DUBAI, UAE, 3 May 2023: AMCA Middle East hosted the insite Technical Conference on May 3 at Le Méridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre. The event featured in-depth presentations from global HVAC personalities highlighting the importance of fresh air and why High-Performance Air Systems (HPAS) and certification are critical in ensuring future buildings are energy efficient and optimised to ensure the wellbeing of inhabitants and society.

Dr Pawel Wargocki, Deputy Director and Associate Professor, International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, DTU Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, provided the keynote address with a presentation, titled ‘What we know and should know about healthy buildings: Current evidence and future challenges’. The presentation demonstrated research on how Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) – including parameters defining the thermal, acoustic and luminous environment, as well as Indoor Air quality – impacts wellbeing, comfort, health, and work performance and learning. His presentation also underlined IEQ’s impact on sleep quality and the significant economic implications that incentivise the improvement of indoor conditions. Dr Wargocki further highlighted how buildings today are not adequately adapted to deal with the potential challenges of airborne transmission of infectious aerosols and overheating and how building resilience must become a design feature of any building, like fire-protection systems.

Nerissa Deoraj, Senior Public Affairs Manager, Systemair Group, and one of the speakers at the event, highlighted the need to raise awareness on how ventilation and the air we breathe shouldn’t be taken for granted. “Ventilation and filtration play an essential role in providing healthy indoor environments,” she said. “We firmly believe it’s time to place efficient ventilation and IAQ at the forefront of sustainable HVAC.”

Nerissa Deoraj

When it was her turn to speak, Deoraj provided an in-depth introduction to HPAS, demonstrating how modern variable air volume systems accommodate evolving needs for 100% fresh air, filtration, air treatment and variable airflow for commercial facilities. “Energy savings objectives cannot be allowed to result in less than acceptable IAQ,” Deoraj said. “These systems are called ‘high performance’, because they perform significantly better than systems that comply with the baseline requirements in building codes. HPAS design integrates right-sizing strategies, zone optimisation and outside-air-based free cooling. HPASs also minimise static pressure drop, system leakage and system effects.”

Providing a case study, Deoraj shared a cost comparison between HPAS and conventional air systems. Highlighting that while such systems might provide a 50% higher initial cost, the breakeven can be achieved within two years, and projects could see up to 40% savings in the course of 10 years. “These systems use advanced technologies, such as demand controls, EC motors or variable frequency drives, energy-recovery ventilation, and advanced filtration systems to reduce energy consumption and improve indoor air quality,” she said, adding that the critical benefits of HPASs include increased energy efficiency, reduced operating costs, improved IAQ and enhanced occupant comfort. “It’s important to remember that to achieve optimal performance, high-performance air systems require careful design and installation, as well as ongoing maintenance and monitoring,” she said.

Robb Clawson, Director of Marketing, Membership, and Education, AMCA International, concluded the conference by presenting how certification of product-performance ratings increases confidence that systems work as designed. Highlighting the cost associated with building and operating high-performing conditioned systems, Ivanovich highlighted how the ratings of products that manifest such meticulously designed systems should be independently verified in accordance with consensus-based test standards and rigorous certification processes. He further advocated that specifying certified products only increases engineers’ confidence that HVAC designs perform as intended.