DUBAI, UAE, 22 September 2022: The ASHRAE Falcon Chapter partnered with Grundfos to host a seminar on distributed pumping in chilled water systems, with the purpose of evaluating the system’s energy efficiency and self-balancing capabilities. “The use of distributed pumping in chilled water systems bifurcates the primary and secondary circuits, reducing the load on the main pump,” said Gururaja Rao Ganga Prasad, Director – Regional Sales Development, Commercial Building Services, IMEA (India, Middle East & Africa), Grundfos, by way of introducing the topic. “Having individual pumps for each network taking a partial load, brings in a paradigm shift in energy conservation.”

The newly elected BoG of the ASHRAE Falcon Chapter

Rohit Tiwari, Design Manager, Grundfos, said that although it is not a universal solution, the distributed pumping system could achieve more than 28% energy savings in a year. He said he believes the system solves one of the biggest challenges of District Cooling – hydraulic balancing – as it is self-balancing and eliminates the need for many control valves.

Many in the audience questioned the capital cost, maintenance costs involved and the additional wattage energy to run multiple pumps. Responding to the questions, Ganga Prasad said there is ongoing research into the feasibility of the system. Srinivasa Rajkumar, Head of Marketing – IMEA, Grundfos, added that the use of the pumps has already resulted in significant energy savings in past projects.

Tiwari said the distributed pump solution replaces conventional balancing and control valves with smart pumps. This, he added, can improve Delta T and reduce the energy consumption of pumps in commercial buildings.

Speaking on the occasion of the seminar – and broadly about ASHRAE’s contribution to the industry, in terms of organising technical seminars to effectively train industry professionals to adopt the latest trends and developments, as per local HVAC Industry requirements – Moiz Ashraf, President, ASHRAE Falcon Chapter, said, “We will continue to hold such technical events focusing on sustainability, energy efficiency and innovative technologies through ASHRAE’s platform and invite all stakeholders in the HVAC industry to collaborate with us.”

Mohamad Sakallah, Chair, Technology Transfer Committee, who is in charge of technical events, added, “It was a great opportunity organizing this seminar with GRUNDFOS, as we aim to keep the engineering society up to date with the latest HVAC&R technology events under ASHRAE to participate in.”

Atam Hayat, Chair, Refrigeration Committee, said, “ASHRAE technical seminars train HVAC professionals to adopt, and adapt to, the latest innovations in the HVAC industry, enabling them to provide more efficient and quality products and services to end users.”

The event also saw the oath-taking ceremony of the new ASHRAE Falcon Chapter board. According to ASHRAE, the elected officers are:

• Chapter President: Moiz Ashraf, AIRFLOW Middle East
• Chapter President-Elect: Amr Adel, Siemens
• Vice President: Liju Thomas, LAADS CONTRACTING LLC
• Secretary: Menna Ahmed, Mechanical Engineer
• Treasurer: Mohammed Altayeb Ibrahim, DC Pro Engineering
• BOG Member: Ahmed Alaa El Din, Gate Holding Group
• Chapter Vice President: Osama Khayata, Masterise Homes
• Chapter Vice President: Hassan Younes, GRFN
• Chair, Technology Transfer Committee: Mohamed Sakallah
• Chair, Government Affairs Committee: Abdelmoneim Eid Mohammed, UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure
• Chair, Research Promotion Committee: Abdallah Mahmoud, Siemens
• Chair, Refrigeration Committee: Atam Hayat, CVS
• Chair, Membership Promotion Committee: Mohamed Daoud
• Chair, Young Engineers Association (YEA): Mohammed Murtaza
• Chair, Communication Committee: Mehiar Asfari
• Chair, Student Activities: Sampath Salins