Saying that they are suitable for most commercial and industrial liquid cooling applications, Dolcool has introduced Daw Series air-cooled modular chillers. Available in capacities from 17 KW to 450 KW, they are completely factory-assembled and are ready to operate after being connected to power and water supplies, claims Dolcool.

The manufacturer lists the following product features and advantages:

• The chiller systems include compressors (scroll/screw), operating and safety controls, internal power and control wiring, built-in flow switch and pump On/Off control, and are charged with a refrigerant (R22/R134a) at the factory.
• The unit capacity can be varied by staging the compressors in response to variations in return water temperature.
• A factory-supplied wired remote control centre displays the inlet and outlet water temperature, system status and alarm conditions.
• The fully automatic devices and the remote control centre enable the user to monitor and control the chiller and pumps, the on/off operation and temperature setting, installed as far as 1,000 metres away from the chiller according to the user’s convenience. The operation of the chilled water pump can also be controlled through the remote control centre.
• Each unit is factory-operated and performance-tested at various controlled ambient and water temperature conditions. They are, therefore, engineered to provide trouble-free operation at ambient temperature conditions as high as 55ºC.
• The compact modular design facilitates easy lifting, shifting and erecting, and requires less space.
• The modular construction also helps the user to augment the total chiller capacity by adding attachable modules, if necessary.
• No special foundation work or machine room is required for installation.
• It is simple to operate.
• Automatic operation facilitates increased safety. The unsupervised operation is completely safe, as any abnormal condition automatically initiates shutdown of the related refrigerant circuits.
• Copeland Scroll Compressor and specially designed fans enable a quiet operation. The chiller structure is engineered to minimise the vibration.
• All essential service and maintenance can be performed by easily removable access panel.

Sipos Aktorik

In its newsletter, Sipost, Sipos Aktorik has announced unveiling SIPOS 5 HiMod electric actuator series, which the company says, comes with a High-res Absolute Position encoder with a maximum tolerance of 0.003 %. Sipos claims that by means of the encoder, the HiMod actuator registers the position of the output shaft even when there is a power failure. It adds that as a result, changes of position which could occur, for example, by operating the hand wheel, can be reliably identified, and when power is reinstated, this information is communicated accurately to the control system.

The manufacturer lists the following product features and advantages:

• The continuous precision actuator comes with IP68 Protection Class status, which provides high resistance against corrosion and continuous duty according to Class DEN15714-2.
• The installation procedure is completely non-intrusive and adjustment of end positions can be achieved without opening the actuator.
• The double-sealed electro-connection compartment guarantees that electronic components are kept safe from harmful environmental influences – a feature that is particularly important for actuators during installation.
• It is ideal for situations where continuous high-demand and long-term usage is required.
• Intelligent software solutions are at the heart of the product’s capability, ensuring that they support the most diverse process requirements.
• It comes with a five-year guarantee on motor and gear parts – components that are most subjected to continuous wear-and-tear.
• It works without a battery.

Fundamentals of insulation – critical selection factors is to be a key point of discussion at ASHRAE Oryx Chapter seminar

The ASHRAE-Oryx chapter, in association with M/s FTC Qatar WLL, will be conducting a full-day seminar on two topics –

Fundamentals of insulation – green buildings and Passive fire protection systems. The event will be held on April 30 at The College of North Atlantic (Building 1, Lecture Hall: 1). The presentations will be made on the following topics:

Presenter: George Georgiou, International Sales and Marketing Manager, Sekisui Foam International

Topic: Fundamentals of insulation – critical selection factors and their effect on long-term building sustainability

1. Introduction
2. Insulation – centrepiece of the green building concept and energy savings
   • a) Global perspective (USA, AUS)
   • b) Future trends
3. Fundamentals of insulation – critical factors that affect selection and performance
4. Safety in insulation systems
   • a) A review of current fire and smoke standards and trends
   • b) Deficiencies in current standards
   • c) Third party certification systems
5. Examination of insulation critical performance factors – theory versus reality
   • a) Thermal conductivity
   • b) Vapour permeability
   • c) Water absorption
6. Changes of insulation performance over time and implication to owners
7. Decision-making for insulation – upfront cost versus long- term benefit
   • a) Current trends in decision making
   • b) Lack of awareness of the importance of insulation
   • c) Lack of “long-term” energy-saving perspective
8. Illustration/comparison of energy costs in running AC systems using different types of insulation
   • a) Energy-saving predictor software (Sekisui)

Presenter: Edward Gaynor, Technical Advisor, Promat Fire Protection

Topic: Passive fire protection systems

1. 1. Fire and smoke penetration seals
   • Theory of fire compartmentalisation
   • Failure criteria
   • Penetration seals and fire performance
2. 2. Promat solutions
   • a) Fire rated duct works
   • b) Fire-testing methods
   • c) Design considerations
   • d) Advantages board solutions
   • e) Promat solutions
3. 3. Fire and blast-resistant walls
   • Advantages of demountable barriers
   • Promat solutions for demountable barriers

According to the Chapter, ASHRAE members who wish to attend the event are requested to confirm by e-mail before April 27, after which the registrations will close. For more details, Seenu Pillai of the Chapter is available at +974 5562 6509.

AHRI recently participated in a survey and conference sponsored by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on green buildings and green growth. APEC’s Subcommittee on Standards and Conformance planned and organised the two-part project (survey and conference) to support several energy efficiency, sustainability, and conservation priorities and initiatives established within APEC. AHRI said that its participation focused on the use of specific standards and codes for the use of green building technologies and practices in commercial buildings.

At the conference, results of a survey co-sponsored by AHRI, the Aluminum Association, the International Code Council, and IAPMO were presented.

AHRI discusses direction of HVACR and water heating industry

On March 3, executives from AHRI, ACCA, and HARDI met to discuss the direction of the HVACR and water heating industry, in the US. The meeting is said to have focused on energy legislation and the AHRI consensus agreements, with significant attention paid to enforcement and potentially difficult installations.

The group reportedly had several discussions about tax incentives for HVACR and water heating equipment. They also touched on commercial incentives and the potential of revising section 179D of the Internal Revenue Code (the whole building retrofit tax credit).

ICA reports exhibiting new energy-efficient, smaller diameter copper tube coil designs from Chinese OEMs

The International Copper Association (ICA) has announced that residential air conditioning products are increasingly being fabricated using smaller diameter copper tubes, especially among OEMs based in China. This was evidenced by the fact that coils from five different OEMs – Gree, Haier, Midea, Chigo and HiSense Kelon – were on display at the MicroGroove Technology booth at the China Refrigeration Expo – CR-2011 in Shanghai, with samples representative of both condensers and evaporators for window-type air conditioners as well for split units, the announcement said.

Speaking from ICA’s MicroGroove stall at the expo, ICA’s Deputy Director of Technology Wenson Zheng, said: “The International Copper Association has been cooperating with OEMs on design strategies for increasing the performance of evaporator and condenser coils. The most spectacular gains in heat transfer efficiency have been realised by decreasing the diameter of the copper tubes in these coils.”

He added that most of the coils were taken from actual production models of residential air conditioners, and that research continued on the design and manufacture of coils with even smaller diameter copper tubes.

ICA has listed the coils on display at the exhibition in the attached table, along with the corresponding applications, cooling capacities and OEMs.

The International Copper Association is an organisation for promoting the use of copper worldwide.

Etihad’s special sturgeon fish cargo shipment goes swimmingly from Frankfurt to Abu Dhabi.

In an interesting announcement, Etihad has revealed that its Crystal Cargo’s latest shipment of precious goods transported live reared sturgeon for the world’s biggest caviar factory, which is being built in Abu Dhabi.

The 22 adult sturgeon fish were flown from Frankfurt Hahn Airport to Abu Dhabi and, then, transported to a new 60,000-square-metre farm recently, commissioned for rearing sturgeons and production of caviar in the UAE, the airline company said. It added that Etihad’s clients in the project were the UAE-based Bin Salem Holding and United Food Technologies AG, a German company. Bin Salem and UFT are reportedly working together on the development of the caviar factory.

According to the announcement, each sturgeon was transported in a specially designed container in a temperature- controlled environment, which was set to be constantly between 10ºC and 15ºC. At each stage of the process, the pallets were loaded and unloaded within minutes, Etihad claimed, and revealed that the airlines utilised one of its new A330-200 freighter aircraft, which provides temperature-control technology to transport endangered species.

Commenting on the rare feat, Roy Kinnear, Senior Vice President Cargo, Etihad Airways, said: “Etihad is proud of its reputation for carrying precious cargo, and this now includes sturgeon fish which are on the list of global endangered species. The Etihad Crystal Cargo team, working closely with our ground handling colleagues and clients, demonstrated expertise and coordination skills to ensure the fish were shipped safely from Frankfurt to their new home in the UAE.”

Brings with him over 30 years of experience in the HVACR sector

According to an announcement, Anwar Hassan has been named Vice President, Engineered Systems Group (ESG), Sales, Saudi Arabia and Global Business Lines & Operations (GBL&O), Engineered Systems Technology, located in Jeddah. He will report to Basel Aziz, Managing Director, Al Salem Johnson Controls, and Magdy Mekky, Vice President and Managing Director, Middle East. He will be responsible for managing the Engineered Systems’ sales team in Saudi Arabia, to help it continue to profitably grow, as well as the Associated Service Business, the announcement said, and added that Hassan will also be responsible for advising the building efficiency GBL&O leadership on HVAC&R technology, and will report to Santiago Perez.

Hassan holds a Master’s degree in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning and a Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from King’s College, University of London, UK, and brings with him more than 30 years of experience in the HVACR sector, the announcement said.

Hassan began his career with York International in 1983 in Saudi Arabia, and in 1995, went to York, Pennsylvania, in the US, to assume a leadership role in service management. In 1998, he became the Regional Manager for the Arabian Gulf, based in Dubai. He relocated to York again in 2001, when he was named the Director of Marketing and Engineering, Large Tonnage Chillers (LTC), and then became Vice President, Industrial Equipment, responsible for LTC and Industrial Refrigeration, North America. Most recently, Hassan has been leading the Large Tonnage Solutions business.

Commenting on the appointment, Buddy Doll, Vice President for ESG, Middle East, said that placing Hassan in the new role demonstrated the company’s commitment to the rapidly growing Saudi Arabian market, which is a major priority for building efficiency and for the organisation’s industrial and development partner in the region.

Company will provide facility maintenance to the airport

Sharjah Department of Civil Aviation has announced signing an agreement with MAF Dalkia, whereby, the company will provide maintenance works to all facilities of the airport. The services will include not only multi-technical services, such as, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and civil works, but also specialised maintenance for the airfield systems and equipment like navigation aids, radio communication, airfield lighting systems and the runway civil works, the announcement confirmed.

The agreement was signed at the Department’s headquarters in the presence of HE Eng Abdulwahab Mohammed Khalfan Al Roomi, Director General of Department of Civil Aviation, Sharjah, and Alexandre Mussallam, CEO, MAF Dalkia, the announcement said.

On the occasion, Al Roomi said: “Signing the agreement reflects Sharjah International Airport’s keen interest to keep and maintain all its facilities, including service and technical facilities, and operate efficiently round the clock. No doubt, the agreement will help the airport’s Engineering Department to function properly, amidst rapidly growing movement of passengers, aircraft and airfreight and the airport’s high rates during the recent years. This requires an effective maintenance department that assumes its functions accurately and professionally.”

Al Roomi added that the agreement would be effective for three years, with annual assessment maintenance operations, along with ongoing assessment and subsequent maintenance as required.

Mussallam, expressing his views on the agreement, said: “We are pleased to sign this agreement with Sharjah International Airport, the most ancient airport in the region. We will provide our distinguished experience and services to the airport in order to maintain the airport’s leading position on the local, regional and international levels. We will perform our works to the full satisfaction of the Department, which we would like to thank for its confidence and selecting us to carry out this project.”

Says it is poised to enter energy solutions market in MEA and reach $10 billion in global sales by 2013

LG has announced its plans to become a major player in the global energy solutions market by introducing the third version of the existing tropical Multi V system and the VRF Air Handling Unit (AHU) within the Middle East and Africa (MEA) markets. LG claims that the VRF AHU integrated control system lets users manage air conditioning for an entire building and provides heating, cooling and outdoor fresh air conditioning, while saving energy. The company adds that the AHUs can be used for 100% fresh air application or re-circulating air application.

Based around these solutions, LG said that it plans to aggressively expand its market share in the MEA’s commercial air conditioning sector this year, and evolve into a total solution provider for the market. The company also revealed that it is constructing an AC Academy at Jebel Ali, which has been LEED Silver certified, where LG is customising products to the needs of the MEA consumers. The company also aims to enhance the reliability of its products to work in all weather conditions.

LG also announced that it intends moving beyond its traditional role in air conditioning and making a foray into the energy business, with solutions, including LED lighting and solar power. With this objective in view, it said that it plans to invest $500 million and increase its workforce and R&D, with a further aim of reaching $10 billion in global sales by 2013.

“We’ve developed a range of products and solutions that meet the ever more pressing demands of consumers, while also containing costs and reducing energy consumption,” said HS Paik, President of LG Electronics Gulf FZE.

“We’re confident that we have every energy solution covered, whatever the business. We already have references with the Multi V, including Al Gurm in Abu Dhabi and the American Academy School in Abu Dhabi. This proves the awareness and acceptance level of this technology, which is popular across the MEA.”

Providing technical insight, Senior Manager, Commercial Air Conditioners, Dharmesh Sawant, added: “With the increased emphasis on local green building codes, like Estidama in Abu Dhabi and Q-SAS in Qatar, tropical Multi V III and VRF AHU solutions will help the local authorities to meet their objective. LG supports the stakeholders across the value chain. We have a dedicated team to support the consultants and developers in the concept, design stage, as well as a dedicated team for contractors in the post-tender stage and a dedicated team for facilities management companies.”