CCME - March 2010

SASO, ESMA ink agreement with AHRI

Tempstar surges into Oman

key perspectives on the region’s hvacr industry

March 2010

NEWS NAPCO achieves UL certification Sustainability spotlight

measure, ensure:

Sougata Nandi of TECOM describes an effective Energy- and water-conservation programme Plus Marketplace, ASHRAE Update

C KSA

Watershed!

A clear strategy on water slakes concerns about district cooling in the Kingdom

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this month 26

06 editorial

Vol. 5 No. 03 | March 2010

From V to R

happenings 10 The region 16 At large

WATERSHED!

18 ashrae update 20 MARKETPLACE 22 FEATURE: COOLING TOWERS Cool towers

A clear strategy on water slakes concerns about district cooling in the Kingdom.

There is a need for manufacturers to modify their heat-removal devices in tune with the present and future requirements.

26 COVER STORY Watershed!

A clear strategy on water slakes concerns about district cooling in the Kingdom.

32 country report

En route for a pas de deux

French firms must market to the Middle East the EUsanctioned standards of HVAC equipment, to take advantage of the region’s growing industry.

34 CASE-IN POINT

Achieving ‘net-zero’ energy

Johnson Controls installs a unique HVAC system at IDeAs headquarters in San Jose, California.

38 REPORT A tale of two markets

MEP services are set to expand in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

perspectives 40 Bigger is not always better

Right-sizing, not over-sizing, the HVAC systems in the Gulf is the way to go.

46 Measure, ensure The final challenge to an energy- and waterconservation programme is the measurement and verification of the accrued savings, writes Sougata Nandi of TECOM.

10 4

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

18

22 March 2010

46

editorial

Publisher Dominic De Sousa Managing Director & Associate Publisher Frédéric Paillé | fred@cpi-industry.com

From V to R

L

et me start off by saying that the inaugural C3 in Saudi Arabia was well received and that issues of significance came up for substantial and meaningful discussion. Considering that the conference is from the same stable as the magazine, you may question the objectivity of my observations, but as the coverage on the event (please turn to page 26) will reveal, that was, indeed, the case.

The conference served as a forum on several fronts.

For long, the Kingdom, a pioneer in air conditioning-, refrigeration- and ventilation-related installations in the region, has emerged with sophisticated technological advances. The sheer size of the country being such, these projects have been spread so far and wide that they have remained relatively obscure and tucked away from accolades. The conference was a convergence of the technological advancements, be it the central cooling facility in King Saud University or the massive cold storage facilities at Tabuk Agricultural Development Company (TADCO), which by the way, I am told, is so large a farm that it occupies an area comparable to the whole of Bahrain.

On the issue front, the announcement by National Water Company (NWC) that it is committed to supplying treated sewage effluent (TSE) to key projects and key cities in the Kingdom was welcome news, considering the acute water shortage in Saudi Arabia and its impact on district cooling, in terms of perception and feasibility. Hisham Hajaj of Stanley Consultants provided an instance of the positive perception while making a presentation on the Retirement Fund projects in the Kingdom. Speaking about the two district cooling plant rooms in the King Abdullah Financial District project, Hajaj said that the wise officials at the Retirement Fund consented to consider district cooling as an option only after they were assured of a steady supply of TSE. Another issue that sparked interest among delegates concerned the discussion on large central cooling plants and an integrated approach to district cooling, turbine inlet air cooling (TIAC) and other industrial applications. The discussion unveiled an appealing option for district cooling providers, long faced with the vexing issue of amorphous load-profiles.

Speaking about the overall profile of the conference, for us, as organisers, we stood by our tradition of producing a dedicated and comprehensive HVACR conference.

Though it gets quite cold in TADCO (it goes to even minus five degrees centigrade, I am told), heating was not an area that came up for discussion; but all the other letters of the acronym stood up pretty well in Riyadh.

Editorial Director & Associate Publisher B Surendar | surendar@cpi-industry.com Associate Editor Jose Franco | jose@cpi-industry.com Contributing Editors Anoop K Menon | anoop@cpi-industry.com Pratibha Umashankar prati@cpi-industry.com Business Development Manager Vedran Dedic vedran@cpi-industry.com Design Rey Delante | rey@cpi-industry.com Head of Digital Services Nadeem Hood | nadeem@cpidubai.com Webmaster Troy Maagma | troy@cpidubai.com Database/ Subscriptions Manager Purwanti Srirejeki purwanti@cpi-industry.com ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Frédéric Paillé: +971 50 7147204 fred@cpi-industry.com Vedran Dedic: +971 50 5574019 vedran@cpi-industry.com USA and Canada Kanika Saxena Director (North America) 25 Kingsbridge Garden Cir Suite 919 Mississauga, ON, Canada L5R 4B1 kanika@cpi-industry.com Tel/fax: +1 905 890 5031 China Sean Xiao Hui China Business Media Group Room 403, Block 17, Wuyimingzhu, No 6 Jinshan Road, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350008, China Tel: +86 591 8386 3000 Published by

Head Office PO Box 13700 Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 375 68 30 Fax: +971 4 43 419 06 Web: www.cpi-industry.com Printed by: Excel Printing Press, Sharjah, UAE

B Surendar

© Copyright 2010 CPI. All rights reserved.

While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

Get the next issue of Climate Control Middle East early!

6

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

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As a bonus, the digital version includes such features as a keyword search, annotation, highlight, notemaking and hot links. For more details, please access www.cpi-industry.com/digital (Zinio is a digital publishing firm based in the USA.) March 2010

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happenings

the region

ESMA, AHRI join hands US body to work closely with UAE entity to evolve country-specific standards; same with SASO

By B Surendar

A

HRI (the AirConditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute) on February 22, signed an agreement with ESMA (Emirates Authority for Standardization & Metrology), whereby the UAE body will have access to use the AHRI testing and rating standards and to adapt them to regional conditions as ESMA standards.

ESMA’s Acting Director General, Mohamed Saleh Badri and AHRI President, Stephen R Yurek were the signatories.

According to the agreement, seen as a step in a process that can lead to the certification/ verification of claimed equipment performance, AHRI and ESMA have agreed to work closely to bring ESMA standards to the market.

ESMA on its part will invite manufacturers to apply to join

to Climate Control Middle East, ESMA’s Acting Director General, Mohamed Saleh Badri, said: “Instead of starting something from scratch, we noticed that we can use AHRI standards. Developing standards is a heck of a job, and we are happy that AHRI will allow us to use their standards as our standards.”

Added James Walters, Senior Director (International Affairs) at AHRI: “We first met ESMA in November 2009 and had detailed discussions on how we can join hands with them.

‘It’s about optimising equipment for the region’

Aftab Khan of UTS Carrier and K Jayakumar of Emerson Climate Technologies

Maged Makkar and Francois Boueri of Daikin McQuay

ESMA committees engaged in all the phases of developing standards and regulations dealing with energy efficiency.

The move is in line with ESMA’s drive to usher in energy efficiency in buildings.

As a national standards body for the UAE, ESMA’s stated goals include working to safeguard the environment and to ensure domestic. The agreement with AHRI is to ensure that the country is able to fast-track the process of establishing a comprehensive set of standards. Speaking

Post the signing of the MoU between AHRI and ESMA, Stephen R Yurek, President of AHRI spoke to Climate Control Middle East on the implications of the agreement and the way forward.

James Walters, the Senior Director (international Affairs) at AHRI, also contributed. Excerpts from the interview…

Minila Mathews and Robert Dunn of US Commercial Services

What does the signing of the MoU signify?

Stephen R Yurek: In a broad sense, the agreement is a recognition that this is not a regional market, and that equipment is about global production, be they manufactured in South America, Asia or Europe. Now a number of these products use a lot of energy. So we need standards, so products can be compared and contrasted. Being able to do so with a harmonised engineering of R&D in manufacturing will inform them what they should be doing to optimise for the region. All products can be compared locally and globally. It is possible to manufacture regionally for the global marketplace.

Considering that AHRI is quite active in advocating standards, why did it take you so long to come to the Saudi and the UAE markets?

Yurek: While it is true that energy efficiency, as an issue, has been around for a while, you have to wait till the markets mature. In the US, the maturity occurred in the 1970s and the 1980s. In Europe, they say they don’t have maturity yet. There is no national standard for equipment. Japan has gone through it.

China is quickly looking at it.

As far as this region is concerned, we were waiting to see where

Moan Abraham of JCI with Stephen Yurek 10

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

March 2010

the region

ESMA energyefficiency seminar

Mohamed Saleh Badri and Stephen Yurek

We feel happy we can provide technical assistance on how best to deal with energy and environmental concerns.”

ESMA has different committees for different standards, be they electrical, chemical or physical. The

committee dedicated to energy-efficiency will review the suitability of AHRI standards for UAE conditions and offer its recommendations.

A day earlier, AHRI signed a similar agreement with SASO

(Saudi Arabian Standards Organisation), again aimed at establishing energy-efficiency standards, in the Kingdom.

The agreement will allow SASO to adopt and adapt AHRI testing and rating standards to Saudi conditions.

ESMA will hold an energy-efficiency seminar on April 15 and 16 in Dubai and has invited industry to apply for participation. The seminar will likely lead to specific workshops aimed at educating members of the HVACR fraternity on the use of testing and rating standards, and verification and certification.

SASO’s Director General, Nabeel Molla and AHRI President, Stephen R Yurek were the signatories.

the market was and when our potential partners were ready.

Last year, they were open to these discussions. We could have come earlier, but don’t know whether or not we would have been successful. The financial crisis and the discussions in Copenhagen on climate change have made people realise and made people more focussed on energy efficiency. In Kyoto, the discussion was really left to the G20, which is a smaller group of countries. But Bali started it all, and Copenhagen had more involvement from a greater number of countries.

Having said that, we have suppliers that are already participating in certification programmes and in the writing of the standards. They would continue to participate in that as related to the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

What steps are you looking to take to localise the standards?

Yurek: When the Government sets a minimum efficiency, they need to say what temperature they are looking for. In the US, it is 95ºF; here, they may have a different temperature.

We will, then, work with participants to have standards for not only for 95ºF but also for 110ºF, say.

James Walters: A key aspect of moving forward is how ESMA develops the mechanism to alter those standards. Mr Badri said we have a committee to evaluate the standards. Someone needs to take ownership of that. We will be talking to SASO and ESMA about the mechanism. We need a combined group of experts to look at that.

Considering that the UAE and Saudi Arabia (to a large extent) experience similar ambient conditions, wouldn’t it be quicker to establish a common set of standards for the GCC? Yurek: We are hoping to work with ESMA and SASO to evolve a standard for GCC. Both Mr Mollah and Mr Badri have the same intention.

Stephen Yurek and James Walters

Establishing a standards regimen is one thing, but what, would you suggest, can be done to counter the scourge of counterfeiting?

Yurek: Counterfeiting is an issue not only here but also in the US and Europe. People talk about the environment, but when it comes to the bottomline, they tend to move away.

Standards and certifications provide a basis for people to compete fairly. The question is, ‘How can the standards be enforced?’ In the US, we see voluntary enforcement. People are willing to pay the money to take certification. At the end of the day, though, we can do only so much. Consumers are going to buy. When a developer says, “I will put the cheaper component”, that’s when the government needs to enforce. So you can have voluntary enforcement by the industry, and then we need government enforcement. In over 80% of the projects, you will have compliance. A minority percentage will skirt the law, just like a portion cheats on taxes. The best way to make buyers comply is to price energy correctly.

March 2010

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

11

happenings

the region

Tempstar surges into Oman International Comfort Products and Bahwan launch the Tempstar brand of commercial air conditioners in Muscat technical seminar

B

ahwan Electronics and AHI Carrier on February 23 jointly launched the Tempstar brand of commercial air conditioners in Muscat during a technical seminar at the SAS Radisson Hotel, Muscat.

Tempstar is a brand owned

by United Technologies Corporation (UTC) and is manufactured by International Comfort Products (ICP).

Bahwan Electronics, a part of the Suhail Bahwan Group, is the distributor of Tempstar products in Oman.

Giving the introductory speech, Jayaprakash Menon, the General Manager of Bahwan Electronics, spoke of a common aspiration to protect the earth for future generations. Pointing out to dire predictions that the earth would not be the same in 50 years’ time, Menon said one of the biggest environmental concerns was refrigerant gases. “To counter that, scientists have come up with green gases,” Menon said. “Tempstar’s range of air conditioners use green refrigerants, which can cut ozone depleting emissions by 30%.”

Speaking after Menon, ICP’s Manager for Export Sales, Colin Perkins, said that ICP, as a part of UTC, has embraced a corporate culture of environmental stewardship, under which it has embarked on a new fouryear programme to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 12%, water consumption by 10% and non recyclable waste by 30%, all on an absolute basis as compared to the previous years.

Under the environmental stewardship programme, Perkins said, UTS was the first major corporation to offer the

12

R410A refrigerant. This was in 1994. Subsequently, in 2006, Tempstar introduced R410A models into the US market.

In his presentation, Perkins pointed out that though the Montreal Protocol allowed the continued use of R22 through 2030 in developing nations, there were indications that many of them were taking steps to voluntarily change to environmentally friendly refrigerants. The UAE, for instance, was considering an accelerated phase-out of R22.

And Latin America and the countries of the Caribbean were moving towards R410A. The R410A, Perkins said, is an azeotropic mixture. It does not segregate or stratify during off cycles, which is the case with zeotropic blends. The R410A, Perkins added, is more efficient than R22 or similar-performance, “drop-in” zeotropic blends.

Elaborating on its efficiency, Perkins said that the R410A has 31% more heat-carrying capacity in the vapour phase; 30% higher heat transfer coefficients; and a higher operating pressure (50-70% more), which equals higher gas density.

Keeping in mind the higher operating pressure and also its properties, though, R410A units require different components, Perkins admitted. For instance, they need new condenser coils, re-sized expansion devises, less system refrigerant and new specially designed compressors. The Tempstar R410A systems, Perkins said, use scroll compressors.

The thicker casing of the compressors is able to tolerate higher pressures and temperatures, he added.

Saying that ICP has been active in the Gulf Region for

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

March 2010

Jayaprakash Menon and Colin Perkins

25 years, of which 19 years have been with the Tempstar brand, Perkins then elaborated on the specific range of products the company was launching in Oman, including split-system condensers (1.5-5 TR) and package rooftops.

The company’s split-system condenser, R4AE, Perkins said, has a 13+ SEER rating. As standard features, it has scroll compressors, high pressure switch, low-pressure switch, filter drier, phase monitor, and corrosion-resistant, polymer-coated coil. The split systems, Perkins said, are specifically designed for high ambient (52ºC) and severe climatic conditions.

Speaking, then, on the company’s packaged rooftop systems (RAS), which come in nine models, ranging from five to 20 TR, Perkins said, they are ASHRAE 90.1 compliant and boast of standard EERs from 9.9 to 12.3 at ASHRAE rating points.

The rooftop systems, Perkins said, have precisionsized scroll compressor, low and high pressure protection, no-strip screw technology and a non corrosive condensate pan

(which meets ASHRAE 62 guidelines). Further, the systems have easy-access handled panels, larger and centralised control box, command centre terminal board, flexible belt-drive fan and a 75VA transformer with circuit breaker. Among the different models of the rooftop system, the 17-2o TR models have as standard features an extended bearing lube line, a dedicated vertical duct-configuration model, a dedicated horizontal (S/S) duct-configuration model and slide-out filter tracks.

Generally speaking, the rooftop systems, Perkins said, come with several factory-installed options, including temperature and enthalpy economiser, nonfused disconnect, multiple fan motors and drives, twoposition motorised damper, manual damper, smoke detectors (return air, supply air, or both), CO2 sensor, louvred hail guard, coated coils and centrifugal power exhaust.

The seminar was also attended by Jafar Imam, Regional Manager (RLC), AHI Carrier.

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happenings

the region

AECOM, ADSSC on two new sewage projects These are part of ADSSC’s $7b investment programme over the next five years

A

ECOM in the Middle East is teaming up with the Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company (ADSSC), to help deliver two projects that will provide facilities for isolated properties in the capital.

The first project involves supervising the design and construction of sewerage connections and related works for said properties while the second project is for the second phase of the design and construction supervision of wastewater relocation works under the roads and utility schemes in Abu Dhabi.

These projects are part of ADSSC’s $6.54-billion (Dh24bn) investment programme over the next

five years which will prepare Abu Dhabi to meet the Emirates 2030 Vision with a state-of-the-art wastewater infrastructure.

“ADSSC has a very large programme of work requiring expertise from around the globe,” said the company’s managing director, Alan Thomson. “Our relationship with AECOM is an important element of programme delivery, and we are pleased to continue our relationship with AECOM following the award of these contracts.”

The range of current commissions with ADSSC includes the relocation of wastewater trunk lines along Salam Street. AECOM is also involved in the

delivery of four projects under construction on the same street, in addition to the design review and construction supervision of sewage treatment plants in Zafaran, Mafraq and Zakher.

Noting the 15-year working relationship between the two companies, David Barwell, CEO of AECOM in the Middle East, hopes this will continue with the help of the latest contracts.

He remarked, “These two new wins build upon our existing successful working relationship with ADSSC and is testament to the confidence that ADSSC has in AECOM, providing the expertise that is much needed in a fast growing part of the country.”

DSK wins $24m contracts in Kuwait’s education sector Population growth demands expansion in the infrastructure, healthcare and real-estate sectors

D

rake & Scull International for Electrical Contracting Kuwait (DSK) has won two contracts worth $24.52 million (Dh90m) within the education sector in Kuwait City, the first for the Kuwaiti-based company following its acquisition by Drake & Scull International (DSI) in December.

“DSI growth strategy is focused on strengthening our presence in Kuwait, among other markets, and with the help of DSK, we expect to establish ourselves in the Kuwaiti market as leaders in the MEP industry,” said Khaldoun Tabari, vicechairman and CEO of DSI. Kuwait announced 14

earlier this year a four-year, $104-billion economic stimulus plan, which includes budget for major developments across Kuwait. These infrastructure projects, valued at $20 billion in contract revenue, will be in the form of roads, airports, hospitals and schools. Various residential and commercial projects are also needed to accommodate the country’s rapid population growth.

“Kuwait’s growing population is making demands on the country to expand its infrastructure, healthcare and real-estate sectors, so we see a lot of potential there,” Tabari said. “From every angle, DSI sees an abundance of opportunities within Kuwait,

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

March 2010

Khaldoun Tabari

and our encouraging start in the year provides a positive insight for 2010.”

DSI acquired 75% of DSK at end-2009, in line with the company’s declaration to pursue acquisition negotiations in Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

NAPCO achieves UL certification Describes the award as a ‘landmark accomplishment’ NAPCO, a UK-based

manufacturer of specialised adhesives, coatings and sealants, has achieved certification by the US-based Underwriter Laboratories (UL) Inc. The company described the award as a “landmark accomplishment”, making it the first and only firm in the region to have to have its complete range of HVAC products UL-certified.

Its manufacturing unit in the UAE, NAPCO Middle East Ltd, has been producing HVAC adhesives, coatings and sealants for over 15 years, with projects also in Africa and Asia.

Jumeirah hotel reduces carbon emissionS, energy costs HVAC motors with fixed speeds were replaced with ABB ACH550

A

year after replacing its old HVAC systems with ABB engineering technology, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel has reduced its carbon-dioxide emissions by 35% and overall energy costs also by 35%.

“Considering this is only the first phase of the installation, we’re very impressed with the huge reductions in energy consumption we’ve experienced,” said the hotel’s director of engineering, Keith Tose. “Overall, we see this as the best solution to make Jumeirah Beach Hotel a more energy-efficient building.”

The hotel, which is

the first property under the Jumeirah Group, has replaced its HVAC motors that ran in fixed speeds with ABB ACH550 variable speed drives.

HVAC motors with fixed speeds do not allow for adjustments in response to the varying demand for power with regard to the time of day, the time of year and environmental conditions.

“As HVAC motors account for more than 60% of a building’s total energy consumption, motors running at fixed speeds cause higher energy consumption,” the hotel said in a statement.

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ABB drives, on the other hand, enable the motors to run efficiently at optimal speed, as and when required. These are connected to a state-of-theart control system, which is fully integrated into the building management system (BMS). The system allows a single-user interface, providing a onestop access to all the HVAC drives in a building.

The statement said the ABB’s ACH550 standard drive is the first dedicated AC drive developed for HVAC applications, and is known to reduce energy consumption by as much as 80%.

ABB ACH550

happenings

at large

IBM, Johnson Controls unveil smart solution for buildings

This will help clients address the growing need to improve asset management

I

BM and Johnson Controls have teamed up to provide smart solutions that would improve operations and reduce energy and water consumption in buildings worldwide.

In a statement, Johnson Controls said it will combine its sustainable energyefficiency services with IBM’s software and hardware services, to help clients address the growing need to improve asset management.

It added that key elements of the offering are designed to address critical building performance areas, including

systems integration, energy management, enterprise reporting, space utilisation and asset management.

“The integration of IBM Tivoli software and Johnson Controls’ building technology solutions provides complete information, in order to make decisions that impact the bottom line,” said Clay Nesler, the vice-president for global energy and sustainability at Johnson Controls.

Nesler added: “With our Smart Building Solution, energy and asset management is enhanced in new ways

that optimise environmental performance and operational efficiencies across a single building or an entire portfolio of buildings.”

William Sawyer, the vicepresident of Tivoli Maximo Operations at IBM Sofware Group, said the solution will help a property optimise

energy and environmental performance by integrating the building, infrastructure and enterprise systems.

He remarked, “This will provide our clients with advanced intelligence capabilities that will measurably improve building operations.”

Systemair posts $9m turnover for Nov-Jan Europe’s severe winter boosted sales in heating products but delayed building projects

S

ystemair, a global ventilation company, has reported a negligible drop in profit for the third quarter of a split fiscal year.

Net income dropped one per cent to $9.2 million (66.6 MSEK, or million Swedish kronors) between November and January while net turnover sank one per cent to $110.0 million (799 MSEK) for the same period. ”We are satisfied with achieving turnover and profit on level for the same quarter last year,” said the company’s president and CEO, Gerald Engström.

He added that while the biting winter throughout Europe had caused increased sales in heating products, it also delayed and stopped a series of building projects, causing a drop in sales in ventilation products.

16

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

March 2010

Systemair said in a statement that it is “very satisfied” with its “good cash flow and strong balance sheet”. It stressed, “We estimate that our market share is increasing on a number of markets.”

The company’s largest production plant in Skinnskatteberg has returned to a five-day workweek from January 1.

“We are cautiously optimistic for the next quarters,” it said. “When the markets turn up, our production plants will be well-equipped for a substantial increase in volumes.”

Systemair posted a turnover of $454.6 million (3.3b Swedish kronors) last year. It has operations in 38 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

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ashrae update Recognition, appreciation

Qatar Oryx Chapter recognises venue sponsor for hosting its seminars and training programmes, conducts one on ‘air syndrome in closed water systems’

T

he Qatar Oryx Chapter of ASHRAE on February 23 recognised the support it has received from The College of The North Atlantic in conducting its activities. “Since the chartering of our local chapter, we have been intensively supported by various parties of the construction industry,” said Ramiz Gabrial, President-Elect (2009-2010). “The educational institutions were not far from playing their educational role through helping the Chapter to extend its professional services to the local construction industry professionals. The College of The North Atlantic – Qatar was among our major supporters through providing us the use of their campus facilities to conduct some of the Chapter’s technical events.”

The Chapter recognised the college by presenting a certificate of appreciation. Monica Kennedy, Marketing and PR Manager of the college received a brass-engraved wooden plaque from Gabrial. Khaled Mohsen, also of the college, and Seenu Pillai, the Chapter Secretary were present during the appreciation ceremony.

The Chapter on February 27, conducted a full-day training programme, titled ‘Air syndrome in closed water systems’. Faisal Jassim Trading Company and Tour Anderson sponsored the programme, held at the College of The North Atlantic – Qatar.

The subject, of great interest and importance to the air conditioning industry, was presented by Claude Bulthez, the Training Manager of Penumatex Dynamic Water management. In his presentation, Bulthez provided a theoretical and practical description of the problem and stressed on the industry’s wrong perceptions and practices in dealing with air accumulation in a closed water system.

Air in closed water systems causes unnecessary loss of energy, loss of water, loss of system controllability as well as total loss of the system operation, Bulthez stressed. The syndrome can occur in heating as well as in cooling systems, he added.

About 80 members from the consulting, contracting and institutional fields (both from the public and private sectors) attended the programme.

Award for The College of The North Atlantic. From left to right: Khaled Mohsen, Monica Kennedy, Ramiz Gabrial and Seenu Pillai

Training programme on ‘Air Syndrome in Closed Water Systems’

Upcoming event…

The Qatar Oryx Chapter of ASHRAE on April 10 will conduct a training programme that will focus on cooling towers, centrifugal filtration of water systems and AHU system design.

Green Technology and Contracting Company, in association with EVAPCO, Lakos and Rosenberg, will be the sponsor of the seminar, to be held at the College of The North Atlantic – Qatar.

Training programme on ‘Air Syndrome in Closed Water Systems’ 18

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

March 2010

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marketplace

This section contains regional and international products information

Techem

District heating in Budapest

A

Hungarian district heating firm has teamed up with Techem, a global provider of energysaving solutions, to help flat owners in Budapest save on their energy bills by putting across the message via advertising animation.

“Our customers are not experts,” said Zsuzsa Gyarmati, communications manager at of FÖTÁV Zrt, in Budapest.

“This is why we show them in a simple and pleasant manner how they can save money for heating and hot water.”

Béla, a cartoon character in the FÖTÁV infomercial, is a flat owner sweating due to constant heating. He complains about the high cost of heating, but eventually discovers FÖTÁV’s new ÖKOPlus programme. Then he convinces his neighbours to participate and applies for subsidies and financing.

By installing radiator thermostats in a building’s heating system, flat owners can save as much as 15% on their energy consumption. This means that district heating is hardly the cause of highheating costs, contrary to the belief of most flat owners in Budapest. “[T]he setback is the lack of

opportunities for individual heating adjustments and transparent billing,” said Techem, which has provided FÖTÁV the exact database and cost estimates for equipment for consumption control and cost allocation.

It added that in 2008 alone, $124.2 million (€90m) was invested into the improvement of energy efficiency in Budapest, where many houses were traditionally provided with district heating and hot water. But the energy costs were at a flat rate, as regulation for individual measurement was limited.

“This caused several customers to have an overall negative attitude towards district heating,” explained Gyarmati.

“That is why we have taken the initiative to restructure and modernise through the support programme, ÖKOPlus.”

The state funds the programme with a grant of 50% of investment costs for individual customer. Some district administrations may also fund the remaining primary costs under certain circumstances, such as when a customer cannot afford paying for such.

Under ÖKOPlus, customers are given a period of 10 years for repayment.

Flowserve

McCANNA cartridge ball valve

F

lowserve Corporation has introduced the Flowserve McCANNA cartridge ball valve, a flow control product for the HVAC industry which is designed for less maintenance and more productivity in hazardous or remote applications.

“Flowserve has the experience to design products that increase plant safety and productivity in the most demanding applications,” said Brian Hood, product manager at Flowserve Flow Control Division.

The new product’s captive self-aligning bolting enables its internal cartridge assembly to be robotically removed and replaced in one assembly. During an emergency, valve components can be accessed or replaced in minutes.

Hood remarked, “The McCANNA cartridge ball valve simplifies installation and maintenance while withstanding high operating temperatures and hazardous process fluids.”

The valve’s design is based on proven McCANNA top-entry valve technology. It has a unique one-piece metal seat, which provides better wear resistance and a higher operating temperature range compared to soft-seated designs. The full port top-entry valve uses a single bonnet seal and live loaded stem seals for high seal integrity in hazardous applications.

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CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

March 2010

Flowserve McCANNA

Customers, who are also given a 10% discount on basic fees, may apply directly to FÖTÁV without involving their banks.

FÖTÁV, however, needs an accurate quotation in advance before deciding on an application. This is quite a problem, as the heating systems installed in most buildings in Budapest are old.

“Within the scope of numerous larger pilot projects, the energy solution provider recorded the data of those houses and flats, whose owners had shown interests in the programme,” Techem said in a note.

There are now 458 flat-sharing communities, or 39,000 flats, participating in the ÖKOPlus programme. Techem transmits the recorded consumption values, and the owners then pass on the data to FÖTÁV, which prepares the bills.

“The energy savings solution provider’s modernised metering and billing services have ensured billing based on consumption, as well as incentives to save,” Gyarmati said. “As a result of which, we have gained satisfied customers and, in the future, we will also provide them with district heating.”

Trane

More energy-efficient rooftop units

T

he new Trane Voyager rooftop units that replace the existing Voyager rooftop unit line are more energy-efficient and suitable for supermarkets, movie theatres, warehouses and other commercial and industrial buildings.

According to Trane, the new Voyager rooftop units are Eurovent-certified (Class A efficiency for a number of units), with a high Coefficient of Performance (COP) and Energy Efficiency Rating (EER).

Additional energy savings can be achieved with technologies like heat recovery and a modulating and condensing gas burner, making it particularly suitable for cold chain and storage applications, such as chocolate and flower storage.

“Trane Voyager systems

combine high reliability and energy savings, easier installation and less maintenance to deliver reduced cost of ownership,” said Pierre Cazal, vicepresident of equipment systems for Trane’s commercial business in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India.

He added, “This flexible system ensures seamless integration with building management systems to improve customers’ heating, ventilating and air conditioning system performance.”

The new design allows the units to perform in extremely warm or very cold environments. The 15-165 kW-packaged units offer the following: A choice of cooling-only,

A refurbished house roof with solar energy panels

gas-fired, heat pump or dual fuel technologies to meet specific customer cooling and heating needs Additional energy-saving options like plate heat exchanger, heat wheel,

adjustable fresh air volume and free-cooling Plug-and-play design, with a single-point power connection and factory-installed accessories, ensuring easy installation and commissioning

Danfoss

CKL Flat Station

H

aving components designed for low-supply temperature, Danfoss’s CKL Flat Station is compact and environment-friendly, easy to install (designed for wall mounting) and use and has quiet cooling solutions.

Danfoss said in a note that district cooling flat stations are used in the process of distributing cooling energy into a building, and do not include hazardous refrigerants.

“Of course, the cooling flat stations can also be used in connection with loal chilled water process chillers and traditional chillers,” Danfoss said in a product note.

A standard range of flat station types includes six stations in different sizes and capacities. “When necessary, tailored cooling stations are designed and manufactured

according to specification and requirements given by the customer,” Danfoss stressed.

Fitted with plate heat exchangers, the CKL cooling flat stations enable heat transfer via the heavy turbulence and counterflow principle. The cooling substations have internal electrical connections, and are built with prefabricated parts.

These parts are made with automatic pipe-bending equipment, giving supreme quality and short delivery time, Danfoss said.

Buildings do not need traditional chillers when using district cooling, where energy is utilised efficiently from a centralised production system by distributing it to the industrial, commercial and residential buildings to cool the indoor climate.

March 2010

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feature: cooling towers

Cooling towers with ultra low-noise fan installed

by Baltimore Aircoil Gulf at Emaar Plaza Baltimore Aircoil Gulf

Cool towers

Jose Franco writes about the need for manufacturers to modify their heat-removal devices in tune with present and future requirements

C

ustomisation is the now the name of the game when it comes to cooling towers.

The market calls for various innovations in these heatremoval devices, which send process-heat waste into the atmosphere. Manufacturers should, therefore, incorporate into their products a number of features like noise attenuation systems, hybrid towers for low plume and optimal tower sizing with respect to space availability.

These needed modifications to creating specialised cooling towers are necessary, says Jeevan Joy, the managing director of Spig Middle East, 22

since large-capacity plants for district cooling call for customisation. And the Gulf region has great demand for cooling towers, especially in the power, petrochemical, process and district-cooling industries. Joy remarks, “The largest demand is from the power and petrochemical sectors.”

HYBRID CT Frank van Leemput, the area sales manager of Dubaibased Baltimore Aircoil Gulf, sees in the future hybrid cooling towers which minimise the use of water, are easy to maintain and have more features against

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

March 2010

Legionnaires Disease (LD).

He says manufacturers are currently busy finding ways of installing cooling towers indoors and in “difficult” space layouts, reducing noise emission by these devices and improving their safety and maintenance as well as coming up with LEED-driven solutions.

“At the product level,” van Leemput says, “there is now interest for ‘silent’ solutions – as some areas are fully built-up and residential towers are close to each other – and ‘enhanced reliability’ solutions like closed-circuit coolers which protect the chiller against sand and dust.”

While a number of district cooling projects have been cancelled due to the economic slowdown, van

Jeevan Joy

‘L8’ and LD Cooling towers, whose common applications include cooling the circulating water used in oil refineries, chemical plants, power stations and building cooling, are covered under ‘L8’, a code of practice approved by the international community to control the spread of LD. The towers vary in size from small roof-top units to very large hyperboloid structures of up to 200 metres in height and 100 metres in diameter, or rectangular structures that can be over 40 metres tall and 80 metres long. Smaller towers are built in the factory while the larger ones are constructed on site.

Brought about by bacteria in aerosols or water droplets which people inhale, LD is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia. L8, which applies also to hot and cold water systems and evaporative condensers, calls for risk assessment of these devices, including cooling towers, and the appointment of a manager, rather than a technician, to be in charge of such. It also provides for ongoing review and reassessment of exposure to the bacteria, called legionella, and the development, implementation and management of a riskminimisation programme.

Anti-LD legislations exist in most countries, along with measures for energyefficient and green solutions in the HVAC&R industry, van Leemput stresses, but are not always implemented. “This makes it more difficult for manufacturers who live up to international standards and code,” he says, especially now that cheaper solutions have become the focus due to the economic crisis. “LEED-driven projects will, however, place a premium on these solutions.”

Morex

Leemput says the situation in which buildings are forced to find places within themselves for their own HVAC plants presents some opportunities.

Consider, for instance, a project that needs modular or mobile chiller plants, and the demand for versatile products.

“Cooling towers are now to be fitted in a building which was not foreseen to be equipped with cooling towers,” says van Leemput, “and the roof is very often not an option.” He adds, “At a geographical level there is a shift in market activity – that is, cash-rich and areas filled with government projects are now taking the forefront, such as in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.”

A hybrid cooling tower, which relies on both water and air to cool the working fluid, is being introduced in the market, notes Rami Al Khalil, the Abu Dhabi-based sales manager at Morex, which has for 18 years served as a full-service manufacturerrepresentative company for the HVAC&R industry in the Middle East. He says there are big tenders involving various projects in Saudi Arabia, such as the King Abdulla Financial District, as well as in Qatar and the UAE.

The Bridge Way Hotel project in Abu Dhabi, where Morex supplied large electric and gas water heaters equipped with storage tanks

not by those unfamiliar with the products. The spare parts should be genuine, as well, van Leemput adds, in order to

ensure good performance and longer lifespan.

Spig Middle East brings its customer service

TURNKEY SOLUTIONS Companies also have started offering turnkey solutions for district cooling projects, Al Khalil says, and they maintain these projects for a longer period as part of a strategy to improve customer service and package offering.

Another strategy being used by some companies nowadays is the build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme, which addresses mainly the high costs of a district cooling plant and, eventually, the transfer of technology.

“These are manufacturers which have ‘total concept’ offering – that is, the unit plus service,” says van Leemput. After-sales service should be formalised via contracts, as cooling towers need to be maintained by factory-trained technicians, March 2010

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Spig Middle East

feature: cooling towers

Spig Middle East’s 60,000 TR district-cooling plant at Jumeirah Beach Residence

further to include online monitoring for preventive maintenance, and a global reach for trouble-free operation and maintenance of cooling towers. Joy remarks, “We also have online monitoring solutions which we are offering our customers to have an effective, preventive maintenance by keeping online track of the condition of rotating equipment, and also to evaluate the performance of the cooling towers.”

DEMAND DRIVER Government projects, such as schools, hospitals and administrative complexes in Saudi Arabia, will mainly drive the demand for cooling towers and other related components within the HVAC&R systems, van Leemput says. Other economies that will dominate the market are Qatar and Abu Dhabi, he adds, citing good economic situation which is much better compared to that in, say, European states.

The various ongoing and planned developments in the Middle East will require millions of tonnes of refrigeration for the next 5-10 years, the beneficiary of which will mainly be the district cooling sector and the industrial and commercial projects. This 24

has been pointed out by Al Khalil, saying that companies may take advantage of the growing markets, such as Saudi Arabia, by teaming up with local suppliers or representatives.

This is echoed by Joy, who emphasises the big potential for cooling towers in Saudi Arabia, which is having a flurry of gigantic development projects involving universities, hospitals and residential communities. Large requirements from the petrochemical, power, process and industrial segments also make the Saudi market more lucrative.

What Joy wants to see realise is manufacturers working with local partners in promoting the advantages and merits of using watercooled systems in large tonnage applications like district cooling. He stresses that the benefits of using seawater-cooling towers, considering that most of the petrochemical, power and process plants are close to the sea and need large capacities of water flow to cool the process. “The clients need to be made aware that the capacity of existing intake channels is diminishing, and environmental guidelines need to be strictly adhered to,” he adds.

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March 2010

Government projects, such as schools, hospitals and administrative complexes in Saudi Arabia, will mainly drive the demand for cooling towers and other related components within the HVAC&R systems Spig Middle East

UAE’s largest rectangular seawater cooling towers, at Emirates Aluminium

VARIOUS PROJECTS Spig Middle East is executing some prestigious projects in various developments across the Gulf region, such as the Dubai Motor City, New Doha International Airport, SIDRA Medical Hospital and Research Centre (in Doha) and Hadeed District Cooling Plant (in Saudi Arabia). “We are awaiting orders for a couple of major districtcooling projects, which are in the pipeline,” says Joy, “and we are also awaiting some big orders from the petrochemical sector in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.”

Baltimore Aircoil Gulf, which focuses mainly on Abu Dhabi and Qatar, has a number of ongoing projects in the UAE. These include three closed-circuit coolers at Ramada Hotel, in Dubai; five open cooling towers at Wahat Hilli Mall, in Al Ain; 10 open cooling towers with ultra lownoise fan at Marina Plaza Plot (Dubai) and four open cooling towers forced draft with double attenuation package at Landmark (Abu Dhabi).

While Baltimore does not disclose its spending on research and development, Spig says it allots 20% of its annual revenue for R&D and programmes on corporate social responsibility, or CSR. Joy says that Spig, which places at $20 million its estimated turnover in the Gulf for this year, has always focused on technology enhancement and innovations in cooling systems.

This move is reflected in the number of patents and certificates that Spig has received from various accredited bodies for its excellent components and innovative manufacturing techniques. Joy proudly remarks, “We still strive to keep on moving forward and bring out the best for our client, so that they could benefit from powerand water-saving, with utmost considerations to environmental aspects.”

cover story

The Climate Control Conference (C3), KSA

Watershed!

A clear strategy on water slakes concerns about district cooling in the Kingdom. By B Surendar | Photographs: Richard Woida

D

elegates at The Climate Control Conference (C3) in Riyadh heard with relief SAUD I ARA BIA that some of the key players in Saudi Arabia are doing district cooling right, be it in terms of water, power or financing. They also listened to the possibility of diverting cooling loads from residential to power plants and other industrial applications.

Further, they responded to insights on refrigeration and ventilation.

The three-day conference, from March 14 to 16, was quite comprehensive in nature, including as it did almost all aspects of HVACR. It was a first for the Kingdom and, in that context, well received.

26

Day 1 focused on district cooling, with two clearly divided sessions. The morning session focused on the opportunities and challenges for district cooling in the Kingdom, whereas the afternoon session largely focused on what the rest of the GCC has to offer in terms of experience, expertise and refrain, borne out of over a decade of doing district cooling.

A standout feature of the morning session was that delegates got a localised flavour of Riyadh. The city’s King Saud University was a major point of focus in the 1970s when it established a central cooling plant.

Using centrifugal chillers, it was able to achieve 1kW/

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March 2010

The city’s King Saud University was a major point of focus in the 1970s when it established a central cooling plant

TR, which was lauded as a technological advance and as something quite energy efficient. Equally significant, it used TSE, though it started off with using freshwater.

Nevertheless, over the years, it has toted up the longest operating experience with TSE, something that its installers, the US Corps of Engineers, can be quite proud of. People at the conference listened with interest as Dr Zeyad A Al Suhaibani, Assistant Professor (Engineering Department) at the university took them through the profile of the district cooling regimen. They were particularly interested in hearing about the successful and sustained use of TSE from the 1970s, considering

B Surendar

March 2010

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that the UAE has been using the source of water only from 2004 onwards.

While Saudi Arabia has had experience with central cooling plants for a long time, it is only in the recent past that it has adopted district cooling as a business model. The credit for being a pioneer goes to Saudi Tabreed, whose CEO, Abdul Hamid Al Mansour, shared his views on the initial days of doing district cooling. In his presentation, Al Mansour spoke of the tremendous challenges the company had to overcome, including the slab rate and also the cost of land for the plant rooms.

He cited as examples the plant rooms in Jeddah and Madinah, where the plots of land cost the company SR100 million. His presentation brought home the message that the Government needs to support district cooling companies for the model to be financially viable.

Hisham Hajaj of Stanley 28

Consultants was another key speaker. In his presentation, he highlighted the importance of the availability of water for district cooling to be successful in the Kingdom. Stanley Consultants is involved in the Pension and Retirement Fund projects in the country, in the forms of two plant rooms in King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) (capacity 100,000 TR) and the Information Technology and Communication Complex (ITCC) (30,000 TR). Hajaj spoke of how the decision makers at the Retirement Fund eventually gave the go-ahead to the project, after they were assured that the plants would use only TSE, following a signing of a contract with the National Water Company (NWC), and not freshwater.

His presentation was an eye-opener to delegates that largely speaking, developers in Saudi Arabia will pursue district cooling only if a sustainable water source is

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

March 2010

While Saudi Arabia has had experience with central cooling plants for a long time, it is only in the recent past that it has adopted district cooling as a business model

available.

In a subsequent panel discussion, titled ‘The challenges and opportunities for district cooling utilities in Saudi Arabia’, Nasser H Al Aamry of NWC elaborated on TSE. In fact, Al Aamry brought a fresh air to the proceedings by saying that NWC is committed to bringing TSE to district cooling regimens in six cities, to start with, in the Kingdom and, later, to 15 cities. The six cities are Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Al Khobar.

Later, while making a presentation, Al Aamry went on to say that NWC had started with a SR 20 billion capital and that the company is looking to bring in several external investors in other cities, with NWC as the main shareholder.

The intention, he said, is to bring foreign investors to handle privatisation of water and wastewater, in terms of collection and

SAUD

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distribution. NWC, Al Aamry added, is willing to invest $20 billion over the next 10 years to boost the water infrastructure. This news was received with abundant relief by the district cooling industry. Battered as it is by the financial downturn and the rather sharp decline in the number of projects in Dubai, till recently regarded as the epicentre of district cooling in the region, Al Aamry’s words gave plenty of optimism to the delegates.

NWC will be supporting KAFD with 22,000 m3/ day of TSE and ITCC with 5,500 m3/day. Further, it has earmarked 10,000 m3/day for Ma’aden and 700,000800,000 m3/day for Riyadh alone, with irrigation schemes and industries as the beneficiaries.

Al Aamry’s co-panellist in the discussion on challenges and opportunities for district cooling in Saudi Arabia was Salah Abdulaziz Al Afaliq of National Trigeneration

BIA

CHP, who has championed the trigeneration concept in industrial cities in the Kingdom. During the discussion, Al Afaliq spoke on how he is generating power, steam and chilled water for a select set of industries, including plastics and food processing. Another panellist was Abdullah Mohammad Al Jardan of City Cool Saudi Arabia, who spoke at length on the experience and difficulty in King Abdullah Economic City, where Emaar, he said, could not commit to an off-take in district cooling.

In a second panel discussion on the Saudi perspective, titled ‘Construction challenges and materials and supplies’, Albert Haykal of Trane spoke on the big advantages of water-cooled chillers in Riyadh, where due to dry conditions, the cooling tower would supply 80ºF water compared to 93-95ºF in the UAE. This, Haykal said, means an ability to select chillers at 0.56kW/TR compared to March 2010

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

29

cover story

(To be continued in the April 2010 issue)

0.7kW/TR in the UAE. Considering the fact that Riyadh is the driest, Haykal said, a water-cooled system is advantageous, and the gap (the demand for water) is filled by TSE, offered by NWC. His co-panellist, Mohamed R Zackariah of Protecooling (Suhaimi Design) concurred on the benefits of the watercooled system in Riyadh.

Haykal’s another co-panellist, Mohammad Abusaa of ADC Energy Systems spoke of the difficulties for contractors when he said that the Saudi labour law makes it difficult to get labour on time. “After signing a contract, it takes three to six months to get labour visas,” Abusaa said.

Construction costs and materials are slightly high compared to the UAE, but the cost of living is low, Abusaa added. His co-panellists, Robert Geday of SNC Lavalin and Abdullah Zeneeh of Rio Electromechanical concurred with him.

30

In the afternoon session, George Berbari of DC Pro Engineering started off the GCC perspective on district cooling when he spoke on lessons learned from executing projects in the UAE. In his presentation, he focused on the phenomenon of over-building in the UAE. “One million was installed, and less than 500,000 was utilised,” Berbari said, adding that people simply did not manage their companies properly to match their financial projections.

The news of Tabreed posting a huge loss was a bold move to acknowledge past mistakes, Berbari said.

After Berbari, Geday of SNC Lavalin elaborated on the extensive experience of the company, evidenced by the facts that it has installed over 680,000 TR (35 district cooling plants) all over the UAE. And Antoine Stephan of Hamon CTC described how the company has been cooling well water in Riyadh for over 30 years. In the course

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March 2010

of his presentation, Stephan explained how the cooling tower capacity is derated at low wet bulb temperature. In other words, Stephan said, in Riyadh, there is a need to design for a larger approach, for example 10ºF or higher, compared to 6ºF, to compensate for derating of cooling towers.

The afternoon perspectives culminated in a panel discussion during which the finance side of district cooling came into focus.

Mansoor Durrani of National Commercial Bank, Saudi Arabia; Khalil Issa of Energy Central, Bahrain; Mohammad Abusaa and Jardan were the panelists. Durrani revealed how banks were still interested in financing district cooling projects, provided there is strong offtake agreement with reputable end-users or developers, such as governmental or semigovernmental entities. Issa picked up the cue when he said that district cooling providers are still interested in investing

in projects, but they need to do a higher level of due diligence.

“Provided there is strong offtake, they are willing to consider these projects,” Issa said.

District cooling companies will avoid investing in piping, Issa added. The developer ought to do that against a transmission fee, Jardan said. Abusaa gave the contractor perspective. He said that in the new paradigm, brought about by the downturn, contractors are being selective as to whom they would work with. Simply put, Abusaa said, contractors are looking at clients with a solid financial background.

C3 discussions in the April issue…

Spotlight on:

Turbine inlet air cooling (TIAC) Large central chilled water plants and an integrated approach to district cooling, TIAC and other industrial applications

In recognition oF the sponsors, exhibitors and associates...

SAUD

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BIA

March 2010

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country report: france

A panoramic view of Paris from the Eiffel Tower

En route for a pas de deux French firms must market to the Middle East the EU-sanctioned standards of HVAC equipment, to take advantage of the region’s growing industry

S

hould French companies be interested in tapping the HVAC&R industry in the Middle East, they had better start participating in various exhibitions held in the Gulf. These firms must present their latest products and services to concerned consultants, contractors and clients in the Gulf, wherein rapidly growing economies offer tremendous potential for foreign companies interested in setting up shop in the region or striking partnerships with their domestic and regional counterparts.

The HVAC&R industry in France doesn’t hold much influence over the markets across the Gulf Arab states, which are familiar with the US and British standards with regard to equipment and components related to heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration. French 32

companies must also work to market to the region industry standards sanctioned by the European Union, in order to facilitate the importation of their products into the region.

“To improve their influence they shall present their products and the advancement they have contributed to this industry,” says Rami Al Khalil, the Abu Dhabi-based sales manager of Morex, a full-service representative company for HVAC, firefighting products and industrial equipment. But he notes that these products are most likely not rated or manufactured according to specifications imposed by the hot climes in the Gulf and the wider Middle East region. He remarks, “This will create difficulty in selecting equipment complying with the required design and weather conditions.”

He and Frank van Leemput,

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

March 2010

Major French companies engaged in power and energy are also flexing their resources to gain a larger market share and a better foothold in the international market

the area sales manager of Baltimore Aircoil Gulf, say HVAC&R companies and professionals in the region and their counterparts in France may also explore chances for technology transfer through industrial bodies. Al Khalil remarks, “Technology transfer shall be between French manufacturers and formal industrial bodies and all the parties involved in the HVAC&R industry . . . .”

There are not a noticeable number of French companies involved in the Gulf’s HVAC&R industry, van Leemput says.

But inasmuch as any region outside Europe now has a bigger potential for HVAC&R business, it would be in the best interests of companies in France and other parts of Europe to explore the Gulf market, particularly Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait.

“These countries are the

strongest in economy in the Gulf area, besides the various development projects they have planned in the coming 20 years,” Al Khalil says. The Gulf countries and the whole Middle East will be needing millions of tonnes of refrigeration for their district cooling systems for many years.

French companies, for instance, may use their expertise on anti-LD (legionnaires’ disease) in the manufacture and installation of cooling towers, the heat-removal devices that send process-heat waste into the atmosphere. The common applications of these devices include cooling the circulating water used in oil refineries, chemical plants, power stations and building-cooling systems.

“Due to the heavy anti-LD legislation in France, French companies are assumed to have gained excellent expertise in this area,” says Dubai-based van Leemput, whose US-headquartered company manufactures heat transfer and ice thermal storage products. LD is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia brought about by human inhalation of bacteria in aerosols or water droplets. France adheres to a code of practice, called L8, to control the spread of LD. This code covers the manufacture and installation of cooling towers and other related equipment and components.

Major French companies engaged in power and energy are also flexing their resources to gain a larger market share and a better foothold in the international market. Consider the public megaconglomerate, Areva, for instance, which recently acquired the solar thermal startup Ausria, for an unknown amount. Ausria’s solar technology stores part of the heat generated by the sun during the day, so that this can keep producing electricity even when the sun doesn’t shine.

“I see this as a good sign for the capitalintensive solar thermal market,” says Michael Graham Richard, a writer based in Ottawa, in February. “Projections have it growing at around 20% per year for the next decade, but depending on a few things

(price of oil, carbon taxes, major climate events and new scientific discoveries), solar could potentially expand even faster than that (or slower, if we’re unlucky).”

Affected by the economic downturn, the solar thermal market expects a smaller growth rate in the next few years.

But since the world is leaning towards renewable energies, the market for solar thermal continues to grow, according to BSRIA, a UK-based construction and building services consultancy. The normally favoured distribution channel in the European market is through installers and plumbers, except for the UK, Greece, Germany and France, where

it is done through wholesalers.

France is also home to a number of trade shows in heating and airconditioning – in which firms and professionals in the Gulf could participate and visit, in order the learn more what that European country could offer to the region’s HVAC&R industry.

Take, for instance, the Interclima + Elec Home & Building and the Enéo events.

A biennial international exhibition in Paris, Interclima is dedicated to heating, refrigeration, air-conditioning and sanitary wares, while Enéo focuses on energy, climate control and water management.

A worker installing solar panels

March 2010

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case-in point

Achieving ‘net-zero’ energy Johnson Controls installs a unique HVAC system at IDeAs headquarters in San Jose, California ohnson Controls designed and installed a unique heat pump-based HVAC and control system at the new headquarters of Integrated Design Associates (IDeAs) Inc, which is a testament to the latter’s commitment to help architects design the best and most energy-efficient buildings.

The headquarters is the first commercial office building in the US designed to meet a netzero energy/net-zero carbon emissions goal, or Z2.

The goal was to transform a 1960s-era, windowless concrete bank into a highly efficient and comfortable building using a fullcomplement of sustainable design techniques and technologies. (The energy efficiency for the HVAC system and building envelope is estimated to be 40% below 2005 California Title 24 energy requirements.)

The result is an office building that uses renewable energy from photovoltaics to meet 100% of its energy requirements, burns no fossil fuels and produces no net greenhouse gas emissions.

DESIGN INC The design incorporates a geothermal heat pump, which takes advantage of the fact that the temperature below ground remains constant all year round – about 10ºC in this case. Water flows through pipes laid under an open landscape area and passes into the building, where a 34

heat exchanger collects heat from the water in winter and uses the water’s cooling-effect during summer. A radiant floor system with cross-linked counter-flow tubing uses the water to convey heating and cooling to the space.

The system uses less energy to provide the same level of comfort as traditional systems, owing to temperature variance between the occupant and the floor itself. Radiant systems typically can use higher water temperatures to provide effective cooling, and lower water temperatures to provide effective heating. This means that the equipment operates at higher-efficiency levels.

“Since the system has been operating it has already provided a very cool and comfortable environment during some very hot weather,” says David Kaneda, the principal of IDeAs. “It is a very efficient system that will help us meet our net-zeroenergy target.”

Kaneda had thought of bringing this concept to life when his company bought a 7,200-square-foot former bank branch to house its new headquarters. “We felt we should walk the talk, not just talk,” he remarks. A consultancy providing electrical engineering and lighting design services, IDeAs has clients involved in projects like educational and medical facilities, office and retail spaces and restaurants and apartments.

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

March 2010

Johnson Controls’ Davide Kaneda, Jeff Crenshaw and John Coleman

SUSTAINABLE TECHNIQUES

Pump speeds are kept at their lowest demand by using power inverter technology that responds to actual demand

A Johnson Controls Metasys building management system accurately controls the flow rates and slab temperature to provide the maximum performance using the least amount of energy. Pump speeds are kept at their lowest demand by using power inverter technology that responds to actual demand. Floor condensation is monitored and dehumidification provided, if needed, with an air-handling system that uses water from the geothermal system.

A building integrated photovoltaic system is the facility’s energy source. The panels in this system are part of the single-ply membrane roof installed on the facility.

The electrical system is tied into the grid, so it will draw power at night when there is

Photovoltaic solar panels are integral to a single-ply membrane roof

MORE EFFICIENT, LESS COSTS The innovative HVAC systems in the IDeAs headquarters are a key contributor to minimising the building’s energy consumption and

IDeAs

PEX piping and valves are visible inside wall cabinets, making it easier for the host to explain to visitors how the system works

equipment as well. LCD flatscreens take the place of traditional monitors, which use 50% more power, while laptops replace desktop computers where possible.

The design team integrated office equipment with the building security system, automatically shutting the equipment down when the security system is armed – and restoring power when the system is disarmed.

“All of the technologies we are using are readily available,” Kaneda says.

“Some of them are more expensive from a first-cost standpoint, but the reduction in energy use will pay longterm dividends. And it’s the right thing to do from the standpoint of reducing our impact on the environment.”

IDeAs

no sunlight, and deliver power back to the grid when more energy is generated than is being used during the day. The result is designed to be ‘net zero’ in overall energy use.

To reduce the amount of energy used for lighting, Kaneda’s team added windows and cut skylights into the roof to take advantage of available daylight. High-efficiency windows let light through but block infrared and ultraviolet light, keeping the office cool. An overhang shades south facing windows and those facing east incorporate electrochromic window glazing, which is controlled by a sensor that darkens the windows when the sun hits them directly.

Low-energy fluorescent bulbs used throughout the building are controlled by occupancy sensors, or these have dimming ballasts to reduce energy consumption.

Light sensors turn off select fixtures when sufficient daylight is available. Energy conservation extends to computers and office

maximising performance and indoor air quality while keeping construction costs comparable to more traditional designs.

The Radiant Floor System. A topping slab, poured over the existing slab, contains a crosslinked counter flow polyethylene (PEX) radiant tubing system for both heating and cooling.

Using water to convey heating and cooling to a space in a radiant system uses less energy to provide the same amount of conditioning compared to a forced air system, owing to the radiant-effect created by the floor temperature variance between the occupant and the floor itself.

Also, radiant floor systems typically use higher water temperatures for cooling and lower water temperatures for heating compared to traditional systems, allowing the equipment providing the water to operate more efficiently.

High-pumping efficiencies are gained by the design of a low pressure drop piping system, coupled with open-ported,

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case in point An illustration of the HVAC and control systems at IDeAs headquarters

EHDD Architects

ball-type control valves. The Metasys building management system accurately controls the floor cooling/heating flow rates and temperature, to provide the maximum performance for the lowest pumping power and most efficient water temperatures.

Pump speeds are kept at their lowest demand speed using power inverter technology based on actual demand. Floor condensation is prevented by the system, which compares the floor temperature to the room air-dew point temperature.

Dehumidification is provided, if needed, by the air handler using chilled water and concurrent condenser water for temperature control via a pair of dual coils in the air handler.

The Heat Pump. An electric, water-source heat pump produces both chilled water and hot water to maintain the net-zero energy and zero carbon emission philosophy of the IDeAs building. The chilled or hot water is

provided both to the radiant slab and the dedicated outside air handler to condition the space.

The heat pump has a cooling energy-efficiency ratio (EER) rating over 19.

The open-landscape area behind the building was used as a ground source heat sink for energy absorption and rejection, and as storage for the heat pump system.

The earth under this area is trenched with a field of PEX piping six feet and four feet deep to provide an energy storage field.

System efficiencies are increased by providing a relatively steady temperature heat sink for the heat pump system, rather than using outside air to absorb and reject heat, which would mean that temperatures would vary more widely. The thermal storage capacity of the earth also allows for high-efficiency between heating and cooling modes of operation, which alternate from morning to afternoon.

A dedicated outside air handler with high performance filtration and

constant temperature control provide high performance ventilation for the building.

Operable windows and doors installed throughout the building allow the occupants to tailor their comfort levels by tuning the openings. However, when outside air temperatures are too cold or too hot and the windows or doors are not utilised, the dedicated outside air handler provides the required ventilation in the building. Chilled or hot water supplied by the heat pump to the air handler will condition the air delivered to the space.

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report

A tale of two markets

Frost & Sullivan report says that MEP services are set to expand in Saudi Arabia and Qatar

Edited by JOSE FRANCO

S

audi Arabia and Qatar have better prospects for MEP services among their peers in the Gulf Co-operation Council bloc. Not only their exposure to global financial market has insulated these two economies from the credit crisis, their governments’ increased spending on infrastructure projects also made them more attractive to contractors engaged in mechanical, electrical and plumbing services.

“The infrastructure sector is set to benefit from the portion of this spending,” says the research and consultancy firm, Frost & Sullivan.

“Hence, these two markets are emerging as better growth prospects for MEP services among the GCC countries in the future.”

MEP services will grow marginally until 2013 and generate revenues of $22.45 billion after an estimated gradual pick up from next year following last year’s decline. This translates to a compound annual growth rate of 10.6% from 20008, when the market was placed at $13.54 billion, according to a 2010 report released by Frost & Sullivan.

Titled “Strategic analysis of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing services market in [the] Middle East”, the report said the mechanical services accounted for 37.6% or $5.09 billion of the overall MEP market while the electrical 38

Ventilation control panels: Mechanical services accounted for 37.6% of the overall 2008 MEP market in the Gulf

services made up 43.2% ($5.85bn) and, plumbing, 19.2% ($2.6bn).

Accounting for 72.6% of the 2008 MEP market, the commercial, residential, hospitality and infrastructure segments were the major end-user of services while the industrial, institutional, government and other buildings held the remaining 27.4% market share.

Being closely associated with the construction sector, the MEP work makes up 25-30% of total project costs, stresses the report authored

by Vivek Vijayakumar, Frost & Sullivan’s research analyst on environment and building technology practice for South Asia and the Middle East. It

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

March 2010

Being closely associated with the construction sector, the MEP work makes up 25-30% of total project costs

remarks, “MEP is mandatory and considered as the ‘serviceon-demand’ within the construction industry.”

The boom in the construction industry, coupled with economic expansion and population growth, makes the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar the key contributors to the growth of MEP in the Gulf. These economies account for a combined share of 88.2% of the regional market while Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain share the remaining 11.8%.

In the UAE, it’s Abu Dhabi that is expected to drive the demand for MEP services, owing to the slowing of construction sector in Dubai.

These two emirates, however,

22446.4

25000 20000 Revenue (in USD Million)

13539.9

15000 10000

Current Effective Market -- 2008 3.8% 2.9% 5.2% 3.8% 2.9% 5.2% 12.3% 41.8% 12.3% 41.8%

5000

UAE KSA

UAE

Qatar

KSA

Kuwait Qatar Oman Kuwait

0 2008

2013 Year

GCC

34.1%

BahrainOman 34.1%

Bahrain Source: Frost & Sullivan]

MEP services market, 2008-2013

are still the country’s leaders with higher margins and growth opportunities. The other emirates have the advantage of lower business costs and limited competition but are less profitable.

With the construction boom, many new entrants are now trying to make their

Source: Frost & Sullivan

mark in a market where there is a dearth of quality contractors and where some of established contractors are struggling for profits. “The competitiveness is believed to be sustained only if a company has a substantial operating history, proven track record and reputation

in the market,” the report says. “In the future, the competition could be encountered by new entrants, who are into diversified business segments attempting to consolidate into MEP contracting services market.”

The future also looks bright on various development projects to be undertaken

by governments, the report notes. “The global financial crisis has halted/postponed/ cancelled many projects in the private sector; therefore, government spending in residential, commercial, hospitality and infrastructure projects [is] likely to drive the demand for MEP services market in the future.”

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perspective

Bigger is not always better

Buildings in Dubai are equipped with over-sized air-conditioning units to counter the emirate’s hot and humid climate, says Siterman

Right-Sizing, not over-sizing, the HVAC systems in the Gulf, is the way to go

By ARKADY SITERMAN

T

he Gulf region is hot, humid, and is quickly becoming the world headquarters for huge towers and hotels behind glass curtain walls. It is also the global leader in large air conditioning systems which are often over-sized.

Ironically, the indoor climate induced by these over-sized air conditioning systems is not particularly comfortable. Moreover, the excessively humid indoor air, if not treated correctly, causes condensation with a possibility of consequent mould and odour problems.

OVER-SIZED PROBLEMS More than one engineer has told me that it is better to make people “freeze” than make them “hot” and get blamed for it.

Both of these scenarios are unacceptable.

The art of engineering is to provide the optimum indoor environment where the occupants feel comfortable – neither hot nor cold, but just right. In addition to 40

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

March 2010

temperature, a frequently overlooked, but critically important factor to the overall comfort level, is indoor humidity.

Levels of humidity inside general buildings, such as offices, hotels and residential towers, greatly depend on the volume of outdoor air infiltrated through the exterior envelope and building openings (entrance doors, air vents, etc). High levels of indoor air humidity, even with acceptable space temperature, lead to uncomfortable conditions – cool but clammy. Commonly used buildingpressurisation approaches can help reduce infiltration, but cannot eliminate it entirely because of its complex nature.

Often, air-conditioning systems are specified when a building is still in the conceptual design stage, and when complete information (such as façade details and glass performance) is not available. Systems are usually over-sized to compensate for the missing information

and often not modified in later stages of design. An over-sized air conditioning system will cool a space down more quickly before cycling off. But the frequent on/off cycling diminishes the system’s dehumidification efficiency, which then increases the space-moisture level and raises the air-dewpoint temperature.

Condensation is often the result when supply-air temperature becomes lower than the space dewpoint temperature.

It is a very visible result, and is often seen on windows and supply air grilles.

Condensation may also result in mould and odour problems. This is especially serious in hotels, where operation of air conditioning systems is dependent on room occupancy. In a case where equipment is located above the ceiling, water dripping may even occur, because once turned on, over-sized equipment tries to catch up with the temperature and humidity set points and remove

OVER-SIZED COSTS The problem of over-sized airconditioning systems in the Gulf would be bad enough, if it was limited only to poor indoor environment and negative effects of condensation. But over-sized systems also reduce building value, ambiance and profits.

The larger equipment, ductwork, piping, and associated systems and services are more expensive, both in capital and operating costs. This reduces owner profits. The larger mechanical equipment decreases usable floor space, thus reducing potential returns. The larger-than-necessary ductwork results in lowered ceiling heights, reducing room ambiance. The larger equipment, in short, is wasteful in terms of energy, space and financial resources.

RIGHT-SIZED SOLUTIONS The right solution is always one that is conceived specifically for the building’s situation. Each building – ground-up or renovated, hotel or housing – has its needs and goals. For all occurrences, however, one should follow the latest codes and design recommendations for acceptable indoor environment, such as those found in ASHRAE Standard 55 Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy and ASHRAE Standard 160 Criteria for MoistureControl Design Analysis in Buildings.

When working on new construction, ascertain that cooling load calculations are performed utilising the latest climatic design information and the appropriate design methodologies.

It is important that the cooling load be verified and adjusted at each stage of the design process, as more information about the real needs of the building become clear.

When selecting new air conditioning equipment, calculate the load specifically, and even choose something slightly undersized to allow for even and longer continuous system operation. Another technique that prolongs equipment operation is implementing appropriate control strategies, including equipment with variable chilled water and air flow.

When retrofitting or renovating existing buildings, it’s important to remember that existing air-conditioning systems can always be made better.

Modifying constant air volume

equipment will allow variable air flow to satisfy dynamic cooling load changes.

To reduce equipment cooling capacity without rapid cycling of the chilled water control valve, adapt the chilled water temperatures entering equipment by providing a mixed valve arrangement.

Improved control strategies will also improve system efficiency and reduce energy consumption.

are the rule. Value engineers with their troubleshooting experience can effectively advise on how to streamline air-conditioning systems, to reduce both capital and operating costs, and to obtain better indoor environment for building occupants.

The writer is the founder of the New York- and Dubai-based VE Solutions Group. He may be reached at arkady@ vesolutionsgroup.com.

CONCLUSION In the Gulf and anywhere in world, where climate is typically hot and humid, airconditioning systems should be carefully designed to ensure that results, not waste,

ATS. 0 9 _ E C O L I N E _ S I . A E //

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CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

41

C

PI Industry, in collaboration with ENPARK, is proud to announce a focused training workshop, titled ‘Profitability through sustainable development’, which will empower participants with tools and clearly defined strategies to pursue their sustainable goals in their organisations. This, in turn, will translate into cost-savings and profitability.

The workshop, under the joint initiative’s ‘Sustainability Series’, will be held on May 5 and 6 at Conference Rooms 1 & 2, Dubai Knowledge Village. The series will include four subsequent workshops, which will be specific to the areas of modelling tools required for green building certification; they will be held in Q3 and Q4 2010.

Who is the trainer?

Sougata Nandi (see profile), the Director of Sustainable Development at TECOM Investments and ENPARK, will conduct the introductory workshop, which will contain detailed and compelling content for you to arrive at pragmatic and powerful solutions. Nandi’s credentials are exemplary. His Energy and Water Conservation Programme at TECOM has generated savings worth $7 million in less than three years with nominal investment. He is currently the LEED AP for 45 projects of TECOM Investments, simultaneously pursuing LEED certification in various categories like Existing Building, Core & Shell and Commercial Interiors.

Who should attend?

The workshop will benefit... n Sustainability managers and directors n Facility managers/engineers n Facility owners n Campus managers/engineers n Project development managers/engineers n Architects

n n n n

Consultants Contractors Suppliers Service providers

Objectives of the introductory workshop

By the end of the workshop, you will be able to: n Define sustainability in the context of your own organisation n Understand the key components of a sound approach to sustainable development, resulting in increased profitability n Define your organisation’s short-, medium- and long-term goals n Come up with an implementation plan

Workshop Timings

Indus tries Utilities Buildin g desig n Buildin manag g ement

Workshop Methodology

The workshop will be conducted using a combination of the following: n Appropriate case studies n Demonstration of frameworks n Demonstration of key tools n Group exercises for problem solving – scenarios will be developed by participants, and groups will be formed to come up with effective resolutions

Registration will be at 0800 hours, with the workshop commencing promptly at 0900 hours each day. There will be two short breaks for refreshments and one long break for lunch. The session will conclude at 5pm on both days.

No empty claim this

Cost-savings and profitability are not an illusory goal but reality. Organisations are saving millions of dollars through energy and water conservation that pay back in months.

See real case studies on these at the workshop.

Sustainability Series

An ENPARK, CPI Industry training initiative

Conference Rooms 1 & 2, Dubai Knowledge Village, UAE • May 5 & 6, 2010

Workshop Outline

Introduction (1 hr) n Objectives of the workshop n Global trends in sustainability n Local trends in sustainability n Review delegates’ concepts, experiences and exposure to sustainability Components of Sustainability (1 hr) n Define sustainability n Sustainability elements as tools for enhancing profitability n Why corporates should embrace sustainability n How sustainability blocks recession and fights economic downturn n Implementing sustainable development effectively within an organisation n Case study Energy and Water Conservation (5 hrs) n Implementing effective energy and water conservation programmes • Organisational maturity matrix • Rate your organisation • Energy auditing methodology • Role of energy manager • Implementation strategies n Components of energy and water conservation • HVAC • Lighting • Water n Tools required • Measurement and verification protocols • Ascertaining energy bills – normalisation • Lighting energy calculations • Performance contracting n Exercise – what is relevant and important to your organisation? n Stakeholder engagement n Case studies Building Green

(4 hrs) n Why build green n How to build green & green building criteria

n

n n

• Site sustainability • Water conservation • Energy efficiency • Materials and resources • Indoor environmental quality Tools required • Light pollution • Lighting power densities • Energy modelling • HVAC load calculation • Ventilation standards • Regional material quantities • Measurement and verification protocols Exercise – define your relevant green criteria set Case studies

Wrap up

n Key learnings n Individual action plans

Session Plan:

0900 – 1030 1030 – 1100 Coffee Break 1100 – 1300 1300 – 1400 Lunch Break 1400 – 1530 1530 – 1600 Coffee Break 1600 – 1700

(1 hr)

1.5 hrs 0.5 hrs 2.0 hrs 1.0 hr 1.5 hrs 0.5 hrs 1.0 hr

Attendance Cost

Before April 15, 2010: AED 2,600 FOR 2 DAYS On or after April 15, 2010: AED 2,900 FOR 2 DAYS Registration includes lunch and refreshment breaks.

CPI INDUSTRY reserves the right to cancel the workshop up to one week prior.

All registered attendees will be contacted directly by CPI INDUSTRY in the event that the workshop is cancelled.

About the Trainer Sougata is an Energy Engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the leading LEED™ AP in the region with four of the first 10 LEED certified projects in the GCC to his credit. Sougata is involved in Energy & Water Conservation, Sustainable Development and LEED Certification for 14 years, 10 of which are in Dubai. Sougata is an Emirates Energy Award winner in 2007, and his Energy and Water Conservation Programme has helped TECOM Investments win the Emirates Energy Award in 2008.

Sougata is the LEED AP for the 3rd, 5th, 6th & 8th LEED Certified projects in the GCC. These include the first LEED Platinum Commercial Interior and the largest LEED certified project (as of May 09) in the region. Sougata has been selected as Who’s Who Member of the Year for 2009-2010 for his contributions to the business community. Sougata is also a leading author of articles on sustainable development in magazines like Climate Control Middle East and H2O. He currently holds dual technical responsibilities of implementing sustainable development at TECOM and developing Enpark as a sustainable community, and works as Director of Sustainable Development at TECOM Investments and Enpark (www.enpark.ae).

Sougata was engaged by several prestigious projects in Dubai for executing Energy Conservation Programmes through the Performance Contract mechanism. These projects include…

• Zomorrodah Complex of Dubai Real Estate Centre • Mazaya Centre of Government of Dubai’s Real Estate Department • Headquarter complex of Emirates National Oil Corporation (ENOC) • Al Mozna Building of Dubai Investments • Labour Camp of Thermo – where he designed and installed one of the first retrofit grey water treatment & reuse plants in Dubai • The Tower, Union Tower, Al Musalla Towers and Net. Community of Union Properties

Sougata is also managing the Energy and Water Conservation Programme at TECOM Investments since August 2006 and his portfolio of projects include…

• Dubai Internet City • Dubai Media City • Dubai Knowledge Village • Dubai International Academic City • Dubai Outsource Zone • Dubai Studio City • International Media Production Zone • Dubai Industrial City • Dubai Healthcare City

His Energy and Water Conservation Programme at TECOM has generated savings worth US$7 million in less than three years with nominal investment.

Sougata is currently the LEED AP for 45 projects of TECOM Investments, simultaneously pursuing LEED certification in various categories like Existing Building, Core & Shell and Commercial Interiors.

About CPI Industry The fundamental aim of CPI Industry is to adopt a fresh approach to analysing the industrial sector in the Middle East. Established in 2003, as a division of Corporate Publishing International, CPI Industry publishes magazines, guides, directories, reports, supplements and web sites that address sustainability issues with earnestness and keen intent. Its magazines, Climate Control Middle East, H2O and MEGAWHAT have made reporting on sustainability a well-oiled habit. In addition to publishing, CPI Industry organises and conducts events, which have a strong sustainability feature to them. A case-in point is The Climate Control Conference (C3), which has thrust sustainability to the forefront in all its editions.

About ENPARK Enpark, the Energy and Environment Park, is a Free Zone spanning over eight million square feet of office, research centre, residential, educational and leisure facilities located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Enpark is a special destination for clean energy and environmental technology companies to operate and a fully integrated knowledge community that includes programmes, services, partnerships and amenities to support the success of environment companies and their employees. Combining the unique assets of being at the heart of the international hub for the region with the exclusive experience of a sustainable community, ENPARK’s ambition is to offer a world class sustainable lifestyle and build a sustainable culture.

For enquiries related to the programme, contact: B Surendar (Editorial Director and Associate Publisher) Tel: +971 4 375 6831 GSM: +971 50 509 2457 E-mail: surendar@cpi-industry.com

For enquiries related to sponsorships, table tops, contact: Frédéric Paillé (Managing Director and Associate Publisher) Tel: +971 4 375 6833 GSM: +971 50 714 7204 E-mail: fred@cpi-industry.com

For general enquiries, contact: Deep Karani (Events Manager, CPI Industry) Tel: +971 4 375 6839 GSM: +971 50 8585 905 E-mail: deep@cpi-industry.com

Vedran Dedic (Business Development Manager, MEGAWHAT, H2O) Tel: +971 4 375 6834 GSM: +971 50 557 4019 E-mail: vedran@cpi-industry.com

REGISTRATION FORM

Yes, I am interested. Please register me for the workshop My details are...

First name: Middle name: Last name: Job title: Company: Address: Tel (incl area code): Fax (incl area code): Mobile (incl area code): E-mail:

Fax the form to +971 4 434 19 06

Hurry!

Limited seats only!

perspective

Measure, ensure

The final challenge to an energy- and water-conservation programme is the measurement and verification of the accrued savings By Sougata Nandi

T

he real-estate industry is quite familiar with the concept of energy and water conservation. Many from this industry have either heard of the terminologies or been party to an energy audit. However, one of the fundamental challenges faced by many is, “How do I go about executing a professional and measurable energy and water conservation programme that can be presented to our management?” Another severe challenge faced by other energy conservation enthusiasts (and this is particularly true of many facility managers) is, “I have taken several measures to conserve energy and water, but I do not know how to measure the effectiveness of my initiatives and, therefore, have no results to report to management.” Between these two challenges lies the third challenge: “I need to float an RFP for selecting an appropriate vendor, but I do not know how to prepare one.”

When I was doing my engineering programme in energy engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), faculty would not prepare us for these real-life project situations. Yes, we did become experts in energy modelling and theoretical energy auditing, but when I started my professional career, I realised that there is more 46

to it than just calculating specific energy consumptions.

For example, while it is easy to draw up a Sankey diagram during an exam when the basic information is provided, in real-life projects the situation is altogether different, because data collection itself is a major challenge. Fourteen years of working in the field of energy and water conservation has helped me learn some of the better approaches to planning, initiating, executing, monitoring, controlling and closing out effective energy- and water-conservation projects, particularly in this region.

WHERE TO START Different people initiate energy- and waterconservation programmes at different stages of a project, with varied levels of intensity and depth of knowledge.

In order to eliminate a well intentioned yet confused approach, I would personally recommend to start with an initial assessment of where your organisation stands currently in the overall scheme of savings, by using the “Energy Management Matrix” based on the Building Research & Energy Conservation Support Unit’s 1993 Energy Management Matrix: Let us look at a few typical

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

March 2010

examples, which many readers may be able to identify with: A shopping complex or a commercial office building. The usual practice in such facilities is that either the energy and water costs are pre-estimated and included into the leasing rates or while the individual shops/ offices are metered for direct energy consumption, the AC bill is distributed amongst the tenants every month on a prorata basis depending on the square footage occupied and common area.

In a situation like this, there is rarely any explicit energy conservation policy or energy manager with a formal delegation of responsibility for energy consumption.

There is no contact with users other than monthly billing.

However, the accounting department within such facilities would maintain dedicated invoice data for billing purposes, although there will be no accounting for energy consumption, no promotion of energy efficiency and definitely no investment in increasing energy efficiency in the premises.

A very customary indicator of such a situation would be a noticeably cold indoor environment, high levels of lighting and numerous halogen lamps. For facilities like these, the energy management matrix would

1

look somewhat as below: A four- or a five-star hotel.

From my professional experience, I have found four- or five-star hotels to be extremely energy conscious.

Although this sector is one of the highest consumers of energy, water and gas, from within the building sector, they are also the most conscious of their utility costs.

The responsibility of tracking and essentially keeping utility consumptions under control, although perhaps not necessarily actively managing utilities always, rests squarely on the shoulder of the chief engineer and his engineering team. A familiar sight, either inside or outside the chief engineer’s office, is daily tracking of utility consumptions.

Standard analysis is carried out by the engineering team on a daily basis, in conjunction with the occupancy rates and in comparison with expected daily consumptions.

Any variation is, indeed, investigated and corrective action implemented. Such facilities would rate as following on the BRECSU matrix: While the first example demonstrates a balanced matrix, it is clearly balanced at the wrong end of the maturity level. The second example, although may not be balanced, largely

2

perspective reflects an organisation or a facility that is conscious of its utility costs, and takes action on a regular basis to make sure that the utility bills are strictly under control, to the extent possible.

Likewise, utilising the BRECSU Energy Management Matrix, it would be relatively straightforward to ascertain the maturity level of any organisation or a facility in the context of energy and water conservation. This should typically be the first step for any organisation intending to implement an energyand water-conservation programme effectively.

While the interpretation of some of the criteria might get ambiguous, it is always preferable to have a healthy introspection and, possibly, even err on the side of pessimism. This gives rise to the opportunity to excel quickly through an effective

48

implementation of the programme.

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PROGRAMMES Typically, conservation programmes can be executed at either of two phases within the life-cycle of a facility: (a) Design Phase or (b) Operation and Maintenance Phase.

There is, of course, a potential third phase where a conservation programme can be significantly effective and both financially and technically feasible. For instance, renovating old facilities or upgrading outdated electromechanical systems provides a golden opportunity to implement a full-fledged energy efficiency programme, including a green office certification like the TECOM Management Office Renovation, which is a LEED Platinum project.

However, although this is a unique phase in the life-cycle and brings with it its own pros and cons (potentially subject for a different treatise), for the sake of simplicity, it can be clubbed together with the design stage. A design stage conservation programme is carried out, as the name suggests, when a facility is being designed. This offers several key advantages that may not be achievable when the same exercise is conducted

when a facility is already in the operational stage.

The first and foremost amongst this is the financial feasibility of several critical measures that otherwise would not have an acceptable ROI, such as connecting an HVAC condensate to the irrigation tank or installing LED lights instead of halogens and several others.

Even with regular conservation measures that have a payback period of two years or less, if implemented at the design stage, the same payback period can be reduced to less than six months. This is due to the offset in capital expenditure that would have otherwise been incurred for standard design. The bigger financial benefit perhaps stems from the fact that a design stage conservation programme may end up downsizing or correct sizing installed equipment, especially when ASHRAE 90.1-2004 design parameters are applied.

I have LEED-supervised a project where the peak HVAC tonnage required went down to 1,550 TR at the final design stage from 2,500 TR at the preliminary design stage, through the adoption of ASHRAE 90.1-2004

design criteria. Renewable energy projects, with solar photovoltaic projects in particular, can become financially attractive when adopted at the design stage of a facility. A case-in point is the solar photovoltaic car park lighting at the Dubai Outsource Zone where the net capex for the project was reduced to only $6,262 (Dh23,000), since the project was not a replacement of existing lights, but rather an alternative.

A design stage project has the added advantage of a much easier green building certification as an enhancement of a simple energy and water conservation programme. In fact, this opportunity is quite harmonised, so much so that

we use the green building certification as the broader framework for indulging in energy and water conservation as well.

The result is not only a resource-efficient facility, but also one that is officially certified. As an added benefit, the certification process and its requirements provide a framework for a developer to measure the design performance of the facility.

Additionally, if a facility management assessment is also included into the energy and water audit at the design stage, future O&M problems and the costs associated with resolving these, can be easily avoided.

The biggest challenge of a design-stage utility assessment occurs in the fact that savings estimation remains

a theoretical exercise, and one has to rely on energy modelling software, which can only be accurate in the long run if all assumptions in relation to operating hours and weather conditions were to be strictly as per modelling inputs. This unfortunately is rarely the case.

Compared to this, an energy- and waterconservation programme in an existing facility is a far more “tangible” engineering project, although not necessarily from the finance manager’s point of view. At least, such a programme would require the physical changing of light bulbs, installation of VFDs etc.

Fundamentally, such a programme is always dictated by an ROI which, although

may vary from organisation to organisation, has in general been fixed at two years as acceptable in this region.

Such a programme also provides great opportunity to upgrade Building Management Systems and MEP equipment, especially when critical upgrades are required but cannot be budgeted for (bottom of the food chain syndrome). The performance of such a programme is easily measurable by virtue of simply comparing past and present utility bills (at the very minimum, with more complex scientific methodologies available if necessary). Sometimes, such a project can be substituted by a building re-commissioning exercise, which more often than not could lead to an

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perspective energy reduction of up to 10%.

Finally, it has been observed in most of the projects, which I have executed that indoor environmental quality actually improves due to the implementation of an effective energy conservation programme. In the TECOM Management Office renovation project, lighting levels went up by 75%, although lighting energy consumption came down by more than 50%. Design-stage energy and water conservation programme is much more effective than when a facility is already functional, owing to easier implementation and improved ROI (if not actual reduction in Capex) for conservation measures.

ENERGY- and WATERCONSERVATION MEASURES An energy- and water-conservation programme focuses purely on the wastage and inefficiencies in the energy and water consumption systems or processes, and explores how to optimise the same, thereby resulting in reduction in utility consumption. Fundamentally, if there is no wastage, there is no opportunity to save.

An energy- and water-conservation programme cannot and should not compromise on comfort conditions.

Comfort conditions are set out by engineers through standards like ASHRAE 90.1-2004, ASHRAE 62.1-2004 etc. These standards may be further fine-tuned to suit individual needs, as building occupants may have varying personal levels of comfort, but only at the operation phase. This is applicable for buildings.

For industries, the programme should not negatively impact on production.

There are three broad areas that one must address in order to implement an energy and water conservation programme effectively: (a) The identification of energy- and waterconservation measures; (b) Implementing such a programme and (c) The measurement and verification of savings.

The identification of energy and water conservation measures is usually done through an energy audit. This audit essentially attempts to identify where the wastages/inefficiencies in a system lie, and then tries to eliminate these through a variety of solutions. These wastages are caused by a variety of reasons (all of which can be identified and redeemed), such as over-design.

Let us illustrate this through three case studies. Let’s start with Dubiotech HQ building, which was one of the first projects to pursue LEED certification at TECOM Investments. At the conclusion of the preliminary design stage, the project was estimated to require about 2,500 TR

of air-conditioning capacity. By applying ASHRAE 90.1-2004 design parameters, the air-conditioning requirement was brought down to 1,550 TR. While this tonnage optimisation is not strictly required for LEED certification, this exercise undertaken by the Sustainable Energy and Environment Division (SEED) of TECOM clearly showcases the scale of opportunity that lies in right-sizing a facility.

Now, such an exercise not only optimises operating energy requirements, but also drastically cuts down on the demand charges to be paid by the facility to the district cooling service provider, which in turn benefits

from the opportunity to right-size his plant capacity.

Eliminating over-design using LEED as a tool – while the debate still rages on both for and against LEED, I have found it to be a useful tool/ mechanism which we have successfully utilised to drive our costs down in several projects. Since LEED mandates certain flow rates and techniques to reduce potable water consumption, applying the LEED guidelines in the design of our new projects, as well as retrofitting our existing wash basins, has dramatically stopped us from over-designing our water systems.

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perspective operating their expensive HVAC equipment even during the coldest winter days. The SEED office at Dubai Knowledge Village has operable windows on three facades and, for more than two months in winter, the air-conditioning equipment is not operated since the office is naturally ventilated.

The following chart showcases our water performance at the Dubai International Academic City’s Phase 3 facility (LEED Silver): Over-Design Over-design in an existing building – this is a classic case study of a 600,000-square-foot (sq ft) mixed-use complex where I had executed an energyconservation programme through performance contracting. As a first step, before conducting a detailed energy audit, the operations of the electromechanical systems were optimised through the building management system.

Appropriate time-scheduling and set point scheduling were programmed, based on the usage pattern of the facility.

This exercise alone resulted in a 15% energy savings, although the occupancy went up by 130,000 sq ft (reaching 90%). While this is a satisfactory performance for an energy conservation programme that did not need any investments, a bigger achievement was that, during peak summer conditions, the facility needed only three (out of the installed 10 chillers) to operate in order to achieve the design comfort conditions.

In effect, the facility was operating on 1,260 TR of peak HVAC against an installed capacity of 3,800 TR. If an energy assessment had been conducted at the design stage, 52

the project would have easily saved approximately $816,771 (Dh3m) in avoided Capex.

Lack of Controls This is a typical problem in office complexes, and I have yet to come across a facility which does not suffer from a lack of adequate and appropriate controls. Possible exceptions would be (a) offices where thought has been given to this issue during the design stage; (b) offices where this was such a critical problem that retrofit has been carried out to resolve this or (c) offices that have been LEED certified.

The lack of controls issues sometimes can be congruent with over-design, such as a large number of lights in an open plan office but only one switch to operate them. Another classic example of lack of controls in this region is deficit of operable windows even in low-rise office blocks, without which occupants have to keep

CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

March 2010

Inappropriate Usage Sometimes even though the right technology is used, the application of it could be inappropriate. Installing metal halide lamps inside commercial offices is one such example, although one must admit that it is not so widely prevalent. While metal halides can be enormously efficient compared to other light sources, they do generate significantly high amounts of heat and glare.

While it may be a good idea to have large amount of glazing in buildings, since the glass area is not shaded, occupants can be habitually seen to be drawing the curtains down to block the outside glare and switch on artificial lighting – in daytime! A simple measure like shading the glass area would not only eliminate the sunlight from impinging inside a facility, but would also allow the daylight to come in and thereby eliminate the need for artificial lighting. Imagine putting all the glazing for the view and unable to enjoy it due to the curtains.

Outdated Technology A peculiar fascination for halogen spotlights, installing Building Management Systems that do anything but manage the facilities’ electromechanical equipment and using thermostats that do not have signage for temperatures are several examples of outdated technology still being used quite commonly.

In 2008, SEED implemented the halogen phase-out project at the Business Centre of Dubai Media City wherein close to 1,000 halogen spotlights were replaced with a combination of LED and CFLs. A snapshot of this project is given below: The additional benefits are the following: with improved air-conditioning due to cooler lamps, occupants do not feel as hot anymore; more uniform lighting – alternate bright and dark spots are eliminated; lower maintenance cost due to longer life of energy efficient lamps (LED lamps can last more than 10 years) and improved indoor environmental quality with no hotspots.

Human Behaviour Although I have listed this parameter as the last, it is to my mind the most important of all and, if not addressed at the very initiation, has the potential to ensure the failure of an energy and water

conservation programme.

SEED has utilised several techniques and approaches to sensitise building occupants.

These include developing an in-house awareness programme for employees on the issue of climate change, switch-me-off stickers, table totems and stickers for washrooms.

PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING While many organisations do end up doing one thing or the other as per the BRECSU energy management matrix, most facility operators find it extremely challenging to initiate, plan, execute, monitor and close out a comprehensive energy- and water-conservation

programme.

There are several reasons for this: in most organisations, energy- and waterconservation initiatives end up becoming the part-time responsibility of the facility manager or not at all; in some facilities, even after a person is assigned responsibility for this function, it is not reflected in his/her performance objectives; even when it is included in the performance objective, a budget is rarely allocated for this activity.

This is a typical ‘responsibility without authority’ situation and very commonplace in the industry on energy and water conservation issue. In the worst situation, budgets are not even

allocated for regular planned preventive maintenance and upgrade works.

The best situation I have personally come across is an organisation with a dedicated division/team of qualified personnel with the responsibility to define and implement a comprehensive energy and water conservation programme; budgets are hard to come by, however, especially in times of a recession.

In such situations, the best way to implement an energy and water conservation programme effectively is to first optimise the operation of the facility’s electromechanical equipment. This does not require any Capex. Having implemented this, it is best

advised that the facility engage in a “Performance Contract” mechanism. This is a means of raising money for investments in energy efficiency that is based on future savings.

It enables money that will be saved as a result of the introduction of a new energyefficient technology to be used to offset the cost of financing, installing and operating that technology.

In this arrangement, the facility owner does not have to incur any upfront Capex or absorb any risk of failure.

An energy service company (ESCO), specialising in the business of energy and water conservation, can be engaged to audit a facility, identify equipment/strategies

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perspective required to reduce energy and water consumptions (without negatively affecting comfort conditions or production), invest the Capex required to purchase such equipment and install and manage the entire project.

Such a service is typically provided by three different types of entities: Equipment Suppliers.

Performance contracting services are normally offered by an independent branch of companies, such as industrial control manufacturers, both as a marketing strategy and as an additional revenue source.

This is the best option if these technologies are the main measure being considered.

Fee-Based Service Companies. Performance contracting is the only service offered by these companies, which grew out of energy

management and other contractors. They are the best choice if a wider range of measures is being planned, or if the contract is to cover building renovation and longterm facilities management.

Utility-Based ESCOs. Some electric utilities have set up their own ESCOs to deliver demand side management programmes, and to provide an additional source of revenue.

These are a good choice if the project is focused on electricity or gas technologies, although this is not a prevalent concept in this region.

M&V OF SAVING The final challenge to an energy- and waterconservation programme is the measurement and verification (M&V) of the accrued savings. We need to verify savings because energy and water savings are dependent on various factors,

such as weather, occupancy, added load, disconnected load and operating hours, among other things.

Therefore, while installing a VFD on a FAHU should generate savings, the HVAC energy consumption might increase, because the weather in a particular month was warmer compared to the weather in the corresponding month during the year prior to the installation of the VFD. This exercise can range from being very simplistic to ending up being very debatable when more and more parameters start getting involved.

Ultimately, the level of complexity will depend on the agreement between the facility owner and the service provider as to how many parameters need to be included in the M&V process.

Verifying that savings actually occur is an important part of any performance contract. The

couple of methods normally used are the following: Savings based on utility bills. These provide the most common method used for savings verification.

Here, energy and water savings provide the basis for repayments. Baseline consumption is determined using past energy bills.

Savings are calculated using the actual energy bills received throughout the contract period.

Measured savings. These involve ‘before’ and ‘after’ measurement of utility use by the technologies installed in the project. This is the most exact method of determining savings, but also the most costly. Adjustments have to be made for weather and facility use changes, and because equipment loads can vary from day to day, elaborate protocols need to be established.

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{Stay informed} Tracking sustainable development in the Middle East

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perspective International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP) has been widely used as the technical basis for determining energy savings in building retrofit projects. Introduced in 1994 as the North American Energy Measurement & Verification Protocol (NEMVP), IPMVP has become the industry standard.

International use of NEMVP led to development of an international protocol in 1997.

A standard performance contract for energy and water conservation between a facility owner and a service provider does not strictly need to follow the strong scientific approaches of IPMVP. For the purposes of green building certification, however, the adoption of this protocol may become necessary. There are four different options of measuring and verifying

energy savings under the IPMVP: The chart, above, exhibits the M&V of the Energy Conservation Programme at TECOM Investments using IPMVP Option C. Since this

is an in-house project being implemented by SEED in existing facilities, the only adjustment that is made in the measurement of energy savings is the weather related adjustment, carried out on the

basis of differentials in ‘cooling degree days’ every month.

As will be noted from the below chart tracking the water conservation programme at TECOM Investments, and again

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perspective since this is an in-house project, there are no adjustments made in the water savings calculations. The saving is the simple difference between the water consumption before and after implementation of the conservation measures, and complies with IPMVP Option C. Again, this can be easily done because the facilities are all present, and the historical data are available.

No adjustments are made as it is not a priority issue at the moment.

The M&V mechanism becomes slightly trickier in the case of design stage energy conservation programme, especially when a project is pursuing a green building

certification. In existing buildings, the performance of a conservation programme can always be measured and verified through a basic comparison of metered utility consumptions, before and after the implementation of the conservation measures.

When a facility is being designed, the only option available is to carry out an energy modelling exercise, which will, through the use of specialised software, predict more or less accurately the future energy consumption of the facility in design. One of several widely used kinds of software is the Visual DOE, which, although quite basic, can

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predict future energy consumptions to acceptable levels of accuracy. The energy modelling software also allows the opportunity to evaluate the cost-benefit analysis of several energy conservation measures. This methodology is compliant with IPMVP Option D. The LEED Silver Dubai International Academic City Phase 3 was the second LEED certified project at TECOM Investments and the fifth in the Gulf Co-operation Council bloc. Some of the energy conservation measures adopted in the project included the following: HVAC load optimisation; enhanced levels of building envelope insulation; heat recovery wheels; limited glazing in building envelope; zero use of halogen lamps in common areas; energy efficient light bulbs and significantly low lighting power densities In order to quantify the savings that can be expected from these measures, a Visual DOE energy modelling exercise was conducted, and the following chart shows the estimated savings expected from the various sectors of energy consumers.

Overall, the facility is designed to be 21.7% more energy-efficient which translates to $260,545 (Dh956,984) per year as per the energy model.

RECOMMENDATIONS Irrespective of the size of your facility, it is always a good idea to have an ongoing energy and water conservation prgoramme in place. In fact, the bigger the organisation, the better the financial benefits. For old facilities, the savings from an energy and water conservation programme can throw up much needed cash for system upgrades.

It is always a good idea to set up your own in-house expertise if you have a large amount of building stock.

The investment in such a team will pay back for itself in a matter of months/ weeks. For up-scaling your ambition on the initiatives, it would be best to engage a professionally qualified service provider. As I mentioned at the Cityscape Dubai 2009 panel discussion on “From the Red to the Black via the Green”, sustainable development initiatives through its main pillar of energy and water conservation can easily resuscitate the P&L, or profit and loss statement, of any organisation.

The author is the Director of Sustainable Development at TECOM Investments. He may be reached at sougata.nandi@ tecom.ae or sougatan@eim.ae.

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