Eurovent Middle East conducted a workshop on commercial refrigeration on October 30 in Dubai. The event was the second edition of its ‘HVACR Leadership Workshops’.

 It featured speakers that spoke on trends and technological solutions that would allow the industry to remain compliant with emerging regulations and demands. Francesco Scuderi, Deputy Secretary General of the Eurovent Association, said: “Commercial refrigeration is highly important for the GCC region, as it puts an increasing focus on saving energy while ensuring food safety. The workshop discussions showed that there is a lot of unused potential in the UAE with standards not in line with the best available technologies and approaches. Furthermore, as seen during the workshop discussions on the Kigali Agreement, a lot of unjustified myths seem to exist concerning refrigerants, which deserve to be clarified in a wider framework.”

Serdar Tumen, Business Development Manager, Friterm, spoke on the influence of cooler units with regard to preventing moisture and aroma-loss in open-shelf products in cold storages. Tumen touched on the thermal performance and energy consumption of refrigerated display cabinets for supermarkets, according to ISO standards, delving into material selection and its applications, in an effort to underline the critical role that refrigeration companies play towards designing the appropriate cooling systems. “Aroma loss can be prevented by decreasing the temperature difference for the long cold storage products,” he pointed out. Tumen also spoke on the impact of varying room and evaporation temperatures, the necessary air flow, the influence of air speed on cooling and the importance of air circulation on the overall integrity of the products within the cold store.

Andrea Cavalet, After Sales Director, EPTA Middle East, spoke on natural refrigerant systems and possible applications in the Middle East region’s warmer climates. Cavalet touched on the rising prices of refrigerants in Europe following F-gas phase down and stressed how CO₂ as a refrigerant can address the need of local markets, before qualifying his statement by highlighting the need for qualified personnel to commission and move forward with such solutions. Speaking on his desire to spread awareness on the subject manner, Cavalet said: “The problem is when we are late, when we don’t choose the exact technology at the right time. I don’t mind being early, it’s not good to be late.”

Pontus Grimberg, International Sales Director, Frico, spoke on how air curtains can help reduce energy consumption of cold rooms, urging participants to look at each building as a cold store to underline the importance of keeping conditioned air within the building – an issue recognised by Dubai Green Building Regulations, he stressed. “We can apply this to cold stores,” he said. “At an entrance, you have huge losses, heavy air rushing out and hot air entering. By introducing an air curtain, we can prevent this to a high degree.” Grimberg emphasised that integrating air curtains in the design of a cold store can lead to approximately 70-85% energy savings, provide comfort, improve indoor air quality and reduce cost. He noted it was also a more hygienic alternative to plastic strips and can help alleviate food waste by ensuring the thermal integrity of food items being stored.

Scuderi noted that the positive response to the workshop, which drew close to 100 participants, signals market demand for such forums on specialised activities. The association announced that the next workshop, which will focus on Evaporative Cooling Equipment (Cooling Towers), will be organised in partnership with The Big 5 Dubai and will take place on November 28, at 2 pm, as part of the exhibition’s parallel programme.