AHRI MENA hosts ‘Industry Talks: The future of HVACR’
DUBAI, UAE, 1 July 2025: AHRI MENA conducted ‘AHRI Industry Talks: The future of HVACR’, on July 1 in Dubai. The event gathered manufacturers and suppliers of HVACR equipment, consultants and representatives from ASHRAE, UL and UNEP, among other stakeholders.
The conference emphasised stakeholder unity, regulations and Environmental Product Declarations and climate change, among other topics.
Nabil Shahin, Managing Director, AHRI MENA, spoke of the need for a unified approach as an industry, which he said, would benefit not only manufacturers, developers and consultants but also end-users. Regulation is fragmented, he said, so give us the marching orders, as we are a manufacturers’ association. He also spoke on climate change mitigation efforts pertaining to refrigerant transition.
The conference was an occasion for the sharing of updates from the different Working Groups AHRI MENA has established, including the MENA Air-Handling and Distribution SWG, MENA Chiller SWG, MENA Unitary SWG, MENA VRF SWG, MENA Evap Cool SWG, MENA Refrigerant WG, MENA Heat Pipe WG and the MENA Commercial Refrigeration SWG. The Working Groups aid a streamlined approach to evaluating and defining action strategies for different aspects of the HVACR sector.
Dalip Singh, Senior Technical Analyst, AHRI MENA, who represents the MENA Chiller Special Working Group, said it is working on MENA-specific IPLV calculation. The objective is to take building characteristics in the region into consideration while arriving at a MENA-specific tool, he added.
Utpal Joshi, representing the MENA VRF Special Working Group, said the Working Group conducted a study involving Abu Dhabi, Kuwait City and Riyadh and that its efforts have led to the defining of four temperatures. Joshi said SASO (the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization) has introduced a new set of regulations, which will come into effect in December 2026.
Singh, speaking on the work being carried out by the MENA Evap Cool Special Working Group, reported that it is in the process of creating a standard from scratch, subsequent to a request that SASO made of the Group. “We are preparing the standard for direct, indirect and hybrid cooling,” he said. “We shall release it by December 2025.”
Speaking on the MENA Refrigerant Working Group, Shahin said the task ahead is to evaluate refrigerants for high-ambient conditions and to see their behaviour. A second objective of the Group, he said, is to help regional regulatory bodies to transition to new refrigerants. “And since some of the substances are dangerous,” he said, “the aim is to reconcile with civil defence codes, building codes, warehousing codes, etc.”
Speaking on the exertions of its Chiller Statistical Committee, AHRI said the role of the Committee is to give sales data that comes from its members. In the United States, the data-gathering process is a well-developed one and indicates market trends, AHRI said, adding that in the MENA region, it started the discussion on statistical data two years ago and finally has arrived at a template and also has gathered chiller-related data. Saying that the data is available only to members, AHRI added that the next step is to generate VRF-related data.
The conference was also an opportunity to highlight AHRI’s initiatives relating to Environment Product Declaration (EPD) and Product Category Rules (PCR). Singh, speaking on EPD, said consumers are willing to pay extra for products with strong environment-friendly credentials. Speaking, then, on PCRs, he highlighted the role of Programme Operators to support PCRs. “AHRI will be one of the programme operators, going forward,” he said. “It will be a natural extension of our certification programme.”
The conference also saw an announcement on the upcoming MENA HVACR EXPO, which will run under the theme, ‘Accelerating Climate Innovation across Industries’. Speaking on invitation from AHRI, Kym Cardozo, Director, Event at dmg::events, the producer of the EXPO, said it will be an unmissable event for the HVACR industry. “The focus of the event goes beyond daily comfort and will address energy efficiency and sustainability,” Cardozo said, adding that dmg has strong endorsement from AHRI, ASHRAE and the ASHRAE Falcon Chapter.
The MENA HVACR EXPO, he said, will take place from November 24 to 27 and will be co-located with the Big 5 Global. Cardozo encouraged the HVACR industry to tap into demand from key industries investing in HVACR, including agriculture, construction, education, energy & utilities and food & beverage. The EXPO, he said, would also have a conference programme, with Day 1 featuring discussions on innovation and emerging technologies, which he added AHRI, ASHRAE and dmg would helm. Day 2, led by AHRI, would feature discussion on regulatory compliance and standards, and Day 3, led by ASHRAE, would focus on workforce development and upskilling.
The conference was also an opportunity for the signing of an MoU between AHRI and the ASHRAE Falcon Chapter. Singh, speaking on the signing, said it signifies cooperation in development of HVACR standards, training and capacity building, among other initiatives.