Sustainable development is in danger of becoming a passing fad, with everyone in the industry wanting to pay lip service to it. Sougata Nandi argues that it needs to be financially profitable, environmentally responsible and socially sensitive, and demonstrates ways of integrating it in development projects.

Sougata Nandi

“Sustainable development” has become an over-exploited buzzword over the past five years in the Middle East – over-used, misused and abused by people associated with the commercial exploitation of sustainable development. But in the backdrop of the sustainability buzz, there is an undercurrent of serious and concerted efforts by many to adopt some type of best practice or the other. These initiatives have ranged from the much-debated carbon-neutral city development to the halogen-replacement programme and from solar power generation to simple retrofit of restrictors in water fixtures. It has extended to full-fledged energy conservation programmes and lifestyle changes and from LEED-certified complexes to LEED-certified commercial interiors. The GCC region has been witness to all this – that, too, in a short span of less than three years.

The region has had the fastest growing number of LEED- certified projects. A range of well-diversified initiatives have invaded the region from Ras Al Khaimah to Jordan. Projects like Masdar have caught the imagination of the world, while sustainable development initiatives at TECOM Investments have impressed professionals from the US Green Building Council to those in the local industry. Different agencies, government bodies and private initiatives have put in efforts in their own way to push the sustainable development agenda. The question that begs answering is, where does one start and how would the efforts to achieve sustainable habitats, bear fruit?

WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?

The definition of sustainable development has become a cliché. Having said that, it is my belief that all practitioners of sustainable development, whether they are technically qualified or otherwise, should memorise the following definition of sustainable development, which forms the crux of sustainability: Sustainable development is a process of developing land, cities, business, communities, and so one that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. (Source: Brundtland Report, a 1987 report from the United Nations.

This definition is critically important, because it has an elemental focus on the end-result that sustainable development must achieve. The beauty of this definition is that it does not limit one to specific measures or initiatives, but allows the flexibility to take whatever means necessary, in order to achieve the simple result of ensuring that the present generation does not compromise the ability of the future generations to meet their needs.

This definition has been used very effectively by the Sustainable Energy and Environment Division (SEED) at TECOM Investments. I can safely say that SEED has been able to significantly reduce the footprint of TECOM’s present and future developments. In this context, it is important to understand that for developmental purposes, resources must be utilised, else, development will not take place. However, the key question to address would be, how well this development process can be managed so that minimal resources are being utilised to achieve the desired level of development.

PARADIGMS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable development, in the context of developing land, cities, business and communities, can mean a plethora of initiatives or actions. The impact of these initiatives or actions is largely dependent on three broad paradigms – at what level of hierarchy of a development are these being applied? When during the life cycle of development are these being applied? And, who are deploying these initiatives? Without a clear understanding of these three paradigms, sustainable development initiatives invariably fail, because either they are being deployed at the wrong time in the life cycle of a project or at the incorrect level or by the incorrect people. Therefore, let us first take a quick look at the three paradigms.

Paradigm 1:

Paradigm 1 captures hierarchy of projects. It is a simultaneous bottom-up and top-down paradigm, which is created to essentially demonstrate how sustainable development initiatives can be big and small and, yet, stay relevant within the context of project sizes.

Figure 1: Paradigm 1 – Projects hierarchy

Development projects come in different shapes and sizes. In fact, every action of our existence, has an impact on, and is impacted by, tenets of sustainable development. When we fit-out our new homes and offices, we use resources – furniture, paint, equipment, carpet, cleaning chemicals, lighting, air conditioning and many other materials. This happens at the very fundamental level or Ground 0, as I refer to it. When we start consolidating these small units together, we enter the next level of big buildings – single-use residential or commercial buildings, mixed-use buildings or complexes, residential communities and commercial business districts (CBDs).

Development of these consumes even higher quantities of resources. We are now not limited any more to a few lights or furniture or equipment anymore. We need hundreds of these that are almost largely made of virgin material, putting tremendous stress on the resources of the planet. In the current state of affairs, most of these materials are also environmentally unfriendly – toxic raw materials like mercury in fluorescent lighting – or resource inefficient in their operation, like halogen lamps. The pressures from these substances are not only on virgin raw materials but also due to enormous ecological problems when these need to be disposed of, once their useful life is over.

While in small numbers, such toxic materials can be easily absorbed by the Earth’s eco-system; when these are disposed of in their thousands and millions without a proper mechanism, we are potentially running huge ecological risks. This is Ground 1, several combinations of which lead us to the High Ground or the level of cities/districts.

A large number of modern-day developments are in the form of new cities – Dubai Marina City, or Dubai Silicon Oasis. This is a trend seen not only in our vicinity but also in many other parts of the world. The materials required to build such cities, their ongoing energy and water requirements are now in the order of millions – millions of square feet of glass and carpets, millions of litres of paints, millions of kWh of energy and millions of gallons of potable water…. Thus, if the impact of one high-rise tower is significantly negative on the ecology of the planet, the impact of development of cities/districts are truly gigantic in proportion.

Why is this called High Ground? The city/district level of development is referred to as the High Ground, because in the hierarchy of projects, they have the maximum impact on sustainable development, whereby any action taken at this level will help us achieve the High Ground in the battle for sustainable development. However, it is important not to ignore actions at the Ground 0 level, because an accumulation of many small aberrations also leads to major ecological disasters. Thus, action is required at all levels of developmental hierarchy.

An aside: How important is sustainable development activity at Ground 0 level? If everyone on this planet were to live their lives the way people live in the UAE, we would need the resources of 11 Earths! Sustainable development at Ground 0 is all about leading a certain lifestyle and its impact, on a cumulative basis, on our planet.

Paradigm 2:

Paradigm 2 is the paradigm of project life cycle. In order to understand this paradigm, we need to understand the traditional design and construction process and the factors that have maximum influence at the various stages of this process. Figure 2 will describe this better.

Figure 2: Paradigm 2 – Traditional design and construction process

By and large, the process for development projects is fundamentally the same. It starts with a business plan – even the development projects launched by governments. All projects need to be financed (Capex); all projects need to be operated and maintained (Opex); all projects (except perhaps for government-financed specific development projects that are executed for the betterment of certain sections of the population) need to have a return on investment.

Generally, the engineering and architectural design of projects are also largely dictated by financial considerations (yes, the architectural and engineering designs come first, but they are required to remain within the confines of the financial model). While taking decisions based on financial considerations is necessary and commercially a sound idea, the unfortunate aspect of this is that, most decisions are based on first-cost considerations, rather than lifecycle costing. Therefore, as a case-in point, most projects in this part of the world utilise air-cooled energy and inefficient chillers, which are much cheaper to set up (low Capex), although they have higher ongoing O&M costs and, thus, more expensive on the basis of lifecycle costing.

Very rarely have I come across business plans that have sustainable development built into the financial model of the project. How so? How do you actually incorporate elements of sustainable development in the financial model of a development project? Typically, the financial model of development projects are built around several parameters, namely: (a) Capital Expenditure – includes MEP equipment, civil works, furnishing, etc. (b) Total BUA – square feet of areas to be built-up, which includes service areas as well as leasable areas (c) Spread and balance of commercial, residential, retail, public services etc – this spread and balance control the revenues, either via sale or lease and, therefore, the IRR, (d) Operating Expenditure – largely includes operation & maintenance costs of equipment, cleaning costs of the built-up areas, costs for security, etc. (e) Other costs – fees, etc.

At first glance, this strategy of financial modelling may not allow the opportunity to integrate sustainable development, as all numbers are based on financial terms. Particularly for commercial people who build these financial models, and this is where the engineers need to step in. Based on our knowledge of the cost-benefits of building green, energy-efficient equipment (like chillers, lighting and the like), and renewable energy technologies, the Capex and Opex numbers can be massaged to incorporate some of the sustainable development measures.

Integrating these numbers into the financial model, one at a time, also helps take decisions on which measures to adopt in a financially feasible manner. In the instances of sustainable construction material, like environmentally friendly paints or carpets, there may not be direct cost benefits, but one can always include the upfront Capexes required for such measures. The final decision on such matters would have to be supported by the project owner.

Paradigm 2 is critical purely from the financial point of view. If such decisions are not supported at the business plan stage by the project owner, the opportunity for integrating these measures at the latter stage of the lifecycle of the project would be completely lost. The cost-benefit advantage of adopting a solar photo-voltaic garden lighting system is maximum during the design stage. Once the project is designed with conventional garden lights, retrofitting the same with SPV lighting during the building operation stage will rarely make financial sense. The same principle applies to all sustainable development measures that are currently out of the ordinary for the traditional design-development process, especially for those measures that cost more than their conventional counterparts.

Paradigm 3:

Paradigm 3 is the paradigm of deployment versus impact. This is somewhat similar to the 80:20 Pareto principle – 80% of the impact will come from 20% efforts. This was one of the first principles taught to us when we started learning about energy conservation in college, and over the years, the significance of this principle has only grown exponentially in stature.

Figure 3: Paradigm 3 – Levels of deployment – challenges and impact

At a very elemental level, human beings are generally responsible people. Given an opportunity to recycle, people will usually do it, although this might inconvenience them a bit. Therefore, it is quite easy to get people to replace their halogen light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Lamps (90% reduction in energy consumptions, carbon emissions and utility bills) or to install restrictors on the taps of their washbasins at homes. During the implementation of sustainable development projects at TECOM, we have had colleagues coming over to secure energy efficient lamps and water restrictors for installation at their homes. The deployment was easy. Unfortunately, the impact of these are negligible in the context of the overall development works going on all around us.

When we rolled the Sustainable Development Policy at TECOM Investments in August 2006, the first challenge we faced was that of a lack of availability of sustainability services and products – largely unavailable, because there was no demand for these at the time. Our then project development stakeholders would all actively oppose our desire of building green, clearly stating that this was not possible in Dubai. This was in 2006.

Over the past four years, and after several workshops, we have managed to change this mindset. Today, not only is green building possible in Dubai, but we also have five of them certified as well, achieved by working together with the “doubting Thomases”. The negative stance has turned around to one of positive enthusiasm today, with all stakeholders in the development process falling over themselves to provide sustainability services.

The deployment was, no doubt, challenging, but possible, and the impact tremendous. At the other end of the supply chain, a vendor could well take a similar decision to sell only environmentally friendly paints, which would have a long-lasting impact on the development projects. A small decision, yet a huge impact.

PARADIGM-DRIVEN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The three paradigms are essentially a snapshot of my personal experiences in deploying sustainable development initiatives over the past 15 years. While these initiatives can come in different shapes and sizes, focusing on the initiatives that make business sense have always met with success. This is particularly critical in the context of commercial organisations, whose main objective is to make profit. If sustainable development initiatives do not make business sense, they simply would not be allowed to survive. A case in point is the still struggling Solar Photovoltaic industry that has been around for decades, but yet to make the kind of impact that was originally expected of it. SPV technology simply does not make financial sense, today. It is about financial profitability.

But then, sustainable development is not only about financial profitability but also about social and environmental performance. This is the concept of “triple bottom-line” – deployment of sustainable development initiatives not only achieve fiscal profitability but also reduce the environmental footprint and contribute to social benefits, all at the same time. What better initiative than these for commercial organisations?

Having contextualised the three diverse paradigms of sustainable development, the key question that needs to be asked is, how do we bring all these paradigms together and deploy sustainable development in an effective manner?

Sustainable development cannot be a standalone initiative. We have seen a manifestation of this while developing green buildings. The requirement of a building to be in close proximity of bus stops and railway stations clearly illustrates that a green building is part of a larger whole. Therein lies the role of government in building infrastructure, especially connecting new developments. And there are many more such facets in the run-up to achieving sustainable development. For sustainable development to truly achieve great results, all stakeholders of the development process need to be aligned, even though the key driver would have to be the developer.

While developing the masterplan of a model sustainable community in Dubai recently, we had the opportunity to apply sustainable development at all three paradigms described earlier. First and foremost, sustainable development was being deployed by a master developer (Corporate). Second, this was being deployed at the High Ground level of developing a self-contained multi-purpose free zone. Finally, and most significantly, sustainable development principles were being deployed at the pre-design, schematic design and business plan level. The combination of these three paradigms was designed to deliver the maximum impact in achieving a sustainable development project that would be financially profitable, environmentally responsible and socially sensitive. So, what did we learn from this experience?

1. Deploying sustainability at the community/city development level, especially from the very early stages of design, can have the most significant impact. A master developer is perfectly positioned to develop and administer development control regulations (DCRs) for individual developments within the community. These DCRs must include specific design parameters like allowed electrical load, HVAC, potable water and waste water generation for individual developments. When ceilings like these are set out for all individual developments in the community, the demands on utility requirements can be reduced significantly. This is the first principle of a resource-efficient design (source: USGBC) – reducing demand.

Moving away from the traditional way of designing for real estate projects, if a master developer were to enforce energy and water design based on a green building development guideline, the utility resources can be reduced proportionally to the level of efficiencies set out.

Considering that traditional way of designing would require 100 units of electricity and 100 units of potable water, a cost-sensitive and practical deployment of sustainability principles can easily reduce these requirements by up to 25% and 30% respectively for electricity and water. This can be achieved without incurring any significant additional capital expenditure. Thus, the business model of the project already starts looking better, because throughout the lifecycle of the project, operating expense reduction will accrue, without having to incur additional Capex.

2. The next step would be to satisfy the remaining 75% of electricity and 70% of water via free resources that can be harnessed at site. There are a variety of free resources available at site in this part of the World. Given the variety of financial and technical constraints, this approach needs to encompass several options. Since offices function largely in daytime, a large portion of the lighting energy requirement can be met using daylight.

Condensate from HVAC systems is another free resource, particularly during high humidity months (August, September). In one of our projects, the condensate lines was connected to the irrigation tank, thus minimising requirement of potable water for landscape. Measures such as these need to be implemented at individual development level and may not be feasible at the level of the master developer.

At the city/community level, a solar farm, generating electricity from the energy of the sun, becomes a viable option. This is, of course, subject to appropriate regulation allowing the connection of such power to the grid – therein lies the role of the government.

A measure, such as utilising TSE water for landscape irrigation (sourced from either its own sewage treatment plant or from the municipality’s supply lines), is already common practice in Dubai. Although TSE may not be classified strictly as free site resource in the same way as solar energy, it is, in a manner of speaking, waste that is a resource available at site. One of the most exciting measures that was embedded in our infrastructure design was the use of solar photovoltaic (SPV) street lighting. The measure works wonderfully well at the design stage of a project, because it offsets the requirement of conventional power generation, reduces sub-station capacity requirement, eliminates costly initial feeder stations and cabling and completely avoids ongoing energy requirements. At the design stage, since it offsets several other Capexes, it becomes somewhat financially “acceptable” to integrate SPV outdoor lighting.

With appropriate use of such technologies, the required resources can be further reduced to around 50% to 60% of electricity and 40% to 50% of water for the overall community.

3. The final step in the application of sustainability, is thus, to satisfy the remaining “unavoidable” requirement for electricity and water. And this needs to be done in the most efficient way possible. This step largely applies to energy rather than water. A few simple measures have already achieved some amount of traction in Dubai. They are:

• LED technology can reduce lighting energy requirement by up to 90%.
• Heat recovery wheels are a boon to the HVAC systems, as they recover precious energy that would have otherwise been wasted as exhaust.
• Intelligent Building Management Systems – these are more for energy-efficient operations rather than energy-efficient design.
• And the biggest measure of all in recent times – district cooling.

District cooling is an interesting conundrum. It works on the principle of economies of scale and, thus, achieves significant system efficiencies – theoretically. To achieve these efficiencies in practice, the deployment of such systems need to be done in a measured manner. Fundamentally, a district cooling system requires certain minimum amount of cooling requirement in order to function cost effectively (Capex and Opex).

For permanent district cooling plants to be set up, large sections of the development need to come up and be commissioned at the same time. Since chilled water supply systems do not work in a similar manner as high-tension power supply systems, it is a challenge for district cooling networks to grow organically. Thus, the master developer needs to ensure that the overall project is phased out in such a manner that clusters are developed, rather than individual developments all over the project. This leads to the concept of distributed district cooling systems, which we found to be financially and technically more attractive and practical, in order to extract the benefits of district cooling systems. In this concept, instead of setting up one district cooling plant for a development of 10 million square feet built-up area, it would be advisable to have three to five plants, each catering to corresponding cluster development.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Prior to starting any sustainable development initiative, refer to the three paradigms and accept or reject an initiative based on its applicability to all three paradigms.
2. Stakeholder engagement at a very early stage of business planning is mandatory, as this is the only way to extract best cost-benefit.
3. Sustainable development must make business sense, or else, it would not be “sustainable”. If a measure costs more to implement than it saves, it would not be successful.
4. Different technologies work differently – district cooling systems being a classic example. The trick is to know how to deploy the technology.

Sougata Nandi is Executive Director, Asset Management & Sustainable Development, TECOM Business Parks Operations. He is Emirates Energy Award Winner 2007. He can be contacted at <Sougata.nandi@tecom.ae>.

What is the evaluation on the region’s market? The future outlook, Jose Franco reports, is mostly bullish, even as the world faces the threat of a second recession due to the debt turmoil in Europe.

Its large number of industrial projects and efforts to localise the supply chain provide good growth potential for the Middle East’s valves and actuators market. This refers more likely to the 2012 scenario, however, when growth rates are expected to reach pre-downturn levels. The oncoming year can expect only slow to medium growth, owing to the continuing tight-credit situation and the scaling down of projects due to excess global capacities and low world demand.

The future outlook is mostly bullish, nevertheless, even as the world faces the threat of a second recession due to the debt turmoil in Europe, according to research and consultancy firm, Frost & Sullivan. Industry experts believe so, as opportunities for valves, which control the flow or pressure of fluid, and actuators (which convert energy into motion) are guaranteed whenever and wherever the need to control, isolate or protect industrial processes arises.

For Tyco Valves & Controls, for example, the main growth opportunities with regard to its products lie in the oil and gas, construction and process industries, says Christophe Melinette. The managing director of Tyco Flow Control Middle East adds that these industries include HVAC&R and building services projects and large-scale applications, such as district cooling systems. He says the company’s operation in major industry sectors “enables us to apply our knowledge and experience to the Gulf market”.

O&G, NON-O&G

The Gulf Arab nations, particularly Saudi Arabia, will propel industry growth in the Middle East, whose industrial valves and actuators market is seen to earn $2 billion by 2016 from over $1.2 billion in 2009. And whilst future growth in this market will continue to depend largely on the oil and gas industry, large-scale infrastructure development and rapid industrialisation mean there is tremendous opportunity as well in the non-oil and gas market.

In a summary of its report, titled “Middle East Industrial Valves & Actuators Market”, Frost & Sullivan says other industrial sectors, such as power and water desalination, are seen to drive market development. The company’s research analyst, S Harsha Eashwer, stresses, “Numerous industrial city projects are currently under construction across various Middle East countries, as part of efforts to diversify the economy from oil and gas dependence, as well as to provide jobs to burgeoning populations.”

Egypt is a huge market as well, says Dubai-based Fadi Alameddine, Managing Director of FlowLine Controls, citing the country’s various ongoing and planned projects on waterworks, infrastructure, climate control and oil and gas. But he says it is mainly Saudi Arabia that will drive the industrial valves market, to feed the demand of its waterworks and other sectors involving oil and gas, food and dairy, pharma and petrochemicals.

“We’re increasing our investments in the region,” Alameddine says in an interview. Already, FlowLine has branches in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, had invested for a laboratory in Dubai and still wants to consider other gulf markets. “We haven’t had much time to look into Oman,” he stresses. “At this stage, we should be looking probably into Kuwait and Oman.”

Other markets in the rest of the Middle East (R-O-M-E), which had previously been shunted by investors, such as Iraq, may also present immense potential for market growth in the future. “These changes, along with changing commercial dynamics, could affect the competitive structure of the market, as companies from South Korea, India and China increase their local presence,” Frost & Sullivan says.

CHEAP VALVES

The study, which enumerates the other R-O-M-E countries it has covered as Iran, Yemen, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, stresses it was the recent recession that facilitated the popularity of low-price valves in the Gulf and the wider Middle East region, as end-users have become sensitive to cost. Most of these inexpensive valves come from China and India.

Valves from FlowLine Controls

And the growing competition from low-cost valve and actuator companies is where the major near- to long-term issues will arise, Eashwer says. Other factors that will have significant effect upon current market dynamics are “the low impetus on oil exploration in Saudi Arabia due to the existing surplus, the moratorium on gas exploration in Qatar and the politico-economic instability in Iran and Iraq, amongst others”.

New market entrants that can address cost concerns may thrive, but still it is the most experienced and robust companies that are more prepared to adjust to market changes, Melinette says. “Ultimately, valves and actuators form critical components within many projects, requiring reliable products that offer reassurance and peace of mind,” he adds. “For many customers, support and guidance, particularly with regard to maintenance cost calculations and areas that less-established suppliers may not have the resources to fulfill, can be hugely important.”

The moratorium on Qatar’s further development of its vast North Field gas reservoir will not be lifted until at least 2013, when all the planned projects in the area will have brought on stream. The government said it had to study further on how to maximise gas production and, at the same time, preserve the reservoir for future generations.

Frost & Sullivan says that whilst Saudi Arabia will continue to be the largest valve market in the Middle East, the Qatari market is expected to grow rapidly, post-2013, owing to the projected growth in global demand for natural gas after 2012.

It also has the observation that the “addressable actuators market”, which was worth $260 million in 2009, accounted for a small share of the total Middle East vale and actuator demand, since most new project orders were placed with the international locations of suppliers. But there might be a shift in market behaviour.

“This trend is expected to change as the market grows, with end-users insisting on better regional presence and capabilities,” it says. “Companies would also attempt to gain a competitive advantage by tier local presence – as seen by the increase in local valve supplier representation over the past few years.”

The addressable actuators market accounts for new project and after-sales actuator demand met through international orders and local procurement. This also includes the demand met between divisions of a company. The non-addressable market refers to demand met from the internal production of actuators within the valve manufacturing company.

FAST VALVES

Whilst a consolidated customer base and the continuing efforts to reduce costs do, indeed, pose a major challenge to the industry, the need to produce innovative solutions is also a serious issue that begs for attention. “One major challenge is to find electric valves that are as accurate and fast as pneumatic valves,” Alameddine says. “The industry must also look for more green solutions. In other words, how do we add intelligence to actuators?”

Christophe Melinette

Melinette has the same opinion, saying, “Manufacturers must constantly work to maximise efficiency, maintain product quality and help their customers to achieve cost-savings.” Tyco works closely with its customers to address various challenges. “As a global manufacturer, we aim to share our expertise and knowledge with our local customers, and there are few suppliers that can offer this level of service.”

The innovations in materials and valve construction represent an opportunity for change, he says, since basic valve designs have not changed so much over time. Tyco’s CompoSeal valve, for instance, is made of composite materials that make it lighter and more cost-effective than traditional valves, making it an ideal solution for HVAC&R applications. “The biggest changes quite often take place within actuation and control systems, as the industry adapts to new technologies, such as wireless controls and valve monitoring,” he stresses.

Developments such as this have helped Tyco expand its range of services to offer, amongst other things, predictive maintenance solutions. Besides offering specialist site services, Tyco, being an original equipment manufacturer, uses its own engineers to maintain valves and control systems, including non-Tyco products.

“Our commitment to the Middle East market is reflected in both our financial performance and heritage throughout the area, and we look forward to developing our position across the region,” Melinette says. In 2009, Tyco generated 27%, or over $4.7 billion, of its earnings from operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Residential air conditioners in the GCC region pose energy challenges. A consumption-based cost-allocation billing system, achieved through cooperation between providers, developers and homeowners, could lead to energy savings, argues Hans Altmann.

Consumption of electricity by air conditioning systems is a much-debated topic across the GCC region. The residential sector alone has been shown to account for the highest levels of energy consumption, with up to 70% of electricity being used for air conditioning in private households, indicating a notable level of over-consumption in the UAE.

The concerned departments in Dubai are well aware of the high energy consumption and have started to introduce laws stipulating measures for a more conscious use of energy. The Strata Law, which came into force in October 2010, states that developers are required to register their sub-division plans and to define common areas and private units, as well as to create home-owners’ associations and register them with RERA. All homeowners are now responsible for maintenance and upkeep as well as administrative jobs of their jointly owned properties.

On the one hand, the introduction of this law gives homeowners full control of their decision to choose and commission the service providers they want to work with and also creates transparency in the definition of service charges, which has been an unknown and confusing issue for homeowners in the past. On the other hand, homeowners might see it as a burden and an added responsibility to maintain their properties on their own.

However, the fact remains that due to the new Strata Law, the focus is no longer on the developer but on the consumer, representing a paradigm shift in the market. Prior to the law being insituted, homeowners paid a fixed amount on a monthly basis to the developers for the upkeep of their residential properties. Today, consumers (being the homeowners) themselves, are fully responsible for managing their properties. This might help consumers know exactly how much energy they consume, and hence, develop a more conscious and responsible behaviour when using energy.

Being aware of one’s behaviour, in terms of energy consumption, has been proven to pay off significantly. This assertion is based on studies and experience in many European countries. Indeed, metering companies have demonstrated through many successful projects that a conscious use of energy and a consumption-based cost-allocation billing system leads to energy savings of up to 25%.

In this regard, well-meaning metering companies are strong partners of district cooling companies, which are designed to minimise energy consumption in the production of chilled water. Indeed, district cooling companies can benefit from the services of a competent metering company. Generally speaking, the services cover the entire cycle, ranging from administration to maintaining metering devices, which saves both time and costs for the district cooling companies. The main services that most companies would require from a specialist are devices (meters) that guarantee reliable and precise recording, asset management to monitor and manage the equipment, actual and precise meter reading, data preparation, billing and, finally, consumption management to analyse the energy consumption of properties.

As a company, we have been offering all these services for over 55 years and could achieve yearly energy savings of approximately 13 billion kWh, calculated based on 4.5 million apartments equipped with meters. In my opinion, this enormous savings potential can result in reducing carbon emissions by three million tonnes, a figure that should be of great interest to the UAE, which has one of the highest per capita emission rates in the world.

Since data pertaining to savings potential is not yet being recorded systematically by district cooling companies in the Gulf region, it is important to choose a well-experienced provider to carry out such works.

Another important issue in this context is the legal basis for cooling cost allocation, which is still missing in countries like the UAE, for example. As a person with experience in the field, I believe that the law created for this purpose needs to include several elements. These are, firstly, a clear definition of the cost of energy; secondly, an obligation to install metering devices; and thirdly, an obligation to measure the consumption as well as an obligation to allocate costs in a fair and transparent way in the common areas. This leads to energy and cost savings of up to 25%, which has been proven in many European countries, where such laws have already been enforced.

In my opinion, this implies that a law would need to be created with the aim of specifically determining responsibilities, and taking the criteria I have enumerated into account. The responsibilities would include an answer to the question: Who is responsible for payments in shared areas of buildings? Costs could, then, finally be clearly divided between the parties involved, ranging from tenants to homeowners or homeowner associations to developers. This division of responsibilities in shared areas has so far been unclear in the UAE, although it comes with great obvious advantages for all parties involved.

The Strata Law, which came into force in October 2010, states that developers are required to register their sub-division plans and to define common areas and private units, as well as to create home-owners’ associations and register them with RERA.

The writer is Regional Manager of MENA, Techem Energy Services Middle East. He can be contacted at hans.altmann@techem.de.

A two-pronged approach of regulating its nascent DC sector and an aggressive conservation campaign might help Kuwait cope with an impending energy crisis. By Pratibha Umashankar (with inputs from B Surendar)

With a slew of district cooling summits crowding the calendar in the region, it is in danger of becoming a trend. But the Kuwait Summit, being held on January 25 and 26, is significant, because it is organised by the Ministry of Electricity and Water, proving that the powers that be are cognisant of district cooling’s relevance and necessity for the country, despite whispered misgivings about it. The summit brings together industry practitioners to discuss opportunities and challenges of the sector in the region.

Opportunities and challenges are the two operative words here, and encapsulate the oxymoron that Kuwait and district cooling have become. The country holds around 10% of global oil reserves, yet faces domestic power concerns. It has one of the world’s highest per capita consumption rates of electricity, with residential air conditioning accounting for an estimated 70% of energy use, and chiller plants for air-cooled systems in large buildings hogging an estimated 60%. Ironically, and not surprisingly, Kuwait is staring at a possible power shortage, precipitated to some degree, by heavily subsidised power, leading to a non-existent culture of conservation. Water and power are cheap and not taxed. It is human nature to squander what comes cheap.

One option to avert an impending energy crisis is to use crude oil. But it will eat into the country’s export and revenues. Both are needed to produce more power. Thus the option is neither sustainable nor desirable.

In this scenario, district cooling offers the tantalising promise of reduction in energy use (by 50%), and a streamlined operations and maintenance regimen, not to mention improving efficiency, reliability, space saving, flexibility of air conditioning load and a longer plant life. It, thus, appears to be the obvious answer to Kuwait’s energy problems. But the answer raises several questions.

Warming to district cooling

Fadhel Al Kazemi, CEO, Kazema Global Holding, in his presentation at the Second Middle East District Cooling Summit in Doha, while speaking of a ‘grand national purpose’ Kuwait has charted for itself, revealed that sustainability, and by extension, district cooling, had been co-opted into the vision.

Yousef Al-Hadeedi, Business Development Manager at Al Kazema Holding, calling it “a national-level initiative”, says: “DC is a big solution to a very hot climate like Kuwait’s. In summer they shut down water and power to save the grid from going max out. Hence, there are generators and a very heavy cost to build water desal tanks.”

Based on findings of a study carried out by his company and other contracting and consulting firms, Al-Hadeedi sounds a warning, “What we found is, at the rate of consumption now, if we don’t adopt district cooling, we will double or triple consumption.”

Yacoub Almatouq, Refrigeration Expert with the National Ozone Unit at Kuwait’s Environment Public Authority, goes a step further. “The GCC and the Montreal Protocol community support district cooling,” he says.

Al Kazemi concurs. He used the Doha Summit to launch Tekneen District Cooling & Utilities in Kuwait. But though he made a strong case for district cooling, he also addressed the challenges that the sector in the country faced. Kuwait being a new and a late entrant, teething trouble topped the list, with other obstacles emanating from it. The country, evidently, has a strategic plan in place, but it needs to sort out specific issues to make the sector run as a well-oiled machinery.

‘DC’eptively simple

Al-Hadeedi voices this when he says that ideally, district cooling should be implemented seamlessly, cutting power consumption by half and saving millions of Kuwaiti Dinars per day. But this is an unrealistic expectation for a nascent sector struggling to find its feet. Paradoxically, Kuwait pioneered water-cooled chillers in the 1960s.

Experts agree that the sector is still unregulated and it is crucial to have well-defined structure and legislation in place before ushering in a regime of district cooling. Almatouq thinks the way forward is to establish a taskforce or council to address the problems.

Lack of a viable financial/investment model is another challenge. District cooling, in order to strike deep roots in Kuwaiti soil, needs to prove that it is both environmentally and financially a sound proposition. This, once again, is tied to regulation. “Power companies will not invest if there are no regulations. Concession is not enough. Also, our rates have to be based on fair business practices,” Al Kazemi says. He believes that regulations should use reputable bodies like IDEA and ASHRAE as frames of reference to ensure that international standards are adhered to.

District cooling being a price-sensitive sector, monopoly will kill competition and competence and encourage market manipulation. Almatouq suggests that a group of companies, each responsible for a section, should run it but with a homogeneous approach. He believes that financial support from the big players, coupled with smart engineering practices of small ones, would be an ideal combination, with equal opportunities for all.

Lack of awareness on the part of the decision makers and end-users is another challenge. Educating them is an even greater one. Al-Hadeedi hits the nail on its head when he says, “The problem is, district cooling is down under (the chilled water piping network); no one knows how it benefits them directly.”

Solutions

Evidently, for Kuwait, district cooling is not a quick-fix solution, but a long-term strategy, even though the energy clock is ticking. The government obviously needs to play an active role at the implementation stage. In addition to regulation, experts suggest the following corrective measures:

• Avoid excesses
• Encourage thermal energy storage (TES)
• Build indigenous research centre to explore and adopt alternative renewable energy
• Adopt a unified policy and solutions for the GCC
• Develop competency and global competition capabilities
• Raise public awareness on the need and advantages of district cooling

Conclusion

Kuwait is planning five mega cities to accommodate a population that is growing exponentially. This will make further demands on energy and put pressure on the district cooling sector to deliver. Active conservation, therefore, needs to complement district cooling.

Almatouq and Al-Hadeedi suggest placing the onus of conservation on consumers. This would mean not only educating them about the environmental dividends and the economic benefits district cooling yields but also adopting ‘an axe and tax’ policy by punishing them where it pinches them the most – their pockets. “We have to curb the mentality of spending on luxuries,” Almatouq says. “We have to switch off lights.” He believes that consumers should realise that if they don’t control consumption, nuclear energy may become an option, with its own attendant challenges.

Highlighting regional success stories might encourage Kuwaitis to accept district cooling, believes Almatouq. It is, he adds, indeed, important to portray district cooling as a solution rather than focusing on its problems, to garner all-round support.

In this free-wheeling interview to B Surendar of Climate Control Middle East, IDEA President Rob Thornton discusses district cooling vis-à-vis the LEED rating system, the oft-articulated need for leadership in taking the ‘message’ to the authorities, and the challenges involved in doing so.

(The interview was conducted on November 9, 2010, in Doha, Qatar)

You said earlier that IDEA was in talks with the US Green Building Council to look at district energy from a LEED rating system’s point of view. What progress have you made?

Rob Thornton

We have had a high-level discussion on USGBC, district energy and thermal energy. There are two options now for modelling. The first is less onerous for the applicants. It is representative of the energy efficiency and environmental benefits of buildings. It puts district energy on a better footing compared to other options.

The final guideline is due and, in fact, there is a title for it. It is for buildings that use district energy. It clarifies the points available and the process involved. Earlier, the focus was only on the building and not the source energy. In reality, though, buildings can decide whether to buy district energy or put their own chillers, so it is not realistic to look only at buildings. District energy is a choice – for instance, it is not mandatory for a college to adopt district energy. In other words, building owners can decide. The new guidance recognises that district energy provides advantages to a building. The source has environmental benefits. The guidance makes the process more clear. There are more points available for the energy category, but that’s part of a larger move and not just district energy. I think the USGBC now looks to IDEA as a technical advisory resource. LEED is a flat, democratic process.

Here in Abu Dhabi, though, Estidama is taking steps to firmly establish the Pearl ratings system, which means that the district cooling industry will, perhaps, need to work more closely with Estidama than with the USGBC. What are your thoughts on this?

We are aware of different standards. One approach would be to look at the process. In the US, we have engaged the USGBC; as for others, if they don’t equitably treat district cooling, we would endeavour to engage them in dialogue. Our members in the market in Abu Dhabi need to tell us that this is an issue.

In the US, in Manhattan, for instance, 60% of all steam is co-generated. It is recycled heat. That’s not fully being considered. Our discussion with USGBC was that steam is displacing other potentially higher emitting sources.

The challenge in Manhattan is that the LEED rating in buildings directly affects the lease rates. In Manhattan, LEED rating became a value driver for rental rate. It was not district energy, but property owners themselves said, “We like steam.” And IDEA helped the situation. The market liked district energy and did not want to be handicapped. If there is a similar issue here, we want to be mindful of it. We have to submit data. It was a thorough process with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the USGBC. We need to see a similar endeavour in Abu Dhabi.

During a panel discussion, Dr Anwar Hassan (of Johnson Controls) said the industry in the GCC needs to do a better job at documenting data and at articulating its needs to the authorities. What specific steps ought we to take?

The industry had been growing so quickly here that the focus was on construction and not on operations or the customers. As for collecting operations data, it is not as simple as it sounds. They (district cooling providers) are naturally cautious about offering data that could be perceived as confidential. If you are supplying chilled water to buildings and want to know the impact of that, we need the approval from the building owner. Also, people collect data in different metrics. In the US, for example, we collect data per mmbtu, per btu and per square footage. So even squaring the columns is time consuming. We do survey our members, but even here, people manage and collect data to suit their needs. So there is no singular approach.

I think, as well, that some of the systems in the region are still start-ups. They have not had full loads and higher occupancy. We have to factor that in. I agree with Dr Anwar that when you meet the committee chair, you need to be able to articulate what you want. I agree with him that saying that we are not properly recognised is not sufficient. Most of the times, they don’t understand us. It was the same with US EPA and USGBC. They were not aware that LEED was impacting district energy. There was this process of building awareness. We also have to give the authorities a path forward that they can feel comfortable with. In Illinois, for example, there is a real difference between day and night rates. One of the challenges in the region is that electricity rates are not cost-of-service-based rates. So that’s a foundational issue. Fundamentally, if electricity is a subsidised model, we have a challenge there. But there are cases we can reference that show improvement in the electricity grid. We would like to have more consumption in the night and less in the day. Chicago has shifted load.

In the region, part of what we can do is to demonstrate models and cases where district cooling has delivered a verifiable impact on grid. We need to show it to the authorities and see if that’s the behaviour they would like to see. Behaviour follows the rate. In the US, we have done briefings on the Hill (Capitol Hill), and we work closely with energy-efficiency institutions. I think that within, the appropriate people who are driving environmental policies have greater awareness, but the general public has little awareness. For instance, students in the US are not aware of the benefits, though lots of colleges have district energy. At the state level (in the US), we are paying attention. IDEA is working in support of the Department of Energy, and our mission is to help inform and educate the engineering and architectural community on the advantages of district energy and CHP. We do workshops, webinars, outreach. We would like to be a greater resource here and engage with the authorities. We are building our resource base. It’s not so much a shortage of money as it is time. IDEA could do a better job, and we would like to, in supporting the industry here. We have done five conferences, and we have never wavered on our commitments. We have professional and personal relationships. We would like to help, be it leadership or intermediating or clarifying. The last year or two, with all the turbulence and reorgansing, we try to be respectful, as well. Strategic issues get sidelined to handle immediate issues. It’s not easy to be so many miles away to have a finger on the pulse of the market. We would like to be the galvanising entity, because talented individuals are here. It does not have to be Rob. We are very conservative in terms of we don’t lend our name, we stand by what we say. We don’t want people to traffic on our name, because we are only as good as our reputation. One of the things that’s happened within our sector is that Climate Control Middle East has had a role, other companies have done conferences – there has been a dilution. I, for one, find it difficult to attend so many conferences.

Conferences, to us, are a means to an end. We use the income generated by conferences to re-invest in the industry. It funds lobby, communication, white papers and the Best Practice Guide. We have been around for 102 years. We are here for the long haul. Some might say, “Is it in our interest to continue?” Last year was moderately successful, but we have come to Qatar. We are not opportunistic. But with that also comes responsibility. We have to use the web site and webinars to be more functionally available. We are not shortchanging our members here, but some things need attending to, like slab tariff and the LEED issue. We would like to be working closely with IDEA members. We are staff driven, and we also utilise the tremendous expertise available. There is lot of volunteer contribution under the auspices of IDEA.

Do you think the industry here in the UAE needs large dollops of intellectual honesty in its approach to district cooling? Is it about time that consensus emerged that systems were overdesigned to capacity, say?

It’s hard to look at things in isolation. There are so many different scenarios and, hence, it is difficult to draw one over-arching conclusion. Ideal capacity today could be fully utilised two years or five years from now. I cannot speak on timing with any clarity. It’s dangerous to draw our conclusions – in some cases, district cooling development was an outsourcing strategy. At the terminal level, end-users are comparing its merits with other systems, but somewhere capital was avoided or recovered in the value of that home. In this sense, more education is needed. But these are situationally specific. It is unfortunate that there is this disquiet among consumers that they are feeling it (district cooling) is not favourable for them. The investment in infrastructure has preceded the market to some extent, and it will normalise under some normal economic conditions. It is not entirely unusually for capital projects like this to precede the market. In Dubai, so much in the market is residential with occasional residency. But I guess I can agree with those who say, “I own the property. I am not there for three months, why am I paying charges?”

It is not reasonable to compare electricity bill to delivered service. Education has not been done fully, be it to tell them about emission reduction or the impact on the grid. If end users are feeling that they are paying more and that others are benefiting, that’s unfortunate, but some of the benefits need to be articulated on an individual basis. I cannot comment on oversizing.

Will regulation help?

District cooling in the US for 40 years has been wholly unregulated. That is because, historically, in the US, it has been an option. It is a relationship between the supplier and the user.

David Musto’s presentation at the IDEA conference highlights need for a better district cooling billing system

David Musto

David Musto, Principal, Thermo Systems, made a presentation on ‘Integrating billing data for DC networks’ at the 5th International District Cooling Conference and Trade Show, in Doha, Qatar, on November 9.

Responding to an earlier talk, Musto began his presentation with a preamble: “Juan Ontiveros of University of Texas, Austin, talked a lot about delivering chilled water; I’m going to talk about how we are going to get paid for that.”

Taking the audience through the process of information exchange – moving from plant operator to plant manager to regional operations to corporate management – Musto questioned the efficiency of such a data flow system. He endeavoured to drive home his point by showing how a conventional system works:

1. Revenue-grade energy meters collect consumption data
2. Fibre optic networks connect energy meters and PLCs to plant SCADA systems
3. A human being collects the data and e-mails it.
4. Another human being keys the data into another system – we have human intervention, which can lead to error and efficiency

Wondering aloud if the process was a waste of resources, Musto urged his listeners to think about the human efficiency in our operations.

He then emphasised the need for integration of goals for increased efficiency:

• Connect plant SCADA to accounting system
• Use human interaction for reconciliation, not data entry

How?

• DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange)
• OPC (Ole for Process Control)

Musto thought that automation capital investments are underutilised, and made a plea for the convergence of corporate IT and plant automation.

He concluded his presentation by saying that there was no magic wand to overcome the DC billing problem. “It takes good systems integration engineering to achieve success,” he said. “Enhanced collection, storage, distribution, and analysis of information will increase automation ROI.”

DuPont has announced in a news release that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire MECS, from affiliates of American Securities, to be better able to deliver sustainable solutions and further expand its reach in emerging markets.  The acquisition will expand the DuPont clean technologies portfolio with complementary science-based offerings and provide the company with further access to high-growth market segments, particularly in developing regions like Asia Pacific and the Middle East, the announcement claimed. However, it did not disclose the terms of the agreement.

Against the backdrop of the acquisition, James R Weigand, President, DuPont Sustainable Solutions, said: “MECS’ technologies and services will expand and strengthen DuPont Sustainable Solutions [DSS] business’ clean air and clean fuel offerings and provide access to markets beyond those we now serve. We estimate that this acquisition will increase the addressable market for our clean air and clean fuel offerings from approximately $200 million to $1 billion.”

Added MECS CEO, Nick Bhambri, “I believe the union of DuPont and MECS is an excellent fit. Together, we will be able to share and integrate our science, technology and human resources to create an expanded portfolio to enhance the safety, reliability and environmental sustainability of our customers’ facilities.”

It is possible to generate energy using waste heat and waste water and supplying it through large-scale heat pumps running on natural refrigerants. Here is an insight into how the environmentally friendly process has worked in a few major district heating and cooling projects.

THE BACKGROUND

Industrial processes and refrigeration activities always generate heat. Today, many private households use geothermal energy or ambient air efficiently to generate heat. For industrial needs, waste heat and waste water serve as ideal energy sources due to their higher basic temperatures. Large-scale heat pumps can put the energy of this waste heat to good use for heating or for providing hot water for instance in local heating consortiums, thus making a significant contribution to climate protection.

“Furthermore, the heat pump branch makes increasing use of natural refrigerants such as ammonia, carbon dioxide or even water,” explains Monika Witt, Chairwoman of Eurammon, the European initiative for natural refrigerants. “These stand out not only by being environment friendly – ammonia and water have no global warming potential at all and that of carbon dioxide is negligible – but also, above all, through their energy efficiency.”

AMMONIA HEAT PUMPS DEMONSTRABLE SUPERIORITY

Energieverbund Schlieren (Schlieren energy consortium) in Zurich, with two large ammonia heat pumps at its core, is one of the largest projects of its kind in Europe. It was planned, financed and built by ewz – one of Switzerland’s largest energy service providers. SSP Kälteplaner AG was involved in the project as refrigeration specialists, and was responsible for planning the ammonia-equipped heat/refrigeration system.

As a first step in 2006, a central energy installation was fitted in Mülligen letter sorting centre, followed by the commissioning of the central energy installation in Rietbach in 2009. The ammonia heat pumps in both systems have the heating capacity of around 5.5 megawatts each.

By using ammonia as a refrigerant, it is possible to achieve the necessary high flow temperatures of around 80°C. When completed, the energy consortium will produce annual savings of around 48,700 megawatt-hours’ worth of fossil fuels, corresponding to a reduction in carbon emissions of 8,100 tonnes per annum.

The ammonia heat pump in Rietbach central energy installation produces its heating and cooling capacity, on the one hand using the energy from the treated wastewater of Werdhölzl sewage plant in Zurich, which was previously discharged into the river Limmat. On the other hand, it also uses the waste heat from a nearby computing centre. Over the entire year, the heat pump, thus, covers 70% of the heat demand.

Additional oil or gas-fired heat generators are available to cover peak demand. The generated heat is transported by a pipeline network to the individual properties, where transfer stations, then, convey it to the building’s internal distribution systems.

The cold or heat needed in Rietbach central installation is generated by two refrigerating machines that work independently on the refrigerating side, coupled with high-pressure heat pump compressors. The two machines are each connected on the cold water side and the heating side. This is followed by cooling down or heating up in two stages with optimised COP for heating and cooling.

The four low-pressure refrigerating machines for generating cold water are equipped with frequency converters for fully variable operation. Eight compressors are installed to operate the heat pumps and can all be switched on and off individually. The two desuperheaters in the low-pressure circuit supply additional heat in cold water operation, which is passed on to the energy consortium via an energy-storage device.

In the summer, the treated wastewater is used directly for cooling via an intermediate circuit. If the temperature level of the wastewater is too high for direct cooling, the refrigerating machine is, then, used. If the waste heat of the refrigerating machine cannot be used in the summer, it is re-cooled by the river Limmat. If the temperature of the river exceeds 25°C, a dry cooler is provided for emergency cooling.

The system permanently monitors the energy efficiency of refrigeration/heat production.

All major parameters are measured so that any energy losses or changes in the system are swiftly detected and remedied.

WASTEWATER – A RENEWABLE SOURCE OF ENERGY

Since early 2009, environment-friendly heat supply has also been installed in the Swiss town of Rheinfelden for more than 1,000 residential dwellings in Augarten and Weiherfeld, along with a nearby commercial estate.

On behalf of AEW Energie AG, and with support from EnergieSchweiz, together with the canton and municipal authorities, Johnson Controls installed a heat pump system that uses treated wastewater from the Abwasserreinigungsanlage Rheinfelden (ARA – Rheinfelden sewage plant) as heat source for the existing local heating consortium. In this way, the refrigeration experts have made a major contribution to linking the ecologically valuable wastewater energy with the energy demand in Rheinfelden.

The heart of the system consists of two heat pumps supplied by Johnson Controls with an output of 1,250 kilowatt each; they were placed at the end of the ARA’s secondary sedimentation tank. These are two-stage pumps that operate with ammonia, thus achieving greater efficiency than with synthetic refrigerants – another plus point in the eco-balance.

Hot water is supplied to the dwellings by the district heat pipes. To this end, an approximately 500-metre-long district heat pipe was installed between the heat pump system in the ARA and Augarten central energy installation, where it was then connected to the existing local heating consortium. Just about 1,500 metres of additional district heat pipes were installed to connect up the new dwellings in Weiherfeld.

Two different operating modes are available, depending on the demand for heat output. In the summer, the heat pumps provide the whole network directly with water at a temperature of 67°C as the hot process water supply. ARA’s heat pump system also has a hot water tank with a volume of 50 m³ to cover peak demand for hot water in the morning.

When the demand for heat increases in winter, three existing natural gas boilers are responsible for controlling and reheating the flow to the heat pumps.

Altogether the new heat pump system produces effective heat of around 14,000 megawatt hours per year, thus covering around two thirds of the annual heat energy demand of the residential estates in Augarten and Weiherfeld, amounting to around 22,000 megawatt hours. This saves 1.25 million m³ natural gas per year, reducing carbon emissions by 2,650 tonnes. There are already plans to expand the district heating system, so that the nearby KUBA leisure centre can be both heated and cooled using the two existing heat pump systems.

Consideration is also being given to using the waste heat generated by the refrigeration plant of the ice skating rink in the vicinity. This waste heat, which is currently discharged into the air, could help cover, in particular, the peak demand during winter.

WORLD’S LARGEST MUNICIPAL AMMONIA HEATING SYSTEM

The town of Drammen with its 60,000 residents is located around 40 kilometres southwest of Oslo. Here, too, the town has opted for the natural refrigerant ammonia for heating in future. At the moment, the British company Star Refrigeration, with its Norwegian partner, Norsk Kulde, is working on the installation of one of the world’s largest municipal ammonia heat pump systems. The core of the complex system is Neatpump – the heat pump developed by Star Refrigeration.

It operates with ammonia, a natural refrigerant, and generates heat from the waste heat of large-scale refrigeration systems, air conditioning plants and industrial processes, and from wastewater. The heat pump generates water at a temperature of up to 90°C, which is then used to heat large buildings. On completion in January 2011, the system will supply heating capacity with a total of up to 15 megawatt and provide environment-friendly heating for more than 6,000 residents and companies in Drammen. The heat pump is operated by environment-friendly hydroelectric power.

NATURAL REFRIGERANTS GAIN PROMINENCE

The examples cited show that manufacturers are increasingly willing to use natural refrigerants. “Today, already, companies are working intensively at implementing sustainable concepts for heat pumps and realising a large number of great role model projects,” says Witt. “This is of increasing significance, particularly in the context of the global climate protection targets.”

ICA partners with Chigo to use material, claimed to prevent spread of fungi and improve indoor air quality

Chinese air conditioning manufacturer, Chigo has launched the world’s first antimicrobial copper air conditioner, in Beijing, in association with the International Copper Association (ICA). It is also touted to be the world’s first consumer product to contain antimicrobial copper – claimed to be the most effective antimicrobial touch surface material. The product has a Cu+ mark to indicate that it contains antimicrobial copper.

Dubbing it a ground-breaking product, Chigo said that the air conditioner would harness the antimicrobial properties of copper for a new application, in addition to offering energy-saving performance. Compared to other models of the same capacity with the current highest EER grade (3.6), it could save up to 56% more energy, it claimed.

In this context, Ravinder Bhan, Principal Consultant of TPS Management Consultants, the local representatives for ICA, said: “The antimicrobial properties of copper are fast gaining the attention of policy makers, especially in the healthcare sector. The introduction of the world’s first antimicrobial copper air conditioner will be of great relevance to the Middle East region, where the use of air conditioners is a way of life. It will significantly enhance the quality of the air we breathe, and add to the overall well-being, in addition to enhancing energy use efficiency and reducing power bills. We are confident that the new air conditioner will find wide acceptance in the region.”

According to Chigo, HVAC system components operate in warm, dark, humid environments – ideal breeding grounds for contamination that cause odours and can inhibit system efficiency. Chigo Laboratory tests had shown that copper materials could inhibit the growth of such organisms, it said, and added that after 24 hours of exposure to copper surfaces, total die off was observed in several common mould species, and the commonly used aluminium had no effect on any of the fungi.

The announcement highlighted that the practical implementation was built on laboratory work done by University of Southampton’s researcher, Professor Bill Keevil, who assessed the effectiveness of copper as an antifungal surface for air conditioning systems. It is said to be an advancement for both antimicrobial copper implementation, and for innovation in the HVAC sector.

Headquartered in New York, the ICA is a not-for-profit organisation for promotion of copper worldwide, and is dedicated to advancing copper as the material of choice for current markets and use in new applications based on its reportedly superior attributes. Details can be obtained from www.copperinfo.com.

The latest published research into copper’s efficacy against the spread of fungi in air conditioning systems has appeared in Letters in Applied Microbiology: Potential for Preventing Spread of Fungi in Air Conditioning Systems Constructed Using Copper Instead of Aluminium, L Weaver, H T Michels, C W Keevil.

It’s hard to believe we are five years old as a magazine, but as the mosaic of magazine covers in our archives would testify, that is, indeed, the case.

B Surendar

It was on January 5, 2006 that we formally launched Climate Control Middle East. Since then, it’s been a privilege to be a part of the HVACR industry in the region and to share in all its joys and moments of anxiety, tinged with a resolve to overcome challenges. It’s been an unbelievable half a decade of linking up with developers, manufacturers, suppliers, service providers, contractors, consultants, public authorities, industry bodies and academicians – we have learnt so much from all of you and, hopefully, served as a conduit for the exchange of information, ideas, thoughts, emotions, questions and answers.

We are celebrating the occasion in many ways – through bringing out a commemorative book, titled EnVision (short for engineering vision), through working towards more events than ever before and through redesigning the look of the magazine – the copy you are holding in your hands is the first issue of a new-look Climate Control Middle East; we hope you like what you are seeing. Much thought has gone into making the magazine more functional, easier to navigate and easier to read from a typography point of view; at the same time, we have paid a lot of attention to aesthetics and to infusing it with freshness.

I would like to say that we have revamped all the sections, but that is not the case; we simply did not feel the need to change anything there. That said, three months ago, one of them, Air Mail (letters to the Editor), came to life, thanks to contributions from you. On this occasion, we urge you to continue writing to us, in response to articles appearing in the magazine and for sharing fresh ideas with other readers. Starting this issue, we also have a new section, simply called Book Review. We hope you find it useful.

As for events, of immediate interest over the next few months are The Climate Control Conference (C3). The fourth edition is to take place in Al Khobar. Another event is the Climate Control Summit, in March, which we are co-organising with the producers of the Arabian Construction Week. And in April, we will be conducting, arguably, the region’s first food safety seminar from an HVACR perspective. The events are an extension of the magazine and of what we stand for.

Thank you for supporting us through sharing your knowledge, through your well-meaning suggestions and through choosing us as your marketing platform. It’s been nothing short of a collaborative effort to produce, what we believe, is a voice of the industry.

B Surendar