CCME - May 2020

Climate Control Middle East covers the regional and global HVACR industry with a firm commitment to providing in-depth news and analyses on policy, business and technology.

STAY UPDATED ON THE LATEST HVACR NEWS AND VIEWS AT

www.hvacafrica.com

May 2020

With COVID-19 training the spotlight on the importance of lung health and, as a result, indoor air quality, stakeholders in the HVACR industry reflect on how they can contribute to ensuring the health and well-being of building occupants

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Presents

Virtual Conference Series:

DISINFECTION CHAMBERS AND TUNNELS OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

TO KNOW MORE:

www.cpiwebinars.com NEW DATE: 15 June 2020 | 3pm - 5.45pm (UAE time, GMT+4) | 7am - 9:45am Eastern Standard Time (EST)

OVERVIEW COVID-19 has sparked interest in disinfection chambers and tunnels. The protracted search for an effective vaccine and a curative drug, and governments relaxing restrictions to either partially or completely restore normal social and commercial activities in the earliest possible time, despite the clear and present danger posed by the virus, has prompted many individuals, businesses and even government agencies to turn to disinfection chambers and tunnels.

Manufacturers, in turn, have responded with alacrity, and have promoted their solutions as a contamination-preventive measure that is safe, user-friendly, and as effective in neutralising SARS-CoV-2 virus stuck to the body. Many, in the case of Dubai, have even attained the coveted ‘DM Approved’ label. And the world over, the labelling, ‘WHO-approved soluble disinfectant’ has gained considerable mileage.

The purpose of the Webinar, titled ‘Disinfection chambers and tunnels’, is to demystify and develop a deeper understanding. Typically, where can they be applied? How effective are they in varying circumstances, if any? Do they require additional layers of disinfection to be incorporated in the case of healthcare applications? What precautions, if any, ought users to take while exposing themselves to the disinfectants? And what is to become of the chambers and tunnels, if and when the threat of the virus abates?

SPEAKERS (SO FAR)

Hanan Ahmed Head of Engineering & Maintenance Services, Al Baraha Hospital

Hessa Jaffar Hassan Al Jawi Acting ManagerRegistration & Permits Section, Health and Safety Department, Dubai Municipality

Surendar Balakrishnan Editor, Climate Control Middle East, QUELL and Co-Founder & Editorial Director, CPI Industry

Bjorn Ostbye Project Development Manager, Lulu Group International

Chris Rajamani Deputy General Manager, Alhoty Stanger Laboratory

3 FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT: advertising@cpi-industry.com www.climatecontrolme.com

VOL. 15 NO. 05  MAY 2020

on the cover

The many forays of a fencer

38

Raphael R Khlat, President, Faisal Jassim Group, speaks of wanting to continue making bold moves, of having to keep dancing to grow a business

06 eDItor'S note

REGULARS

4

PERSPECTIVE

A summary of the second edition of CPI Industry's IAQ Webinar, titled 'The Air We Breathe'

A new world order May 2020

INTERVIEW

END-POINT

POST-EVENT REPORT

page

THE 08 NEED OF THE HOUR

Repurposing to fight the pandemic

10

In the face of the COVID onslaught, Maher Moussa, Director of Product Management, Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Policy, Al Salem Johnson Controls, describes how regular hotel rooms can be transformed into temporary, precautionary isolation rooms

‘IEQ is a major driver for retrofits in the EU’

12

Dr Sheikh Zuhaib, Project Manager, Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE), provides an insight into how a growing appreciation of the impact of the indoor environment on the health and wellbeing of building inhabitants have affected new and existing buildings across Europe.

16 Regional News 27 Global News

Presents

HVACR Virtual Conference Series: Theme:

“Ensuring continuity of an essential utility sector: The steps manufacturers, suppliers and service providers are taking towards supporting District Cooling utilities in the time of COVID” OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

www.cpiwebinars.com

4th EDITION

22 June 2020 | 2:30pm - 5:45pm (UAE time, GMT+4) | 6:30am - 9:45am Eastern Standard Time (EST)

OVERVIEW COVID has forced a rethink on how we operate our assets, with District Cooling regarded as an essential industry.

This Webinar – the fourth edition of DC Dialogue – comes at an opportune time, in that it provides a platform for understanding how to navigate through these challenging times as utilities, manufacturers, suppliers and other mission-critical disciplines. Summer is fast approaching, and every one of the District Cooling ecosystem has a responsibility of ensuring reliable supply of chilled water in a cost-effective and resource-optimised manner – without compromising on COVID-mitigation strategies, including social distancing and other hygiene-related measures.

SPEAKERS (SO FAR)

George Berbari CEO, DC PRO Engineering

Bill Hutton Manager Corrosion Solutions, Structural Technologies

Farhan Juratli

Sagar Kulkarni Managing Director, Consistent Engineering Consultants

Dominic Mc Polin Chief, Central Planning - Central Planning Office, Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, Bahrain

V Sekhar Reddy Managing Director, Lexzander (TBC)

SPONSORS & PARTNERS Bronze Sponsors

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UAE Distributor “Fluid Control Trading LLC” 5 www.climatecontrolme.com FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT: advertising@cpi-industry.com

EDITOR’S NOTE

A new world order

T

his is not a prediction of the shape of things to come; rather, it is an expectation.

For several years running, those calling for more fresh air changes or tighter air filtration media have largely elicited indifference, scorn and contempt by way of response. The unsaid words to them have been: “Come on, you can’t be serious!

Have you considered what a rise in energy costs or indirect emissions will do to the bottom line and the planet?” This, despite available solutions that can help strike a balance between the rightly pursued need for greater energy efficiency and good air quality.

Now, hopefully, those solutions, conveniently ignored or hastily dismissed, will be given a thorough dusting and the consideration they have long deserved. COVID-19 has forced an unprecedented near-total lockdown, and the financial implications for businesses the world over are expected to be anything but pleasant reading. In that context, suddenly, good indoor environmental quality is being viewed as the real thing, as one among other possible allies in thwarting business disruption. Hopefully, the sentiment will persist much after the COVID haze has settled, and those building owners, consultants and contractors that have been dismissive of the need for diluting contaminated air in the built-environment will look at it as a basic human and business necessity.

In the same way, it is hoped that energy efficiency will also receive more attention.

The Novel Coronavirus is beginning to reshape the narrative on climate change. To date, most talk on climate change has been on rising sea levels and acidification of the marine ecosystem. Today, the world is waking up to the need for containing the threat of pandemics arising out of permafrost.

For years, climatologists and biologists have been shouting themselves hoarse about melting old permafrost layers in Russia and elsewhere, which hold the threat of virulent micro-organisms that could come out of centuries of dormancy, potentially unleashing the next pandemic.

Permafrost, by virtue of being cold, are able to preserve pathogenic viruses. While climate change has the potential of thawing even deep-set, old permafrost layers, it is certainly already causing superficial layers to melt. Alarmingly, scientists exploring Alaska’s tundra region reportedly discovered fragments of RNA from the virus that led to the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, which accounted for an estimated 20 million - 50 million lives. The discoveries were made in corpses in a mass burial site in the wake of the horror the terrible pandemic visited upon humanity.

The world cannot afford another crippling pandemic. And to prevent that from occurring, we no longer can afford to offer lip-service while glibly carrying on with a business-as-usual mindset. We well and truly need a new world order – of thinking, empathising and acting with a sense of purpose.

Surendar Balakrishnan Editor @BSurendar_HVACR

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6

May 2020

Published by

Head Office Unit 1504, HDS Tower, Cluster F, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, UAE, PO Box 13700 Tel: +971 4 375 68 30 / Fax: +971 4 43 419 06 Web: www.cpi-industry.com Printed by: Jaguar Printing Press L.L.C © Copyright 2020 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.

Presents

HVACR Virtual Conference Series:

THE AIR WE

BREATHE Third Edition

24 June 2020

3:30pm - 6pm (UAE time, GMT+4) 7:30am - 10am Eastern Standard Time (EST) OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

www.cpiwebinars.com

OVERVIEW In a remarkable show of strength and interest, the first two editions drew audiences from over 20 countries in Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and in the Middle East region. Equally remarkable was the high level of engagement, driving home the compelling need for indepth discussions on a wide range of topics on indoor air quality in this time of COVID. While many countries are still grimly engaged in battle to flatten the curve on the virus, many have arrived at a point where they feel emboldened to end the lockdown, either out of confidence that they have overcome the threat to an extent that it won’t overwhelm their medical infrastructure, or out of a sense of compulsion to open their economies.

The loosening of the lockdown is a profoundly significant development and poses a challenge to the HVACR industry to help prepare commercial office, shopping, education and mall spaces for occupancy – for after all, the wheels of the economy need to turn. In this context, what are the varied IAQ solutions that can either be immediately implemented or incorporated in design, construction, testing & commissioning and building-retrofit protocols in the medium and long terms? The third edition of the IAQ Webinar seeks to answer this question.

SPEAKERS (SO FAR)

Dr Iyad Al Attar Independent Air Filtration Consultant

Kandasamy Anbalagan Managing Partner, Proleed Engineering Consultants

Dr Stephanie Taylor MD, M. Arch, Infection Control Consultant, Harvard Medical School; ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer; Member, ASHRAE Epidemic Task Group

www.iaqwebinar.com 7 www.climatecontrolme.com FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT: advertising@cpi-industry.com

Post-event Report

IAQ Webinar: The Air We Breathe

The need the COVID-19 has trained the spotlight on the importance of lung health and, as a result, the indoor air quality measures being implemented across the builtenvironment have been placed under greater scrutiny.

This has forced stakeholders in the HVACR industry to reflect on how they can positively contribute towards ensuring the health, safety and well-being of building inhabitants. This served as the driving force behind the first and second editions of CPI Industry’s IAQ Webinar: The Air We Breathe, held on April 15 and May 6, respectively, where presenters and attendees from consulting, contracting and manufacturing communities the world over participated to weigh in on the need of the hour. Hannah Jo Uy presents a summary of the second edition of the webinar…

T

he basic right to clean air underscores the gravity of the discussions, said Dr Iyad Al-Attar, by way of introducing the second edition of the webinar, of which he was the Chair.

Setting the base for the discussions, Dr Al-Attar said that the webinar hopes to achieve two objectives. The first, he said, is the need to present HVAC-related technological solutions and strategies that can be implemented to mitigate air and surface contamination in residential and commercial buildings and in mission-critical facilities, like hospitals and other healthcare centres. The second objective, he said, is to present a set of effective preventive measures that FM personnel can implement, not only in healthcare but also in various types of buildings, and on an urgent basis.

In view of the twin objectives, Scot Horst, who gave the plenary address, said that the industry has a lot to gain from learning and having a deeper understanding of how previous pandemics have affected both the design of buildings and, essentially, our way of life. Horst is the Founder and Founding CEO, Arc Skoru and former Chief Product Officer, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

In the 1970s, Horst pointed out, following greater use of air conditioning, buildings were using equipment to function against Nature. “Soon, what we had was software, which allowed us to efficiently build bad buildings,” he said, adding that these bad practices can be seen the world over, with cookie-cutter buildings following a spec book that was essentially copy-pasted. “Our

8

May 2020

ability to build poorly was incredibly Dr Iyad Al-Attar efficient, and design almost died during that period in the 1990s,” he said.

Horst said this prompted LEED to enter the market, urging stakeholders to meet ASHRAE 90.1 energy efficiency standards and ASHRAE 62 as prerequisites. “This provided a key shift, as people are asked to deal with both energy and outdoor air,” he said. “We want to make sure if you are doing a good thing, it has to be a collection of good things, and not one good thing in exchange for another good thing.” Horst added that the need to strike the balance and optimise air quality alongside energy efficiency is a message the industry “cannot give up on”. Greater attention must be placed on doing so, he said, in

of hour

new buildings as well as in existing buildings, despite the difficulty existing structures may pose.

To overcome these challenges, Horst pointed out that an integrated approach is vital. “We need to bring entire teams together,” he said “What we want to be doing is thinking of the building as an organism. “Think of the fluids of the building as the circulatory system, the waste as the digestive system, the electrical parts as the nervous system, the envelop as the muscular system, the structure as the skeleton and ventilation as the lungs that we use to breathe. If any of these are oversized, if any matters more over the other, none of it functions.” While the future is the focus of the industry, Horst said, the past is an important teacher.

In an effort to arrive at a holistic approach, the webinar created a platform for informative presentations and spirited discussions among panel members and attendees. While the discussions were in-depth and comprehensive, many questions remain unanswered. The questions from the attendees will be published in the next edition of Climate Control Middle East magazine.

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

Write to editor@cpi-industry.com

Scot Horst

www.climatecontrolme.com

9

covid

19

Maher Moussa is Director of Product Management, Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Policy, Al Salem Johnson Controls. He may be contacted at a.inayat@w7worldwide.com.

Repurposing to fight the pandemic

In the face of the COVID onslaught, Maher Moussa, Director of Product Management, Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Policy, Al Salem Johnson Controls, describes how regular hotel rooms can be transformed into temporary, precautionary isolation rooms

W

ith hospitals and health centres coming under severe pressure due to COVID-19, the government of Saudi Arabia has resorted to turning hotel rooms or regular patient rooms into temporary precautionary quarantine or isolation rooms, to isolate the suspected cases. This is being done in compliance with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, and under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Health and the National Center for Disease Prevention in the Kingdom.

Now, many may wonder how the transformation can be brought about. Let’s look at the various aspects.

IMPORTANT PREREQUISITES When converting a regular room into an isolation room, there are a number of basic requirements that should be met. These include: 1) Ensuring that the air entering the room through HVAC systems is 100% pure and fresh 2) Ensuring continuous maintenance of negative pressure in the room 3) Replacing the air inside the room with fresh air, between six and 12 times per hour – depending on the size of the room 4) Controlling and maintaining temperature and humidity at very specific levels 5) Mandating filtered exhaust fans, to ensure that exhausted (expelled) air, containing microbes and pollutants, is filtered before being released out of the building

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May 2020

Today, there are a number of integrated solutions and systems at our disposal. These enable HVAC systems to work with Building Management Systems to contribute in converting hotel rooms or even regular hospital rooms into temporary isolation rooms, thereby preventing the spread of virus and disease, provided all the aforementioned prerequisites exist.

ISOLATION TECHNOLOGY As a first step, it is necessary to ensure that windows and doors are securely isolated, to ensure that no air from the outside enters the room, except from the air-handling unit. Standard room isolation technology relies on controlling the room pressure differential – negative and positive pressure. The objective here is to have the isolated room under negative pressure to prevent any virus or bacteria from being transmitted out of the isolation room; this prevents the spread of infection to other parts of the hotel or hospital.

When converting a regular room into an isolation room, it is not advisable to recirculate the air, to avoid the transmission of microbes within the room. Hence, it is essential to have a source that provides 100% fresh air, and offers a system for exhausting contaminated air outside the building, with the installation of a controller that monitors and adjusts the air change rate per hour.

Additionally, room pressure should be monitored and maintained lower than the surrounding zones (negative pressure). To ensure that the contaminated air in the room is safely exhausted out of the building, the exhaust fan must be equipped with a highefficiency filter (HEPA-filter).

LOOKING AT THE FUTURE While taking the aforementioned steps is a matter of urgency to contain the diseases, it is wise and prudent to as much look at the future – about how we design our buildings to protect ourselves from future pandemics. It is imperative that facilities and consultants should incorporate the basic requirements at the design stage, to enable the upgrade of technologies in future hotels and healthcare projects. Doing so will enable the transformation of regular rooms into precautionary quarantine and isolation rooms in record time, when required.

Typically, such technologies as hygienic air-handling units, multifan array air-handling units and variable-speed drives are allies in the mission to combat pandemics. Add to the list BMS, which

can integrate various data-enabled technologies into one central digital platform for monitoring, controlling and reporting. This can ensure that the environmental conditions are maintained at the recommended levels, and monitored in real-time by officials located anywhere, by using cloud-enabled smart devices connected to the Internet.

CPI Industry accepts no liability for the views or opinions expressed in this column, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided here.

www.climatecontrolme.com

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Dr Sheikh Zuhaib, Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE)

‘IEQ IS A MAJOR DRIVER FOR RETROFITS IN THE EU’ Dr Sheikh Zuhaib, Project Manager, Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE), provides an insight into how a growing appreciation of the impact of the indoor environment on the health and well-being of building inhabitants have affected new and existing buildings across Europe. Excerpts from the interview he gave to Hannah Jo Uy of Climate Control Middle East…

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May 2020

Mandatory monitoring of retrofit projects, post-retrofit, would help in building up experience and knowledge base.

Exchange of best practices among EU countries will be essential in identifying the mandatory requirements

H

OW WOULD YOU GAUGE THE LEVEL OF INVESTMENT BEING PLACED IN BUILDING DESIGN, SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT THAT PROMOTE IEQ IN NEW CONSTRUCTION AND, AS AN EXTENSION, HOW MUCH IMPORTANCE ARE WE GIVING TO IEQ IN RETROFITS? Investors now realise that environmental factors have a crucial role in the value of real estate, and there is an ever-increasing demand for sustainable buildings. There are no real trends that could elaborate on the level of investments that promotes IEQ in new construction. A proxy of this trend can be measured by increased deployment of sensors in commercial real estate to monitor IEQ levels that are becoming mainstream, and the investments are projected to be EUR 1.3 billion in 2020.

However, many assessment systems existing around the world, such as LEED, BREEAM, DGNB, WELL, HPI, among others, have made IEQ as a compulsory criterion to be satisfied to get a required rating in the commercial building sector. These systems tend to focus more on design, in terms of inputs, rather than performance, in terms of outputs. Several studies have indicated that improving an existing building is much more sustainable for the planet than is new construction, though retrofit sometimes may be less financially feasible than new construction.

Frontrunner projects and voluntary standards have proven that buildings can be very energy efficient while ensuring outstanding indoor air quality, thermal comfort, daylight and acoustics. This trend is now rising in residential, commercial, health and educational buildings sector, but one could argue its cost-effectiveness and how do we measure it? In ensuring compliance, the real estate industry is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of IEQ, and it attracts clients who are interested in healthy buildings.

Integrating effective IEQ strategies in early design stages of a new building project is an easy task compared to the existing building stock that was designed without any prior focus on IEQ. Europe has the highest number of existing buildings, and new buildings represent annually less than 1.5% of the total building stock. Poor IEQ in existing buildings has resulted in health impacts, and it is a growing concern in Europe, as occupants spend a huge

share of their time indoors living, working or in recreational activities. Therefore, the European Commission is ensuring a greater focus on improving IEQ conditions in the buildings through the main legislation, Energy Performance Building Directive (EPBD 2018/844) to be followed by EU member states. Energy-efficient retrofits provide an opportunity to improve the IEQ conditions in buildings, and consideration of it during planning has proven to be effective. Studies on the impact of retrofit in Europe have shown to improve respiratory, cardiovascular and mental health in homes, improved productivity and reduced absence from work in offices and better concentration in students.

FROM AN IEQ PERSPECTIVE, WHAT GAPS HAVE YOU OBSERVED IN TERMS OF THE WAY RETROFIT PROJECTS ARE OPERATED AND MAINTAINED? DOES THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCE IEQ LESSEN IF CONSULTANTS AND CONTRACTORS ARE BROUGHT INTO THE PROJECT AT A MUCH LATER STAGE? The lack of holistic retrofit strategies and the pressure of meeting minimum legal requirements by contractors, ESCOs or real estate developers have proven to become tragic for occupants in the form of poor IEQ. Problems like overheating, because of a well-insulated envelope; insufficient fresh air, owing to increased air tightness; and high concentration of indoor air pollutants,

as a result of reduced ventilation rates, have become very prevalent. These phenomena are also a result of lack of awareness of such issues, low competence in the retrofit industry value chain and budget limitation of retrofit projects. It has been realised that health and well-being must be integrated into the retrofit strategies very strongly to benefit the owners and occupants. Some studies outline that IEQ is also seen as a major driver of retrofit uptake by property owners and real estate developers in the EU. Often in the initial stages of planning for retrofit, IEQ is not the focus of the project. It reduces the possibilities to strategise the retrofit if the consultants /contractors are brought in at a later stage. This is due to the negative retrofit ‘lock-in effects’ that limits the opportunity to improve the building conditions in the future, as it has not been taken into planning from the beginning.

FROM WHAT WE UNDERSTAND OF EUROPE, THERE HAS BEEN GREATER APPRECIATION OF, AND EMPHASIS PLACED ON, IEQ IN DEEP RETROFITS, AS STAKEHOLDERS HAVE A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE EFFECT THAT CLEANER AIR HAS ON HEALTH, WELL-BEING AND PRODUCTIVITY. DO YOU SEE A SIMILAR TREND IN THE MIDDLE EAST? Indoor Environmental Quality has a major impact on occupant health and well-being, productivity and comfort. The nonenergy benefits of better IEQ and

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13

Dr Sheikh Zuhaib, Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE)

comfort have been highlighted by many studies conducted by EU stakeholders and prominently by researchers. The main legislation for the EU – that is, the revised EPBD – also emphasises on the role of IEQ in buildings together with energy efficiency, and have directed the EU Member States to take it into account in their building regulations for new construction and renovations.

Deep retrofits are aimed at achieving the highest energy savings – up to 75% – in the existing buildings, and it presents an opportunity to improve the IEQ significantly.

Many studies on office buildings in Europe have highlighted the impact of better IEQ on their work performance and productivity of employees. IEQ has gained attention worldwide, and the Middle East has also shown progress with stricter building regulations on ventilation requirements and energy conservation. The emergence of building rating and assessment systems, such as Pearl Rating System, in the UAE; ARZ Building Rating System, in Lebanon, and Global Sustainability Assessment System in Qatar, highlights that there is a growing awareness of sustainability issues, including IEQ, and the construction industry is ready to deliver healthy buildings by complying with these systems. Although, there is a stark difference in the building stock compositions between Europe, which has very low rate new construction, and the Middle East, which has very high rate of new construction, each region faces its unique challenges.

WHICH SECTORS, WOULD YOU SAY, HAVE SHOWCASED THE MOST WILLINGNESS TO INVEST IN IEQ SOLUTIONS, AND WHY? Absence from work across Europe ranges between three per cent and six per cent of the total working time due to poor health conditions. There has been a piece of growing evidence from studies in Europe that poor indoor air quality can provoke 6-9% of productivity loss in employees. These trends have been alarming for the commercial sector, and there has been increased recognition of these issues in real estate investment, especially in office buildings.

Studies have also shown that the energy efficiency interventions improved the indoor air quality in buildings that reduced the sick days by 1.2 – 1.9 days in the EU. The impact of the indoor environment on the health and well-being of people and performance is still understudied and not adequately addressed for the other building sectors.

Hospitals, schools and offices account for nearly half of the total floor area of non-residential buildings in Europe. These buildings will still be with us for decades to come, and the vast majority need to be renovated to improve their energy performance and IEQ. Lack of suitable policies and guidelines, public funding and financial instruments and support from the governments have been the major barriers for other sectors to effectively focus on IEQ solutions in the EU. People spend more

than 90% of their time indoors in Europe, but the residential buildings sector, which is the largest, is still very slow in adopting the right strategies for ensuring the provision of optimal IEQ conditions for occupants.

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE TO MAKE IEQ MANDATORY IN RETROFIT PROJECTS? OUTSIDE OF REGULATION AND POLICIES? Establishing a sound evidence base to fill the knowledge gaps, and communicating the health and well-being benefits of retrofits more widely both at EU and Member State level would bring attention and awareness.

Availability of public funding for improving IEQ in building-retrofit projects would increase uptake. Mandatory monitoring of retrofit projects, post-retrofit, would help in building up experience and knowledge base. Exchange of best practices among EU countries will be essential in identifying the mandatory requirements. Overall, making requirements for IEQ mandatory in building regulations would ensure higher compliance in retrofit projects.

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

STAY UPDATED ON THE LATEST HVACR NEWS AND VIEWS AT

www.hvacafrica.com

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May 2020

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15

REGIONAL NEWS

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems sees Saudi Arabia as cornerstone of ME growth strategy

Company president outlines opportunities and projects in the region; highlights hydrogen-combustion turbines’ role in future energy mix

A

By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor

cross the Middle East, there is a growing interest in pursuing a more efficient and cleaner energy source, said Khaled Salem, President, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems MENA, adding that over the past 50 years, MHPS has supplied over 300 gas and steam turbines in the region. “Today, we continue to partner with regional leaders to modernise power generation and support local governments in achieving their visions of sustainable economies,” he said.

“With Saudi Arabia serving as a cornerstone of our regional activities, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) has launched a National Program for the Kingdom that prioritises the development of local talent, and leverages the local supply chain, while expanding its industrial facilities and capabilities in Dammam, serving Saudi Arabia and the region.”

While Saudi Arabia is a key focus for MHPS, Salem emphasised that there is a wealth of opportunity across the entire Middle East, pointing out that governments across the region are actively rolling out energy diversification strategies that will lead to a larger share of energy supply coming from

by natural gas, will revolve around alternative sources, such as two M701F gas turbines in a solar, wind and nuclear. “Turning project, underway by the Sharjah to the UAE specifically, as it Electricity & Water Authority is one of the world’s leading (SEWA) in the coastal suburb of investors in renewables, the Layyah,” he said. “Plans call for International Renewable Energy completion and startup of the Agency (IRENA) predicts that plant in mid-2021. The project renewable energy will account for will be the first in Sharjah to be 100% of the country’s energy financed as export loan with needs within the next 50 years,” support from a Japanese export he said. “Similarly, as part of credit agency (ECA).” In Kuwait, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the Salem said that over country had set a the past few years, target of generating the company has also 9.5 gigawatts successfully undertaken of renewable rehabilitation projects energy by 2030. for boilers of some In January 2019, of the oldest power Riyadh ramped up Khaled Salem stations in the nation, its clean energy ensuring that over 4 targets to 27.3 GW GW of power remain online for an by 2024 and 58.7 GW by 2030, extended lifecycle. “This comes at superseding the previous 9.5 a time when Kuwait is projecting GW by 2023.” He added that strong growth in its power giga projects in the Kingdom, demand over the next decade,” such as NEOM, further illustrate he said. the ambition of the Kingdom to Aside from providing solutions achieve this transformation in the for renewables and renewables next decade. integration systems, Salem Providing an update on the said, the company offers gas ongoing power projects of MHPS turbines leading in efficiency in the region, Salem said that and reliability, providing an ideal in 2019, the company received solution for balancing power an order for the construction grids against the intermittency of a 1,026.3 MW gas turbine of renewables, while also combined-cycle (GTCC) power significantly reducing fuel plant for the emirate of Sharjah in the UAE. “The plant, to be fired consumption and the consequent

fuel combustion emissions.

In addition, Salem said, the company is focusing heavily on hydrogen-combustion turbines.

“We envision that hydrogen is going to be a game-changer,” he said. “And we believe in a ‘Hydrogen Society’, a future in which hydrogen, a carbon-free fuel, will make up a significant proportion of the world's energy mix.”

Salem said that the leadership of MHPS in hydrogen fuel technology can be very successfully deployed in the UAE and Saudi Arabia – countries that are already active in this space.

“Both countries have favourable renewable energy environments and can evolve into supply hubs of commercially competitive hydrogen fuel or hydrogen power, therefore continuing to play a crucial role in world energy supply,” he said. “Key advantages of the region in leading the hydrogen economy include ample low-cost solar power, sizable, reasonably priced gas resources and an ideal geographic location.” The company, he said, continues to collaborate with stakeholders in the region to pioneer projects that are going to be pivotal in demonstrating how hydrogen can competitively fulfil expectations.

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May 2020

Vertiv enters into partnership with Geoclima

Company says initiative, which includes new oil-free centrifugal chiller range, delivers technology to enable data centre operators to exceed efficiency targets

V

By CCME Content Team

ertiv, which provides digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, announced through a Press release a series of measures designed to meet increasing customer demand for innovative and efficient thermal-management technologies and services. This includes Vertiv Liebert OFC, which the company described as a new and highly advanced range of oil-free turbocor compressor chillers, launched in partnership with Geoclima. The family of air-cooled and water-cooled chillers will initially be available in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the company said.

The exclusive technology partnership with Geoclima, a company Vertiv described

as specialising in innovative cooling systems with low environmental impact, enables Vertiv to build on its existing chiller technology and its track record around the globe. The Liebert OFC design has been optimised to utilise low-GWP refrigerants, including R1234ze, and to provide high energy efficiency, Vertiv said. Other refrigerants, including R513A and R134a, are also available in the range.

Kevin Brady, Vice President and General Manager of Thermal Management for Vertiv in Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “We believe both Vertiv and Geoclima bring immense knowledge and experience to this technology partnership. The introduction of the Liebert OFC range will provide our data centre customers with the complete array of

chiller offerings – scroll, fixed screw, inverter screw and turbocor – enabling them to meet their efficiency targets and stay ahead of regulations.”

Paolo Ferraris, President, Geoclima, said: “I am sure that the mix of Geoclima’s innovative product range, together with Vertiv’s state-of-the-art laboratories and a deep knowledge of data centre applications, make this technology partnership a sure success for both our companies.”

The Liebert OFC range, Vertiv said, will include water-cooled models from 300 kW to 1600 kW and air-cooled models from 300 kW to 1700 kW, which are also available with free-cooling and adiabatic configurations.

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Solsteo to drive greater awareness on characteristics of EO gas

Company GM highlights importance of keeping tight control on airflow and the use of gas-abatement systems to enhance IAQ in industrial processes

S

■ Representatives of Solsteo

By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor

olsteo has a role to play in making users of ethylene oxide (EO) sterilisers aware of all the characteristics of the gas, said Pierre Bouché, General Manager of the French-owned company. “EO is a very powerful sterilant gas that has the advantage to sterilise heat-sensitive and moisture-sensitive products without damaging material used in the medical device (MD),” he said. “It is important to [remember] that EO is a highly reactive and odourless gas. Acute exposures may result in respiratory irritation, whereas chronic exposure has been associated with the occurrence of cancer.” Bouché emphasised that the number one priority of users of EO sterilisers should be to keep tight control on all air flow containing EO within their premises and to use a gas-abatement system to enhance indoor air quality within industrial processes.

Bouché said that although EO is widely used in the industry to sterilise polymer-based, single-use products, with an estimated 50%

of all sterile medical devices in the world going through the EO process, risks of EO exposure can be under-estimated. “All EO sterilisation users must be equipped with proper gas detection and ventilation systems, which must be operated to protect health of operators,” he said. “And all EO sterilisers should be associated with a gas-abatement system, such as acid scrubbers or catalytic burners.” Emphasising the technical experience and portfolio of the company, Bouché said Solsteo delivered the largest EO steriliser in the Gulf region – measuring 86 cubic metres and fitting 32 pallets – to a high-profile manufacturer of medical devices in Dubai. He added that the company has also introduced a new EO steriliser to the market, called UNISTE 411, which has been designed to capture 100% air flow from an EO sterilisation cycle and direct it to a gas-abatement system for a safe exhaust to the atmosphere.

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Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems highlights power sector’s contribution to air quality Company president outlines strategies to mitigate environmental impact

A

By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor

ir quality in the Middle East is negatively impacted by various factors, said Khaled Salem, President, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems MENA, who pointed out that these factors range from natural causes, such as the geographic climate, exposure to high levels of suspended particles in the air as well as seasonal and severe dust and sand storms, to man-made reasons, such as the use of oil and heavy fuels for power generation. As such, Salem said, air quality has emerged as a key issue in government agendas across the Middle East, with the UAE’s National Vision 2021 setting a target to raise air quality from its current level to 90% by 2021. “To meet this goal, the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment is working with partners to bolster national efforts through various

capture a specific category means,” he said, “such as the use of emissions, and can be of state-of-the-art systems and further customised to specific techniques and the adoption of site conditions to ensuring best practices.” maximum effectiveness. “MHPS Elaborating on the company’s is a global leader in AQCS strategy to positively contribute technology that enables power to the improvement of air quality, Khaled Salem generation and industrial Salem said that MHPS deploys a plants to meet stringent air range of strategies to mitigate quality and emission standards with environmental impact in such situations. “At solutions that enable even fossil fuel one end, we minimise emissions production, plants to meet environmental regulations,” where our state-of-the-art combustion he said. “Our AQCS solutions use selective technologies are designed to optimise catalytic reduction systems to remove up the fuel-combustion process,” he said. “At to 95% of nitrogen oxides emitted from another, we capture emissions produced power plant boilers.” Salem explained in the combustion process, prior to being that electrostatic precipitators remove the released into the air.” In this second step, dust from the exhaust gases, and flue gas Salem said, the company leverages its suite de-sulphurisation systems remove up to of Air Quality Control Systems, which features 99% of harmful sulphur dioxide. a number of technologies, each tailored to

Savills spotlights shift in consumer demand

Company representative shares how investing in sustainable developments makes economic sense for developers

T

By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor

here is an undeniable shift in consumer demands, said Swapnil Pillai, Research Associate, Savills Middle East, who pointed out that buyers today desire “convenience-driven, technologically connected and sustainable community living”. Truly sustainable communities need to be about more than just the buildings and the use of solar panels,” he said.

“They need to take into account the local climate, transport links and internal spaces. It’s important to assess the orientation of the buildings to take advantage of thermal energy, to look at the size of the windows to take advantage of natural light, to use locally sourced products and to reduce carbon emissions in the delivery chain.”

Pillai said that with this shift in consumer consciousness, the long-term advantage of sustainability outweighs any upfront financial implications, plus with the UAE Government’s focus on energy efficiency, it is essential for investors to be on the front foot. “Chiller charges are an area of concern for investors here in the UAE, as a higher chiller charge can negatively impact the return on investment,” he said. “However, sustainable solutions can often be viewed as an additional investment to the property itself and be done in such a way that the solutions have their own commercial value.”

20

May 2020

Providing an example, Pillai said that further afield, in London, there is increased demand for rentals in sustainable communities, particularly key urban regeneration schemes, such as Battersea Power Station, King’s Road Park, Triptych Bankside and Grand Union, as investors recognise the financial growth offered by such sustainable developments. “These sustainable developments in London can hold valuable lessons for the Middle East region,” he said.

Pillai said that, however, the UAE has taken great strides in terms of infrastructure, pointing out that Dubai Metro’s recent tenth-year anniversary celebration was a testament to the increasing demand for public transport with tunnels and connected walkways. He said, “We would expect to see further use of underground building design that offers climatic insulation and sustainable features in the future.”

Pillai added that even though the supply of sustainable buildings in the region is still at a nascent stage, developments, such as the Sustainable City, in Dubai, are pioneering the concept and setting a benchmark for future developments. “An increasing number of developers,” he said, “are now trying to incorporate some element of sustainability either into the design or the raw materials used.”

Applus Applus awards awards Leminar Leminar certification certification forfor Flame Flame Safe Safe

Manufacturer Manufacturer says test saysresults test results confirm confirm that the thatnon-coated the non-coated duct system duct system has met has met strict strict compliance compliance with the withtechnical the technical specifications specifications required required

by British

by British Standard Standard 476 476 part 24 part (ISO 24 6944) (ISO 6944) 4 hours 4 hours of fireofrating fire rating

Applus awards Leminar certification for Flame Safe

Manufacturer says test results confirm that the non-coated duct system has met strict compliance with the technical specifications required

by British Edited Edited

by CCME

by CCME Content Content Team Team Standard 476 part 24 (ISO 6944) 4 hours of fire rating

By CCME Content Team

L

manufacturing practices in the region, the eminar Air Conditioning type fire-rated ducts (two hours and four company stated.

Industries said it has hours rating with EN compliance) within the DUBAI, DUBAI, UAE, UAE, 20 March 20 March 2020: Leminar 2020: Leminar Air Conditioning Air Conditioning Industries Industries said it said has successfully it has successfully Sanjeev Mathur, General Manager, successfully tested and certified same facility. tested and tested certified and certified its Flame its Flame Safe non-coated Safe non-coated duct systems duct systems forsaid, firefor performance fire performance at Applus+ at Applus+Industries, said: Leminar Air Conditioning its Flame Safe non-coated duct The recent test results, Leminar have in Spain. in Applus+ Spain.

The company The company made the made the announcement through through a Pressa“Throughout release.

Press release. time, we have opted for systemsLaboratory for fireLaboratory performance at confirmed theannouncement product’s strict compliance voluntary tests by independent authorities Laboratory in Spain. The company made with the technical specifications required by to ensure theby quality the announcement through Britishwhich Standard 476 part 24and (ISOdeveloped 6944) According According to the arelease, toPress the release, Flame Flame Safe, Safe, which is designed is designed and –developed entirely entirely

by Leminar, Leminar, isofathe products is a is maintained. tests release.cost-effective fire rating, EN-1366-1 cost-effective fire-rated fire-rated duct system. ductfour system.

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Safe, which is designed and developed per EN 13501 Part 3 for Type A and Type Buncoated-coatedas wellasaswell non-coated-type as non-coated-type fire-rated fire-rated ducts (two ductshours (two and hours four andhours four rating hours with ratingEN with EN According to the release, Applus+ entirely by Leminar, is a cost-effective insulated ducts) that relates to a ductwork’s compliance) compliance) within within the same thefacility. same facility. is an independent testing, inspection fire-rated duct system.

It was introduced ability to resist the spread of fire. Flame Safe and certification company that is in the to the market in the early part of 2016, meets and exceeds the stability, integrity business of with ensuring thatthe products meet which the company made it the Leminar and insulation criteria setthe forth under thisstrict compliance The recent The claimed, recent test results, test results, Leminar said, have said,confirmed have confirmed product’s the product’s strict compliance the with leadingtechnical manufacturer in the Middle East framework.

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by British Standard Standard 476validate part 476 24Flame part (ISO 246944) (ISOenvironmental, –6944) four –hours fourquality, of hours fireand of health fire and safety and regulations. to produce coatedas well as non-coatedSafe’s superior quality and (Highest Leminar’s credible rating, rating, EN-1366-1 EN-1366-1 with E-60 withclassification E-60 classification rating (Highest rating classification, classification, as standards per as ENper 13501 EN 13501 Part 3 Part 3

for Type forAType and A Type andBun-insulated Type Bun-insulated ducts) ducts) that relates that relates to a ductwork’s to a ductwork’s abilityability to resist tothe resist spread the spread of fire.of Flame fire. Flame Safe meets Safe and meets exceeds and exceeds the stability, the stability, integrity integrity and insulation and insulation criteriacriteria set forth setunder forth under this framework. this framework.

The results The results also validate also validate Flame Flame Safe’s Safe’s superior superior qualityquality and Leminar’s and Leminar’s credible credible manufacturing manufacturing practices practices in the region, in the region, the company the company stated.stated.

Sanjeev Sanjeev Mathur, Mathur, General General Manager, Manager, Leminar Leminar Air Conditioning Air Conditioning Industries, Industries, said: “Throughout said: “Throughout time, we time, have weopted have for opted voluntary for voluntary tests bytests independent by independent authorities authorities to ensure to ensure the quality the quality of the of the products products is maintained. is maintained.

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by Applus+ supportsupport to increase to increase the reliability the reliability and and qualityquality of the product of the product with maximum with maximum lifetime.” lifetime.”

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www.climatecontrolme.com

21

REGIONAL NEWS

Al Salem Johnson Controls participates in sterilisation drive in Makkah Company says its YORK HVAC system ensures 100% fresh air inside the Grand Mosque

A

By CCME Content Team

l Salem Johnson Controls (YORK) said the Company's HVAC system played a significant role in a 48-hour sterilisation process and subsequent COVID-mitigation measures, undertaken at Al-Masjid Al-Haram, in Makkah.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has implemented several precautionary measures at Al-Masjid Al-Haram Dr Mohanad AlShaikh in Makkah in the wake of COVID19, with a temporary hold on prayers and Umrah inside the Mosque until further notice, to ensure the safety of worshipers.

The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque is continuously implementing sterilisations and other precautionary measures, in preparation for the reopening of the Two Holy Mosques, once the pandemic situation subsides.

All YORK chillers at Al Shamiyah and Ajyad cooling plants and the air-handling units (AHUs) inside the Mosque were shut down for 48 hours, in order to raise the temperature inside the Mosque to around 30-32 degrees Celsius, the level required for the sterilisation, the company said.

Simultaneously, the AHUs were inspected, and the filters, ducts, drain pans and cooling coils were cleaned and sterilised, to ensure that clean, high-quality air

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May 2020

is supplied and maintained throughout the Mosque, the company added.

Each chiller takes about 3-4 minutes to be completely turned off, the company said. The pipes connecting the chiller plants to the Mosque keep supplying the AHUs with chilled water for about 30 minutes, before the water becomes warm and the AHUs are turned off, the company added.

After the sterilisation was completed, and due to the reduced load inside the Grand Mosque, owing to COVIDrelated restrictions, only 10% of the total cooling capacity was turned back on – sufficient to maintain a comfort zone for the few people inside the Mosque, the company said. It also helps achieve the right moisture level that will maintain the structural integrity of the Mosque. The remaining 90% of the chillers and AHUs are subject to preventive maintenance and long-term storage procedures, to ensure operational efficiency once the cooling plants are returned to full cooling capacity, when the pandemic subsides, the company said.

Al Salem Johnson Controls highlighted that the long-term storage service is a form of preventive maintenance applied on chillers that are in a non-operating mode over a long period of time. This maintenance is completed through frequent check-ups, and the monitoring of refrigerant and water pressure inside the chillers, to preserve the outer body of the chiller from moisture attacks and corrosion, the company said. Moreover, motor rotations and oiling are monitored, as are the alignment of the chiller’s motor and compressor, the company added.

When the HVAC system is turned back to full force, each chiller takes about 6-7 minutes to reach full operational efficiency and cooling capacity, thus gradually achieving the total cooling capacity, the company said, adding that long before the COVID-19 outbreak, it equipped the Two Holy Mosques with specialised and tailor-made HVAC systems, which take into consideration the crowded nature of both locations, particularly in peak seasons, such as Hajj and Umrah, as well as during prayer times.

The AHUs supply 100% fresh air, by containing contaminated air and exhausting it to the outdoors, and then replacing it with well-treated fresh air, which re-enters the space after a rigorous filtration process, the company said. The AHUs are equipped with filters that do not allow the passage of big particles to the air conditioned environment, through multiple stages of filtration that can achieve up to 95% filtration efficiency, the company said.

According to the company, the total cooling capacity of the HVAC system at the Great Mosque in normal days is 159,000 refrigerated tonnes (RT), equivalent to the cooling of 15,000 medium-sized apartments. This is provided through an integrated HVAC system, which consists of the two chiller plants, connected to the AHUs inside the Mosque, the company said.

The plants provide the chilled water that flows inside the AHUs, which in turn pump the cooled 100% fresh air across the Mosque, the company said. The chiller plant at Al Shamiyah is considered to be the second largest in the world, housing specially designed YORK OM Chillers, which are large, sophisticated chillers, with motors similar in size to a regular car, the company said.

The HVAC equipment has been specially engineered to meet the requirements of the Holy Mosque, particularly in peak seasons, and to adapt to the ventilation and cooling needs of the ongoing expansion works at Al-Haram, the company said.

Dr Mohanad AlShaikh, CEO, Al Salem Johnson Controls, expressed appreciation for the great efforts made by the Kingdom in the development of the Two Holy Mosques, and making them a strategic priority for the Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. He also lauded the precautionary measures taken by the Government amid COVID-19, to ensure the safety of the guests of Allah, as well as that of the citizens and residents of the Kingdom.

The company said it has allocated 135 service technicians for the Grand Mosque’s HVAC system, who are working round-the-clock at the cooling plants to ensure smooth operation of the HVAC system, and provide any required repair or maintenance services in record time.

VRF key to achieving Dubai’s 2030 energy efficiency targets, says Taqeef

Company official highlights merits of technology for retrofitting projects

“D

By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor

ubai aims to improve its energy efficiency usage by 30% by 2030, and we believe that VRF is key to achieving this target through repurposing and retrofitting,” said Sandra Bou Madi, Head of Business Development, Taqeef. Madi pointed out that due to the nature of the technology, VRF can contribute Sandra Bou Madi significant energy savings that can reach up to 50%, for example, refurbishing an existing old chilled water plant. “Essentially, most cooling systems in older buildings can be retrofitted or replaced by VRF due to its high flexibility,” she said. “In simplistic terms, just like a jigsaw puzzle, the new system can be designed where many indoor units are connected to modular outdoor units based on the existing conditions and constraints, whether they’re centralised or individual units.”

Madi pointed out that the VRF system is a simple but smart solution and that its embedded control features provide a number of advantages, post-retrofit, such as savings on OPEX, through reduced maintenance costs and electrical consumption, yielding a payback as low as two years. “For example, the same dedicated bulk space on roof and shafts can be used, or outdoor units can be distributed next to the dedicated risers, in order to save on the whole piping network,” she said. “The same electrical network can be used, because VRF has a lower total power input, which accounts for up to 30%; therefore, spare power can be diverted to other usage. And, VRF systems require much less ceiling space than conventional systems because of the high heat-carrying capacity of the refrigerant that leads to lower off coil and smaller ducts.”

Madi further highlighted what she considers to be additional advantages of using VRF in retrofits. “The direct current fan motor for indoor units is a plus, which means the required flow can be achieved with any existing pressure drop using both duct and air outlets network,” she said. “Secondly, the fresh air handling units (FAHUs) can be connected to VRF units outdoor through an air-handling unit (AHU) kit. The reduced noise levels as well as better indoor air quality (IAQ) come as standard.” Another important benefit, Madi said, is the tight temperature control through precise load matching, meaning the system can be modulated to follow the load, units can remain running to maintain temperature within narrow limits and the dehumidification performance is such that it provides optimal room humidity, due to the electronic expansion valve in each indoor unit and higher latent capacity of the indoor units. “In short, whether being deployed in new buildings or as part of a retrofitting project – VRF is leading the way in efficiency, cost savings and comfort for tomorrow’s cooling technology and today’s conscious consumerism,” she said. “I’m confident its popularity will continue to rise as these benefits are more widely understood and documented.”

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REGIONAL NEWS

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TOWARDS A STATE OF CALM Insights and recommendations on fire prevention and fire protection OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

29 June 2020 | 2pm - 5:20pm (UAE time, GMT+4) 6am - 9:20am Eastern Standard Time (EST)

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OVERVIEW The buildings of today – be they residential, commercial or industrial – are more complex than ever before in human history. They vary in shapes and sizes and typically include villas and townhouses, high-rises, ultra-high-rises and large interconnected structures, serving specialised environments, such as airports, hospitals and venues of mega-events. And while they reach out to the skies, they conceal below-the-ground environments, typically car parks, road tunnels, pedestrian subways, and metro stations and moving train cars that course through them.

To add to the complexity is the unprecedented and sophisticated nature of building materials. No longer are buildings made of just brick, mortar and wood; today, they comprise synthetic foams, light-weight polymeric building materials and fabrics, to name just three.

In short, buildings present a complex set of challenges, including hitherto unheard of fire profiles and fire loads for policy makers, planners, fire prevention and firefighting personnel, building owners, other sectoral end-users, project managers, architects, consultants, contractors, manufacturers and O&M personnel.

In the GCC region, which is characterised by ambitious, young and growing cities, the pace of development is rapid and, at the same time, accommodative of the varied needs of a fast-increasing urban population. The intent is to get things right from the onset, to minimise, if not to eliminate, fire-related incidents, but the translation of intent to implementation is iterative in nature, with room for improvement, as it ought to be in a fast-changing dynamic.

‘Towards a State of Calm’ is a GCC region-centric fire prevention and fire protection webinar that is timely and topical in nature. Through predominantly presenting and elaborating on issues that are at the crossroads, it offers an immersive experience to an audience largely comprising building and facility owners. It aims to inform, and calm and assuage them by sharing the possibility of a fit-for-purpose ecosystem of strategies, measures, technologies, vigilance and continuous improvement.

For fire safety needs to be continually addressed, COVID or otherwise

SPEAKERS (SO FAR) Luke Cameron Senior Fire Engineer, AESG

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Shamim RashidSumar Vice President- Fire Codes and Standards, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA)

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Eurovent Middle East spotlights opportunities for energy savings in data centre operations

Industry association’s two-part webinar offers presentations on various cooling technologies, design parameters and applications

“T

By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor

here is a vital supply of communication that works following the provision of IT, and without those, the modern world we have created would not survive,” said Brian Suggitt, President, Brian Suggitt Eurovent Middle East, as he welcomed participants of the two-part live webinar on data centre cooling the industry association organised on April 14 and 16. “Data centres are akin to power plants supplying electricity,” he said, pointing out that data centres, as such, have to be cooled and maintained at the highest possible levels.

Jamshad Padanchery Jamshad Padanchery, Sales Engineer, Middle East, Airedale International Air Conditioning, kicked off the first edition of the workshop by discussing the evolution of data centre cooling. “As the data centre industry grows, so, too, does its demand on the planet’s natural resources, including power and water, and as cooling systems and Enrico Boscaro techniques evolve, there is an opportunity for data centre operators in this region to conserve resources and save money,” he said.

“The continued digitisation of our everyday lives is increasing the demand for cloud and edge computing.” In his presentation, Padanchery pointed out that the key to Jesper Therbo-Pedersen optimised HVAC is the harmonisation of the equipment with the environment. “Using a specialised HVAC Building Management System, it is possible to monitor conditions at rack level,” he said. “This allows the return air set-point to be dynamically adjusted to meet the desired rack temperature, therefore optimising the CRACs.” Further highlighting the importance of unlocking energy savings in data centres, Enrico Boscaro, Group Marketing Manager – HVAC Industrial, CAREL, highlighted the merits of using DC technology and how retrofitting still represents a strong market driver, as capacity of existing data centres continues to grow. “Switching to high-efficiency components has beneficial returns on the retrofitting investment,” he said. “The role of integrated systems will be fundamental to efficiently manage different technologies. Essentially, flexibility, compatibility and adaptability are key to integrate existing units and new technologies.”

Jesper Therbo-Pedersen, Global Head of HVAC/R Danfoss Drives, Danfoss Drives, speaking on AC drives, said, “The considerable daily cooling load variation in data centres makes it economical and attractive to install AC Drives on more or less all rotating equipment, such as fans, pumps and compressors.” He added that doing so offers savings in terms of energy consumption and equipment

maintenance, leading to quicker payback. He further added that the enhanced intelligence in new-generation AC drives enables the drives to act as sensors and sensor hubs to process, store and analyse data, and that condition-based monitoring strengthens the reliability of data centres.

The second edition of the webinar began with a presentation from Tom Bosmans, Application Manager, Baltimore Aircoil International, who discussed opportunities associated with free cooling applications, and the impact that a number of factors, such as geography and the type of cooling technology, have on overall operations. Bosmans said that evaporative cooling provides efficient cooling solution for data center by improving reliability, low maintenance, easy inspection as well as energy efficiency and sustainability. Such reliability, he explained, is vital for an industry that supports major IT innovation trends.

Providing a breakdown of a data centre’s cost structure, Frank Taaning Grundholm, VP, Global HVACR Sales – Motion Business ABB, pointed out that mechanical and power systems account for most an average of 20% and 35%, respectively, of the data centre’s capital costs and that it is critical to make them efficient at part loads.

Grundholm also pointed out that there are many variable-speed technologies for cooling applications to improve data Tom Bosmans centre efficiency, but that they should be specified carefully to avoid power quality issues and data centre operation instability, as well as excessive capex and opex. “Harmonics and reactive power are the aspect to consider,” he said. “Managing both with active frontend drives brings significant capital and Frank Taaning operating cost savings and ensures data Grundholm centre power network reliability and resilience.”

Julio Conde Blanco, Project Manager, Energy Department, CEIS, rounded up the sessions by discussing the applicable European Standards for Performance Testing. Currently, Blanco said, there Julio Conde Blanco are no standards dedicated to IT cooling technologies. “We rely on other standards,” he said. “My opinion is that we should do something about that.” For the moment, Blanco said, CRAC units are being evaluated according to current European standards, but that newest products have greatly benefited from a number of cooling technologies, which require new testing standards and conditions.

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25

REGIONAL NEWS

IT systems are not seen as critical elements of the building, says Help AG

Company CTO highlights importance of investing in maintenance of control systems, in view of their critical role in building operations

F

By Hannah Jo Uy | Assistant Editor

acility managers and property owners in the Middle East need to start taking the maintenance of control systems as seriously as the maintenance of the actual assets in the building, said Nicolai Solling, CTO, Help AG, who believes there is a massive need to educate stakeholders in the building sector in this regard. “The real issue is that many of the IT systems supervising buildings are not seen as critical elements of the building,” he said. “But, as we move towards more and more automated buildings to deliver more efficient operations, the supervisory systems become increasingly critical.”

Solling pointed out that most buildings in the UAE today utilise solutions such as building management systems (BMSes) and that the level of complexity and digitalisation of these systems varies greatly with the age of these properties.

“In large malls, for example, controls for air

on centralised surveillance conditioning, video surveillance networks that are regularly as well as for fire and life safety hardened against new exploits are no longer manual – instead, and vulnerabilities ensures that these are orchestrated by fully these systems are operating automated systems,” he said. correctly for the wellbeing of the “While you may think you are Nicolai Solling people living in the building.” just pressing a button in your In the current market, Solling elevator, there is most likely a said, cybersecurity is not high on the computer somewhere supervising the lift, agenda of the construction industry. “Even air, lights, water, cooling and emergency today, most BMS systems and other control systems of the building.” Solling said that networks in buildings are implemented by unfortunately, many property owners and organisations that aren’t cybersecurity or IT building management organisations have a experts,” he said, adding that this can lead ‘set and forget’ approach to these systems. to a number of costly problems. Pointing “But, as with any technology solutions, to the 2013 data breach of Target Corp, as these systems need to be maintained,” he an example, he said, “The breach, which said. “When we are dealing with IT systems, Key Perspectives on ultimately cost the retailer US 18.5 million the angle of cybersecurity is something that in settlements, was achieved due to the needs to be maintained the same way as exploitation of vulnerabilities in systems not lifts go through periodic maintenance and owned by Target itself, but rather by the inspections. They require regular updates, company in charge of the maintenance of patching and vulnerability assessment. its HVAC systems.”

Having critical building functions dependent

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May 2020

GLOBAL NEWS

EUROVENTSUMMIT postponed The next edition of the event will take place from October 12 to 15, 2021

E

By CCME Content Team

urovent said that the continuing uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic has forced it to postpone the EUROVENTSUMMIT. Originally scheduled to take place in September 2020, it will now take place from October 12 to 15, 2021, in Antalya, Turkey, Eurovent said through a Press release.

It will be jointly organised by the Eurovent Association, Eurovent Certita Certification, Eurovent Market Intelligence, COPILOT, PRODBIM and ISKID, Eurovent said.

Naci Sahin, President, Eurovent Association, said: “While this was not an easy decision to make, the health and safety of the

participants is our number one priority. We intend to host the EUROVENTSUMMIT at a later date, when the public health situation will provide more certainty to all parties involved. We will be working with our partners to finalise the details and will share more information shortly.”

Eurovent described the event as Europe’s major gathering for Indoor Climate (HVAC), Process Cooling, and Food Cold Chain Technologies, uniting 500+ key decisionmakers from the EMEA region and beyond.

With the main theme being ‘Building Bridges’, the focus of the 2021 EUROVENTSUMMIT will be connecting

manufacturers and consultants, planners, installers, trade associations and policy makers in Europe, the East and beyond, towards more sustainable and circular products, and towards becoming a more socially and environmentally responsible industry, Eurovent said.

For the latest updates, Eurovent urgent followers to visit www.eurovent-summit.eu.

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27

GLOBAL NEWS

UV industry associations discourage the use of UV light on the human body The organisations caution that UV light under the conditions known to kill such viruses are also known to cause severe skin burns, skin cancer and eye damage

T

By CCME Content Team

he International Ultraviolet Association (IUVA) and Radtech North America have come out with a statement in response to recent reports suggesting that ultraviolet (UV) light can be used on the human body to disinfect against the coronavirus. IUVA and RadTech North America are educational and advocacy organisations, consisting of UV equipment vendors, scientists, engineers, consultants and members of the medical profession.

In a written statement aimed at informing the public, the two organisations said that there are no protocols to advise or to permit the safe use of UV light directly on the human body at the wavelengths and exposures proven to efficiently kill viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2. UV light under the conditions known to kill such viruses are also known to cause severe skin burns, skin cancer and eye damage, the two organisations said. They said that they strongly recommend that anyone using UV light to disinfect medical equipment, surfaces or air in the context of COVID-19 – applications that are supported by sound scientific evidence – follow all recommended health and safety precautions and avoid direct exposure of the body to the UV light.

The ultraviolet spectrum is a band of electromagnetic radiation at higher energies than visible light, split into four major categories: UV-A (400-315 nm), UV-B (315-280 nm), UV-C (280-200 nm), and vacuum-UV (VUV, 100200 nm), the two organisations said. UV-A and UV-B are present in sunlight at the earth’s surface; these parts of the ultraviolet spectrum are common causes of sunburn and, with longer-term exposure, melanoma, they said. The risks of human exposure to UV-A and UV-B are well known, they said, adding that Solar UV may be used for disinfection purposes; exposures in the order of several hours to days might be effective at treating surfaces and water. Artificial sources of UV-A

Operation of HVAC systems can reduce airborne exposures, says ASHRAE

Society informs of the availability of more information and guidance on its newly updated COVID-19 resources webpage

By CCME Content Team

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May 2020

A

SHRAE has published two statements to define guidance on managing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease with respect to the operation and maintenance of heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems in buildings.

“In light of the current global pandemic, it’s critically important that ASHRAE responds with guidance on mitigating the transmission of the virus, as well as ventilation and filtration recommendations,” said Darryl K Boyce, 2019-20 ASHRAE President. “ASHRAE has a significant role to play in ensuring safe and healthy building environments, and these statements offer the expert strategies needed at this time.”

ASHRAE said it developed the statements in response to widening false statements surrounding HVAC systems. ASHRAE said it officially opposes the advice not to run residential or commercial HVAC systems and asserts that keeping air conditioners on during this time can help control the spread of the virus.

and UV-B are not commonly used for disinfection, they said, adding that UV-C has been used for disinfection for over a century, with applications in water treatment, air systems, and surfaces.

The use of UV-C as a disinfectant is supported by decades of scientific research, the two organisations said. UV-C radiation is absorbed by DNA and RNA (the genetic code for all lifeforms), changing its structure, they said. This damage inhibits the ability of the affected cells to reproduce, meaning that they cannot infect and are no longer dangerous, they said.

Whereas the UV exposure required to inactivate different microorganisms varies, there are no known microorganisms that are immune to this treatment and it is regularly used against bacteria, viruses, and protozoa, they said. In the same way that UV-C can inactivate bacteria and viruses, it can be damaging to human cells, too, since our cells also contain DNA, they cautioned. This exposure can cause skin irritation, damage to the cornea and cell mutations leading to cancer, they said. Exposure to UV-C radiation is regulated globally, with a common agreement on the risk to human health and safe exposure levels, they said. These regulations and standards, they added, set limits on allowable exposure, though in all cases it is recommended to avoid UV exposure where possible.

In summary (as per the two organisations): • UV-C irradiation of the skin, eyes or any body part should be avoided wherever possible.

• Always wear appropriate PPE when handling un-shielded UV-C radiation sources (e.g. long-sleeved clothing, gloves and a UV-opaque face shield).

• Always use UV-C devices in accordance with the manufacturer’s operating instructions to ensure safe operation, and within appropriate enclosures. where light leakage has been controlled, and where the risks have been properly managed.

ASHRAE’s statements are as follows…

• Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through the air is sufficiently likely, and airborne exposure to the virus should be controlled. Changes to building operations, including the operation of heating, ventilating, and airconditioning systems, can reduce airborne exposures.

• Ventilation and filtration provided by heating, ventilating, and airconditioning systems can reduce the airborne concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and, thus, the risk of transmission through the air. Unconditioned spaces can cause thermal stress to people that may be directly lifethreatening, and that may also lower resistance to infection. In general, disabling of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems is not a recommended measure to reduce the transmission of the virus.

HVAC filters, along with other strategies, help to reduce virus transmission while removing other air contaminants that may have health effects, ASHRAE said.

ASHRAE’s Environmental Health Committee also developed an Emerging Issues Brief to support the two above statements. The Committee’s Position Document Committee also updated a Position Document on Infectious Aerosols.

There is great concern about the real possibility of transmission through the air of various pathogens, especially SARSCoV-2, among staff and administration in healthcare facilities, office workers, retail workers and patrons, manufacturing workers, and residents in private and public facilities and the general public in outdoor settings and in public transportation, ASHRAE said, adding that it has created an Epidemic Task Force (ETF), comprising leading experts to

Nanoparticles can cut domestic fridge power consumption by 29%, UJ engineers find. This test of nanoparticle-dosed refrigerants shows home refrigeration can be accessible for more lowincome families.

UJ News @mediauj

address the relationship between the spread of disease and HVAC in buildings during of the current pandemic and future epidemics.

Bill Bahnfleth, Chair of the Task Force, said, “ASHRAE, working with its industry partners, is uniquely qualified to provide guidance on the design, operation, and maintenance of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as to prepare for future epidemics.” Bahnfleth is also ASHRAE Environmental Health Committee voting member and 2013-14 ASHRAE Presidential Member.

ASHRAE recommended visiting ashrae.org/COVID19 for additional details. It added that the website contains frequently asked questions and the latest information on the ETF’s guidance for healthcare facilities, residential buildings and other issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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29

GLOBAL NEWS

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BITZER wins the HVACR trust award

DriSteem expands its team

Places first in the condensing units category

B

By CCME Content Team

itzer won the 2020 HVACR Trust Award in the condensing units category, the company announced through a Press release, adding that it won in the same category in the 2017 edition.

Andreas Riesch, Director of Sales (Germany and Switzerland), Bitzer, said: "At this award, industry representatives, such as contractors, expert planners and operators of refrigeration systems are the ones to evaluate and vote – and this is what makes the award all the more valuable for us. For the second time now, it shows us how much our customers appreciate and trust us. Since the first vote of the Trust Award, three years ago, we have added the ECOLITE series to our portfolio of condensing units. We are all the more pleased that it, too, seems to satisfy our customers to a high degree."

According to the release, the organisers of the Award gave away trophies in 14 different categories pertaining to refrigeration and air conditioning technology, ventilation as well as air ducting, building automation and fire protection. The participants voted on all aspects of consulting, technology and recommendability of the products and their manufacturers, the release said.

According to the release, Bitzer’s ECOSTAR condensing units offer efficient performance through intelligent technology. The specific unit controller, the system-optimised mini-channel condenser and the infinitely variable operation of the speed-controlled ECOLINE VARISPEED reciprocating compressor and the EC fans allow for future-oriented planning, the release said.

The medium-capacity segment and most standard applications are covered by the ECOLITE condensing units, Bitzer said through the release, adding that all seven ECOLITE models offer a wide range of applications from 1.5 kW to 5 kW in the low-temperature range and from 3.5 kW to 16 kW in the medium-temperature range. Compressors with the quasi-stepless VARISTEP capacity control, Bitzer said, are in use here. In addition, the compressors will be approved for operation with R1234ze or R1234yf in the course of this year, Bitzer said. The LHE condensing unit series, the company said, also works efficiently and is available with the ECOLINE compressors or with the two-stage compressors of the second generation.

Belimo releases Clear Edge platform

Company says analytical device helps in on-site energy valve optimisation

B

By CCME Content Team

elimo on April 1 released the Belimo Clear EdgeTM, which the company described as an analytical device that leverages the data from all installed energy valves in a BACnet Building Automation System (BAS).

Belimo said through a Press release that the device automatically analyses the Belimo Energy Valve data to optimise, manage,

and monitor key performance indicators of water coil performance and hydronic energy consumption. According to the company, the Clear Edge offers trending capability with automated Delta T setpoint adjustment to increase system efficiency and energy savings strategies.

“The Belimo Clear Edge provides a simplified view of the rich Energy Valve data on the BACnet network, allowing Facility Managers to improve building performance quickly,” said Scott Reed, Product Manager, Energy Valve and Water Performance Devices, Belimo.

According to the company, software licenses are pre-loaded based on the number of Energy Valves in a building. The Clear Edge technology, the company said, is also available as a plug-in for SkySpark from Stackhub.

Society informs of the availability of more information and guidance on its newly updated COVID-19 resources webpage

D

By CCME Content Team

RI-STEEM Corporation, which manufactures humidification, evaporative cooling and water treatment products, has appointed Duncan Curd as Global Business Development Leader to its expanding team, the company said through a Press release. In this role, Curd will focus his efforts on international market evaluation, development and implementation of strategic plans to provide long-term global growth, the company added.

According to the release, prior to joining DriSteem, Curd filled a variety of sales, marketing and business development roles with global companies, including Siemens, Carlo Gavazzi, Nortec (Condair) and GRIP Idle Management Systems. His customer-facing leadership, DriSteem said, is focused on growth through new products and technologies with application in a broad range of market sectors.

“I am thrilled to be working with DriSteem, as global business development leader,” Curd said. “I will continue to build up the DriSteem brand and showcase its products, so that the word humidification becomes synonymous with the name DriSteem.”

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31

GLOBAL NEWS

ASHRAE offers COVID-19 building readiness guidance

“We have reached a time where planning for a safe return to normal activities has become a priority,” says ASHRAE President

T

By CCME Content Team

he ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force has developed guidance on mitigating potential health risks during reopening of buildings closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, ASHRAE said through a Press release.

“We have reached a time where planning for a safe return to normal activities has become a priority,” said 2019-20 ASHRAE President Darryl K. Darryl K. Boyce Boyce. “Safe operation of HVAC and building water management systems are critical components of building readiness and reopening, and Bill Bahnfleth ASHRAE’s resources provide a framework for developing plans in a variety of building types.”

ASHRAE said its recommendations for reopening buildings are outlined in the frequently asked questions section of its COVID-19 Resources webpage. It said that recommendations for building readiness and reopening include the following: • Create a strategic plan prior to opening a building. The plan should include measures to make occupants feel safer, ensuring supply chain for critical items, such as filters and communication plans for building support and safety measures for occupants.

• If the building opening takes place when Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements are still in place, ASHRAE’s Occupancy Guides can be referenced to

32

May 2020

•

•

• •

deal with functioning building during the epidemic.

Review HVAC programming to provide flushing two hours before and post occupancies. This includes operating the exhaust fans as well as opening the outside air dampers. For buildings without the capacity to treat large quantities of outside air and when outside air conditions are moderate, open all windows for a minimum of two hours before reoccupation.

Ensure that custodial scope includes proper cleaning procedures built from EPA and CDC guidance on approved products and methods ▪ Disinfect high-touch areas of HVAC and other building service systems (e.g. on/ off switches, thermostats) ▪ Disinfect the interior of refrigerated devices, e.g. refrigerators, where the virus can potentially survive for long periods of time.

Run the system on minimum outside air when unoccupied.

Garage exhaust, if any, should run two hours before occupancy.

Bill Bahnfleth, ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force chair, ASHRAE Environmental Health Committee voting member and 2013-14 ASHRAE Presidential Member, said: “Key elements of a strategy to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus are to perform needed heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system maintenance, including filter changes, and to run HVAC equipment, prior to re-occupancy.”

According to the release, a decrease in water usage in buildings closed or with limited access during the pandemic can increase the risk of bacteria growth in building plumbing and associated equipment. Facility managers and building owners, ASHRAE said, can help mitigate the risk of waterborne pathogens, such as Legionella bacteria, the cause of Legionnaire’s disease, by developing a water management plan. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2018, Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems establishes minimum legionellosis risk management requirements for building water systems, ASHRAE added.

Wade Conlan, ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force chair of Building Readiness guidance, said, “ASHRAE’s building readiness guidance empowers building owners with resources and practical guidance for safer operation of HVAC systems, as we cautiously transition into a post-COVID-19 world.”

The task force also recommends guidance released in the newly updated ASHRAE Position Document “Infectious Aerosols” as well as the Emerging Issues Brief, ASHRAE said, adding that the public could visit ashrae. org/COVID19 for extensive resources and strategies on safe building reopening.

COVID-19 drives demand for UV disinfection

Hospitals are using UV lamp systems to convert refrigerators, cabinets and containers into makeshift N95 PPE disinfection chambers

T

By CCME Content Team

he COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on humanity, but it has also illustrated the adage, “chaos breeds innovation”, said Fresh-Aire UV through a Press release.

Hospitals, overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients amidst a personal protective equipment (PPE) shortage, have developed their own innovations to disinfect and reuse employee N95 masks and other medical protection, the company said. “Doctors and healthcare managers are ordering UV (ultraviolet) lamp systems to convert hospital refrigerators, cabinets and other containers into makeshift disinfection chambers for the renewed interest in reusing PPE due to shortages,” said Aaron Engel, Vice-President, Business/Development, Fresh-Aire UV. “Since the chambers are a variety of volumetric sizes, we take their dimensions and provide the most effective UV output using our proprietary BlueCalc modeling software.”

Puzzled how doctors were making the connection of UV-C’s virus inactivation capabilities with PPE disinfection, Fresh-Aire UV said its executives soon discovered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had issued its guideline document, ‘Crisis Standards of Care Decontamination Recommendations’, on April 9. One recommended alternative cited a 2018 American Journal of Infection Control article, ‘Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation of Influenza-Contaminated N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators (FFR)’ to disinfect PPE for reuse. The 2018 article’s researchers custombuilt a deactivation chamber using Fresh-Aire UV’s high-output UV-C lamp system, the company said. The conclusion stated that one- to five-minute (depending on chamber size) UV-C exposures were effective in disinfecting N95 respirators for reuse during pandemic shortages, the company added.

Consequently, UV equipment sales have been strong throughout the pandemic, Fresh-Aire UV said, as it, along with its distributors and contractors battle to keep pace with the increasing demand for commercial and residential systems.

Besides lamp systems, the company said, the most popular requests during the crisis have been UV-C surface disinfection for

offices, exam spaces and patient rooms; commercial UV systems for disinfecting the airflow and interior surfaces of air handlers and ductwork; and single lamps and combination UV/activated carbon media systems for residential HVAC equipment.

Consequently, the company said, many HVAC contractors are on a record pace to sell and install residential UV systems.

Distributors have also seen an unprecedented interest in UV, the company said. “Our UV sales are up 1,000% due to COVID-19 and inquiries are continually increasing,” the company quoted Ronald Zajack, President, Coastal Cooling Inc., a Fort Myers, Florida-based HVAC contractor, as saying.

Owing to its sudden emergence, there’s no published data of UV-C’s effectiveness or dosage for inactivating COVID-19, the company said. However, the 2004 study, ‘Inactivation of the Coronavirus that Induces Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, SARS-COV’, published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), has proven UV-C’s success with other coronaviruses, such as SARS https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/15350737, the company said. Consequently, experts suspect COVID-19 dosages are probably similar to SARS for inactivation, the company added.

Furthermore, Fresh-Aire UV said its third-party testing also included viruses. One study, the company said, simulated airstream microbe inactivation in an ASTM/AHAM-style environmental test chamber, simulating a typical building’s indoor environment and HVAC air handler arrangement. Performed in an ASHRAE Standard 52.2 test duct system, the test's UV-C light single-pass results demonstrated a 99.03% inactivation of the virus (MS2 coliphage), the company claimed.

The chaos of Covid-19, the company said, has bred innovation at hospitals but also at Fresh-Aire UV. The company said it is now developing UV-C lamp chambers to disinfect medical equipment that will help relieve the pressure on N95 mask manufacturers to maintain the PPE supply chain throughout the ensuing months of the COVID-19 crisis.

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33

GLOBAL NEWS

Carrier launches OptiClean Negative Air Machine Device can help hospitals slow the spread of COVID19, company says

C

By CCME Content Team

arrier Global Corporation on April 16 launched the OptiClean portable negative air machine, which the company described in a Press release as a device that can help hospitals treating patients with the novel coronavirus. The device, the company said, cleans and removes air potentially contaminated by the virus. In a closed room, the company said, the machine uses high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, an air management system to significantly reduce the presence of coronavirus and other contaminants in the air, and flexible ducting to exhaust the filtered air.

34

May 2020

According to Carrier, the machine creates negative pressure, so that when the hospital room door is opened, air is pulled into the room from outside instead of letting potentially contaminated air out from the room. If negative pressure is not required, Carrier said, such as in an open-air, temporary hospital, the machine can be used as an air “scrubber,” pulling air in, removing many contaminants, and discharging cleaner air back into the room.

“During this global pandemic, it is essential that companies like Carrier do what we can to help stem the spread of the disease and protect caregivers, hospital workers and patients,” said Dave Gitlin, President & CEO, Carrier. “Carrier’s strength lies in the expertise, creativity and passion of our employees to solve some of society’s most challenging problems. I am so proud of our team for identifying a need and quickly developing an innovative solution that will have an immediate impact for hospitals throughout the country.”

While hospitals generally have air filtration systems that reduce the spread of infectious diseases, those systems might only be available in certain sections of the hospital, Carrier said, adding that the rate at which COVID-19 spreads has put inordinate strain on hospitals in the most affected cities, where there are more COVID-19 patients than there are infectious isolation rooms. As a result, the company said, hospitals have had to convert rooms that were not intended for patients with infectious diseases, and new field hospitals have been established that are not equipped with hospital-level air filtration.

“The Carrier negative air machine fills a significant need in these critical situations, when it is necessary to create a negative offset in temporary facilities,” said Mark Schwartz, Director of Facilities, University of Rochester Medical Center, which trialed the machine. “As the number of coronavirus cases continues to grow, facilities must expand their capacity to treat patients in spaces that typically do not have the same airhandling capabilities as hospital rooms, which are specifically designed for treating airborne infectious diseases. Solutions from Carrier like the OptiClean are necessary to effectively remove contaminants from the air, create negative pressure within the patient-care space while protecting the adjacent areas, and slowing the spread of the disease.”

Carrier said it began developing the OptiClean in late March 2020. After quickly and successfully testing prototypes in Carrier facilities, the company began field trials in hospitals across the country and expects to begin shipping units shortly, it said. The machines, Carrier added, are portable, plug into a normal wall outlet, and sit on wheels that enable hospitals to move them to rooms as needed.

“Using existing Carrier fan-coil technology and working with suppliers to quickly secure additional raw materials, we’ve thrown away the playbook to ramp up testing and production to get machines deployed as fast as possible,” said Chris Kmetz, Vice President of Engineering, Carrier. “Going forward, with professional installation, OptiClean could be used in homes, businesses, assisted-living facilities and elsewhere to provide cleaner air and protect vulnerable populations and communities.”

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How Digital Dubai can resolve disputes, smoothen stakeholder engagement

15 September 2020, Dubai, UAE The Client, Consultant, Contractor Conference builds on past editions and follows an iterative process in ensuring the narrative is moved closer than ever to resolving outstanding issues.

The Client Consultant Contractor Conference (4th edition) How Digital Dubai can resolve disputes, smoothen stakeholder engagement The conference will explore the digital tools available on the Dubai landscape, including cutting-edge solutions, which Dubai has welcomed as a testbed of innovation. It will speak the language of ‘dashboards’ for better monitoring and transparency and will identify touchpoints, which can give clarity to the overall market. Central to the discussions will be tools like BIM, BMS, blockchain, IoT and artificial intelligence. They will provide the context to the discussions and drive the narrative towards a set of outcomes, insights and recommendations aimed at greater energy efficiency, optimising water use and improving indoor air quality.

Bronze Sponsor

IT in HVAC ‘IT in HVAC’ is a pavilion-formatted forum for digital solutions providers to showcase their products in a highly specialised conference that is viewed as compelling and attractive by a strong eco-system of general consultants & contractors, MEP consultants & contractors, project managers, architects, master developers, developers, government agencies, sectoral building owners, manufacturers, suppliers, service providers, testing & commissioning firms, legal firms and FM companies. The conference is attractive to people in such positions as Chairpersons, CIOs, CEOs, CFOs and Directors.

Strategic HVACR Recruitment Partner

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GLOBAL NEWS

ASHE develops physical environment resources for COVID-19 recovery Society’s aim is to assist health care facilities in resuming normal operations as they enter various stages of recovery from the pandemic

By CCME Content Team

A

SHE (American Society for Health Care Engineering) has developed physical environment resources for COVID-19 recovery, the Society said through a Press release, adding that the aim of the initiative is to assist health care facilities in resuming normal operations as they enter various stages of recovery from the pandemic, from pre-planning to long-term needs.

The patient surge has impacted the health care physical environment in ways never predicted – with facilities being reimagined, renovated, expanded, enlarged and underutilised simultaneously, ASHE said, adding that recovering from this state will require significant effort. ASHE, working with a group of subject matter experts, has developed specific health care physical environment recovery measures and a modifiable checklist to help facilities navigate during this time.

Our reaction to this emergency has required agile assessments, multiple mitigations, perpetual preparation and rapid responses, and it will require a resolute recovery, ASHE said.

Carrier Hong Kong wins airport project Company says it will provide chiller maintenance and service throughout the airport

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By CCME Content Team

arrier Hong Kong Ltd was awarded a four-year chiller service agreement covering all 52 chillers in 17 buildings of Hong Kong International Airport, the company said through a Press release. The service agreement, which covers Carrier and non-Carrier brand chillers, was awarded based on Carrier’s innovative service capabilities and cost competitiveness, the company claimed. Carrier Hong Kong is responsible for all of the maintenance, staffing, repairs, improvements and refurbishment required to keep all 52 chillers in the facility operational, and offers a connected service model with digital capabilities, including remote monitoring and diagnostics, the company said. Carrier Hong Kong is a unit of Carrier Global Corporation.

“We are honored to be selected by Airport Authority Hong Kong for their service and support requirements,” said Ajay Agrawal, Vice President, Strategy & Services, Carrier. “With world-class and differentiated parts, service and digital capabilities, Carrier Hong Kong was able to create the right solution for the Airport Authority.

We have an industry-leading team that is committed to providing unparalleled customer service throughout the product lifecycle.”

According to the release, Carrier Hong Kong first started working with Airport Authority Hong Kong in 1998, when chillers and air-

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■ Hong Kong International Airport

handling units were installed in Terminal 1 of Hong Kong International Airport. In 2016, Carrier Hong Kong won a service agreement again for the same terminal. “We have an excellent understanding of the client and the airport’s requirements,” said Antony Wu, Director, Service & Aftermarket, Carrier Hong Kong. “We’re leveraging this knowledge to offer a specialized operations and maintenance solution that will be digitally enabled to optimize uptime and efficiency.”

Up to this point, most emergency responses have been based on a local response, as most disasters are local events – local surge, hurricane, earthquake, fire or blizzard, ASHE said. Some disasters impact significantly large geographical areas, but until now none have impacted the entire nation and the world at large, ASHE said. The large-scale response to this pandemic has invited a broader scope of perspective to emergency management.

While surge response specifically is focused on local health care coalitions, the procuring and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) is happening on facility, coalition, state, regional and federal levels, ASHE said. This multilevel approach has created confusion and frustration for many involved and especially for those in need of PPE, ASHE added.

Recovering from the impacts of this pandemic and documenting lessons learned are vital and will require significant planning and action, ASHE said. Not only will it require facilities to reimagine their responsibilities to their service population, but it will also require them to coordinate reopening with their coalition and state, ASHE said. This guide, ASHE added, has been developed to assist health care facility managers in planning for and carrying out recovery measures to restore operational capabilities to appropriate postCOVID-19 pandemic levels.

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end-point

Raphael Khlat, Faisal Jassim Group

THE THE MANY MANY FORAYS FORAYS OFOF A A FENCER FENCER

Raphael R Khlat, President, Faisal Jassim Group, speaks of wanting to continue making bold moves, of having to keep dancing to grow a business

T

HE EARLY DAYS I was born in Tripoli, a town in the north of Lebanon. I was brought up in a family of traders of white goods, which gave me plenty of exposure to trading, showroom display and office atmosphere. In the summer months during my schooling days, I used to spend a lot of time in the firm’s workshop repairing white goods and installing wall-mounted air conditioning units. I was 16, then, and learnt a lot – a privilege proffered to an unfettered mind.

Such was the influence of the family business on my mind that when it came time to go to university, there was nothing else I wanted to pursue but engineering.

KHATER ENGINEERING I attended St Joseph’s University in Beirut, where I studied electrical engineering, and

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specialised in the different aspects of energy distribution and the design of air conditioning systems. While in university, I used to play a lot of tennis. Besides competing, I used to coach regularly.

It was through coaching that I was introduced to the prominent Beirut-based engineering firm, Khater Engineering. I met Antoine Khater, who was kind enough to offer me a chance to train at the firm.

It was my first proper acquaintance with engineering.

At the time, there were many charlatans in the city, and in that context Khater was an authentic engineering experience, where I gained exposure to proper design, calculation and measurement of performance. In short, I learnt the rigours of how to do things properly. As they say, you are fortunate if you meet people who are able to direct you along the right pathway.

DUBAI BECKONS I graduated from university in 1987, and Khater immediately offered me an employment. I learnt a lot on the job.

The company was involved in major projects around Beirut that covered large chilled water systems, heating and solar systems. The assignment also gave me a chance to learn a lot about building management systems.

Working at Khater also instilled in me the thought that air conditioning engineering was a strong professional field. I could have gone the white goods way through working at my father’s business, but my working in Beirut opened up a different dimension for me.

The situation in Lebanon was not promising in the late 1980s, though.

While I was about 10 months into the job, my cousin, Fady Khlat, who was

employed in Dubai, invited me over to the UAE. I packed my bags and landed in Dubai in March 1988. I attended many interviews and eventually landed a job with Thermo, in April 1988, to develop sales for small projects. It was a great starting point, with Rafe Abul Husn at the helm and Mario Seneviratne as my immediate boss.

GETTING MY TRADING BOOTS ON My responsibility at Thermo started with selling the company’s small projects services. It changed later on to Project Engineer in Dubai, Project Manager in Abu Dhabi for one year and, then, Area Manager for Thermo Dubai. Each assignment was a huge learning experience – I learnt a lot at the workplace, mostly about project management, the different equipment of the MEP industry and their installation.

While contracting was an exciting field to be in, the situation was similar to how it is today – it involved spending a lot of time on the job but not getting rewarded properly for the hard work executed. So, I told Rafe that I wished to quit contracting and move into trading. I felt I could sell.

In 1993, an opportunity opened up with Faisal Jassim Trading Company. Joseph Fernandes, who started the company with Rafe in 1988, wanted to migrate to Canada, and the company was looking for a new partner – I happened to fit the bill. Though the salary was low, compared to what I was drawing at Thermo, I felt it was the right decision to move to FJ. At the time, the company was involved in the assembly of electrical control panels for BMS systems and had an agency for dimming systems, pumps and electrical accessories.

I found the work tough in the beginning, but fascinating. We pushed hard to develop the business in HVAC. Now, HVAC is not something you love or don’t love – it’s like a path, and you go through it. You start with something small, with a simple pump and graduate to much more complex systems, such as AHUs, boilers, cooling towers and heat exchangers. That’s been my story at Faisal Jassim – constant development and progress; there has never been a dull moment.

It was not just about technicalities but also about how to partner with principals, how to sell, how to manage staff, how to plan, how to negotiate and commit to get things done, all within the electrical and the air conditioning environment. The journey has not been only about becoming an expert in air conditioning – it has been more about creating a business, constantly seeking growth opportunities and about taking people along the ride through motivating and persuading them to build a successful business case and a career at FJ. In terms of the portfolio of products, today, we are doing a lot more than we first started. We have expanded our line of products, created our own brands and built factories. We have embraced the digital transformation in the way we conduct our business, we serve customers or in the way we execute processes within the company.

Speaking of the overall business, the thrill lies in taking up a commercial opportunity from scratch, identifying the components of its success, making a plan, selecting a team and seeing it all the way through its development cycle and commercial success – it gives a great sense of achievement. We have gone through this process and succeeded in our efforts many times, but we have also failed many times.

Failures taught me to be humble, to listen, to get the facts right, to deal with people who know, to get away from those who thinks they know, to learn and move on.

RISK AS A POSITIVE WORD When I jump into something, it’s not about taking a risk, but my strong belief in the project being the right path. Most of the time, we are facing two scenarios – either we die or do something about it. When you get to understand the product, the market and the environment, you evaluate the options available in front of you.

We decide and we act. We take a risk,

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end-point mostly a calculated one, when we push ourselves out of our comfort zone. If you do it well, it is a way out of problems and into a new opportunity. And if you do not succeed, you would have to re-adjust, pursue a new approach and learn quickly.

But you need also to know when to stop and accept defeat and move on.

I never shy away from learning. I am passionate about learning new things and how they work. Our progress has come from good partnerships and close interaction with our principals and our staff. You challenge them, they challenge you, and we understand things together.

We push our efforts to the next level. We want to be the best in what we do – to the point we command market respect.

We do not believe in copying but in doing things the FJ way.

We take the same approach in challenging times. There will always be competition, and there will always be situations where margins are squeezed, but we have to fight to differentiate ourselves.

Among the challenges we face today in our market, lack of trust in local manufacturing is a formidable one.

Developers and authorities, in general, are a bit sceptical about local manufacturing, and they do, in general, prefer imported products. So, as local manufacturers, we feel constrained. We want to develop new products, but we know they will end up facing huge resistance and a lot of scepticism. With this in mind, FJ is pursuing an approach where we partner with technology providers to add value locally. Through FJ, our technology partners, and our factories, we are succeeding in bringing those capabilities locally under a trusted proposition.

While local production is gaining appreciation in some quarters, I would like the authorities to do more to encourage local producers. From fee breaks to land rentals, and from bank facilities to prequalification in government projects – these can help us build a competitive edge.

We see that products are sent for testing all over the world for better assurances. It would be great to develop local testing facilities, trusted by authorities. Such a set up would help us go to the market quicker.

I want to continue making bold moves, I want to continue growing our business. We acquired two factories last year, and will keep looking for good

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Raphael R Khlat

opportunities. Survival of business does not happen because you are happy with what you have been doing for the last 10 years.

You have to keep on dancing.

MACRO CHALLENGES BUFFETING THE INDUSTRY On the positive side, I see a world that is more open, where markets are increasingly reachable to everybody. Principals are giving much more importance to the Middle East than ever before. They now see our area as a growth area – that way, the bias has dropped. There is more understanding on how to do business across the world. The principals are coming to the region. They have improved their understanding of the needs of the market and its potential. They demand more of you. They sometimes forget what you have done over the years for the product and its equity in the market.

Some are more interested in the short-term future. So, they sometimes undertake steps that are not so conducive to long-term

interests. That way, the conventional traders are put into inconvenience. But, whoever had managed to add value to the products along the years, has been able to develop those relationships better.

Cash flow, though, remains a formidable challenge. In my view, cash flow is the responsibility of everyone. It is not just the responsibility of the accounts or the salesperson. The main contractor and the developer should realise that they have an interest in ensuring their suppliers receive proper payment, on time. Actually, they have to be accountable for this. Recently, we have seen some very good developers demanding that their contractors settle their suppliers, prior to releasing additional funds to them. That way, they ensure that everyone is protected. Sadly, not all developers think that way. That is where the government should intervene and ensure that all invoices are paid within two weeks’ time. If the government introduces this approach, it will put pressure on all stakeholders to pay on

time. In the absence of regulation, only the owner of the project can be the regulator.

Developers, generally speaking, will be much rewarded with a timely payment, as they can demand earlier completion, better quality sub-contractors and even better pricing.

This situation needs to be looked into urgently. As suppliers, we are becoming like bankers. We have collections pending in excess of 180 days. I believe the money is available in the market, but the mentality and the approach need to change. There are maybe other reasons pushing the developer to delay, like a change in the profile of the project. A residential project changing into a commercial one, for instance. But suppliers and subcontractors cannot and should not bear the toll for this.

WHAT COVID-19 AND ITS AFTERMATH MEAN TO THE HVACR INDUSTRY The recovery from COVID is something we are going to be talking in a year’s time from now – it’s not going to happen tomorrow.

We are part of the construction and the real estate investment sector, and it will be affected. There will be a retraction, and we have to accommodate to a new kind of market, a smaller market. At the same time, we have to see what we can do outside our core business and look for different opportunities and at new products.

We also have to accommodate our costs to the eventual demand. Whatever the booking we do now will give us an indication of the situation in September and October.

The reality is that bookings are down, and we don’t expect them to suddenly become better. In fact, we expect them to come down further, and so we have to restructure and seek other avenues.

As I said earlier, we have to look at different products. We gave importance to the drive into energy efficiency and did not tap 100% into indoor air quality and hygienic installations. Today, I see more drive into hygiene and IEQ and, possibly, into services and optimisation of installation.

Equally important, we need to build our brands, expand out territories and establish our distributor network in new markets. Also, we need to bring in more local production instead of relying on importation of goods.

THE STRATEGY FOR SURVIVAL COVID has presented a heavy problem in our hands, and we need to move towards the end of the problem, hopefully without letting go of people. It is important to keep our team

intact, because once the recovery comes, you need your team to grow. For survival, the aim is to break even for now, maintain cashflow and also ensure payments are on time and receivables are on time. We are not into masks and ventilators but into electrical and HVAC equipment, and till such time the demand picks up, we have to maintain the financial health of the organisation to be able to restart.

HOW I WISH TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE GROWTH AND WELLBEING OF THE REGION It is easy to look at everything from a COVID perspective, but we have to be fair and look at things from a broader viewpoint, including the good times we have had. All said – I mean the general business challenges and the ones brought about by COVID – I do believe that FJ is blessed to have a base in Dubai. We have learnt a lot from the leadership of the UAE. Dubai encourages a project mindset with big ambition, with a can-do attitude. It is a place where things happens. The quest is constantly about improvement and efficiency, on differentiation, on leadership and on being first. It is quite a challenging environment; however, it is deeply transformational in so many ways.

In terms of business, it has been quite rewarding to be based out of Dubai. And from that point of view, I don’t see myself going out of this region. I believe in the leadership in the UAE, and I believe they will adapt to change. In the long term, I feel this is a secure place. With that in mind, I wish to contribute through doing my bit for the industrial development of the country. I would like to be part of the push towards a strong local production structure, which comes from the belief that local is really important. I would like to support the introduction of more local standards and build trust around locally manufactured products. Developing local standards and local testing facilities is the way forward and is a prelude for a strong local production infrastructure.

MENTORS IN LIFE I have learnt a lot from my father, Raphael Khlat by just observing him at work. I saw how he worked hard, how he honoured his commitment and how he reached out to the community around him. It was a tough period to do business. Throughout the war, he was always optimistic that tomorrow is going to be better than today. He saw his business demolished three times, and

he always emerged with a positive, eversmiling attitude. The way he conducted himself influenced me to always look at the bright side of things. He was a simple man but a Roc. And obviously, in the course of your life, you meet a lot of people who have impressed you. I have learnt a lot from all of them, and I shall remain eternally grateful to them. In life, we are very lucky if we meet people who inspire us to be better. I especially respect those who engage in continuous learning and who go into the deepest detail in search of the truth.

Equally, I view books as mentors. In 1988, I picked up the book, Awakening the Giant Within. It was the first book I read about motivation, about how to think and be positive. I still have a copy of the book, and have shared it with my two daughters.

MY FAMILY I have known my wife, Patricia almost all my life. She was in the same tennis club in Tripoli that I played in, and we share a lot of hobbies that we enjoy jointly. She spoils us with her attention. She does not tolerate the craziness of the world and is more grounded. She brings me closer to reality. My elder daughter, Tatiana is studying in Beirut to be a pharmacist.

She is passionate about medicine, about biology and the working of the human body. My younger daughter, Laetitia is in the first year of Industrial Engineering, in Beirut, and is making her own way in the engineering world.

My family keeps me balanced, and their wellbeing is my top priority. As for my interests, I play golf and tennis and work out in the gym. I love to travel. My family and I are especially fond of opera, and we regularly go to theatres while touring in Europe. We also love visiting galleries and appreciate abstract art and constantly gaining more knowledge about many contemporary artists. We are blessed to have good friends and try our best to be involved in some community work related to Lebanon.

(As told to Surendar Balakrishnan)

CPI Industry accepts no liability for the views or opinions expressed in this column, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided here.

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10 TH MIDDLE EAST COLD CHAIN FOOD SAFETY CONFERENCE 28 September 2020 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia PRODUCED BY

‘The influence and importance of culture, ethos, consumer expectations, behaviour, regulations and enforcement on a nation’s food safety and quality assurance eco-system’

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

OVERVIEW Allied to the milestone Saudi Vision 2030, food safety is seen as a vital cog in nation-building in the Kingdom. Dr. Hisham Bin Saad Al-Jadhey, CEO, Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), while unveiling the regulatory body’s third annual strategic plan (2018-2022), which lays out the SFDA’s vision and strategic priorities for addressing the challenges it faces as the regulator of the food, drugs and medical devices sectors, said, “We are continuing on our journey to become a leading international regulator responsible, for protecting the community and promoting access to safe products through sound regulations and effective controls.”

On January 19, 2020, the SFDA and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of food safety standards and information exchange. The MoU signalled deep intent and yet another step in further strengthening food safety in the Kingdom towards the objective of providing a healthy environment for citizens, residents and tourists. Broadly speaking, the significant strides being taken by the Saudi Government to promote food safety is a deep source of encouragement for conducting the 10th anniversary edition of Food Chain in the Kingdom.

Food Chain is based on the premise that the downstream aspects of the food cold chain, along with the upstream and midstream, consisting of pre-cooling facilities, distribution hubs, cold storage warehouses and the ubiquitous transport refrigeration services, could be strengthened through structured and well-defined FSQA (food safety and quality assurance) programmes, better specialised refrigeration consultancy and contracting practices and also through enhancing the regulation and enforcement frameworks.

Food Chain brings together: • Sectoral end-users (hospitality, healthcare, education, oil & gas, aviation, etc.)

• Food manufacturers, food processors • Large-, medium- and small-sized farms • Food establishments (wholesalers, hypermarkets, supermarkets, etc.)

• 3PL cold storage warehousing companies

• • • • • • •

Dedicated warehouses (large, medium and small) Transport refrigeration (body-building, condensing unit and fleet management) experts Transport leasing companies Government regulators, Contractors (general and specialised in refrigeration) Consultants (general and specialised in refrigeration) Technology solutions providers (manufacturers and suppliers)

The above stakeholders have an opportunity to engage in macro- and micro-discussions that could bring solutions for better transport refrigeration, cold storage design, construction, and operation & maintenance and, at the downstream level, sophisticated FSQA programmes that are comprehensively implemented and monitored for optimal performance.

SPEAKERS (SO FAR)

Brent Melvin CEO, Gallega Global Logistics

Bjorn Ostbye Project Development Manager, Lulu Group International (TBC)

Richard Sprenger Chairman & food safety expert, Highfield ABC MEA

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May 2020

PRODUCED BY

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

THE 9TH ANNUAL MIDDLE EAST

CONFERENCE 14 October 2020 Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

OVERVIEW An understanding of the direction of SEEP points to a situation tailormade for the variable refrigerant flow (VRF) industry, which has repeatedly and stridently stated its energy-performance credentials in the region and elsewhere. In other words, the Kingdom offers a wealth of opportunities to VRF stakeholders, particularly manufacturers and suppliers. This is motivation enough to conduct the 9th edition of the Middle East Variable Refrigerant Flow Conference in the Kingdom.

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PRODUCED BY

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

6 19 October 2020 Kuwait City, Kuwait

Sandstorms are a regular occurrence in the GCC region, more so in Kuwait. The 6th edition of the World IEQ Forum will take place against the backdrop of growing concerns over the deleterious effects of sandstorms, dust, humidity and particulate matter from emissions and other sources. A key objective of the Forum is to find lasting solutions to the demand for clean air through inviting regional and global experts and visionaries and engaging them in in-depth discussions. Another objective of the Forum is to host a display of the latest and cutting-edge technological solutions and services, capable of ushering in transformation for the better in the build-environment.

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PRODUCED BY

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

4th edition 05 November 2020 | Arlington, Virginia, USA

OVERVIEW Building codes and policy frameworks have compelled and motivated manufacturers of refrigerants to look for alternative solutions to those in circulation, with an eye on lower GWP, greater energy efficiency and, equally crucial, zero flammability, as mandated by building codes, and growing global reluctance among contractors to accept even mildly flammable options.

The fourth edition of Refrigerants Review will examine the refrigerants emerging in the landscape and will foster discussions involving government bodies, building owners, consultants and contractors on how to time a switchover to a refrigerant that will have longevity as its hallmark.

WWW.REFRIGERANTSREVIEW.COM

WHAT IS REFRIGERANTS REVIEW? Refrigerants Review is an immersive discussion on refrigerants that engages policy makers, regulators, scientists, technology solutions providers, service providers and end-users. To date, this unique conference platform has brought together international stakeholders on three occasions to discuss broad issues, including the assessment of refrigerants, keeping in mind such factors as health & safety, energy efficiency, Global Warming Potential (GWP), Ozone-Depleting Potential (ODP) and Lifecycle Climate Performance (LCCP).

Past speakers have included representatives or past representatives from: • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) • Office of Environmental Policy, US Department of State • Alternatives and Emissions Branch, Stratospheric Protection Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) • International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) • Interpol • Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP), Montreal Protocol • Environmental Investigation Agency, USA • World Customs Organisation

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PRODUCED BY

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

1st Annual Middle East

Transforming building-retroďŹ t aspirations into bankable projects in the region with a view to helping accelerate energy-efďŹ ciency targets

09 December 2020 | Dubai, UAE

OVERVIEW With a view to demystifying building-retrofit finance, especially for private-sector projects, CPI Industry, the publishers of Climate Control Middle East magazine, are delighted to announce the 1st Annual Middle East Building-Retrofit Finance Conference.

With the benevolent support of the Government, the key objective of the Conference is to engage the building services industry, building owners and banks and other financial institutions in discussions, which it is hoped, would lead to a better understanding among the stakeholders, thus facilitating a transformation of buildingretrofit aspirations into bankable projects in the region.

Doing so, it is further hoped, would help the cause of accelerating the meeting of energy-efficiency targets.

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46

10th ANNUAL CLIMATE CONTROL

AWARDS 2020 24 November | Dubai, UAE

Widely called the ‘Oscars of the HVACR Industry’, the objective of the black-tie, gala dinner event is to recognise merit across the various disciplines of the HVACR industry and to raise the bar on building performance, cold chain and fire safety, to name three. To achieve the objective, CPI Industry enlists the services of seasoned HVACR and other relevant domainspecific professionals as judges and of a third-party certification agency to evaluate companies under several categories. Into its 10th year, the Awards exercise serves as an objective and accurate barometer of the industry.

www.climatecontrolawards.com

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May 2020