Dubai, UAE, 24 October 2018: Exhibitors at the Dubai Solar Show, part of WETEX, highlighted the implications that new solar solutions will have on building performance, water treatment and cold chain during their participation in the three-day event, with a number of companies highlighting solar-powered HVACR solutions.

Fady Juez, Managing Director, Metito, said the company’s participation is in recognition of the potential that solar power offers in supporting sustainable solutions in water supply and treatment. “The water power nexus for us is extremely important,” said Juez, “and we have been looking at it for years. This is a prime driver for us being here. We are a water company but in the solar side of WETEX, because that’s what we believe in.” Juez said that with the growth of District Cooling in the United Arab Emirates, and across the Middle East, the company is thrilled to see District Cooling providers using Treated Sewage Effluent as make-up water for cooling towers. “It is the right thing to recycle sewage to use it as make-up water and there are a lot of things that can be done to make it more efficient, whether in the treatment side or in the chemical processes,” he said, “in this respect we see growth in the market.”

Praveen Kumar, Director Sales and Marketing, Heating and Cooling, Value Addition, a Sharjah-based company representing manufacturers from Europe and Asia, highlighted their portfolio of solar solutions for HVAC, which he stressed is the core of any project. Speaking on the company’s participation in the event, Kumar said the Dubai Solar Show is an important platform for the company to showcase its range of products, as it also provides them to view the latest technology from other parts of the world. “We also speak with people to see how we can work together to provide turnkey solutions for whatever energy requirements they have,” he added. Kumar added that there is a layer of engineering knowledge required to integrate solar power and solar solutions in buildings, given the heavy burden HVAC systems place on a building’s energy consumption. “We cannot get the full energy from solar,” Kumar said, “we need to have a backup and we use the solar as a primary source and backup source would be LPG, diesel or electricity-driven energy systems.”

Kumar said with increasing green initiatives, companies have the responsibility to educate clients on sustainable solutions, whereby the energy consumption of a building and project comes down drastically by using different energy sources, to highlight both its advantages and disadvantages and optimise building operations. “At the end of the day and in the long term,” he said, “This is the future; instead of conventional systems, people have to go for renewable energy and sustainable products.”

Zohra Tabit, Project Manager, Project Manager, Iffen, highlighted the company’s solar air conditioning and solar powered cold rooms at their stand, expressing their interest in looking for local partners and distributors to support the French manufacturer’s commitment to expand activities in the Middle East. Currently, Tabit said, solar-powered cold rooms and air conditioning have seen a lot of interest in Africa and South America, however there is a lot more room for growth in the GCC region, which holds great market potential for solar-powered products, owing to its ambient conditions.This is especially true in the United Arab Emirates, Tabit said, as the solar cold rooms, in being able to accommodate medicines and vaccines, as well as food, will be useful in view of the growing demand for medical and food-related facilities, due to the upcoming Expo 2020.

Acknowledging the need for specialised training that accompanies such products, Tabit said the main innovation they are showcasing in this year’s participation is the Virtual Reality feature of the training academy, which she invited people to experience at their stand. Virtual Reality, she explained, is being integrated in Iffen’s training mechanism to help employees with the installation, maintenance and troubleshooting of all the necessary elements in their equipment.

Hannah Jo Uy is Assistant Editor at Climate Control Middle East magazine. She may be contacted at hannah@cpi-industry.com