basically determines the thermal quality of the box. This is mandatory in Europe, which is part of the ATP certification.

“There is a trend now towards fibre glass sheets. But again, everything comes at a cost.”

With telematics and other logistical solutions, experts believe that there is scope for transport refrigeration to be taken to a higher level in the Middle East.

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

Write to editor@ cpi-industry.com

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January 2016

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Q&A

Food Refrigeration

From farm to fork In this exclusive interview with Climate Control Middle East, John Mandyck, Chief Sustainability Officer of United Technologies Corporation (UTC) and the co-author of Food Foolish, details how food wastage, hunger and climate change are linked and elaborates on the importance of refrigeration. We bring you excerpts from the interview...

By B Surendar | Editorial Director & Associate Publisher and Fatima de la Cerna | Assistant Editor How would you assess the situation in the Middle East, in terms of food security and food wastage?

What challenges have you observed?

I think what makes this region unique is the high dependence on imported food. It could be higher than anywhere else in the world. We were just in Doha, and in Qatar, 90% of the food is imported. And that reliance on import places a different value on food, and frankly, it places a different value on food security. So, I think the Middle East is unique. If you look at the big picture perspective on food, we grow enough food to feed 10 billion people. We live on a planet of seven billion and only six billion are getting enough food. That is proof of the tremendous inefficiency of the system. That’s 40% of food wasted every year; that’s the 40% that doesn’t make it from farm to fork.

One third [of wastage] happens at the consumer level, where we buy too much and throw it away; or we serve too much and we don’t finish the meal. Two thirds happen at the distribution level, where food rots in transportation networks due to lack of refrigeration or rots in open-air markets, and that’s really where I think we can make a big difference. With basic technology, we can extend food supplies, save carbon emissions and achieve water savings.

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January 2016

Could you elaborate on refrigeration technology? What does Carrier have to offer in terms of building awareness?

Are you working closely with different stakeholders?

About 10% of the world’s food supply is refrigerated. That speaks of opportunities.

Since the dawn of man, we’ve been trying to figure out how to preserve our food – we’ve been salting it; we’ve been drying it; we’ve been sticking it underground; we’ve been pickling it. All those are effective, but what’s proven the most effective in extending food supplies is basic, simple refrigeration. Fish in 30 degrees C will last two hours, but with basic refrigeration, you can extend the life of that usable, consumable fish

you never hear the term ‘food waste’ in any climate policy debate

Cold chain

to two weeks. That’s the opportunity available, and what we’re looking at is: How do we get affordable systems where they are needed? In India, for example, we’ve introduced a new truck refrigeration product, called Citifresh, after realising that we had to step back and reverse-engineer our own products.

In Europe or the United States, we offer very sophisticated, high technology

truck-and-trailer refrigeration systems to move food. In one cargo, you could cool to three temperature points. You could carry frozen fish, fresh meat and strawberries, all requiring different temperature points.

But we’ve realised that you can’t take that technology and place it on a street of an emerging economy and expect it to work. In some cases, the road infrastructure isn’t there for the truck

system, or the technical support isn’t there to maintain the technology. And, frankly, it’s not affordable. So what we did was look at how we can strip out features, while maintaining quality, to get to an affordable price, an entry-tier price for markets that need it the most. That’s exactly what we’ve done with Citifresh.

It’s meant for small trucks. It cools to one point only – four degrees C – which is kind of the sweet spot to maintain fruits and vegetables.

Broadly, though, the reason we wrote the book was to connect food waste to climate change. The embodied carbon in the food we throw away is 3.3 billion metric tonnes, or if we measured it as a country, food waste would be the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

But you never hear the term ‘food waste’ in any climate policy debate, and that’s what we are trying to change.

The United Nations wants to create a USD 100 billion Green Climate Fund to help emerging economies mitigate climate change. They already have about USD

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Q&A

Cold chain

Food Refrigeration

Where else in society do we tolerate 40% inefficiency in anything?

10 billion. They want to get to USD 100 billion by 2020. Today, if you’re the prime minister of a country and you want access to that fund, you can change your power plants, put more low-emission vehicles on the road, build Green Buildings. And all those things are important, but the question we are asking in the book is: Why isn’t mitigating food waste on the list?

Because as a climate policy, it would be the only one that can save greenhouse gases, feed more people, save water and promote food security. If mitigating food waste were accepted as a climate mitigation strategy, it would unlock policies and unlock resources to help small farmers in places like India, Africa and China find ways and access capital to do something to save more food, so we can feed more people.

Have you looked at methane emissions from landfills?

Well, we’re hoping that the food never makes it to the landfill. But that’s a big issue. In the United States, food is the second largest item in our landfills, and in some service-based economies like Hong Kong or Singapore, food is the number one item in theirs. It’s ridiculous – that’s the scale of the food we throw away.

It’s hard to imagine a more inefficient system, and it’s for the most critical resource we need to sustain the human race. We question: Where else in society do we tolerate 40% inefficiency in anything?

If we went to the Abu Dhabi airport today, and only six out of every 10 planes arrived, we would go crazy. Yet, we tolerate 40% food inefficiency, and I think it’s because we don’t understand the scale and the consequences. And so we think that there’s

tremendous opportunity to address that inefficiency and avoid throwing food into landfills, in the first place, and avoid creating methane emissions.

In reporting about the transport refrigeration industry, we often hear stories about a disconnect among its players and of systems not working properly, because mistakes were made along the way. You may have the condenser unit, for instance, but then you’ll also have a body builder who, due to lack of supervision, messes the interlocking of panels. What is the extent of your purview?

We do a very good job of making the systems very self-contained, so we preserve the quality of the machine itself. When it works right, it works beautifully, because we get to preserve food and move it from point A to point B, allowing us to feed more people.

The most sensitive foods are fruits and vegetables. In places like India, 50% of fruits and vegetables are lost before they reach the consumers, yet those are the essential elements that we need in our diets because of their nutritional value, so refrigeration not only extends our food supply, but it also extends the right food supply so that we can have balanced nutrition and improve people’s health. Not only do we feed them, but we also feed them right.

HAVE YOUR SAY!

We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com

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IEQ IN HEALTHCARE A Climate Control Middle East editorial campaign

January 2016

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IEQ in

HEALTHCARE Interview

The real cost of downtime in hospitals – human lives Syed Mahmood Akhter, Manager of MEP & Communication Engineering and Construction Services for the New Jeddah International Airport at M/S Builders and Contracting, talks about the challenges facing the healthcare industry from an MEP perspective. He also offers suggestions on how facility owners can ensure that they get true value for their money.

By Fatima de la Cerna | Assistant Editor

W

hile speaking at a healthcare facility planning and management event organised by Informa Middle East in Dubai, UAE, last year, Syed Mahmood Akhter – then an MEP Consultant and a Functional Manager at Zuhair Fayez Partnership Consultants – recounted a meeting with a client, who put forward the following request: “Don’t design me something I can’t build, and don’t build me something I can’t maintain.” The request left such an impression on Akhter that he has grown to regard it as the best piece of advice he has ever received in his professional life, and has even used it as the title of his presentation at the event.

Building on the client’s statement, Akhter shared figures he said proved how costly downtime in hospitals can be, and how the problem can, in the end, be traced to flawed MEP design and maintenance.

“In the United States, hospitals lose close to USD 2 billion a year because of downtime, with the highest cost for a single instance amounting to nearly USD 1.8 million,” he said, and explained, “Almost two out of five global healthcare organisations have experienced an unplanned outage in the past 12 months at a cost of USD 400,000 per incident.” Such outages, he noted, also lead to data centre losses and security breaches, and revealed: “Nearly one in five of global healthcare organisations have suffered security breaches, at a cost of USD 800,000 per incident. And nearly one in three of global healthcare organisations have experienced data loss in the past 12 months, at a total cost of nearly USD 1 million per incident.”

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While they are huge numbers, Akhter pointed out that they weren’t the biggest concern when it came to the issue of downtime in hospitals. “They are just dollar amounts,” he said. “If we don’t avoid downtimes, they can result in something worse than monetary loss.

They can cost lives. And that ought to tell you how critical MEP is.”

Pointing out that, in construction, 45% of the overall cost was MEP, Akhter said: “It’s the single largest block of cost, and this block determines the patients’ comfort and satisfaction and determines the physician’s preference to use your

Hospital rankings, from cancer to urology centres, are determined by their structures, processes and outcomes facility. If the physician decided against using it, then of course, no patient would come to your hospital. So, it affects your bottom line and affects your ranking.

Hospital rankings, from cancer to urology centres, are determined by their structures, processes and outcomes.”

Drawing from his own professional experience, Akhter identified various examples of causes of downtime, including non-compliance of design codes – breakers and electrical panels exposed

Complex systems are not the answer On the sidelines of Informa Middle East’s Building Healthcare Exhibition and Conferences, Syed Mahmood Akhter shared with Climate Control Middle East his insights on, among other things, the mega healthcare projects in Saudi Arabia and the concept of value engineering. Here are excerpts from the interview...

As someone coming from the MEP sector, where would you say is the Middle East’s healthcare industry at the moment?

I think, technology-wise, the healthcare industry has come a long way, especially when compared to how it was when I designed my first healthcare facility in Riyadh, back in 1987, if I remember correctly. We did not have these many choices when it came to technological solutions available. People had to go outside the region to seek help.

The question is: Is the team of engineers keeping itself updated on the latest trend, the latest technology? How about the latest skills for problem solving? I think what we need to do is to understand what works and what does not work. We don’t have to design the same thing that our fathers designed 30 years ago. We need to do it better, and to do it better, we need to educate ourselves.

We have come a long way, yes, but we still have more distance to cover to make the region comparable to the West, in terms of standards.

The observations you shared during your presentation – MEP elements and HVAC equipment failing as a result of poor design – are quite worrying, in terms of their impact on IEQ, particularly in the areas of thermal comfort and air quality.

Would you say that they reflect the current general scenario in the region?

I am not sure if they do reflect the whole scenario. I only know what I am exposed to, which are projects designed a long time ago that lack the required solutions and features. And if they are lacking, it becomes a problem for the hundreds of patients who move in and out of these healthcare facilities, a problem for the physicians working there, who might not understand why their patients are not getting better or are falling even more ill.

I think that owners of hospitals need to take a hard look at why we have this problem. All hospitals have a way of measuring their performance and their patients’ comfort – of measuring the patients themselves. Are they repeatedly coming or are they new patients? Owners need to take a serious look at their infrastructure. Have they been designed to meet the latest code or not? If they are, have the design specifications been executed or followed?

Often, people in the construction industry go into the business of what we call ‘value engineering’, and many of them have taken to equating value engineering with cutting down the costs, no matter what. How can there be value in reducing ventilation, in removing fresh air? I think value engineering ideas must go through and be approved by designers.

You have been involved in a couple of mega healthcare projects in Saudi Arabia – one being a 4,000-bed medical city. Do you think the current codes and standards being followed by the region’s healthcare industry will be sufficient to address design, operations and maintenance issues for such large projects?

These mega projects in Saudi Arabia are in a league of their own. We have not seen a 4,000-bed project designed before.

In the United States, a 1,500-bed is the fourth largest hospital in the country, but that 1,500-bed hospital grew to that size in time. It’s around a hundred years old.

These mega projects are in a totally different level. The codes apply but only to a certain point. You need to take the codes and extract from them, draft questions, go back to authorities and ask for interpretations. So I think the codes and standards do address the issues, but the question is – to what extent? It’s a critical question, because these projects are new to the whole world. The United States doesn’t have anything like a 4,000-bed facility. There are campuses that have 1,000 beds or 1,500, but they reached those numbers over time.

They weren’t designed that way in the beginning.

But I think the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health will surely do a good job in selecting the engineers and making sure that they are qualified, are updated on the latest industry standards and are prepared to address potential problems of these mega hospitals, because these projects have very different, very complex requirements. So we need engineers who understand problems that may arise during operation. Engineers need to have a vision of what may go wrong. What can go wrong shall go wrong – that’s the theory, right? Therefore, what can go wrong must be addressed from the start, instead of being buried under system after system after system. Complex systems are not always the solution – they perhaps generate more issues than they resolve. What is really important in design is its maintainability. It is crucial to the safety, health and comfort of patients.

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HEALTHCARE Interview

The costs of proactive solutions are nowhere close to the costs incurred as a result of poor design to water, for example – and improperly designed mechanical rooms resulting in roof-mounted chillers malfunctioning due to leakages or burnt compressors. He recounted that in one particular case, he was shocked to discover that a technician, in trying to fix malfunctioning chillers, had installed air coolers to blow cold air on the equipment.

He further reported that in many instances, chillers are housed in temporary roofed structures to minimise direct exposure to the sun, with car radiators surrounding them to reduce ambient temperature, but that these structures, while intended to be temporary, go for many years without being replaced, repaired or even maintained.

Lack of maintenance could be a result of various factors, but one that he has often encountered is – again – poor design, Akhter revealed. “I’ve seen switches hidden behind pipes and non-weather-proof cable trays, creating potentially hazardous conditions,” he said. “I’ve also seen corridor passages that are too narrow or too low to allow access. In some facilities, catwalks are not available, making it hard for maintenance personnel to access critical valves or expansion joints, which do develop leaks. And lack of access for maintenance means higher risk of

downtime and higher operating expenses or even huge replacement costs.”

To avoid downtimes and their resulting costs, he recommended going back to the advice he received from the client, with an added injunction: “Don’t develop a design that can’t be built and don’t build a facility that can’t be maintained, because when you do, it’s as good as robbing the client, as good as robbing the patients.”

Citing from his experience, Akhter narrated: “I was once approached by a client for a project, and during a meeting with the team, they showed me pictures and I asked: Where are my electrical and mechanical rooms? And the constant answer that I got from the architects was that they would figure it out afterwards.

I said, ‘What do you mean you’ll figure it out afterwards? That’s 45% of the cost.

Why don’t you figure it out now?’ I know why, of course, because that’s how they approach a project. They want buildings to look beautiful.”

Though Akhter said he understood where they were coming from, he believed that MEP issues need to be addressed up front, and this, he stressed, can only be done if players changed their attitude.

“Start with your approach to building your healthcare facility,” was Akhter’s advice. He elaborated: “The costs of proactive solutions are nowhere close to the costs incurred as a result of poor design. Everything should be in proportion, right? The cost of our fee is in proportion to the cost of construction.

It’s this simple: I’m not asking you to raise your cost; I’m asking that you have a different attitude. Go and select the architect. Go and select the engineer.

When you select the engineers, ask them beforehand what they plan to do; what problems they’ve had and what they did to resolve them. And remember, cheaper is not always the best choice. Bigger is also not always the best choice. Size matters, yes, but what matters more is the quality of the people working with and for you. Hire the MEP contractors separately.

Don’t be victims of flawed design and inferior workmanship.”

HAVE YOUR SAY!

We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com

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January 2016

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The problem we face is challenges in credit OWING TO the rumble in the market, with leading contractors having issues with payments and losses

the big hope The Big 5 2015 had around 3,000 exhibitors from across the globe, a few of whom revealed that despite the current market slowdown, there still lingers a sense of optimism and hope for the year ahead. Rajiv Pillai brings the report.

Cyrus Chan

Neil Kirkpatrick

T

he Big 5 International Building and Construction Show which ran from November 23 to 26 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, highlighted the latest products and trends in the building and construction industry, and drew around 85,000 visitors. Topping the list were visitors from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt and Pakistan.

A report, titled “GCC Construction Industry – Trends and Challenges for 2015” said that the value of the contracts awarded at the show in the GCC region could reach over USD 194 billion, which is USD 2 billion less than the year before.

However, lower oil prices meant that building materials and transport costs would fall as well, which would translate into more construction activities.

One of the major sectors that stood out at the four-day event was the HVAC industry. Several exhibitors in the HVAC-dedicated hall reported a marked increase in visitor numbers and business activity compared to previous years.

How’s the show?

Cyrus Chan, Manager at Chinaheadquartered AMX said that the event had an overwhelming response. “In this fair, we have

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Julien Soulet

gotten a lot of enquiries from specialised people in the HVAC sector,” he claimed, and added, “We have got products for outdoor cooling and indoor ventilation.

For outdoor cooling, the product is very unique and works well for high-ambient conditions, such as in the Middle East.”

Ashfaq Kapda, too, thought that the event was positive on the whole. “We have been participating for more than five years,” he said. “The relation is old, and I have seen the show growing every year.” Kapda is the Marketing Analyst at KIMMCO, which also had a couple of product launches at the event.

Lisa Thompson, Export Commercial Sales Manager at Proctor Group, said that although it was costly to exhibit at The Big 5, all one needed was one or two good enquiries to make it worthwhile. She explained: “We’ve got a lot of good contacts that we are going to follow up with, and again, it’s just given us more contacts – it’s getting our name out there; it’s getting our brand out there. And that’s all we need.”

Neil Kirkpatrick, Business Unit Manager at Eurobond, a company which has been dealing in composite panel design for the last 30 years, conceded that it was a bit quiet at the beginning, but was getting busy. “There have been a

Darius Khanloo

few architects who are looking for our fire-rated products,” he said.

Honeywell, too, had stalls at the show, where it announced the launch of a new authentication technology to fight counterfeit refrigerants in the Middle East market. “We have launched a new counterfeit feature by including barcodes on our Honeywell Genetron R-134a cylinders,” Julien Soulet, Managing Director at Honeywell Fluorine Products, EMEAI,” elaborated. “People can scan the barcode, and it will direct them to the Honeywell Web site.

And this will tell them that it’s a genuine product.”

Another exhibitor at the event was Darius Khanloo, Managing Director at Hormann Middle East, who revealed that Hormann had opened a new facility in the Middle East. “We are launching our own production and assembly facility over here,” he informed.

“We launched a new local production and assembly of highspeed doors, and now due to the fact that we have a new building and more space, we can serve the market a little bit better.”

Turkey, which had one of the largest pavilions at the event, was a key sponsor, showcasing the country’s construction sector.

France, too, was among the other countries that exhibited at the event. A conversation

Vianney Meynier

SP Sarangan

Gerrit-Jan Baars

Sanjiv Sachdeva

23 - 26 November 2015 dubai world trade centre

Other views at the event SP Sarangan, Division Manager, Trosten: “In comparison to the last six months of 2014, we have seen 150% increase in business volumes. I see lot of smart investors looking at opportunities when prices are low (steel prices are low), so there is a 30-40% savings on total project construction costs. There is a rush in completing jobs related to schools and hotels. Also, let’s not forget the 25% reduction in copper prices. So, those who have got the money would build now. This is happening in the UAE market.

“Qatar has its 2022 World Cup, so definitely there is interest there.

Qatar will perform at a normal pace, because it is not as affected by the oil price slump. I see infrastructure projects and commercial projects taking place simultaneously. And in Saudi Arabia, I see government-funded projects. However, the pace in Qatar and Saudi Arabia is slow when compared to Dubai.

“Manufacturing-wise, we have orders for the next six months. We have doubled our manufacturing capacity and ramped up our R&D. We will set up a third plant in Q4 2016, which will be commissioned in Q2 2017. We are adding new territories. And if Saudi Arabia adds to the orders, then H2 2016 will be good. Our business model is not dependent on one territory.”

Gerrit-Jan Baars, CEO, Thermaflex International “The Middle East, for us, is a very interesting challenge, and with the region looking at cutting [energy] subsidies, I see a shift happening in the market. But it’s a different case in Europe. Our experience there has made me realise that subsidies can really help, at least in the beginning, to create awareness and for people to see the advantages of making different choices, especially in terms of sustainability.

If choices are mainly financially driven and don’t come with the awareness of the true reason for sustainability, which is basically to create a better, more sustainable world with buildings that have a lifetime that go beyond our personal use, then stopping subsidies would stop the development of sustainability. In Europe, before the [economic] crisis, national governments were subsidising certain renewable energy drives and sustainability drives. Due to the crisis, however, a lot of governments have stopped the subsidies, and you can see renewable energy drives coming to a halt. Germany, for instance, was doing a great job on developing renewable energy, increasing the percentage from five to more than 20% in 10 years.

And it did this with solar, biomass and biogas. The moment the subsidies stopped, all projects were immediately completed, and no new projects have been started. So that is one use of subsidies.

They can get something started. They can create economies of scale and push sustainable development. But if people are only driven by financial motivation, the whole scheme won’t work.

“This is why I am so glad to see that here at The Big 5, several conferences and lectures are giving much attention to topics on sustainability, because they are creating much-needed awareness.

I see it as a positive development that there are programmes dedicated to educating the market and the stakeholders on the importance of sustainable development and its related aspects.”

Sanjiv Sachdeva, Managing Director, Gulf Engineering System Solutions: “As a supplier, we will feel the heat of the slowdown in Q3 2016. H2 2016 would be critical and a real testing time. Projects started in 2014 will be issuing their purchases.

“Strategies to overcome the challenge would be to look for additional markets; therefore, we are exploring a bit of the African region, as it is not affected by the oil prices. Energy performance and retrofit opportunities present another option. We have already undertaken projects for DP World HQ. Old buildings need renovation.

At DP World, we are replacing three-way valves with two-way valves, and are also installing energy recovery systems and VFDs to get better efficiency from the chillers. That way, we are getting greater output from the same system at a lower cost. Thus, we are no longer just a trading company.”

Lisa Thompson (third from left), Commercial Sales Manager for Export at Proctor Group

with Vianney Meynier, Head of Department, Industries and CleanTech division, Business France, indicated that the event was quite successful. “The Big 5 is very popular among the French companies,” he said. “We have had a record number of over 50 exhibitors, out of which 50% are newcomers. There is quite a strong turnover, which is positive.”

How’s the market?

Ajith Abraham, Divisional ManagerHVAC Accessories at Leminar, answered this by saying that his company had not encountered a slowdown yet, as far as its productline was concerned. “We see that Dubai seems to be growing, and in a steady manner,” he said. “Every project seems to be moving on track, and there is a conscious effort to push down the prices.”

However, Meynier felt otherwise.

He said: “The economy is fuelled by public spending. And public spending is supported by oil and gas revenues. So the government has less money to spend. Budgets are smaller and mega projects are being slowed down.” However, he believed that the projects were still there, and that several mega projects were being delivered.

Abraham thought that the trick to tackle such economic crises and uncertainties was to balance the credit. “Our objective is to build a good pipeline,” he said. “The market might pick up, I hope. I think it’s a matter of balancing your credit as well. See, the problem we face is challenges in credit because of the rumble in the market, with leading contractors having issues with payments and losses. I think it’s about managing your credit. And it's about ensuring you have a good stock, which we do have.”

How’s the future?

Indications were that many

companies were already planning for the year ahead. “We are already seeing projects in Saudi, Oman and Doha,” said Thompson. “So it’s just showing that being based here will serve as an excellent hub to spread farther in the Middle East.”

Khanloo, revealing Hormann’s plans, said: “We started in 2008 in the Middle East and paved our way into the GCC countries. Over the last years, we’ve increased our foothold in the Middle East by going into Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran. We are also increasing out foothold by handling East and South Africa from here. Therefore, our main intention of having a new building was not only to have new products but also to increase our staff to serve the market.”

Abraham, on his part, said: “I don’t see 2016 to be a bad year.

It’s going to be a challenging year.

And I think distributors like us have to be prepared for it.”

Another exhibitor at the event, Mohsin Moin, Business Development Manager at Rubber World, said: “The market works seasonally. For example, for eight months, there will be a peak season.

After that, the remaining months, from November to February, cannot be considered as a peak season.”

Moin claimed that Rubber World is focused on the entire Gulf region as a measure for tackling economic uncertainties. “We don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket,” he admitted. “We have a diversified portfolio. Mega events like Expo 2020 and 2022 FIFA World Cup are actually driving the market.”

Overall, opinions at The Big 5 2015, revealed that despite the shadow of economic crisis hovering over the world, the future for the Middle East was positive and hopeful. However, the question which remained unanswered was the state of the market as a whole, especially the outlook for 2016, in the wake of an economic slowdown.

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Q&A

net-ZERO-energy buildings

The power of Zero The SABIC Home of Innovation Demonstration Home and Collaboration Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is the first project in the GCC region to achieve LEED Platinum and Net Zero status. Mario Seneviratne, the Managing Director of UAE-headquartered Green Technologies, which was the LEED Consultant of the project, describes to B Surendar of Climate Control Middle East how it can be the harbinger of a revolution in the region Is the market ready for net-zero-energy buildings? Broadly speaking, do sustainable, high-performance buildings stack up well against the backdrop of the slump in oil prices and the overall general mood in the GCC region?

Net-zero-energy buildings come back in a very positive way to sustainable development, because sustainability at its core is about reducing carbon emissions and wastage. The climate is getting affected, and the primary cause is emissions, and the primary cause of emissions is the burning of fossil fuels. Green Buildings present themselves as a holistic solution, and if you look at it deeply, it should be business as usual. The drop in oil prices is likely to sustain a lowincome regimen, so you have to reduce opex. In hotels, heating, lighting and power (HLP) account for a large share of the expenses, with

10% of the cost of operating a hotel going towards energy consumption.

So reducing energy and water is paramount, and will have a positive effect on the bottom line. If someone thought of Green Buildings 10 years ago, he is going to reap the benefit now in this time of economic contraction. So the Green Building movement is about future thinking, and you can save when the price of oil goes down and the impact it has on the economy.

And about my question on netzero-energy buildings?

Today, everyone is talking of netzero-energy buildings. The thinking is that we have achieved Green Buildings, so now let’s focus on net-zero-energy buildings. The fundamental purpose of net-zeroenergy buildings is to reduce energy consumption by ASHRAE less 60-70%.

Net-zero-energy buildings are about PV, or any energy-generating

If you reduce 100kW demand by 40% by doing good engineering and a good envelop, you will need to incorporate only 40kW of PV

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What’s inside the Home?

The Home of Innovation Demonstration Home at the Home of Innovation campus at Riyadh Techno Valley at King Saud University, purportedly showcases the latest commercially available technologies yielding net-zero-energy use, water conservation and environmentally responsible building materials. Following are a few of its sustainable features: •Conditioning of the Home, as well as water heating and other energy-using systems are controlled by a computer-based building management system, which gives precise control, immediate response to demand changes and real-time tracking of all variables and performance.

•Two high-efficiency central heat pump systems are augmented by a VRF system with seven mini-splits.

•Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) exterior walls and roof provide enhanced insulation values and a thermally massive structure to resist outdoor temperature swings.

•High-performance insulated windows feature solar heat gain coefficient, reflecting most infrared radiation heat away from the interior, while permitting visible light entry.

•Air infiltration is reduced significantly and controlled at a low 1.6 air changes per hour (ACH), providing plenty of clean fresh air for occupants.

•A home energy recovery ventilator (ERV) provides tempered fresh air, while further reducing the cooling load.

•It is equipped with a solar hot water system.

•Rainwater harvesting system collects 100% of runoff from roof to water landscaping.

•It features low/no-VOC paints, adhesives and sealants and hard flooring throughout the home.

•It is equipped with allergen-reducing MERV 13 air filters.

•Highly reflective driveway and walks reduce heat island effects.

The SABIC project is certified as LEED Platinum. It has been designed by Stantec, who are the MEP consultants, with Abacus as the consortium leader and Green Technologies as the LEED consultant.

mechanism, within the footprint of the building. The easiest way to have a net-zero-energy building is to put a farm of PV next to it; however, it is going to be prohibitively expensive, given the cost of land and the cost of PV. If 100kW is the demand-profile of a building, you need 100kW of PV, or more. If you reduce 100kW

demand by 40% by doing good engineering and a good envelop, you will need to incorporate only 40kW of PV. Good engineering and good architecture will lead to low solar exposure and reduce the peak demand of air conditioning. It’s a two-way approach; and at the end of it, you will have a net-zeroenergy building.

But wouldn’t a good building envelop affect the indoor environmental quality (IEQ)?

If you have a leaking building envelop, you have unconditioned air leaking in, and in the GCC region, which is generally characterised by humidity, it will lead to condensation. A controlled opening is okay, as it is bringing in the air through a treated air system. While I was in university in 1983, we were designing tiles for a spacecraft. We kept a tile in the oven for a week, which resulted in a temperature of 3,000 degrees C. We pulled it out and kept it on a ceramic table for the tile to cool. The outside of the tile became cool, but the inside still remained at 3,000 degrees C, owing to the insulation. So if you have proper insulation, you can achieve the desired temperature. U-value is very important.

The net-zero-energy building we have built in Saudi Arabia has a higher insulation. Truly, insulation is a key aspect to avoid heat gain. Also, avoid glass in the west elevation, and if you do have to have glass, take out the peak. In net-zero-energy buildings, you have to avoid peaks.

For 22 hours in a day, the equipment is idling and is there only to handle peak, so there is an opportunity to reduce costs.

In Saudi Arabia, the peak is 20-25% higher than what we normally experience. So the strategy is to avoid peak and reduce ASHRAE less 70%. As Green Technologies,

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Q&A

net-ZERO-energy buildingS

We had PV on the project, and payback on PV depends on the buy-in tariff of the utility company

we did the energy modelling for the project. It is the first net-zero-energy building in Saudi Arabia, if I am not mistaken. And it can be replicated across the country.

It has very high energy-efficient air conditioning and very high insulation. Its HVAC system is very precisely sized, and it has heat recovery on the ventilation part, solar water heater, grey-water recycling and PV on the roof.

If Saudi Arabia were to enable individual houses to connect to the grid, would the SABIC project be able to feed power to the grid?

The home is designed for public viewing. The lighting is heavily oversized to meet the demonstration need, so the PV on the roof was not enough. By virtue of being a demonstration home, it would attract 30-40 people at any point in time, so it is 30-40% oversized to meet the heavy traffic. If it were to house 3-5 occupants, it would have been sized with PV on its own roof.

Did it cost more to build the house?

Yes, it did, because it was a demonstration project. It has a different type of insulation system.

If the system becomes a norm in

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the market, it should not cost more, because the economy of scale of the insulation system would kick in. Yes, we selected some highefficiency Carrier machines, but they were normal ones picked up from a production line, as opposed to customised systems. And we had heat recovery for the villa. We had PV on the project, and payback on PV depends on the buy-in tariff of the utility company; and it anticipates that the cost of electricity will go up. So in that regard, it is a futuristic project.

But we have to put things in perspective. A Tesla car costs over USD 90,000, but people are buying it, because there are no fuel costs involved and you have fewer mechanical parts. So please don’t go down the road of asking if it would be more expensive to construct.

Deregulation of energy is happening in the region, so we can’t look at first cost.

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BUILDING INSULATION

U-Value assessment – getting value for money Stressing that there is a need to measure building elements empirically to obtain reliable and precise data on U-Values, Dr Holger Hendrichs shows the difference between calculated and measured U-Values.

Introduction

U-Value is the measurement unit used for assessing the heat loss of a building element.

U-Values describe how much heat (measured in watts) passes through one square metre of a given material when the temperature difference between the two sides of the element is one degree C. The lower the U-Value, the better the insulation quality of the building element. In the UAE, a common method is to calculate the U-Value based on the historical and assumed values of the insulation quality of different materials used.

The local scenario

Each day, a large amount of energy is spent in the UAE to cool buildings. A large proportion of existing buildings have below-standard insulation, leading to highenergy wastage, which results in substantial financial burden to building owners and occupants.

In order to optimise insulation, the quality of the insulation has to be assessed.

Precise data on insulation quality of building elements contributes to more accurate determination of existing conditions, justification of investments and validation of completed improvements.

Buildings have not only become more and more energy efficient over time

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December 2015

but also the documentation regarding construction details and materials has improved. For many of the buildings constructed in the last decades, this data is available, allowing for precise theoretical calculation of the thermal properties, such as

Precise data on insulation quality of building elements contributes to more accurate determination of existing conditions, justification of investments and validation of completed improvements the U-Value. The problem with these calculations is that the value in practice might be significantly different. Certain kinds of foam insulation, widely used in the first lot of buildings in the region tend to deteriorate due to displacement of gas or infiltration of moisture. Also, the U-Value of newer buildings insulated with

mineral wool might be worse, in reality, due to damage, increase of moisture or poor installation methods.

Therefore, there is a need to measure building elements empirically in order to obtain reliable and precise data on up-to-date U-Values at a specific location. The U-Value can be precisely calculated by measuring the heat flux along with the inside and outside temperatures. A temperature difference of five degrees C is sufficient for a precise U-Value measurement. The heat flux method is described in ISO norm 9869.

Summary

In the UAE, determining U-Values will play a big role in the construction of new buildings. Dubai’s Green Building regulations and specifications and Abu Dhabi’s Pearl Rating System define minimum U-Values for different building elements. Currently, the standard procedure to verify these regulations is met by providing a calculation.

However, as the example in the case study shows (see opposite page), these values could differ greatly from reality. In the end, the main goal should be to assess the real U-Value to know which improvements contribute positively to the overall energy efficiency of the building.

By only relying on building characteristics, one could get a wrong understanding of the thermal performance of a building

explanation could be that some mistakes had been made in the initial installation of the insulation. Lastly, the data used in the calculations was based on hand-drawings from the facility manager of Technopark.

The material mentioned by the facility manager had to be matched to the materials listed in the u-wert.net database.

Also, during these processes errors or inaccuracies might have occurred. A thorough analysis was required to find out what the exact reason was for the higher-than-estimated U-Value.

Conclusion

In summary, it can be stated that a successful measurement was conducted in line with the ISO 9869. The outcome of the measurement can, therefore, be

Case study

Inaccurate U-Values – in situ assessment identifies differences in calculations The background

A case study was conducted to find out to what extent the U-Value calculated with the construction data deviates from today’s measured value. greenTEG, Switzerland, which has developed a U-Value measurement tool to assess the quality of building insulation, was called in to ascertain the U-Value of an office wall at Technopark, a business and meeting centre in Zürich. The building was built in 1990 according to the highest energy standards and, therefore, reached excellent thermal characteristics for that time.

Method used and findings

A measurement with the U-Value measurement Kit from greenTEG was taken and

compared to the theoretical U-Value calculated through the online model of u-wert. net, using the materials and thicknesses of the wall.

The building had not been renovated since its erection.

The wall was a multi-layered structure (figure 1) built of concrete (180 mm; 1), mineral wool insulation (100 mm; 2), a vented cavity (40 mm; 3) and a gypsum fibreboard (10 mm; 4). The calculated value was 0.31 W/m²K and the measured U-Value was 0.63 W/m²K. The in-situ measured U-Value was more than twice as high as the calculated U-Value. The insulation of the wall was much worse than would be expected from the construction data.

It was hard to determine why the U-Value was so much higher than expected. The insulation quality of mineral glass wool had hardly been influenced by ageing effects.

However, an increase in the moisture content could have led to a significant deterioration of the thermal performance. Another

considered reliable.

Although the material characteristics of the wall were available, the measured in-situ value appeared to be twice as high as the calculated value, indicating that by only relying on building characteristics, one could get a wrong understanding of the thermal performance of a building and the heating costs the office tenant was facing.

Further investigations are required to review if refurbishment could be an interesting option for Technopark.

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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49

Feature

As good as real Called the House Environment Lab, Samsung’s simulation facility, in South Korea, analyses air conditioning performance. Jemyung Moon takes us through the paces of how various parameters like thermal comfort and acoustics are tested there under stringent and real-life conditions.

Introduction In the House Environment Lab, researchers analyse four elements of air conditioning performance: • Temperature • Humidity • Airflow • Air quality (how clean the air is) Simulation of solar radiation and heat on the outdoor unit

The analysis and insight enable Samsung to develop air conditioners that deliver fast and comfortable cooling.

Unlike calorimeters that solely measure the performance of air conditioners, in this facility, researchers are able to evaluate an air conditioner’s thermal comfort performance and track how it functions under real-life operating conditions. For example, as a test of the reliability of outdoor units, the Samsung research team is able to simulate solar radiation by changing the temperature of the outdoor chamber from -30 degrees C to +60 degrees C in order to reflect the wide variation in outdoor temperatures around the globe. Snow simulators also enable researchers to check if the outdoor unit’s fans and motor function efficiently under heavy snow conditions.

These are just two particular simulations

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of many that allow researchers to ensure that the units perform in different market environments – from icecold Finland to hot and humid Dubai.

Overview of the facility Inside the facility, room sizes for indoor unit testing vary from 16.5m² to 122m², with a total of nine different rooms available for testing.

To measure the indoor thermal comfort level, the lab also has a plethora

of sensors – in total, there are 1,890 sensors, which are used to check temperature, humidity, radiation temperature and air-flow speed.

Cooling and heating speed are measured to evaluate how quickly optimum conditions for consumer comfort are achieved in the space, while airflow and cycle controls help optimise this speed for occupants.

In addition, the facility is able to visualise airflows with the help of lasers.

Visualisation of airflow with the help of theatrical fog and lasers

Temperature uniformity tests were conducted on all new products that will be launched this year.

The new 360 Cassette unit is designed to spread the airflow around a wider area. The video that was demonstrated onsite showed that the temperature changed every 20 seconds from the start of operation throughout a 30-minute period at 1.1m above floor level. A further 30 minutes later, it was clear that the area in which the temperature was lower than 26 degrees C – meeting ASHRAE thermal conditions – was five times greater than that of the company’s existing four-way cassette.

Testing in summer weather conditions In some summer conditions, the outdoor units’ temperature reached 43 degrees C, signifying that it was in a state of cooling overload.

In such conditions, the sunlight that was directly falling on the outdoor unit surrounded it, raising its interior temperature by approximately six degrees C. In the home, a total of 1,890 sensors measure indoor temperatures, and the team analyses temperature distribution, average cooling speed, temperature uniformity and the overall thermal comfort of the space.

The output from the biomimetic study is used to reduce noise from air conditioners, using the lab's ability to record and analyse sound as humans do Above floor level Researchers and engineers at Samsung analyse airflow at 1.1m above floor level – the height that has the greatest impact on the occupant’s thermal comfort.

Previously, researchers averaged temperatures every five seconds from sensors located at 60-centimetre intervals to check airflow. But due to the visualisation of airflow via lasers, researchers can now check airflow in real-time to improve the space’s thermal comfort.

To actually visualise the airflow, the House Environment Lab is equipped with laser light sources and haze fluids.

Haze fluids are made from water and ethyl alcohol,

conditions, as noise levels can differ in various climate conditions.

The chambers are equipped with temperature and humidity controls – anywhere from -30 degrees C to +60 degrees C, with a humidity level of up to 95%.

These chambers also enable the research team to analyse sound pressure and sound power to determine the cause of

from air conditioners, using the lab’s ability to record and analyse sound as humans do.

Along with 30 microphones, a digital camera to capture potential noise sources has been installed to locate and analyse noise sources in real-time.

These devices enable researchers to visually identify noise sources even in complex products,

which is harmless to humans. This has been used for years by theatres around the world for stage effects – that is, theatrical smoke and fog.

Anechoic Chamber and Acoustics Lab – noise meets cold and heat The Samsung noise and vibration lab is where Samsung researchers examine noise and vibration from air conditioners. On the tour, two of the five anechoic chambers, where noise levels of both indoor and outdoor units are simultaneously measured, were introduced. Unlike standard anechoic facilities, the chamber can simulate a range of temperature and humidity

Anechoic Chamber measuring the noise level of a Samsung outdoor unit

Example of an acoustic camera showing the source of a hand-clap sound on screen in real-time

abnormal noises from the units. The unique Anechoic Chamber Number 5 can host an outdoor unit as well as three indoor units simultaneously, enabling engineers and researchers to study noises from different combinations of indoor units in operation when multiple air conditioning systems are installed. In addition, acoustic cameras are placed to identify the source of noise in real-time.

Listen to and see the sound The acoustics lab can replicate a real-life environment where air conditioners are actually used. Biomimetic technology (head and torso simulator) is used here. Unlike standard microphones, these microphones are placed near the eardrums of the figure representing a human face to record noise as sound travels through the auricle and auditory pit. The output from the biomimetic study is used to reduce noise

Samsung's High-head Calorimeter Building in Suwon, South Korea

such as DVM outdoor units, helping to diagnose and troubleshoot noise issues.

High-head Calorimeter Building The Samsung High-head Calorimeter Building measures the performance of air conditioners and tests their reliability. Its floor height is higher than that of an average building – equivalent in height to a 15-storey building.

This building was designed and constructed solely for air conditioning

January 2016

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Feature

An inside view of the High-head Calorimeter Building lab set at -25 degrees C

research activities, and houses various labs for different testing. Individual labs are connected via pipes that have been pre-installed to replicate environments as close to reality as possible.

In these labs, researchers can test up to 50HP and adjust temperatures from -30 degrees C to +60 degrees C. In addition, the worst possible installation conditions can be simulated by connecting multiple labs.

Refrigerants used for air conditioners are very effective oil cleaners, and, therefore, oil is dissolved in the refrigerants that are circulating in the air conditioning system. In fact, many air conditioners for large buildings are often installed on the roof, which is why vertical piping is in place. This slows down the flow-rate of refrigerants and makes it difficult to retrieve oil. But compressors, which lie at the heart of air conditioners need a certain amount of oil. So it is important to maintain specific oil levels to ensure the system’s reliability.

To test an air conditioner’s reliability in different installation environments, a variety of temperature and

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January 2016

pressure sensors, as well as oil level gauges, have been installed.

The lab in the image above is connected to a lab on the first floor, and via a CCTV system, researchers are able to monitor and conduct tests remotely.

The screen also allows researchers to monitor oil levels of outdoor units installed elsewhere, and provide an intuitive view of temperatures and data of other labs.

The company also tests an air conditioner’s defrosting performance in the bitter cold to ensure that the unit can function correctly and efficiently under extreme conditions, which can hinder heat exchange.

In winter, outdoor units become frosty, and any imbalance in refrigerant distribution can damage the heat exchanger, which can impact performance.

To avoid this issue, the company uses thermal imaging cameras to check the state of the heat exchangers and optimise refrigerant distribution.

The company uses different pipes, depending on the air conditioner’s capacity. To test a wide

range of air conditioners, from home air conditioning units to large-capacity commercial systems, the company has preinstalled the pipes in the lab. There are more than three kilometres of piping surrounding the House Environment Lab. In the past, the company had made separate jigs for long pipes, but it was difficult to maintain them.

It was also a challenge to make and move jigs for pipes of different sizes. But now, the lab has access to a wide range of different pipe installations to test long pipes readily and quickly.

The lab can test pipes up to 220m long, in 50m units, giving the flexibility needed for different installation requirements.

The writer is Senior Vice President of Air Conditioning R&D Group, Digital Appliances Business, Samsung Electronics.

He can be contacted at jimy.moon@samsung.com 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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globally recognised leader in District Energy, cogeneration, tri-generation and combined heat & power (CHP) technologies, DC PRO Engineering has well-established credentials as the dominant player in the UAE, as well as in the regional District Cooling sector.

With services including engineering design, consulting and project management, DC PRO Engineering is targeting 2016 as the year to stamp its strong market position as a renowned sustainability leader in innovative and superior Green Building MEP design.

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DC PRO’s push for a larger share of the Green Building sector comes after the UAE-based firm’s fourth consecutive award for Best District Cooling Consultancy Company at the Climate Control Awards 2015. The coveted regional recognition follow multiple accolades in the international arena.

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January 2016

and implementation of an inter-connected approach across its projects, DC PRO continues its commitment to implement new and innovative District Cooling technologies that address global warming and climate change concerns. This has paid rich dividends in the form of the company earning its second consecutive District Cooling Consultant of the Year in 2015 award at the 4th Asia Pacific District Cooling Conference held in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Making a mark

After posting record sales and profits of 43% and 73% respectively in 2015, DC PRO’s five-year growth strategy aims for a fivefold increase in annual turnover by 2020.

With a project portfolio featuring an assortment of the GCC’s most headlinegrabbing mega projects,

George Berbari, CEO of DC PRO Engineering

Fouad Younan, Managing Director of DC PRO Engineering

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report

The DC report card Energy efficiency and construction boom will drive the District Cooling market in the GCC region, hint market leaders. Rajiv Pillai collates their views in a bid to understand the outlook for the sector.

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ccording to a report titled, “District Cooling Market by Application (Commercial, Residential, Industrial, and Others) – Global Trends & Forecasts to 2019”, the District Cooling market size in terms of value is projected to reach USD 29 billion globally by 2019, at a CAGR of 11.4% from 2014 to 2019. The report also reveals that the District Cooling market is mainly driven by the perceived efficiency of the technology, which results in enhanced reliability and less water and energy usage and reduction in environmental degradation.

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) region is reported to be the fastestgrowing market due to rapid growth in real estate and commercial sectors, which are marked by increasing demand for power and cooling during peak hours.

The Asia-Pacific region is tipped to be the upcoming potential market

due to emerging economies, such as China and India, where a large number of infrastructure activities are lined up. The leading players in the market, according to the report, include, Emicool (UAE), Empower (UAE), LOGSTOR (Denmark), Ramboll (Denmark), Tabreed (UAE), Stellar Energy (United States) and ADC Energy Systems (UAE), along with Shinryo Corporation (Japan) and Keppel DHCS (Singapore) as the leading players in the Asia-Pacific region.

Issues, such as inaccurate estimation of cooling demand and incoherent cost recovery models are the drawbacks observed in the sector, which need to be addressed as a priority to boost the market, the report highlights. Despite this, the numbers reveal that District Cooling is here to stay. But how are major players in the GCC region coping with and reacting to the demand and growth? A quick review from a few key players across the region tells the story.

In Qatar

Ahmad Bin Shafar

Yasser Salah Al Jaidah

In Dubai

We aspire to see the District Cooling industry in the Kingdom as big and mature as that of the UAE and Qatar in the coming decade

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December 2015

Kamal Pharran

In an end-February 2015 interview, Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower, revealing the company’s position and plans for District Cooling to Climate Control Middle East, said: “We know our business direction for the next seven years. We control 70% of Dubai, and we need another 30% of control. We are the cheapest. Our competitors charge more than us. We are studying to acquire more.”

Empower has an AED 750 million agreement with TECOM Investments to provide the Dubai Design District (d3) with 120,000 TR of District Cooling services, which signifies a 12% capacity addition to Empower’s network. Bin Shafar elaborated that the company also had a retrofitting agreement with the Jumeirah Group, under which, Empower will convert the existing systems of properties like Emirates Towers, Burj-Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the Madinat Jumeirah to District Cooling.

“By 2018, we shall reach the two million TR capacity mark,” said Bin Shafar.

“Currently, we are 950,000 TR short.

More acquisitions will definitely make it happen. We are predicting a 20% growth in 2016. Five new plants are already under construction.”

“In Qatar, perhaps the need for energy preservation is not immediately obvious, but it may be in the future,” said Yasser Salah Al Jaidah, CEO of Qatar Cool, in an interview with the Qatari publication, The Edge (Environ Supplement). He added: “Responsible energy consumption is our responsibility to the world at large, to Qatar, and to our future generations.

District Cooling significantly reduces energy consumption when compared to conventional cooling, while using sustainable resources and solutions, such as treated sewage effluent as an alternative to potable water, which is a scarce natural resource. It begins with educating our youth in our schools, and supporting these initiatives in our homes and in our workplaces.”

In another interview with Business Class, an Arabic magazine, Al Jaidah highlighted that many District Cooling systems had been implemented around the capital city of Doha, with a total capacity close to 320,000 TR, and that Qatar Cool currently supplied around 190,000 TR out of that, which was approximately 61.5%.

“We are proud with the progress of our expansion plans, and we are especially happy with the progress of our fourth plant, which is due for completion by 2016,” Al Jaidah reportedly said, and added, “Of course, given the economic and urban climate during the past year, we believe we have fared well in the past fiscal year with an overall increase of 11% over the 2013 fiscal year. Overall, we believe that expansion decisions are based on many variables, such as market studies and forecasts on the potential demand for District Cooling services within the current construction boom in the country.” (See excerpts from Al Jaidah’s interview with Business Class magazine).

TRACKING THE DC INDUSTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

It is very important to realise the merits of District Cooling Excerpts from an August 2015 interview of Yasser Salah Al Jaidah, CEO of Qatar Cool, with Business Class magazine: Translated Version…

How do you currently evaluate the status of Qatar Cool in the Qatari market?

Qatar Cool is considered the leading provider of District Cooling services in the State of Qatar. We have been serving local buildings and landmarks in the West Bay and The Pearl-Qatar districts since 2006, when our first plant became operational. Ever since 2003, when the company was founded, we have not only accumulated a breadth of experience and knowhow in the

District Cooling industry, but also grown in size to fulfil the growing demand for cooling energy in the districts we serve. Our existing plants produce a combined cooling energy of 57,000 Tonnes of Refrigeration (TR) and 45,000 TRHR off the Thermal Energy Storage tank in the West Bay district, and 130,000 TR in the Pearl-Qatar district (singlehandedly produced by one integrated plant on the island, making it the largest District Cooling plant in the world).

As we aim to support the urban

development of the State of Qatar, we plan the growth of our operations in line with the country’s future development plans. As such, we have recently started the construction phase of our new plant in the West Bay district to accommodate the increasing demand for District Cooling in the area. Furthermore, we are proud to have been awarded several prestigious local and international awards on many occasions for our efforts in various areas of the business, such as innovation, efficiency, power conservation and human resources.

Who are the most important companies/partners that you deal with and what are the most important projects that you are currently working on?

Qatar Cool is affiliated with many organisations, not only in Qatar. We are also involved with academic, industrial and governmental organisations on different fronts.

We also deal with real estate developers, owners and facility managers on a regular basis, and we consider them our main partners when it comes to providing world-class District Cooling service.

As for projects and districts, we currently serve West Bay and The Pearl-Qatar districts, and we are in ongoing discussions with other major projects within the State of Qatar.

What are some of the major challenges that you’re currently facing at Qatar Cool? How about in the long term?

We are back to Legionella again In Saudi Arabia

Kamal Pharran, CEO of Saudi Tabreed, thinks that demand for cooling in Saudi Arabia is growing. He explains: “It is one of the countries with a population that is growing. I am sure that the government is facing many hard challenges to provide sufficient electricity to the Kingdom. District Cooling is one of the best solutions for the government, and it is an improved technology that will satisfy almost 50% of the cooling demand.” He adds, “We aspire to see the District Cooling industry in the Kingdom as big and mature as that of the UAE and Qatar in the coming decade.” (Read the full interview, 'District Cooling is a challenging market', on page 60).

These and similar views indicate that District Cooling has secured a strong foothold in the region. Experts believe that as the region plans for an increasingly sustainable future, now is the time for the GCC countries to recognise the ample benefits of District Cooling.

Reflecting this, in 2011, the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy enshrined District Cooling as one of the eight strategic pillars towards achieving 30% power savings in the emirate by 2030.

Should other governmental bodies in the GCC region follow suit? Now, with Saudi Arabia declaring a record USD 98 billion budget deficit for 2015, and planning to lift subsidies from petrol, electricity, water, diesel and kerosene, one can only speculate.

An October 2015 article in The New York Times titled “Legionnaires’ Bacteria Regrew in Bronx Cooling Towers That Were Disinfected”, suggests that Legionella bacteria is a common menace in cooling towers. How to tackle it is the question. Dan Coday, Sales Manager - Offshore FRP and Concrete Towers at Tower Tech, responds to this, and several other reports about the outbreak.

“The year 2015 saw high-profile Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks across the United States that were traced back to cooling towers. After one particularly bad outbreak in the Bronx borough of New York City, both New York City and the state of New York quickly implemented the first known cooling tower regulations, as it relates to Legionella in the United States.

The regulations focus on quarterly inspection, annual certification and maintenance. Another cooling tower-related outbreak took place in

the Bronx within two months after the cooling tower was disinfected.

“We have been reaching Dan Coday out to officials, encouraging them to expand the regulations to cover the cooling tower structures themselves, requiring the use of readily available technology that automatically reduces the opportunity for feeding, breeding and spreading Legionella from cooling towers. Most major manufacturers already offer this technology, although it’s typically offered as optional equipment, and is not currently required by most specifications or law.”

December 2015

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report

TRACKING THE DC INDUSTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Considering the scarcity of water in the geographical region we operate in, one of the major challenges imposed is related to the use of potable water in District Cooling. Of course, with proper collaboration with governmental agencies, such as Ashghal and Kahramaa, the introduction of treated sewage effluent (TSE), or treated sewage water, is successfully being introduced.

In the long run, we are always on the lookout for new ways to improve the efficiency of our plants in the interest of conserving energy usage and contributing to Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030.

Does the Qatari market need more District Cooling companies/ providers considering the growth in the number of projects,

especially with the FIFA World Cup in the year 2022?

As the country undergoes tremendous growth in different sectors, it is only natural that such growth affects the District Cooling industry, especially considering its direct relation to the construction sector, which has been booming for the past few years.

It is very important to realise the merits of District Cooling as a more efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional cooling methods, and we are delighted to see more invested efforts by governmental agencies with an aim to promote District Cooling as the cooling method of choice in support of the QNV 2030.

As such, we expect an increase in the production of

cooling energy and heightened competition between District Cooling utility providers, as the demand increases in the period leading up to the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

After all, we do own and operate the world’s largest District Cooling plant in The Pearl-Qatar.

What is the feasibility of expanding your operations in the Gulf region in the upcoming period?

At this time, we see great potential for new business within the State of Qatar, especially considering the level of urban development we are witnessing and the prospects associated with the FIFA World Cup projects.

What is Qatar Cool’s involvement in the FIFA World Cup project preparations? Do you have the needed capabilities to handle such projects?

We are currently in discussions with the concerned entities about servicing stadiums and sports complexes with District Cooling.

We believe in the reliability and efficiency of District Cooling and are confident that our experience in operating large-scale District Cooling plants will allow us to add great value in bringing District Cooling to such mega projects.

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‫حوصات ما قبل التشغيل ثم بدء التشغيل‬ ‫لثقافة ف‬ ‫بالخدمة التجارية للمنشآت والخدمات‬ ‫والوضع‬ ‫الجديدة في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي‬

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٣٢

‫لمجلة كاليمت كن‬

‫ملحـق إضافـي‬

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:‫أهم األولويات‬

ARABIC SUPPLEMENT

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‫بالمملكة‬

‫نظام التبريد‬ ‫أكبر في سوق‬ ‫لمناطق حصة‬ ‫يحصد نظام تبريد ا‬ ‫يعني مساهمة‬ ‫سعودية مما‬ ‫مملكة العربية ال‬ .‫في نمو األمة‬ ‫ال‬ ‫تبريد المناطق‬ ‫أكبر لصناعة‬ ‫موائع التبريد‬

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December 2015

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59

Q&A

district cooling

District Cooling is a challenging market Kamal Pharran, CEO of Saudi Tabreed, gets candid in an exclusive interview with Rajiv Pillai of Climate Control Middle East, on the status quo, challenges and the future of District Cooling in the Kingdom.

You have an interesting project that involves supplying chilled water to Saudi Aramco as a single customer.

Could you share with the readers of Climate Control Middle East the key and unique lessons you have learnt from the Saudi Aramco project?

Also, do tell us about your current projects in Saudi Arabia.

Our first project was with Saudi Aramco, and it was the result of a strong drive and commitment from Saudi Aramco for energy efficiency and green sustainable initiatives. Our close collaboration with them resulted in having a District Cooling scheme with a capacity of 32,000 TR, which we completed successfully by mid-2012. The Aramco District Cooling scheme is one of our flagship developments, when things come to our outsourced District Cooling solutions.

The scheme covers the Dhahran area – the heart of Aramco facilities and management structure. We are very proud of this accomplishment, and more importantly, of the trust that we developed with the Aramco management as a result of our long-term partnership.

We, at Saudi Tabreed, are bringing the best for our shareholders. We signed the contract for the Aramco project in 2010.

The District Cooling plant supplies to the whole of Aramco management buildings and support facilities.

Aramco is an oil company. However, at the same time, they plan to go green and reduce electricity consumption

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January 2016

District Cooling regulations are not yet in place to organise and streamline the relationship between the end-user and the developer and CO2 emissions. Therefore, they were the pioneers in Saudi Arabia when the company went ahead with the idea of District Cooling. It is a partnership at the end of the day, because it is based on a build-own-operate (BOO) scheme. Building upon the success of the Aramco project, Saudi Tabreed was also successful in implementing a project with a 100,000 TR capacity at King Abdullah Financial District – the largest District Cooling scheme under the design-build-operate (DBO) framework in the Kingdom so far – and the BOO District Cooling scheme with a 55,000 TR capacity in the Jabal Omar area in Makkah Al Mukarramah, which will help in optimising the energy and space allocation within Makkah’s tight land allocations and busy schedules. In addition to all this, we

TRACKING THE DC INDUSTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

is facing many hard challenges to provide sufficient electricity to the Kingdom.

District Cooling is one of the best solutions for the government, and it is an improved technology that will satisfy almost 50% of the cooling demand.

We aspire to see the District Cooling industry in the Kingdom as big and mature as that of the UAE and Qatar in the coming decade.

The availability of water connection points to any District Cooling plant across the Kingdom is a major challenge, which we are trying to solve and mitigate via alliances and partnerships with different stakeholders. have our most recent project at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which adds a 35,000 TR capacity to our project portfolio.

How do you perceive the District Cooling market in the Saudi region and the Middle East as a whole?

Is there still a long way to go

What are the major challenges that District Cooling faces in Saudi Arabia?

for the industry in order to gain momentum?

Saudi Arabia is a country where for six months of the year the climate is extremely hot. Saudi Arabia is really expanding, and it is a large country, and in line with that, the demand for cooling is really growing. It is one of the countries with a population that is growing. I am sure that the government

When we talk about the full cycle of the development of a District Cooling scheme, the challenges remain in each and every component of the development. Financing, for example, is very much linked to the creditworthiness of the developer/end-user.

The BOO/BOT (build-operate-transfer) framework is very much structured for a single off-taker, provided he is capable of handling the financial commitments and, more importantly, is having the capacity needed to secure the financing.

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district cooling

When things come to facilitation and implementation for District Cooling, we are still on square one when compared to other countries in the region We are talking about financial history, shareholder’s creditworthiness, other banking facilities used, etc.

Another important component is the means by which revenue is being collected. The billing cycle and the way payments are made. District Cooling regulations are not yet in place to organise and streamline the relationship between the end-user and the developer.

Hence, billing and collection cycles are neither clear nor framed in a structure, where responsibilities and limitations are addressed for both parties. Securing financing under private developments without a single off-taker is another obstacle.

The availability of water connection points to any District Cooling plant across the Kingdom is a major challenge, which we are trying to solve and mitigate via alliances and partnerships with different stakeholders. The Kingdom is huge, and resources required for a successful District Cooling implementation are not necessarily available everywhere.

What is the penetration rate of District Cooling in Saudi Arabia?

From a private sector perspective, the decision-makers in this part of Saudi Arabia are starting to come around to the idea of District Cooling and understand the value added behind it. We have aligned our company with most of the private megaprojects in the Kingdom.

However, to be more honest, it is, indeed, a challenging market. We are still working on enhancing the exposure of District Cooling to the Kingdom via different stakeholders. Project financing remains a big challenge, particularly, in the private sector, namely, when talking about long-term project financing.

The off-taking agreements structure and framework is another challenge. We, in the Kingdom, do not have a regulation yet to facilitate the use, implementation

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January 2016

and financing of District Cooling projects.

Our portfolio of projects was covered under long-term financing with hand-picked clients with whom banks felt comfortable dealing with. It is not always the case.

The District Cooling industry, overall in the Kingdom, is not as matured as the industry in the UAE or even in Qatar.

The Ministry of Water and Electricity is recognising how District Cooling will help reduce the consumption of electricity and the associated upfront investments in electricity and infrastructure. However, when things come to boots on the ground, nothing has been achieved from a District Cooling facilitation perspective.

It is true that we are experiencing a fundamental change, driven by energy efficiency and cost-effective solutions; more importantly, a ‘need’ rather than an interest. The market and stakeholders in the Kingdom are still evolving, and we hope fundamentals would help us further in reaching out to more clients and end-users, as the District Cooling industry matures.

Let us say that we are ahead of the learning curve for District Cooling from an awareness perspective. However, when things come to facilitation and implementation for District Cooling, we are still on square one when compared to other countries in the region.

What are you doing as a company to increase the market penetration?

We did invest time and effort in going through the learning curve, and following the main principles of District Cooling, with most of the government, semi-government entities and private sectors. We sponsored leading conferences and seminars with an aim to further promote District Cooling platforms and initiatives. We organised site visits for public and private officials to our plants in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain.

We worked hard on highlighting the value-adds from a macro- and micro-

TRACKING THE DC INDUSTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

economic perspective for both sectors. We showed people what we did in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain.

Our new project for the King Khaled International Airport is, indeed, the right foundation for government initiatives to outsource cooling requirements under BOT frameworks. We look forward to this trend and hope to capitalise on the potentials of energy efficiency and District Cooling platforms.

To what extent are power subsidies affecting the acceptance of District Cooling in the Kingdom?

This is mainly applicable to government projects, as the government is paying for the bills, whether it’s subsidised or not!

Other macro-economic fundamentals would also apply for the private sector, namely, CAPEX associated with infrastructure, like power substations and cables.

Similar to the manner in which the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy is spearheading an increase in penetration of District Cooling to 40% by 2030, are there Government-driven plans and strategies afoot in Saudi Arabia to increase the penetration of District Cooling in the Kingdom?

District Cooling is an effective and sustainable key solution for energy optimisation for the Kingdom. It’s at the heart of its developments and key competency, when things come to energy savings and proper utilisation of allocated budgets for spending and civil expansion.

In fact, a mandate was already streamed via the Riyadh City Development Council to adopt District Cooling solutions to any of the mega projects within the city of Riyadh. We expect the District Cooling industry to evolve under the same mandate to cover all the cities in the Kingdom, where government entities and real estate developers alike, are mandated to introduce District Cooling schemes in their current projects as well as future plans.

The collaboration with the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center is, on the other hand, a key to go forward with District Cooling implementations and regulations across the Kingdom.

The government did establish the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center (SEEC) by the Council of Ministers in 2010, with a mandate to enhance energy efficiency measures and implementations in the Kingdom. The Executive Committee of

the Energy Efficiency Center is headed

by HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Al Saud, the Deputy Minister of Petroleum, who is leading the energy-efficiency programmes across the different sectors in the Kingdom, with close collaboration with different stakeholders. District Cooling regulations are at the top of the agenda. We hope that the District Cooling regulations would be drafted and implemented within the coming years, to facilitate District Cooling implementations, with main emphasis on mega projects in the Kingdom.

SEEC aspires to raise rationalisation awareness and enhance energy consumption efficiency, as well as unify the efforts of governmental and nongovernmental agencies to support and preserve the national wealth of energy resources.

The District Cooling platform will, indeed, help achieve the lowest levels of energy consumption. Our close collaboration with SEEC is key to further develop the District Cooling industry in the Kingdom.

Considering that there are several construction projects planned in Saudi Arabia, how does Saudi Tabreed plan to benefit from them?

Our growth strategy is strongly aligned with the Kingdom’s needs and requirements, to further optimise energy consumption for cooling systems.

Our main focus is on our outsourcing mechanism via long-term BOO/BOOT (build–own–operate–transfer) frameworks for our District Cooling schemes throughout the Kingdom, namely, for mega projects. Again, if we talk about what the need is in Saudi Arabia, 70% of the consumption of electricity in Saudi Arabia is for cooling. If you compare District Cooling to conventional air conditioning, we are talking about a 50% savings in electricity. Therefore, by comparing this formula, you will see that District Cooling can reduce the electricity consumption of Saudi Arabia by around 30-40%, which is a huge saving.

What is your current tariff structure in Saudi Arabia? Do you plan to reduce the tariff for District Cooling?

There are three main parameters: connection fee, capacity fee and consumption fee.

All reflect the main technical and

commercial assumptions in our financial models – each tailor-made for specific project requirements.

What success have you had so far with the use of Treated Sewage Effluent in the Kingdom?

Treated Sewage Effluent is our favoured and applied water supply for all our District Cooling plants so far. We do have a strategic partnership with the National Water Company (NWC) to provide us with the required volumes and qualities, and more importantly, the connection points to tap into most of our projects in the Kingdom.

Desalinated water is too precious to be used for industrial applications, of course!

How do you see the District Cooling industry and Saudi Tabreed in the next 10-15 years?

King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh is, indeed, the jewel in the crown. It is one of Tabreed’s prestigious District Cooling projects covering the GCC region. The 35,000 TR District Cooling plant business model is quite interesting, where it involves an integration of existing assets with a state-of-the-art plant, with capacities being upgraded as per the airport’s expansion timeline. What we did was that we took over the existing old District Cooling plant supplying the airport area and its support facilities, to enhance its efficiency. After two years’ time, we were able to deliver the newly built District Cooling plant to accommodate the expansion and gradually replace the older plant. This project is under the BOT framework, and has a 30-year concession agreement. It is also the first time that a government entity outsources cooling requirements to a specialised developer. We hope that this project would set a quality benchmark for other government entities to adopt, for their existing and future projects.

We are looking at a more sophisticated District Cooling industry in the coming 10 to 15 years, provided the economic fundamentals remain in favour.

HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com

January 2016

63

PERSPECTIVE

HVAC pumps

Shopping

for pumps?

Aslan Al Barazi believes that design, material and other factors need to be carefully considered when selecting pumps for HVAC applications, and lists a few thumb rules.

W

hen selecting a pump for HVAC applications, it is important to bear in mind certain basic criteria.

Considering the issues one could face regarding locally assembled pumps, it would be wise for the designer to choose a pump supplier with several years of experience in the field, especially in areas of manufacturing, assembling and testing the pumps in their own factory.

Here, the importance of testing of pumps at the factory before dispatching them cannot be emphasised enough, as this step insures that the product meets all the project requirements and does not have any maintenance issues when put into operation. A reputable pump manufacturer would typically have the facility for testing their entire product range, including large capacity pumps within the factory. However, such testing facilities are not normally available locally.

Aslan Al Barazi is ExecutiveDirector-IMEC. He can be contacted at imec@emirates. net.ae.

Know the pumps There are a number of different centrifugal pumps that are normally used

64

January 2016

by designers for HVAC applications. For smaller flow rates up to around 4-6,000 GPM (250-380L/s) designers mainly consider using horizontal end suction or vertical inline (VIL) pumps.

Both horizontal end suction and VIL pumps can be either direct close-coupled or flexible coupled pumps with spacer-type coupling.

Each has its advantages.

Direct-coupled pumps have a smaller footprint (or height, in case of vertical systems), requiring no alignment, as

the motor shaft is directly coupled with the impeller shaft, and are also less expensive than flexible coupled pumps. However, in the case of flexible coupled pumps, their maintenance can be achieved without disturbing the motor or the electrical connections.

A VIL pump would be a better option for an engineer, as it combines the advantages of both the end suction direct-coupled pump, as well as the flexible coupled pump, as also other

TRACKING THE DC INDUSTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

The correct selection of the operating point of the pump is where the pump performance curve intersects with the system curve advantages. A VIL pump requires around 50% less space compared to an end suction pump, and requires much less maintenance, due to the fact that the motor shaft is centre lined with the pump’s shaft via the motor bracket, and, therefore, does not require any alignment during the pump’s life. VIL pumps are also available with spacer coupling for easy maintenance without the need to disturb the motor or pipe works. It also produces less noise due to less vibration, demands lower maintenance and has a longer life than other types of pumps in the market.

For larger pump capacities at lower pump heads above 5-6,000USGPM (315280L/s), the double suction vertical or horizontal split case pump would be the natural selection. The vertical split case pump, it should be mentioned here, would also be preferred over the horizontal split case pump for the same advantages mentioned above regarding the VIL version.

Another major advantage of vertical-arranged pumps is that the in-situ alignment that horizontal-arranged pumps require is not needed. That is why many locally assembled horizontal split case pumps have many O&M and vibration issues and failures after installation. Considering that the pump is literally the heart of the chiller system,

one cannot afford to have such problems at the site when the system is put into operation.

Other pumps used for HVAC applications include multistage pumps for plumbing and booster pump applications for high-pressure requirements. For some special applications, the selfpriming pump is used where the NPSH is low, or where the water is required to be lifted from below-grade tanks into the pump without special priming equipment, as well as for ice or water thermal energy storage systems.

Give a thought to BEP A key point to be remembered for the right and professional selection of pumps is that the pump chosen needs to be as close to the Best Efficiency Point (BEP) as possible, in order to insure minimum radial/axial thrust, energy consumption, wear and tear, vibration and maintenance, as well as offering maximum longevity.

When a pump is selected at points beyond the BEP, radial and axial forces increase, which further increases noise and vibration levels, and damages the pump foundation over time, thus reducing the bearing’s life.

Selection of a pump beyond the BEP will also cause energy losses due to hydraulic losses, as well as have the potential for cavitation, which is likely

to occur due to the higher rate of NPSH required.

Moreover, lower flow rates to the BEP causes water recirculation to occur at both suction and discharge side of the pump impeller, which causes both energy loss due to water recirculation, as well as potentially damage the impeller due to hydraulic surging. It is important to note that vibration is kept at a minimum for the pump selected at the BEP. As a general rule, the selection of the pump should be within + or – 15% of the BEP. In terms of actual pump efficiency levels, it is normal for a pump manufacturer to attain efficiency levels for pumps in the 60-70% range, though it is also possible for a few manufacturers to attain efficiency levels of over 80% at a competitive price by using a special coating and finishing on the internal pump surface and utilising double curved vanes on the impeller.

Another key point to be noted is that the pump’s shut off head should always be slightly higher than the system’s maximum static head for proper operation of the pump, and account for and overcome all the system head losses in the piping circuit. The correct selection of the operating point of the pump is where the pump performance curve intersects with the system curve.

Choose the right material In terms of material selection for the Gulf region, what need to be factored in are the different water types used here, such as TSE and seawater and the corrosive climate. This applies particularly to water-cooled chillers using

January 2016

65

PERSPECTIVE

HVAC pumps TRACKING THE DC INDUSTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Cooling towers are the best "air washers" cleaning all the sand, sediments and dirt from the air open cooling tower condenser pumps circuit, where the sea air with salts emitted enter into the pump condenser circuit for projects close to the sea. Thus, it would be good engineering practice to include in the pump specifications for corrosion-free materials, such as bronze/ nickel/aluminum alloy impellers typically used in the marine environment, as also duplex stainless steel shafts.

It needs to be noted that a few pump manufacturers do this in a competitive manner against the standard materials used in the market for pumps, the reason being cooling towers are the best “air washers� cleaning all the sand, sediments and dirt from the air, while also absorbing a good deal of sea air salts on projects close to the sea, and sending them right across the pumping circuit.

Salts from the sea air have been witnessed on the air inlet side of several cooling towers close to the sea, normally at the air inlet louvre side, which look similar in shape to big snowflakes. This is due to the fact that the sea air in the region is humid and concentrated with salts, which the cooling tower collects and washes into the water flow pumping circuit.

VFDs for greater efficiency and longevity Finally, VFDs on pumps should definitely be seriously

66

January 2016

considered, preferably supplied by the pump manufacturer for single source responsibility. A VFD can normally run as low as 30% speed without any negative effect on the pump.

A lower pump speed would further reduce both the radial thrust on the pump, as well as related wear and tear.

The salient advantages of a VFD include reduced energy consumption, lower noise, short payback (normally around two to three years for the VFD) and longer pump life, which is also good for the lifecycle cost analysis (LCC) modelling.

However, care should be invested on VFDs for condenser pumps, as this depends on the cooling tower manufacturers. This is because a few cooling tower manufacturers have the ability to have variable flow on their cooling tower nozzles, while most others cannot. Also, some chiller manufacturers do not like VFDs on their water condensers from an O&M and design perspective.

Therefore, this aspect needs to be carefully considered in consultation with a specialist in cooling towers.

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.

January 2016

67

PERSPECTIVE

evaporative cooling

The efficacy of

water

Calling it one of nature’s most powerful refrigerants, Mark Hakbijl explains how water can be a good refrigerant and stresses that evaporative cooling technology, as against conventional vapour compression air conditioning technology, reduces electricity consumption and CO2 emission by more than 98%.

Introduction

Mark Hakbijl

is Research Manager at Oxycom. He can be reached at: mark.hakbijl@ oxy-com.com

68

Refrigerants function as the working fluids in air conditioners, heat pumps and refrigeration systems by absorbing and releasing heat, as they undergo continuous phase transitions between the gaseous state and the liquid state in a closed refrigeration cycle.

R-22 (a hydrochlorofluorocarbon or HCFC) has long been the most widely used refrigerant in air conditioning systems.

However, it is nowadays increasingly being phased out because of its ozonedepleting behaviour. Instead, chlorine-free replacements have gained popularity, most notably, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), such as R-410A, R-407C and R-134a.

Water is also one of the many available refrigerants, having its own unique properties, and has a refrigerant number (R718).

Strictly speaking, evaporative cooling technology, too, uses water as a refrigerant, but instead of repeatedly being evaporated and condensed in a closed-cycle system, it is continuously being

January 2016

evaporated, thereby cooling and humidifying a stream of air.

Water is highly suitable for this purpose, as it is one of nature’s most powerful refrigerants, with an exceptionally high latent heat of vaporisation (2501 kJ/ kg at 0 degree C). As such, evaporating water at a rate of 1 L/h generates as much as 695 W of cooling power.

Conventional cooling technology

Vapour compression air conditioning is the most widely used technology for air conditioning, heat pump and refrigeration systems used for residential, commercial and industrial purposes. These systems consist of four main components through which the refrigerant is pumped in a closed cycle: • The compressor adiabatically compresses the gaseous refrigerant, thereby increasing its pressure and temperature.

• The condenser coil allows the gaseous refrigerant to condense to the liquid

state at constant pressure, thereby releasing heat to its surroundings.

• The expansion valve causes the liquid refrigerant to expand, thereby lowering its pressure and temperature.

• The evaporator coil allows the liquid refrigerant to evaporate to the gaseous state at a constant pressure, thereby absorbing heat from its surroundings.

Evaporative cooling technology

In evaporative cooling, a stream of unsaturated air is brought into direct contact with a wet surface. The boundary layer around the wet surface is naturally saturated with water vapour.

As unsaturated air flows along the boundary layer, water vapour diffuses into the airstream, driven by a difference in vapour concentration. The water vapour content in the boundary layer is then restored to its natural saturated state by the adiabatic evaporation of water. The required latent heat for the phase change of water

Increasing adoption of evaporative cooling technology will have less impact on the global water consumption than one may expect is taken from the sensible heat of the airstream, resulting in a lower air temperature.

The lowest possible temperature that can be achieved is the wet bulb temperature of the air, but is in practice, somewhat higher due to a limited efficiency.

The saturation efficiency or wet bulb efficiency is defined as the ratio of the actually achieved temperature drop to the maximum possible temperature drop.

Generation of electricity

There are various types of fuel available that power plants can use to generate electricity. The Middle East predominantly uses oil and natural gas, thus emitting vast amounts of CO2. Power plants also require water for the generation of electricity,

where it is mainly used for cooling. For instance, oil-driven power plants consume 2.33 litres of water and emit 0.76 kilogrammes of CO2 per kWh of generated electricity.

Evaporative cooling versus conventional cooling

Comparative calculations have been performed for both evaporative cooling and conventional air conditioning technology providing equal cooling power. Evaporative cooling with an arbitrary evaporation rate of one litre of water per hour has been chosen as the baseline, corresponding to 695 W of cooling power.

Electricity is assumed to be generated in oil-driven power plants. Water intended to be used in evaporative coolers should preferably be of potable quality. Typically, desalination by means of reverse osmosis

requires about 4 kWh of electrical energy per m³ of water.

Evaporative cooling: • Evaporation rate: 1 L/h.

• Cooling power: 695 W. • Electrical power consumption for the desalination of water: 4 W. • CO2 emission rate for the generation of electricity: 3 g/h.

Conventional air conditioning: • Cooling power: 695 W. • Typical COP value in severe conditions common in the Middle East: 2.8.

• Electrical power consumption: 250 W. • Water consumption for the generation of electricity: 0.58 L/h.

• CO2 emission rate for the generation of electricity: 189 g/h.

Conclusion

Regarding only the pure cooling aspect, using evaporative cooling technology instead of conventional vapour compression air conditioning technology, reduces electricity consumption and CO2 emission by more than 98%.

Evaporative cooling technology inherently requires water to evaporate, but, although in an indirect way, existing vapour compression air conditioning systems already consume significant amounts of water themselves. Therefore, increasing adoption of evaporative cooling technology will have less impact on the global water consumption than one may expect.

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.

January 2016

69

COUNTRY REPORT

UNITED STATES

HVACR

– the American way

Experts claim that factors, such as energy efficiency, innovation and best practices, drive the HVACR market in North America, especially in the United States. The GCC region can certainly benefit from emulating these standards.

By Rajiv Pillai | Features Writer

70

January 2016

T

he North American HVACR market is mature, driven by the need for energy efficiency and integrated solutions.

Reflecting this, Eric Gordon, International Sales Manager at Carlisle, says that it is an expansive and inclusive market, with many different sub-markets. To the best of his knowledge, the total size of the North American HVACR market is around USD 75 billion, with trade analysts expecting it to increase to USD 120 billion within the next five years.

The unitary air conditioning segment shipments in the United Sates were a little over seven million pieces in 2015, reveals Frank Landwehr, Vice President - Marketing and Planning at Emerson Climate Technologies (Air Conditioning Business). He adds, “This number would include both residential and three-phase commercial unitary demand, along with export shipments of OEM systems.”

Conditioning the market Patrick Mulcahy, Director of Strategy, North America Building Efficiency, Johnson Controls, believes that the major demand drivers for the US market are new construction activities, replacement projects and regulations. He explains: “New construction projects have been increasing in both residential and commercial markets since the economic crisis in 2008. Replacement projects are a critical demand driver as the equipment lifespan can range from eight to 30 years, depending on the type of equipment, and customers can decide to replace aged and inefficient equipment for a payback on investment. Regulations also impact demand through new energy- efficiency standards, tax credits/financial incentives and enablement of equipment

Keeping initial cost to a minimum, while maintaining certain minimum quality standards with familiar brands is an overarching market philosophy

Eric Gordon

Frank Landwehr

Patrick Mulcahy

Juliet Pagliaro Herman

John Gibbons

retrofits.”

Gordon adds that in its line of work, his company has observed a heavy push for energy-efficient duct systems, improved Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and improved occupant thermal comfort from building owners as well as consultants and engineers.

“Building codes requiring sealing and a pressure test verification of the sealed duct system are important factors that drive demand for our products, and they are also key in making the general public aware of how important a sealed duct system is,” he reveals.

“Another major demand driver,” he adds, “is the push to make existing homes and commercial buildings more energy efficient, and a retrofit duct sealing is an easy way to really move the savings needle.”

Landwehr makes an analytical prediction for the year ahead: “The macroeconomic indicators in the United States remain favourable for the air conditioning industry as the recovery in housing starts and other general indicators are expected to continue on the current favourable trend into 2016. This, combined with the currently low inventory levels in the channel, suggests that 2016 should show continued positive growth.”

The freezing point

Dan Coday

Although there are several demand drivers, Dan Coday, Sales Manager - Offshore FRP and Concrete Towers,

at Tower Tech, says that they vary by customer and project when it comes to purchasing new equipment. He cites examples: “Keeping initial cost to a minimum, while maintaining certain minimum quality standards with familiar brands is an overarching market philosophy. Long-term owneroperators, such as hospitals and universities, are quicker to make a return on investment, and low lifecycle cost is a key component in their decisionmaking for new equipment.

LEED certification is raising awareness of low lifecycle cost and environmental impact.

Nevertheless, the market is looking for a return on investment of typically no more than three years nowadays, for premium products and services. Shorter term owners, like commercial developers that are likely to sell the property within the next several years, often put more weight on the lowest installed cost possible for equipment.”

Another challenge, says Landwehr, is regulations, and explains, “The unitary air conditioning segment in the United States features some of the highest efficiency standards in the world, for both residential and commercial applications, and these continue to present some of the greatest challenges for our industry. In 2015, the US Department of Energy (DOE) implemented an increase in the minimum allowable efficiency SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating) for residential units, going from 13 SEER to 14 SEER for the south and southwest DOE regions. Also, commercial

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COUNTRY REPORT

UNITED STATES

Regulatory stance – expert-speak What are the current regulations and standards in North America, be they related to energy efficiency, reliability, ease of installation or sustainable practices?

Frank Landwehr, Vice President – Marketing and Planning at Emerson Climate Technologies (Air Conditioning Business): “Current US regulations for unitary small equipment – defined as having cooling capacities less than 65,000 BTU per hour – require minimum efficiency levels that range from 13 to 14 SEER in air conditioning, depending on the particular region. US commercial applications with cooling capacities below 65,000 BTUH also fall under these unitary small equipment regulations. (See Figure 1) For commercial air-cooled packaged/split applications, the allowable minimum efficiency levels are also increasing.”

Dan Coday, Sales Manager - Offshore FRP and Concrete Towers at Tower Tech: “ASHRAE 90.1 has become a driving standard in North America for energy efficiency, and many states are adopting similar codes. In the United States, there are local utilities that are offering businesses rebates for installing more energy- efficient equipment, for example, changing from air to water-cooled, adding a VSD to motors, etc. We have sold many of our innovative and energy-efficient pultruded FRP cooling towers because the local utilities’ rebate paid for a notable part of the price premium over replacing the existing galvanised metal cooling tower with the exact same design.

“Outside of CTI (Cooling Technology Institute) papers, we do not see a lot of regulations and standards when it comes to reliability and ease of installation for cooling towers. Customers typically take ease of installation into account when determining total installed cost, and reliability is something long-term owneroperators typically take into account on their own accord, and based on their own past experience when making a purchasing decision.”

Figure 1

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A retrofit duct sealing is an easy way to really move the savings needle air conditioning applications will be going through similar regulation changes over the next few years, as OEMs will be developing new system designs to meet the 2018 deadline.”

In Gordon’s line of work, the challenge, he says, is not only the adoption of building codes that have compulsory duct sealing requirements but also enforcements from the municipal, state or national bodies that ensure that these codes are being adhered to.

Overcoming challenges through innovation American HVACR manufacturers take such challenges in their stride by innovating. John Gibbons, Director of Product Marketing at Carrier, says that the US HVAC manufacturers are committed to creating products that meet the everincreasing demand for energy efficiency from end-users, while ensuring compliance

with energy-efficiency standards. “Manufacturers,” he claims, “spend a considerable amount of time developing products to meet these expectations, and leading manufacturers, such as Carrier, continue to innovate new and higher- efficiency products.”

Landwehr believes that some of the most innovative technologies affecting the US air conditioning industry, involve the use of capacity modulation to improve both energy efficiency and comfort needs of end-users.

“We, at Emerson, believe that having the broadest line of compressors with various forms of capacity modulation will play an important part in the overall efforts to help our OEM customers achieve compliance with both the current and emerging regulations, as well as helping them to meet the increasing consumer demand for costeffective comfort options,” he says. “By offering variable speed compressor solutions for the high- efficiency applications and cost-effective two-step digital and tandem (two-compressor) electromechanical compressors to the mid-tier segments, we believe we can support the industry through the many regulation changes we are facing. We have been working closely with our OEM customers and with other channel participants to develop specific solutions for their applications.”

Coday, on his part, adds that for the past several years, there has been an increase in innovations, such as permanent magnet motors, which are continuing to gain critical mass in the HVACR

Technology transfer Such innovations could certainly benefit the Middle East HVACR market in terms of technology and applications, especially since several companies in the sector have specific business expansion

HAVE YOUR SAY!

We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com

AHU & FCU Split Units

plans in the GCC region.

Coday reveals that Tower Tech continues to work with Radian Oil and Gas as the new sales representative in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and began operations with Trane as the sales representative in the UAE and Qatar in 2015. Reaffirming his company’s commitment to the region, he says, “We will invest in and grow these important relationships, while expanding into Kuwait, and possibly other countries, to ensure GCC customers have the best experience possible using the most innovative cooling tower technology developed in North America.”

In terms of knowledge, Gordon says, “At Carlisle HVAC, we are working to spread two messages to the GCC market that the North American market has become aware of. First, the selection of materials by the consultants and contractors is not a place that should be considered an opportunity to save money.

For instance, it is crucial that a duct sealant is selected such that it will provide an air-tight seal for the life of the building. There are plenty of reputable manufacturers producing quality products, but there are also firms who cut corners – you get what you pay for. Second, the importance of reducing or eliminating duct leakage in both new and existing buildings in order to lessen the energy requirements for HVAC operation and improve thermal comfort and IAQ for building occupants.”

Hopefully, understanding and learning from innovation, knowledge and best practices will help the HVACR sector in the GCC region successfully replicate American standards.

Ductded & Packaged Units

industry. When it comes to cooling towers, Coday says: “Double-stack crossflow cooling towers have been making a comeback with increased focus on reducing installed fan power in North America. Additionally, Tower Tech introduced a new line of cooling towers that saves up to 20% on both footprint and installed fan power with its unique counterflow configuration, and customer responsiveness to this innovation has been good.”

Coday’s prediction for 20162017 is: Since the market has been soft for CAPEX HVACR equipment in 2015, and with 2016 being a presidential election year in the United States, coupled with other global challenges, 2016 could follow suit, while making way for a strong 2017 to deal with demand that will have been pent-up. “OPEX opportunities, like rentals and services have been stronger, and may be good areas for focus going into 2016,” is his advice.

Juliet Pagliaro Herman, Director of Service Marketing and Product Management Building Efficiency, Johnson Controls, thinks that customers are more responsive to innovations that solve a problem or meet a requirement rather than innovations that are simply introduced for the sake of it. “Smart, connected products, for example, put building owners and operators in total control of their facility – from anywhere, at any time,” she says. “Such products allow building professionals to see exactly how systems are functioning and to take actions to improve their performance, resulting in better and more efficient environment.”

Chillers

LENNOX SINCE 1895 COMMERCIAL HEATING AND COOLING

Distributors U.A.E Oman Bahrain Kuwait Qatar Lebanon

LENNOX IN THE MIDDLE EAST P.O. Box 18034 Jebel Ali Free Zone Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel +971 4 8876287 Fax +971 4 8876288 www.lennox.com

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MARKET FEATURE heat exchangers

Increasing the heat The growing demand from emerging economies and rising industrial growth will drive the sale of heat exchangers in the coming years, predict market leaders. We bring the health report of the heat exchanger market, especially in the GCC region.

By Rajiv Pillai | Features Writer

T

he all-too-evident climate change and the need for process cooling by chemical and gas industries will drive the market for heat exchangers, declares Faraz Gazanfar, Executive Manager at Universal Coils and Heat Exchangers Industries. He elaborates: “Plate and frame type of heat exchangers market will be worth more than USD 24.3 billion by 2020, and its annual growth has been projected to be around nine per cent globally. The Asia-Pacific and the GCC region has a sharper growth than the United States and Europe.” He adds that heat exchangers are much in demand in Saudi Arabia.

Supporting Gazanfar’s statement, Jeff Williams says that industrial growth, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, has fuelled the rise in demand for heat exchanger tubes in materials ranging from carbon steel to titanium. Williams is the Product Manager at Vallourec.

Williams believes that heat exchangers, regardless of their design, are vital to the operation of any HVAC system. Gazanfar adds that within industrial plants and factories, heat exchangers play an important role to keep processes from getting too hot.

Faraz Gazabfar

Jeff Williams

Christopher Stangl

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New technological development and greater efficiencies have fuelled competition between the US [companies] and worldwide companies The hot spots Given the vital role heat exchangers play in HVAC systems and other industrial operations, the market drivers for heat exchangers in the GCC region, mainly in Saudi Arabia, can be attributed to an increase in electro-chemical industries, says Gazanfar.

He believes that mega events like EXPO 2020 in Dubai and FIFA 2022 in

Qatar will definitely increase the construction of hotels.

Connecting this to the next dot, Christoph Stangl, Sales and Marketing Manager International at Ecotherm, says, “Therefore, a lot of hot water systems will be required, including, of course, heat exchangers.”

Williams thinks that the cost and performance of heat exchangers are among the other major demand

The material choice and tube geometry are constantly changing and evolving. End-users want a tube that is all but custom-tailored to their conditions

Nature shows the way Excerpts from a 2014 white paper, titled “Innovations for the manufacture of industrial heat exchangers” by Dientje Fortuna and Subramaniam Rangaswamy…

Heat exchangers are not new. They have been around for a very long time, and occur in nature. Many animals have natural heat exchangers to regulate body temperature. For example, capillaries near the skin help to heat or cool the body or specific parts of the body. Warm blood in the arteries transfer some of the heat to the veins, which run in a counter-current direction. Mammals, with their ability to perspire, employ a sophisticated cooling technique of evaporation to cool the body. Leafy plants use transpiration by pulling cool water from their roots to the leaves, where the water evaporates and cools the plant. Man has “industrialised” these systems to create devices that simulate what nature has already proved works very well.

Information source: http://www.oerlikon.com/ecomaXL/files/metco/ oerlikon_Paper_InnovationsForHeatExchangers_ EN.pdf&download=1

drivers. “New technological development and greater efficiencies, he says, “have fuelled competition between the US [companies] and worldwide companies.”

The heat is on Where there is demand, there are challenges. In Stangl’s opinion, one of the main problems with heat exchangers is the occurrence of scaling. He explains: “Only 0.1 mm of scale insulates the heat exchanger by 25%. And there is a linear relationship to the primary energy. This means that you need 25% more primary energy if the heat exchanger is scaled like this. And, 0.5 mm of scale insulates the heat exchanger by 62%. This is especially the case for external plate heat exchangers and tube bundle heat exchangers, which are mounted via the flange of the tank.”

The other market-related challenge facing the heat exchanger segment, Gazanfar says, is rising energy costs that demand more energy-efficient equipment in the HVAC industry. Williams concurs that optimising heat exchangers for specific operating conditions remains a challenge in the industry.

He adds, “Customers often have unique requests that require innovative solutions.”

Innovation – the road ahead Although coming up with energy-efficient and innovative solutions is a challenging proposition, it is the way forward for heat exchanger manufacturers.

“From a tubing perspective,” says Williams, “the material choice and tube geometry are constantly changing and evolving. End-users want a tube that is all but customtailored to their conditions.”

Stangl claims that

Ecotherm has patented an innovative heat exchanger.

“It is a shell and tube heat exchanger with freefloating turbulator rods,” he reveals, and explains: “This heat exchanger has these free-floating turbulator rods made up of stainless steel. When the cold water flushes through the pipes, the rods start to oscillate, generating a turbulent flow.

Thus, the heat transfer rate reaches up to 5,000 W/ m2K. Additionally, the rods block the middle of the tube. Thus, the cold water is just a circular thin film with approximately 1.5 mm thickness. Our heat exchangers can, therefore, heat up the water within only one pass and one second from 20 degrees C to 60 degrees C. Therefore, we do not need to store hot water in big tanks but only supply it to the buildings on demand. And finally, the rods have a self-cleaning effect, since they oscillate at high frequency. So they do not allow scaling to build up like in conventional heat exchangers.”

Such innovations, experts say, will bring about a huge market transformation to the heat exchangers industry.

Going into specifics, Williams predicts, “For our market segment, a properly designed unit using shell and tube heat exchangers can bring about the difference between ‘business as usual’ and a costly redesign.”

HAVE YOUR SAY! We welcome your views on the article. Write to editor@cpi-industry.com

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Dan Mizesko is the Managing Partner of Al Shirawi US Chiller Services. He can be contacted at dan@uschillerservices.com

Overcoming turbulences

Pointing out that turbulent water flow disrupts an accurate reading of the volume of water used, Dan Mizesko alerts us to the fragmentation technology, which he says can help reduce end-users’ water bills.

A

s most readers are aware, we at U.S. Chiller Services are constantly conducting research and testing new technologies that will save power, water and fuel for chilled water plants, either District Cooling-based, central plant-based or building- based. When we find a technology that we know would benefit the Gulf region, we introduce it to our customers and make it part of our service offering.

At the annual ICE (International Contractors Exchange) meeting, held in Austin, Texas, in October 2015, we were sharing information with one of the group company members regarding successful technologies we have installed and retrofitted in the Gulf region. During the course of this exchange, we were informed of a technology that we found interesting and promising for the region.

First, let me explain what the ICE Group is. It is an organisation made up of 50 of the United States’ largest and most technically capable and competent centrifugal and liquid chiller service companies, U.S. Chiller Services being one of the 50 member companies. The ICE Group shares technical information and training on all OEM centrifugal chillers, negotiates group parts pricing and access to all the latest factory as well as energy technologies, puts together internal Group training sessions as well as OEM factory training for all Group employees and shares human resources within the Group, so that all members are 100% assured that there is no circumstance or situation within the liquid chiller industry that cannot be handled within the ICE Group member companies.

What we were introduced to and subsequently researched and tested over the past three months is a technology that does not save water; however, it does reduce your water bill and, in most cases, by a substantial amount. Please allow me to explain.

Your building or plant supply water, whether it be potable or TSE (Treated Sewage Effluent), travels through a maze of pipes and fixtures from your water

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This fragmentation process reduces the turbulence, allowing the water meter reading to be more accurate, thus correcting your billable consumption, resulting in lower water utility charges provider’s (utility company’s) distribution system to your facility. Through this maze, your water will flow through many pipes of different sizes and piping fixtures (elbows, Ts, bypasses, shut off valves,

etc.), generating friction, or for want of a better term, impedance to the water flow. This impedance (friction) generates a minuscule amount of air, visually in the form of a bubble. As the water flows through this system, it experiences such various extreme conditions, which also create turbulence. Turbulent water flow disrupts accurate reading of the volume of water used, as, unfortunately, commercial utility water meters cannot effectively measure turbulent water. They, therefore, end up measuring too much, and, as a result, the utility company charges end-users for more water than they have actually used. This is totally unintended by the utility company. But the fact is that the end-user pays for more water than they actually use.

This is where a fragmentation valve comes into play and brings efficiency to water meters that are designed to measure volume. The technology converts the turbulent flow to laminar flow and increases the efficiency of the meter reading. The fragmentation water valve controls the volume of air measured by single jet, multi-jet and turbine category positive displacement water meters, and reduces the water consumption cost by suppressing the meter measurement of air.

Field technicians or engineers can gather all the required data necessary to customise the product for any building, plant or facility Field technicians or engineers can gather all the required data necessary to customise the product for any building, plant or facility.

If your building is connected to a water supply from a utility company, you will save on your water bills. The valve will be located downstream of the utility meter on the property side of the supply water line.

By placing it just downstream of your water meter, it uses this minuscule amount of air in conjunction with its oscillation process

to reduce the turbulence by breaking the air into smaller particles. The fragmentation process reduces the turbulence, allowing the water meter reading to be more accurate, thus correcting your billable consumption, resulting in lower water utility charges.

Facilities that have this technology installed have reported 12-26% reduction on water billing subsequent to the implementation of the technology. The technology can also be incorporated on residential standalone villas. However, our interest is to make the HVAC chilled water plants with water-cooled equipment, either in the District Cooling industry or buildings, aware of the opportunity to reduce their water cost.

SNIPPET Coming up for air Employees in China are demanding cleaner indoor air rather than raises, promotions or better career prospects.

In a country with notoriously high pollution levels, companies are reportedly luring staff with better office IAQ, especially in the North East region. According to a Reuters report, international market research company JD Power has installed new clean air systems at its Beijing and Shanghai offices.

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.

速

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REGIONAL

ENOC holds Energy Efficiency & Resource Management seminar Throws spotlight on sustainability for energy savings

T

he ENOC Group has announced holding a day-long seminar to share the findings and lessons learnt from its inaugural Energy & Efficiency report, underlining the initiatives undertaken by the group to promote Energy Efficiency & Resource Management (EE&RM) practices.

The seminar, said ENOC, attended by representatives of several Dubai Government departments and key ENOC stakeholders, was held at the Al Bustan Rotana hotel on December 17, where the participants learnt how energy efficiency and sustainability can be achieved as represented by the company’s efforts over the last seven years.

EE&RM should be an integral part of every organisation in an era that is increasingly becoming carbon-aware, Saif Al Falasi, the ENOC Group CEO and Chairman of the E&RM Steering Committee, reportedly stressed at the seminar, and added: “Having adopted a scientific Efficiency & Resource Management Policy and manual in 2008, ahead of the launch of ISO 50001, ENOC’s approach is aligned with the goals of the Dubai Integrated Energy (DIES) Strategy, which are to reduce energy demand by 30% by 2030 and to diversify the Emirate’s energy mix. To this end, we have not only been focusing on increasing our energy efficiency, but we have also rolled out ambitious initiatives to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, in addition to innovative solutions to enhance our products, including the opening of Middle East’s first green service station and the use of cleaner, greener compressed natural gas as an alternative automotive fuel. An E&RM policy is now part of the Group’s strategic map.”

According to ENOC, the seminar also served as a platform to award ENOC businesses and individuals who contributed to make energy and resource management a success.

Tightening of liquidity, delayed payments a reality, says banker The need for readjusting to a new normal, in view of a slump in oil prices, is imperative in the MENA region, says bank official at JCI’s annual kickoff meet

By B Surendar | Editor

J

ohnson Controls (JCI), on the back of claims of a successful 2015, conducted its annual kickoff meeting for 2016 – a threeday event that commenced on December 8 at an ocean-front resort in Fujairah. And for this, it invited all its channel partners, who had played their part in the good showing, which Michael Crowe, Vice President, Sales & Marketing at Johnson Controls, quantified as a 19% increase in sales volumes. The increase, he added, was in no small measure owing to path-breaking strategies the company had adopted, such as driving into the tier-2 and tier-3 cities of Saudi Arabia, which turned out to be a ripe market for JCI’s fan-coil units, for instance.

Daikin launches ESMA-compliant product range in UAE Products include the FTKM Series – the first GCC high-ambient R-32 inverter split air conditioner

D

aikin has announced the UAE launch of its new ESMA- (Emirates Authority for Standardization and Methodology) compliant product range during the 2015 Annual Dealer Event in Dubai.

The new products reportedly include the FTKM Series, which Daikin claimed was the first GCC high-ambient R-32

78

inverter split air conditioner, in line with Daikin’s worldwide free access 93 Patents on equipment using Next Generation R-32 refrigerant, the FTNK Series, which won The Good Design Award Japan 2015, the FTN Series, Ducted series, Cassette Series, Rooftop series and the VRV Series, to cover applications from residential apartments

January 2016

and villas to commercial buildings.

Daikin said that it aimed to raise efficiency standards by introducing inverter technology, intelligent eye and low GWP, and added that all the new products were high in EER (Energy Efficiency Rating), non-HCFC and designed for lower CO2 emissions.

Geoff Watson, Deputy General Manager & Dealer Development Manager, highlighting the importance of the UAE market and

Daikin’s new product line-up specially designed to meet the high-ambient conditions, said that the products exceed local and regional regulator’s MEPS, while contributing to the reduction of energy bills of the country. He added that Daikin’s focus was to increase and strengthen the dealers’/ installers’ capabilities and product knowledge through Daikin’s technical and training support, spare part centres, after-sales support and dedicated sales and consulting teams.

Crowe was one among several key representatives and associates of the company at the gathering. Also in attendance were Ashraf Abdalla, Vice President (UAE and Qatar) at Johnson Controls and Mohanad N Al-Shaikh, CEO of Al Salem Johnson Controls.

A key participant was Alia Moubayed of Barclays Bank, who made a presentation on the macro and geopolitical outlook for the MENA region.

Moubayed spoke of a need for adjusting to a new normal, adding that the current reality of low oil prices could be a permanent change than a temporary situation. Further, she said, non-oil growth was slowing. She added that countries affected by the drop in prices from USD 144 a barrel in June 2014 to the vicinity of USD 40 a barrel (on December 8), had already begun readjusting their strategies.

The facts on the ground, she said, demanded the readjustment.

“The current account surplus across MENA oil exporters is shrinking,” she said. “Except for Kuwait, most countries are running fiscal deficits in 2015. External surpluses are eroding, and the fiscal deficits are increasing. Foreign exchange reserves are falling in Saudi Arabia and in Iraq but stabilising in others.”

Debt, Moubayed said, was rising, undermining creditworthiness, adding that as long as the MENA oil exporters didn’t cut their deficits, they would have to reach out to their reserves. “Saudi

Qatar Rail signs contract with Qatar Cool

Arabia will deplete its reserves by half,” she said. “The debt-toGDP ratio will reach 60%, the credit-rating will go down and borrowing rate will be much higher.”

Speaking on the health of banks and other financial institutions, Moubayed said that sovereign wealth funds and banks had accumulated funds but were now down. Speaking on the implications for banking systems, especially considering that 2040% of bank deposits have traditionally come from governments, owing to oil windfalls, she said that the rate of growth of government deposits was going to negative territory. “So there is a tightening of liquidity in banks, and that will have implications on overall growth,” she said, “because the key aspect of growth is government spending, and banks, owing to tightening, will become more risk averse.”

Moubayed said that reforms constituted the need of the hour, but quickly added that it would not be easy. In Saudi Arabia, she said, the rigidity of the budget would not allow the Kingdom to cut wages or subsidies, owing to socio-political considerations.

Hence, delayed payments, she added, were a way out.

Overall, though, the economic situation, Moubayed said, was not alarming. “We are very far from 2008,” she said. “We are not in crash mode, but certainly in slowdown mode, especially in Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The UAE, she said would post 3.4% growth and Qatar four per cent.

In the long term, Moubayed said, the capacity of the oil exporters to produce the commodity would not be able to match the demand expected in 2017, so there was an expectation that oil prices would go up. Base demand by 2020, she said, was a projected USD 85 a barrel.

Will provide District Cooling to seven Doha Metro stations

Q

atar Railways Company, which oversees the construction of Qatar’s integrated railway network, has announced signing a contract with Qatar Cool, to provide District Cooling services at seven of the Doha Metro Red Line stations.

A signing ceremony, the announcement added, took place at Qatar Rail’s headquarters on November 30 in the presence of Eng Saad Ahmed Al Muhannadi, CEO of Qatar Rail, and Yasser Salah Al Jaidah, CEO of Qatar Cool.

Qatar Cool will reportedly provide District Cooling at the Pearl and West Bay stations (Legtaifiya, Katara, Al Qassar, Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, West Bay, Corniche and Al Bidda), starting 2019, the projected operation date of the Doha Metro project (Phase 1), the announcement elaborated.

In this context, Al Muhannadi, said: “We have the pleasure to cooperate with Qatar Cool to provide seven stations on the project with a District Cooling system that won’t only withstand the hot weather during summer peak times in Doha but also contribute to protecting the environment by increasing energy efficiency and reducing environmental emissions, saving electricity, and evidently benefiting from a much more cost-efficient cooling service with an economic interest on the longer term.”

Al Jaidah added: “District Cooling’s advantages are increasingly being recognised by governments, developers and end-users alike. It is an honour to say Qatar Cool is playing a fundamental role in Qatar’s sustainable and environmental fortification. We are committed to supporting Qatar and Qatar Rail throughout their journey.”

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REGIONAL

Sustainability and safety requirements driving ME maritime and aviation markets Expert describes UAE’s aspirations for global dominance as standards leading the region

By Fatima de la Cerna | Assistant Editor

W

ith mega events like the Expo 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup spurring development of infrastructure projects in the Middle East, the region is proving to be a growing market for companies that specialise in ports, maritime and aviation solutions. Sharing this observation with Climate Control Middle East in a phone interview, the Chief Operating Officer of Cavotec – EMEA, Juergen Strommer, revealed that his company, in particular, saw the Gulf as a big development market.

“While we are also looking into other markets, like China and the United States,” Strommer said, “the Middle East definitely has our attention. As a region, it has seen significant business in the last few years, with its territorial aspects reflected by diversification. Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia – wherever you go, you will find development projects, and the atmosphere has generally been good for business.”

Elaborating on his point about diversification, he observed that in Saudi Arabia, for example, “Industry is associated more with production and manufacturing, while in the UAE, it’s more with production and application.”

On UAE, he continued: “The country is enjoying a strong infrastructure market, especially in terms of expansions and extensions. And if you look at the development in the region, you can see that the UAE is setting the standards and driving sectors like ports and aviation with its aspirations for global dominance.”

Strommer also pointed out that in terms of trends, market preference not just in the UAE but in the Middle East, in general, is being defined by sustainability, safety and efficiency requirements. “Customers, like Dubai Airports, are putting across demands and requirements for efficient and safe systems that promise ROI,” he said. “More are now asking for highquality systems that are good for the environment and all the stakeholders, and they are discussing amongst themselves; they’re sharing information.”

This growing awareness of the importance of reliable and high-quality products and equipment, he added, was a significant development, especially in light of the challenges specific to the Gulf region. “The weather conditions and environment in the Middle East, with its combination of heat, sand and dust, take a toll on the equipment,” Strommer said. “We have replaced a lot of systems installed by other companies. So, it is important for products and equipment to be designed according to the local environment. Manufacturers have to understand prevailing conditions and provide customers with suitable products.”

A good design, he revealed, is particularly critical when it comes to solutions for cooling aircraft, since they are sensitive and can be more expensive than buildings. “An aircraft,” he pointed out, “requires utmost care to prevent damage and promote safety.”

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SKM highlights energy efficiency and IAQ in technical seminar Stresses the importance of looking beyond RH and considering absolute humidity and dew point in FAHU design

By Fatima de la Cerna | Assistant Editor

W

hat purpose should we keep in mind when designing Fresh Air Handling Units (FAHUs)?

This was a question that Rajat Upadhyay, Consulting Sales Manager at SKM Air Conditioning, posed to those who attended the technical seminar his company organised on November 24, in Dubai, UAE. The attendees offered varying answers, including ventilating and cooling the indoor space and maintaining

the thermal comfort of building occupants. Their answers, noted Upadhyay, while good, missed one of the most critical roles of FAHUs, and that is dehumidification.

“It’s very simple,” he said.

“Our Fresh Air Handling Units are not only all about cooling but also dehumidification. After all, where does air supplied to the FAHU go? It goes to the indoor unit, whatever we have, and if it has a Fan Coil Unit (FCU), then it goes to the FCU.

Sustainable City launches The Diamond Innovation Centre Centre will be the first negative lifecycle footprint building in the region

D

iamond Developers has announced the launch of The Diamond Innovation Centre, a dedicated facility designed to advance progress in the field of sustainability.

Announced in line with the UAE Innovation week 2015, the new initiative is said to be part of The Sustainable City – claimed to be the region’s first fully integrated sustainable community – which has been established to explore and promote the best ideas around the safeguarding of important natural resources.

Purportedly the first institution of its kind in the UAE, Centre will facilitate the study of environmentally friendly and renewable practices.

Among the solutions that the Centre has on its to-do list are research for new sustainable approaches to elevate The Sustainable City’s role in the educational sector and to develop a reputation for the provision of premium training courses, sustainability consulting services and sustainability exhibitions and conferences.

Faris Saeed, CEO, Diamond Developers, calling it a groundbreaking centre, said: “There is a great deal to be done to head the Middle East towards an environmentally sustainable future, and this facility has been set up to lead the way by addressing both regional and global challenges…. The Centre will be the first negative lifecycle footprint building in the region.

Over its 50-year lifespan, the building will produce 140% of its energy requirements, covering its operational consumption, while offsetting its manufacturing, construction and demolition carbon emissions.”

It goes to the chilled beam. And what is the primary function of the indoor units? To cool the air, yes, but there is a fundamental difference between the outdoor and the indoor units.”

Elaborating on his last statement, he said: “The indoor unit is mainly designed to remove the sensible load. If you get more latent load on the indoor unit, it would mean more moisture, and then you’d have a problem in the building, particularly fungus growth and increase in humidity. Therefore, we need to make sure, whenever we are supplying air from the outdoor unit to the indoor, the air should be dry. That way, your indoor unit does not fall short or become ineffective.”

Not all about the RH The problem with the industry, Upadhyay pointed out, was that in discussions on moisture, the focus was often limited to Relative Humidity. “When we talk about moisture,” he said, “the only thing on our minds is RH. We develop our designs with the goal of maintaining 55% or 60% RH in the room, at 24 degrees C. That is our primary target during the design phase of the system. Most of the time, we don’t think about dew point and absolute humidity.

But we should, because if the system is not effectively and properly designed to remove the moisture in the air, it would produce the kind of issues I

mentioned earlier, resulting in a poorly performing building – a problem that would be difficult to resolve.”

Trying to illustrate his point, he presented two conditions to his audience, and asked them to vote on which one they regarded as the more comfortable condition. The first condition involved a temperature of 55 degrees F (12.78 degrees C), an RH of 100% and a dew point of 55 degrees F (12.78 degrees C). The second, on the other hand, had a temperature of 95 degrees F (35 degrees C), an RH of 50% and a dew point of 74 degrees F (23.33 degrees C). Of those who voted, a majority went for the second condition. They were, however, wrong, revealed Upadhyay.

“Most people would think that 100% RH is uncomfortable for human beings and that 50% RH is better for us,” he said. “But that is incorrect. Let’s look at dew point. What is it?

Dew point is the point where moisture in the air starts to undergo condensation. When your dew point is high, air starts condensing much quicker than if the dew point was low.

So absolute moisture and dew point – those two are extremely important and just as critical as RH.” An oversized issue Disclosing that all his information came from the ASHRAE database and was

backed by research, he pointed out that other than lack of attention paid to dew point and absolute humidity, oversizing was another common design error in the industry, and it was one that also affected the air quality of an indoor space.

“Moisture problems can also be the result of oversizing the equipment,” said Upadhyay.

“As a supplier, we get enquiries from contractors or designers who think that bigger is better.

‘Why 1.5 TR? Make it 2.2’, they’d say. Their reasoning is that the equipment should not fall short. That is not a practical approach, though.”

Explaining his claim, he added: “A slightly underdesigned system is actually better, because it will work continuously. But if you oversize, your FCU will automatically switch on or off, depending on whether or not the set-point temperature has been reached.

So your FCU could be working for 40 minutes and then switch off after 10 minutes, and when it does, moisture will be back in the air and into the room.”

In connection with the scenario he had described, Upadhyay emphasised the advantage of using a DC inverter FCU: “The role of the DC inverter Fan Coil Unit is very important, because it matches the blower speed or blower rpm to your requirement. So whenever you are reaching your indoor set-point temperature, the blower will immediately reduce the RPM, and the chilled water flow modulating valve is controlled. Your unit is, thus, working with your cooling and helping improve humidity. That’s why I say that with the inverter FCU, you have a better RH and better temperature control than with a three- or four-speed FCU.” Going back to an earlier point for emphasis, he continued: “You should always remember that over-designing is not good for both your system and your design. Be precise in your calculation, or if it’s not possible, then go for being a bit undersized. Never go for a higher sized design, because it will do nothing but over-cool the air and create more problems.”

A new vision While Upadhyay’s presentation on FAHUs and their impact on IAQ was the main agenda of the seminar, it wasn’t the only one. The attendees – described by SKM as a mix of consultants, contractors and developers – also got an opportunity to listen to presentations on the company’s Applied Product and Unitary Product divisions.

“The aim of the seminar,” said Nabil Abouseido, SKM’s Marketing and Business Development Director, “was to let both our old and new customers learn about our new vision, which we put together almost a year ago.”

The vision, he clarified, was to transform SKM into a multinational company and increase its market share in three different categories. “We divide our business into three categories: applied sales, which consist of the chilled water and the bigger DX units; then unitary business, which is the standard residential and white commercial applications; and the third one is the oil and gas sector,” he said. “The seminar was held to explain to the audience our vision as well as inform them on how to contact or deal with SKM. Unitary, for example, mainly goes through dealer networks and partners.”

On the company’s aim to become multinational, Abouseido said: “We are looking into being a multinational company and expand in areas where we’ve never been there, like the post-Soviet states as well as in Turkey and East Europe.

Perhaps later on, we’ll also look into Western Europe. We may work with some people in the industry to join forces.”

Although Abouseido admitted that none of those had been finalised, he was quick to point out that plans were definitely in development. “Everything’s being planned and in the works,” he said, adding, “Business is tough and requires us to fight, but that’s okay, because at SKM, we are good fighters.”

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11-13 January 2016 Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events Stand No. E66

Touted to be the first of its kind in the region, HVACR Expo Saudi will reportedly tap into the lucrative HVACR market and provide exhibitors and visitors alike with access to the industry's latest developments and innovative technologies and products on display, along with free interactive lecture series and workshops. We bring you a collection of stories and market insights in relation to the highly anticipated event...

Curtain call

Eurovent goes behind air curtains to reveal how the device can help save energy and improve IAQ, with inputs from Francesco Scuderi, an expert in the field.

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et’s put it this way, if you bought a perfectly comfortable pair of shoes, would you wear the right shoe left and vice versa? Of course, not. It defeats the purpose of comfortability. But this is exactly what is happening with air curtain installations in the GCC region.

Air curtains are devices installed indoors and right above the door of a building entrance, and their purpose, among others, is to create a barrier between the outdoor and the entrance to prevent energy

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loss and maintain the integrity of the facility’s indoor climate.

So why do certain facilities have the devices installed outdoors, or have them replaced with simple fans? It makes the whole idea pointless, making them as good as decorative items.

Francesco Scuderi is Technical and Regulatory Affairs Manager at Eurovent with regulatory background and work in innovative R&D. He is an electrical energy engineer in charge of process cooling and food cold chain

technologies at Eurovent and is the convener for the European Committee for normalisation and standardisation CEN/ TC44 Working Group 6 “Commercial beverage coolers and Ice-cream freezers” since March 2014. He will be representing Eurovent at the HVACR Expo Saudi in Jeddah, where he will tackle the adoption of proper industry recommendation.

“In our Special Project at Eurovent, we work together with leading air curtain manufacturers on developing standards for air curtain equipment,” he reveals, and adds, “They are very important devices in the behaviour of buildings, because you can save a lot of energy with the right, correctly maintained and installed air curtain, and also improve the indoor air quality of the building because, the curtain can block all the incoming sand, insects and debris trying to come in.”

Making a comparison between two buildings, both with open doors but one with an air barrier and one without, Scuderi says that the door with an air curtain can save up to 70% of the energy within the building.

“There is an air curtain market in Dubai, Jeddah and throughout the GCC [region], and it is one that is growing,” he highlights. “But the air curtain units you find installed in the GCC region are often fitted in the wrong manner.”

Scuderi goes on to explain the correct way an air curtain needs to be installed: “Depending on the height of the door and the direction of the building, whether East, North, South or West or a combination thereof, it is important that the air from top to bottom follows the right flow and travels at the right velocity, following proper calculation of wind loads and differential pressures between indoor and outdoor environments.”

So it is easy to conclude that anything deviating from proper calibrations could affect the correct behaviour of an air curtain, which can be used for commercial or industrial

Francesco Scuderi

purposes like warehouses or hcold storages, where the air is heating or cooling.

In addition, you need the correct components, such as fan and filter, with a proper grid, where according to Scuderi, a honeycombed design is ideal to drive the air flow.

Proper air curtains can create huge savings in energy costs, he reiterates, and explains, “If you have a big 4mx4m door for an industrial warehouse, which is open for one hour per day, you can then save nearly16,000 AED a year with the right air curtain.”

If the same door is open two hours instead of one, like when a forklift brings in regular deliveries of goods, the savings double, Scuderi says, and adds that similarly, air curtains can prevent refrigeration units inside a cold storage from totally freezing.

“You will need to do two defrosts per day, which uses heat, and this doesn’t count the fact that you will have the floor frosting as well,” Scuderi warns.

Speaking about the region, he says: “As this market grows, the products shall be covered by a good reference line in order to make the right analysis between the different products and manufacturers to insure a level playing field.”

In fact, a current ISO standard does exist to test the aerodynamic performances of air curtains, but what’s missing are the standard rating conditions and the analysis of the building’s energy savings.

“As Eurovent,” Scuderi says, “we are working on this point, working on a code of good practice in order to create real reference lines between different products and for different applications.”

11-13 January 2016 Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events Stand No. E66

An ugly truth behind closed indoors

A dangerous global practice for reducing the energy bill is threatening the very fabric of society, says Professor Geo Clausen, who has been invited by Eurovent to speak on indoor environment at the HVACR Expo Saudi 2016. Eurovent offers a glimpse of the professor’s views on the subject, along with the organisation’s credo.

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ankind is on a mad dash to save energy. Nothing wrong with that. It’s hard to argue with the need for a radical change in thinking and behaviour to preserve whatever precious resources we have on the planet. But whether the driving force for saving energy is ecological concerns or aiming to merely reduce the energy bill, saving energy could turn for the worse.

Here’s an example: You just welcomed a new baby into the world, and in celebration you paint its room pink or blue, and shower the new-born with plastic toys and gifts. As the infant looks expectantly for a thrilling life, unwanted emissions are already spreading their toxins through its fragile system.

“In our attempt to save energy, we turn down the ventilation, and this helps unleash the ability of numerous chemicals, including plasticisers to poison the air babies breathe,” says Geo Clausen, Professor, International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, Technical University of Denmark, Department of Civil Engineering.

While certain use of refrigerant gases are rightfully affecting our Earth’s climate, poor indoor ventilation is a matter that hits closer to home, and Clausen undertakes the task of explaining the customary but dangerous practice affecting global communities.

“My topic is on the indoor environment, where we are facing some serious challenges,” says Clausen. “We turn down the ventilation hoping to lower the energy consumption, but at the same time, we are heightening the risks when we allow for greater concentration of indoor pollutants.”

In his opinion, one area of particular concern is related to the prevalence of asthma and allergies occurring around the world, when children are exposed to chemicals like plasticisers at ventilation rates below current building codes and regulations.

Clausen says that current codes for homes require having at least half an air change per hour. In other words, we should introduce an amount of outside air equal to half the volume of the space that is ventilated per hour.

“This is a code we’ve had for years and years, and still more than half of Danish children’s rooms are under-ventilated,” says Clausen” While we need to ensure that a reasonable amount of outdoor air enters per hour, as Clausen describes, it is a must to ensure that this outdoor air is rightly filtered.

Additionally, poor ventilation has an adverse effect not only on infants but also on school children and even adults.

Soft plastics, floor coverings and paint derivatives, etc., exist not only at homes but also in schools, colleges and workplaces. While they may be highly functional and aesthetically pleasing, there is no escaping their emittance of indoor toxins.

“HVAC is the protection that we have to balance between what we emit indoors and what is taken away from HVAC ventilation systems,” stresses Clausen.

“When it comes to ventilation, and in particular in schools, rates are way too low,” he highlights.

“In Danish schools, almost half the schools are below the current building codes,” he reveals.

In schools, proper ventilation should prevent CO2 concentrations

from exceeding 1,000 parts per million (ppm). “The scary thing is that we have now documented that this has substantial impact on children’s learning,” believes Clausen. “We see effects between five and 10% poorer learning when the indoor environment is inferior, a trend we are seeing all over Europe,” Clausen points out.

The effect on adults, he asserts, is no different. He says that studies done on poor indoor office environments typically Geo Clausen show five per cent loss of employee performance. “It’s easy to quantify that loss in financial terms, especially when compared with what it takes to provide a good indoor environment,” says Clausen.

In his opinion, proper ventilation costs typically from half to one per cent of what is being paid to people who work in that environment.

“So if you want to save on the cost of climatising the building equivalent to half to one per cent salary, and lose five per cent of performance, it’s very easy to calculate that it just doesn’t pay to have a poor indoor environment,” declares Clausen.

He points out that we need to find a proper balance between energy savings and suitable indoor climates, which he adds is the reason why we build buildings to start with.

“We build indoor facilities, because it’s either too warm, too cold, too humid or too rainy outside, and therefore, not paying attention to good indoor environments is a mistake,” Clausen underscores.

He believes balance can be achieved, not through lower ventilation rates, but rather through energy-efficient practices that scientific breakthroughs and engineering solutions afford HVAC systems. It can, for example, be achieved choosing the right, highquality technologies, including air filters with a high filtration rate and low pressure drops (available on the market), but also through air-handling units that incorporate highly efficient components (heat exchangers, fans, etc.).

Clausen says that the fundamentals of human requirements, when it comes to proper indoor climates, apply to Saudi Arabia, as they do to any country around the globe. “Whatever technical specifications that may deviate from country to country, good indoor climate is a vital need for everyone,” claims Clausen.

In order to ensure good Indoor Air Quality, Eurovent recommends that building codes in Saudi Arabia should enforce stricter air filter specifications. The organisation has developed a ‘Eurovent Certified Performance’ programme (claimed to be unique around the world), which certifies air filters through tests in independent and accredited third-party laboratories. The test results are publically available online, accessible for anybody free of charge, and allow for honest comparison between manufacturers. In addition, these filters have a Eurovent efficiency label ranging from A+ to E (with A+ being most energy efficient and one with the best filtration rate). In Europe, more than 90% of filter manufacturers apply this system with a high success, says Eurovent.

Going back to the root of the problem, Clausen says that one-sided focus on energy consumption is driving people to dangerously lower ventilation rates but that the practice could prove expensive.

“From public health deterioration, to poor learning, and from more sick days to low performance, calculations demonstrate time and time again that this cost by far exceeds the price of implementing advanced technical systems,” says Clausen.

Note: Eurovent is Europe’s Industry Association of Indoor Climate, Process Cooling, and Food Cold Chain Technologies.

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Staying in climate control Saying that in some ways, HVAC equipment is akin to people – their performance depends on ambient weather, they can easily malfunction without proper maintenance, and under pressure, both can hyperventilate – Eurovent takes a look at indoor environments vis-à-vis the region, through the eyes of experts.

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urovent believes that the GCC region presents the right climate for proper ventilation systems. Morten Schmelzer, Director of Business Development and Strategic Relations at Eurovent, in this context says: “Within Eurovent, I’m responsible for the section Indoor Climate, which includes all ventilation and air qualityrelated systems, products and components. The GCC is a very important region for Eurovent, given that there are a lot of projects going on, and the demand for high-quality and energy-efficient products is substantial.”

Schmelzer will be speaking at the HVACR Expo Saudi 2016 in Jeddah, where Eurovent, event partner, will be presenting several workshops on different aspects of the industry. Schmelzer will also talk about “Intelligent ventilation”, presenting a case study on supermarkets, describing various indoor climate requirements, looking at the entire system and also at the different components involved in individual products.

“For several years, Eurovent has been receiving more and more requests not only from European but also GCC manufacturers to bring Eurovent’s long-term expertise to the region,” Schmelzer reveals.

Eurovent does so through dedicated seminars and trade delegations, as well as by bringing manufacturers together in working groups to discuss standards, legislation or export projects in support of the many regions where these companies operate.

“An air-handling unit (AHU) is more than just a device that regulates and circulates air,” says Schmelzer. “In fact, it is a technology that, if manufactured

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well, can significantly contribute to a better Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and building efficiency.

Schmelzer explains: “In order for this to happen, it requires the right components, such as state-of-the-art air filters, heat exchangers and EC fans, but also the correct implementation within the buildings’ wider HVACR system. Intelligent is today not just about installing an AHU, but to think about smart controllers so that the AHU interlinks in the right manner with its components and systems. Demand-controlled ventilation is the buzzword here.”

However, simply installing the systems is not enough on its own, because there needs to be certain knowledge of all these products and technologies to make them function properly.

In this regard, Schmelzer underlines that aspects which are often overlooked are fans and air filters. He elaborates: “Because they play an essential role concerning the energy efficiency of a ventilation system, if you have lowquality filters or don’t change them regularly, not only will the overall performance and efficiency of the system suffer but also the Indoor Air Quality.

“In the GCC region,” Schmelzer observes, “the importance of implementing proper air filters is not yet fully understood, and the building codes often lack an effective air filter regulation. We want to change this situation.”

Eurovent develops, within its technical committees, codes of good practices, which are then communicated to a wider audience to educate them about what is actually possible with certain technologies.

“We invited, for example, Systemair, ebm-papst, and

Camfil to speak in Saudi Arabia on behalf of the technical committees they represent inside Eurovent,” Schmelzer reveals.

Now, moving on to the supermarket case study, which Schmelzer will be presenting, it is ideal, because it’s where the end-users experience a controlled climate from the moment they enter. “First is the air curtain, then air conditioned spaces and, hopefully, proper air circulation within the facility,” Schmelzer stresses.

Francesco Scuderi, Technical and Regulatory Affairs Manager at Eurovent, on his part, says that the supermarket system is based on a cooling system starting with the air conditioning and ending with the foodstuff refrigerated in display cabinets.

“With old open refrigerated display cabinets, which are obviously not as efficient as current ones, cold air not sucked up within one of the two air intakes would spill out to the corridors of the supermarkets, resulting in a very chilly environment for shopping,” Scuderi explains.

Eurovent advocates its ‘Eurovent Certified Performance’ programmes, which apply to more than 40 product categories, including air conditioners, chillers, airhandling units and air filters.

These programmes allow for an objective assessment of performances enabled through independent thirdparty product tests. The results of these tests are publically available for everyone on the Eurovent website. As a distinctive element, Eurovent certification underlies tough accreditation processes and many programmes are also subject to a labelling scheme, which offers additional value for customers.

“This way, thousands of products are tested and made publicly available in the database, allowing for easy comparison of various performances and different product types,” says Schmelzer.

Speaking about the region, Schmelzer reveals that Eurovent Market Intelligence expects the GCC’s HVACR sector

Morten Schmelzer

to experience up to 14% average growth over the next decade. “There are a lot of new development projects, a high demand for product replacements and, in general, a higher and higher focus from Saudi officials on Indoor Air Quality,” explains Schmelzer.

He believes that energy efficiency and IAQ should be discussed together, and not separately, and that a higher energy efficiency should not be achieved through lowering IAQ requirements.

“Associated with bad indoor climates are long-term healthcare and pollution costs, among others, and this is where filtration will play a major role,” Schmelzer warns. “People think a filter is a filter, but in addition to needing to be periodically changed to maintain efficiency, there are huge differences, such as needing to ensure that filters have low pressure drops, while having high filtration rates,” he points out, and adds, “Eurovent was the first organisation worldwide that has introduced a performance certification programme for air filters, which is why we have lots of experience in this subject.”

Schmelzer says that Eurovent aims to submit technical knowledge at the workshops at the HVACR Expo Saudi 2016, and also highlight educative aspects aimed at project managers, planners, authorities and even end-users.

“There are additionally two issues we are advocating, starting with advising buyers to opt for lifecycle costs instead of lower costing short-lived products,” says Schmelzer.

“And, secondly, promoting international standards with regulators and manufacturers to ensure a level-playing field and the optimal choice of products.”

11-13 January 2016 Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events Stand No. E66

A failing grade for F-gases

Francesco Scuderi, one of the key speakers at HVACR Expo Saudi 2016, throws light on alternatives to F-Gases…

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VACR Expo Saudi 2016, to be held on 11-13 January at the Jeddah Centre for Forum & Events, and produced

by M.I.C.E Arabia and dmg events, has a lineup of distinguished speakers. This includes Francesco Scuderi, Technical and Regulatory Affairs Manager at Eurovent, where he will talk about using alternatives to Fluorinated gases (F-Gas) used in refrigerants.

“F-gases are man-made chemicals used in the HVACR sector in all appliances, and the European commission worked on two different regulations to ban the gases that are contributing to the high global warming phenomena,” said Scuderi.

Potential replacements to F-gases are Hydrocarbons (HC) or natural refrigerants.

“HCs contribute minimally to global warming, but have some safety problems in that they are flammable at certain charge levels,” Scuderi highlighted.

Other options are natural refrigerants, like CO2 or ammonia, but they are still not fully operational, as the technology works out ways these gases can properly interact with hot climates.

Another aspect of refrigeration Scuderi is an expert on is commercial refrigeration and the preservation of foodstuff.

Scuderi said that the technology is mainly based on two different kinds of approaches. He explained: “You have two different kinds of refrigerated display cabinets. The ones with the plug and the compressor built-in, and there are others linked together with copper pipes and their cooling capacity is coming from a centralised remote appliance.

“The average life of the refrigerated display cabinets is more or less eight to nine years, but it is easy to find supermarkets in the region still using very old cabinets and, thus, unable to maintain the temperatures needed at the recommended levels.”

Air of confidence

SKM says that it will assert its market position with SASO-compliant, hygienic and ecologically friendly air conditioning products at HVACR Expo Saudi 2016.

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KM Air Conditioning, manufacturer and distributor of HVAC equipment in the Gulf, with presence in 26 countries, has announced that it will make its presence felt at HVACR Expo Saudi 2016.

Giving details, Nabil Abouseido, SKM’s Marketing and Business Development Director, said, “We will be exhibiting products that are efficient, eco-friendly, highimpact, unique, timely and targeted.”

Products on display, he said, include: Hygienic airhandling units with Hygienic Certification; fan coil units with an EC motor, which provides a high-efficiency operation; a ducted mini split system which complies with SASO’s requirement for high-efficiency air-cooled condensing unit and works best for apartments, villas, small residences and offices with 1.5-6 TR needs; and a rooftop package unit with R410A gas, guaranteeing environmental friendliness.

“This package is ideal for villas and small one-storey buildings providing one contained unit having a capacity range of four to 50 tonnes of refrigeration (TR),”

claimed Abouseido.

The company revealed that it had pioneered a customised product, which meets highly technical specifications, with the Saudi Electric Company, for installation in their substations. It also purportedly has one of the world’s largest testing facilities, which it uses for its own R&D and to test its own and its competitors’ air conditioning equipment.

“We can test chillers up to 400 TR, while most labs can only do up to 200 TR, and we are certified from the Air-conditioning, Heating, & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI),” said Abouseido.

The company, whose portfolio of projects includes schools, universities, hospitals, palaces, airports, onshore and offshore oil and gas installations, sewage treatment plants, ammunition depots, mosques and pilgrimage sites, is planning to assert its position at the HVACR Expo Saudi 2016. “At this important expo,” said Abouseido, “we plan to display our products and share our expertise, but as well as to meet existing clients and potential new ones, while learning from what the market and our competitors have on offer.”

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11-13 January 2016 Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events Stand No. E66

The workshop agenda – what and where Free workshops are being conducted as part of HVACR Expo Saudi 2016, being held from January 11 to 13, at Jeddah Centre for Forums & Events. The organisers have provided the event schedule…

Monday, January 11, 2016

Saudi Arabia HVACR market outlook, 2020 Date: January 11 | Time: 5-5.20pm (local time) Speaker: Karan Chechi, TechSri Research How to select better products by making effective use of energy labelling data Date: January 11 | Time: 5.30-6pm (local time) Speaker: Erick Melquiond, President, Eurovent Certita Certification How to save time managing your projects by accelerating HVAC&R product supplies Date: January 11 | Time: 6-6.30pm (local time) Speaker: Erick Melquiond, President, Eurovent Certita Certification Energy value engineering Date: January 11 | Time: 6.30-7.30pm (local time) Speaker: Eng Naim Mohammed Khalil Awadallah, Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker Co

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Saving resources by going evaporative. Learn how water-cooled chillers and evaporative cooling technologies can significantly reduce energy demands in hot climate zones while saving water Date: January 12 | Time: 5-6pm (local time) Speakers: Dave Van Harten, Director Sales, Polacel (The Netherlands); Stefaan Sonjeau, Director of Marketing and Business Development EMEA, Baltimore Aircoil Company (Belgium); and Mazin Ghannam, Director, Sales & Business Development, Carrier HVAC&R Europe (France) Moderator: Francesco Scuderi, Technical and Regulatory Affairs Manager, Eurovent How intelligent ventilation technologies contribute to a more healthy indoor air while reducing your projects’ energy demands Date: January 12 | Time: 6-8pm (local time) Speakers: Prof Dr Geo Clausen, Head of Section, Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark; Alex Rasmussen, Senior Vice President, Systemair (Denmark); Karsten Fuchs, Director Sales Europe West + South, ME, Africa, ebm-papst (Germany); and Pontus Grimberg, International Sales Director, Frico (Sweden) Moderator: Morten Schmelzer, Director Business Development and Strategic Relations, Eurovent

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Understanding the European Union legislation to control F-Gases – how to effectively cope with the phase-out of refrigerants with a high global warming potential Date: January 12 | Time: 8-8.30pm (local time) Speaker: Francesco Scuderi, Technical and Regulatory Affairs Manager, Eurovent

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Kitchen ventilation systems based on DW/172 and thermal convection method for calculating canopy extract rates and the use of electrostatic precipitators without the need of multi-stage filters requiring replacement Date: January 13 | Time: 4.30-5.30pm (local time) Speaker: Mike Horsfall, Tamkeen Indoor Air Quality improvement in operating theatres: A clever way to reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections and surgical site infections Date: January 13 | Time: 5.30-6.30pm (local time) Speakers: Romano Alberto Basso, Export Manager, SAGICOFIM S.p.A. and Prof Dr Geo Clausen, Head of Section, Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark Adiabatic humidification which involves the direct evaporation of water in the air without the additional energy from the outside Date: January 13 | Time: 6.30-7.15pm (local time) Speaker: Matteo Zanesco, Tamkeen ErP Directive and how it affects fans Date: January 13 | Time: 7.15-8pm (local time) Speaker: To Be Confirmed Hygienic air-handling units and systems are essential requirement to achieve Indoor Air Quality in hospitals and clean room application Date: January 13 | Time: 8-8.30pm (local time) Speaker: Asim Hashmi, S.K.M. All workshops are free to attend. Register at www.hvacrexposaudi.com.

All workshops are certified by CPD Certified.

GLOBAL

Ziehl-Abegg wins SME “Hidden Champions” award n-tv recognises company in innovation category for its electric drives and fans

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iehl-Abegg, a player in the ventilation and drive technology sector, has announced being honoured by German news channel, n-tv with its “Hidden Champions” Award, which recognises leading small to medium enterprises (SME).

Ziehl-Abegg said that it won the award in the innovation category. The jury, the company claimed, had special praise for the fact that for more than 100 years, it had been justifying its claim of being a developer of innovative electric drives and fans.

“Ziehl-Abegg is one of the leading international manufacturers of fans for ventilation and air conditioning, as well as drive motors for elevators,” was reportedly the explanation given by the jury for its decision.

“I am pleased we were able to reaffirm our position as a classic industrial company in between biotechnology and medical technology specialists,” said Achim Curd Rägle, CFO of Ziehl-Abegg, describing the company’s second place in the category. “The award demonstrates the desire of all employees to succeed as a world leader in technology.”

GEA Heat Exchangers becomes Kelvion Will have a standalone presence

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nforming that another new standalone company has been created out of the former Heat Exchanger Division of the GEA Group, the Group has announced that due to a change of ownership, the company will now operate under its new name, Kelvion.

The other segments of the Heat Exchanger Division, the announcement said, will operate under different names and market presence, like DencoHappel (former Air Treatment), whilst the Power Cooling Solutions business will be renamed.

In light of the new developments, Michael Andersen, Interim CEO of Kelvion, said: “The new company name pays homage to Lord Kelvin, a pioneer of thermodynamics.

The name Kelvion is new, but we continue as global experts in heat exchange with plate heat exchangers, finned-tube heat exchangers, shell-and-tube heat exchangers, modular cooling towers and refrigeration heat exchangers.” He added, “Now, as before, we bring the best of thermal engineering technology to the market.”

GASKETED AND WELDED HEAT EXCHANGERS FOR EVERY NEED

(Please visit Tranter website www.tranter.com for more information) MARKETED IN UAE FOR HVAC SEGMENT BY:

Contact Detail: Cheqpoint Tech Trading LLC P.O. Box 25236 - Dubai, U.A.E. Tel: +971 4 3209310, Fax: +971 4 3925582 E-mail: info@cheqpoint.com, Website: www.cheqpoint.com Contact Person: Mr. Harminder Singh & Mr. Jay Deliwala (Cheqpoint Certifications: ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004, OHSAS 18001:2007 & USGBC Member)

January 2016

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GLOBAL

Wärtsilä power plants now capable of running on propane Will significantly reduce carbon dioxide and other emissions

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“Shale oil and gas production has substantially increased the availability of propane in the market,” said Thomas Hägglund, Vice President, Technology and Solutions at Wärtsilä Energy Solutions. “Many of Wärtsilä's customers see an opportunity for using propane now for power generation.”

Hägglund pointed out that the multi-fuel capability is one of Wärtsilä's traditional strengths, and now its 34SG engine can be used not only with natural gas but also as a dual-fuel engine that can run on natural gas or propane without physical modifications to the engine.

ärtsilä Energy Solutions, supplier of flexible baseload power plants, has announced expanding its smart power generation portfolio by introducing the capability of using propane as fuel for power generation.

Wärtsilä’s first propane-fired project using two 20V34SG gas engines is being readied in El Salvador, the announcement added.

Propane, Wärtsilä explained, is the main component in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is commonly used in cooking appliances and vehicles, and increasingly offered for power production, and by replacing heavy fuel oil with propane, carbon dioxide and other emissions from a power plant can be significantly reduced.

Mostra Convegno Expocomfort 2016 gives event highlights Product lineup to cover four macro areas – heating, cooling, water and energy

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eating, air conditioning, refrigeration, valves, hardware, sanitary technology, water treatment and renewable energy, as well as domotics and building automation, will once again be the focus at Mostra Convegno Expocomfort (MCE), scheduled to be held from March 15 to18 at Fiera Milano, the organisers, Reed Exhibitions Italia, have announced.

The 40th version of the exhibition, dedicated to residential and industrial installations, air conditioning and renewable energies, will offer an overview of best-in-class products spanning the four macro-areas – heating, cooling, water and energy – with over 1,600 exhibitors, 40% of whom are coming from 53 countries worldwide, occupying more than 90% of exhibition space, MCE claimed.

A few of the key focus areas, said Reed Exhibitions, are highgrade integration between systems and solutions, electric and thermal world, building envelop and installation technology to implement intelligent management system, to reduce energy use, to protect the environment and preserve natural resources.

In particular, the common thread of the conference and events programme, the organisers informed, is NZEB – technologies, tools and marketing strategies, and added, that once again, That’s Smart, a conference format combined with an exhibition area dedicated to domotics and building automation organised this year in partnership with Anie and Anie Rinnovabili, will be one of the event highlights. A novelty for MCE 2016 will reportedly be Mcemaster, the physical and online meeting place aimed at installers.

“The high number of exhibitors who have already signed up to MCE 2016, indicates a positive trend both in the manufacturing world and in the distribution world of HVAC and sanitary installations represented by Anima and Angaisa, respectively,” said Massimiliano Pierini, Managing Director of Reed Exhibitions Italia.

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January 2016

Mumbai Metropolitan Region to have affordable housing National Real Estate Development Council proposes to build one lakh houses

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he National Real Estate Development Council (NARDECO), an umbrella developer body formed under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India, has announced coming up with a proposal to construct 100,000 affordable houses on a no-profit no-loss basis in the state of Maharashtra.

The proposal was due to be put forward by NAREDCO (Maharashtra) before the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the announcement added.

Niranjan Hiranandani, Founder-First President, NAREDCO (Maharashtra), said that the aim was to ensure that 100,000 affordable and low-cost houses got built every year, over the next five years, in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), with support and in cooperation with the state government.

The game plan, he said, was simple: NAREDCO (Maharashtra) would deploy the best possible technologies to ensure that the cost of such housing projects was kept low. He added, “If the government is ready to provide land, for example, salt pan land, real estate developers, who are members of NAREDCO (Maharashtra), will build such houses in not just the MMR, but in Mumbai, too.”

The biggest positive from this idea, said Hiranandani, was the manner in which many developers had come forward, and were taking responsibility for construction of a specific number of houses.

ASSOCIATIONS & SOCIETIES

AHRI announces new officers Presents awards during the event

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he Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) has announced holding its Annual Meeting from November 15 to 17 in Bonita Springs, Florida, during which it elected its new officers and presented awards to industry leaders.

Giving details, AHRI said that its new Chairman is Doug Young, President and COO of Lennox International Residential Heating and Cooling, while the officers and Executive Committee are as follows: Vice Chairman: Chris Drew, Vice President, Burnham Holdings; Treasurer: Ron Duncan, President, Magic Aire; and Immediate Past Chairman: Ed Purvis, COO, Emerson. Apart from these, AHRI also announced a 12-member Executive Committee.

The Richard C Schulze Award, AHRI informed, was given for distinguished service and commitment to AHRI and the industry’s goals and objectives, to Dave Negrey, Johnson Controls; Harry Milliken, Desert Aire; Jerry Sipes, Price Industries; Warren Lupson, AHRI; and Brian Reynolds, Trane. The AHRI Public Service Award reportedly went to Gerry Kennedy, Executive Vice President of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors (PHCC).

According to AHRI, it gave two Distinguished Service Awards for 2015: It posthumously awarded Joseph Fristik, of Rheem Manufacturing Company, and to Harry Holmes, President and CEO of Morrison Products, who is active on several AHRI committees and served as Chairman in 2013.

“We are honoured to recognise very deserving individuals and also to welcome these innovative leaders,” said AHRI President and CEO Stephen Yurek. “We are very grateful to them for their service to AHRI and the HVACR and water heating industry.”

Course on Legionella Standard at ASHRAE Winter Conference 2016 One of 20 courses presented at Conference and AHR Expo

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uidance on how to reduce the risk of Legionnaires’ Disease through a recently published standard will be shared in a course at its Winter Conference, ASHRAE has announced.

The conference, said the announcement, takes place from January 23 to 27 at Orlando Hilton, while the ASHRAE co-sponsored AHR Expo takes place on January 25-27, next door at the Orange County Convention Center.

According to ASHRAE the

course on Legionella Standard is among 20 courses on offer by the ASHRAE Learning Institute (ALI), and part of Professional Development Seminars and short courses, for which attendees can earn continuing education credits.

Highlighting the course on Legionellosis, ASHRAE informed that the new half-day Short Course, ASHRAE Standard 1882015 – Successfully Managing the Risk of Legionellosis, will focus on ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2015, Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water

Study launched to bridge building performance gap in Australia BSRIA supports industry initiative

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SRIA has announced backing a four-month feasibility study to develop a prototype UK scheme, which, it says, has the potential to deliver the energy performance specified in client

briefs.

According to BSRIA, the concept embraces the ‘design for performance’ approach pioneered in Australia, where highly energyefficient new office buildings are routinely achieved and verified by investment-grade energy ratings, using its NABERS scheme.

Giving details, BSRIA said that developers, owners and occupiers of new and refurbished buildings believe that compliance with Building Regulations will produce a building that is energy efficient in operation, and can achieve the 2020 nearly-zero-energy target mandated by a European Directive. In practice, however, said BSRIA, the actual performance of most buildings falls well short of the design intent – the “so-called” performance gap.

In Australia, this chronic problem has been eliminated for new office building projects in which clients and their teams sign up to – and then follow – a “Commitment Agreement” protocol to design, construct and manage their buildings to achieve agreed levels of actual in-use performance, BSRIA revealed.

The process, underwritten by the credibility of the NABERS scheme (which ensures that better rated buildings do have lower energy running costs), has led to the emergence of a strong market from investors and tenants for the highest performing buildings, BSRIA elaborated.

In this context, Julia Evans, Chief Executive, BSRIA, said: “Tenants are demanding ever higher ratings and landlords are competing to deliver them.”

The study, being funded and overseen by leading players in the UK prime office market, is reportedly backed by the Better Buildings Partnership, a team led by Verco and including BSRIA, Arup and UBT.

Systems, which establishes the minimum Legionellosis risk management requirements for the design, construction, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance and service of centralised building water systems and components. Michael Patton, a member of the Standard 188 committee, also is an instructor of the course.

Attendees will reportedly learn how to use and comply with the standard; where Legionella propagates and who is at high risk for Legionellosis; how to create a workable Legionella water management plan; and the responsibilities of project

engineers and designers.

“We’ve already seen the real-life application of this standard when sections of it were adopted by the New York City Council following a deadly outbreak there,” said Bill Pearson, course instructor who serves on the Standard 188 committee. “This course is designed to help prevent future outbreaks by showing the industry how to navigate the standard.”

For more information or to register, those interested can visit: www.ashrae.org/ orlandocourses.

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U.S. Chiller Services an independent large tonnage chiller service and solutions organization specializing in the service, repair, retrofit, & modernisation of all OEM makes & types of liquid chillers (centrifugal, screw, reciprocating, absorption) is looking for skilled and experienced Chiller Technicians for overseas employment in its, Dubai and Qatar service offices.

We are currently seeking skilled and knowledgeable Senior HVAC Service Technicians to join our team of HVAC professionals. This is an excellent opportunity for someone that has previous experience with centrifugal and Air Cooled Liquid chillers.

Job Description: The Senior HVAC Service Technician will exhibit proficiency in servicing, troubleshooting and maintenance of Commercial and industrial cooling equipment.

Job Duties: • Builds strong customer relationships; build knowledge and understanding of new and existing customer needs/expectations.

• Provides preventive maintenance on chillers and commercial cooling systems.

• Troubleshoots, diagnosis, and repairs commercial/ industrial cooling systems and temperature controls.

• Performs related work as assigned.

• Troubleshoots and repairs all electrical and mechanical components of HVAC equipment.

• Provides startups and troubleshooting for a variety of commercial HVAC systems, meets with customers, evaluates their needs and makes recommendations.

Job Requirements: • Proficient in the service, diagnostics, and repair of:

a. Large tonnage centrifugal chillers b. Air cooled and water cooled screw, scroll and reciprocating chillers w Packaged rooftop units

c. Split condensing/AHU systems

d. Pumps

e. Cooling towers • 10 years commercial and industrial HVAC experience • EPA Universal Certification • Valid driver’s license • Experience with building automation systems • Experience with centrifugal chillers 250 tons and above • Basic understanding of Microsoft Word, Excel.

Desired Skills: • Understanding of control systems and devices including VFDs Benefits: Tax free Salary up to $100,000 depending on skill level, Company housing provided, 30 days paid vacation, health insurance, retirement plan, sick days, company Vehicle, cell phone, laptop, and Education allowance for Children enrolled in American and International School system.

To apply please send resume to info@uschillerservices.com or Dan@uschillerservices.com 90

January 2016

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