One of the themes that emerged during the recently concluded 5th International District Cooling Conference and Trade Show, in Doha, Qatar, was that the industry needed to do a better job at getting its point across to the authorities, in a bid to earn a level playing field for district cooling.

B Surendar

Dr Anwar Hassan, one of the delegates at the conference, conducted by the International District Energy Association (IDEA), perhaps put it across most succinctly when he indicated that it was about time the industry talked the walk. He felt it was no longer enough for the industry to say that district cooling can reduce power consumption, save on footprint costs, slash maintenance costs and offer better service while doing so; it had to go ahead and provide hard, cold facts to substantiate the statements.

I cannot agree more with Dr Hassan. It is important for the longevity and well being of the industry that it evolves a culture of collecting, analysing and sharing the data. This is a task easier said than done, though, because it involves the need to be transparent and forthright. District cooling companies in the region have different approaches and operating procedures to providing chilled water, which impacts the data that emerges; as a result, companies are, perhaps, reluctant to share the data, apprehensive that their operations may appear to be inefficient in comparison to their competitors. A second challenge is the cost and the time involved in collecting the data; in many ways, this is an offshoot of the first challenge.

Impractical as this suggestion may sound, the industry urgently needs a certain dose of intellectual honesty to survive. And also unity.

Almost from the beginning of district cooling in the region, there has been a certain polarisation in the industry. This is painfully evident during the conference season (which now is all-year round, such is the surfeit of platforms), when there is hardly one event that attracts all the key players. For reasons best known to them, different players stay away from different events, preferring to attend, what they feel, is the most important of all. As a result, there is hardly a single platform for a comprehensive discussion on issues.

As Climate Control Middle East, we attempt to bridge the gap and share all that is discussed during the various conferences, but in all honesty, while it has its merits, this approach to communication is, at times, second to face-to-face interaction.

B Surendar

Contract includes the purchase of 27 York multistage centrifugal chillers

JEDDAH, KSA – Johnson Controls announced the signing of a contract for the expansion of the Makkah’s Holy Mosque in Saudi Arabia. The contract will provide an integrated building-management system, including state-of-the-art heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) for the largest-ever expansion of the Holy Mosque. The contract includes the purchase of 27 York multistage centrifugal chillers to produce one of the most efficient and sustainable facilities of its kind in the world.

Built in the seventh century, the mosque has been modified, rebuilt and expanded on a regular basis ever since. As a result of this most recent expansion, which began in 1982, the Holy Mosque can accommodate more than one million worshippers during the holy month of Ramadan and during the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

“The signing of this contract is the culmination of a long journey to win this unique and prestigious order – and also one of the largest single HVAC equipment orders in the history of Johnson Controls,” said Stephen Roell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Controls. “We are particularly pleased that these products, which are specifically tailored to meet the expansion requirements of the Holy Mosque, will contribute to a more efficient and sustainable environment that supports the comfort of the millions of people who visit this site annually.”

The York chillers will be installed at the Shamiyah central utility complex and Ajyad chiller plant, and provide 135,000 tonnes of refrigeration capacity. Using R134A refrigerant, the chillers are equipped with solid-state starters and variable-speed drives (VSDs) that are seamlessly integrated with a Johnson Controls’ Metasys building-management system for a unique, energy-efficient solution to the cooling challenges of such a large and unique facility. The Johnson Controls solution also will support the facility’s sustainability goals through various water- and energy-conservation solutions.

“We are proud of our relationship with Johnson Controls, which dates back to 1993,” said Saleh Binladin, Executive Board Member of Al Salem Johnson Controls’ joint venture. “We regularly strive to provide efficient, sustainable solutions, relying on the quality of Johnson Controls products to meet the individual requirements of each of our customers. This particular project at the Holy Mosque is one we can all be proud of, not only because of the facility’s significance, but also because of the unique challenges it presents in terms of its size and the numbers of people it attracts.”

The signing ceremony took place at Saudi Binladin Group headquarters in Jeddah, between Eng. Yahia Binladin, deputy chairman of Saudi Binladin Group and Stephen Roell, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson Controls.

Eng. Basil Abdulaziz, Managing Director for Al Salem Johnson Controls, said: “We have supplied six York Chillers for the Prophet’s Mosque in 1990s which are still operating effectively today. In addition to the Two Holy Mosques, Johnson Controls also secured numerous mega projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including King Abdullah of Science and Technology University, King Faisal University, King Abdulaziz International Airport, Hajj Terminal, King Saud University, King Khaled University, Hadeed-Sabic and Princess Noura University for Women.”

Added Eng. Bakr M Binladin, Chairman and Managing Director of Saudi Binladin Group: “It is a great honour for Al Salem Johnson Controls to be associated with cooling the most sacred places of worship. These deals demonstrate the robustness and security of our nation’s economy under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.”

Qatar’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry inaugurates the 130,000 TR plant in a glittering ceremony. Story by B. Surendar.

Qatar showcased its economic might last night through the opening of the world’s largest district cooling plant, in the peninsula’s iconic The Pearl-Qatar development. H.E. the Deputy Premier and Minster of Energy and Industry Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah inaugurated the Qatar Cool plant, which has a maximum capacity of 130,000 TR.

Accompanying the minister were a host of Qatari dignitaries and diplomats. Also in attendance were delegates of the 5th International District Cooling Conference and Trade Show, hosted by Qatar Cool and conducted by the International District Energy Association (IDEA) from November 7 to 9 in Doha. Senior officials from CAT and from Johnson Controls (JCI) were also present.

Speaking on the occasion, Qatar Cool Chairman, Oman Al Fardan thanked the country’s leaders for their support in making the plant a reality. Later, speaking exclusively to Climate Control Middle East, Al Fardan said the plant represented the success of the concept of economy of scale that it should support the cooling needs of an entire island. Also speaking on the occasion was Fayad Al Khatib, the CEO of Qatar Cool, who said the plant was symbolic of Qatar Cool’s mission to deliver world-class solutions for the region.

The integrated district cooling plant, fitted with 52 York (JCI) chillers (26 with 2,600 TR each and 26 with 2,400 TR each), is fully geared to supply chilled water to 41,000 residents in 15,000 buildings in The Pearl-Qatar project. It boasts of 26 cooling towers, 26 chilled water pumps (7,500 GPM each) and 26 condenser water pumps (11,170 GPM each). The plant is integrated with an adjacent Reverse Osmosis Plant, with a capacity of 35000 m3/ day.

(See detailed story and pictures on the plant and coverage of the IDEA conference in the November 2010 issue of Climate Control Middle East, out on November 22. Watch out for updates on this site.)

Company gets award for its Precedent High Efficiency Packaged Gas/Electric and Cooling Units

For the fourth consecutive year, Trane’s Residential Solutions business has been recognised for innovation and excellence in product design by The Air Conditioning Heating & Refrigeration (ACHR) NEWS. The Trane Precedent High Efficiency Packaged Gas/Electric and Cooling Units received a Bronze Award in the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) light commercial equipment category in the magazine’s 7th annual Dealer Design Awards programme.

An independent panel of 30 contractors acted as judges for the contest, which had 114 entries from different industry brands.

“Trane has constantly sought input from contractors and dealers to improve the designs of its light commercial systems,” said Mike Ray, manager of light commercial development for Trane Residential Solutions. “The new high efficiency Precedent units are typically up to 30% lighter than similar products on the market today, and only slightly heavier than the standard efficiency units, making them ideal for replacement applications. The additional advantage is that an installer may not need to engage a structural engineer, which can save time and money.”

In addition to the weight advantage the units deliver high energy efficiency (up to 13 EER) by virtue of the patented Hybrid condensing coil which makes for easy cleaning and better heat transfer.

Peter Blanchflower, marketing leader for the Middle East, Africa, and India region for Trane, added: “The Precedent unit is also very popular among contractors, consultants and Trane distributors in the Middle East. It is used in residential, retail and commercial building applications.”

Sustainable solutions through district cooling the main agenda at IDEA’s 5th International District Cooling Conference and Trade Show, hosted by Qatar Cool

• Greener Buildings, Smarter Grid theme of international district energy conference to be held in Qatar for the first time
• Doha-based district cooling company Qatar Cool sponsoring conference to ‘bring international best practice to Qatar and the region’
• Largest district cooling plant in the world to be inaugurated during conference

Mr Rob Thornton, CEO IDEA (left) and Mr. Fayad Khatib, GM Qatar Cool

Doha, Qatar November 1: Reducing emissions from air conditioning through district cooling and efficient energy use will be discussed at the 5th International District Cooling Conference and Trade Show in Qatar early November 2010.

The International District Energy Association (IDEA) will hold its 5th Middle Eastern conference “Greener Buildings, Smarter Grid” for the first time in Doha on 8-9 November 2010, with Qatar District Cooling Company (Qatar Cool) as the main host.

Leading district energy professionals from around the world will be in attendance.

Qatar Cool’s General Manager, Fayad Al Khatib said his company was proud to be the principal sponsor of the conference and looked forward to hosting the 150–plus international delegates.

‘’At Qatar Cool, we are aligning ourselves with international best practices and striving to bring that knowledge to Qatar and the region,’’ Al Khatib said.

IDEA will honour key players who participated in the IDEA District Energy Space Awards, with the United States Ambassador to Qatar presenting the US Department of Commerce Export Achievement Award at the conference.

The Middle East is heavily dependent on air conditioning systems; industry insiders agree that up to 70% of the power used during peak times can be attributed to air conditioning systems.

Said Al Khatib: “District cooling systems have become the preferred infrastructure solution, especially now that most government leaders and developers are advocating more sustainable energy techniques to optimise energy efficiency and conserve natural resources.

“Through the IDEA conference, industry professionals will be able to learn valuable and practical information directly related to building, owning and operating highly reliable district cooling systems that set the stage for a more sustainable city.”

Expert speakers will discuss a range of topics about the importance of robust energy infrastructure, sustainable development and strategies for district energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the risks of climate change.

Speakers include Juan Ontiveros, a past IDEA Chair, and who is with the University of Texas at Austin, USA; IDEA President Robert Thornton; Adib Moubadder, MD of Emicool; Clay Nessler, Johnson Controls and Fayad Al Khatib, General Manager of Qatar Cool.

The conference will culminate in the official inauguration of Qatar Cool’s integrated district cooling plant (IDCP) on The Pearl-Qatar. The IDCP will be the largest district cooling plant in the world, servicing some 41,000 residents on the island with a capacity of 130,000 TR of refrigeration.

Guests at the inauguration ceremony and experts from around the  world will tour the plant and be treated to a video animation spectacular.

This is the fifth major conference organised by IDEA’s Middle East Chapter, with participants expected to come from Belgium, the USA, Canada, Denmark, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.

The IDEA Middle East Chapter  includes representatives from Qatar Cool, Amana, Johnson Controls, ADC Energy Systems, Evapco, Emicool, FVB, PAL Technologies, Perma Pipe, Stanley, Stellar, TAS, Trane, and Tabreed and its numerous subsidiaries.

Places at the conference are limited, and on-site registration may be restricted once attendance capacity is met.  For information on the programme and registration, visit www.districtenergy.org.

Company is working with clients, such as Motorola, Ericsson and Cisco across the Middle East region

Johnson Controls has announced that the company is in talks with local organisations in the Middle East to help them improve their workplace utilisation and, thereby, reduce their total operational costs by approximately 20-30%. Johnson Controls is currently working with clients, such as Motorola, Ericsson and Cisco across the Middle East region.

Jason Goddard

“Property-related expenses are one of the highest on a company’s balance sheet, whether it is in the Middle East or across the globe. Given the current economic climate and the overall downturn, this is the best thing that we can do to our clients and that is reducing their costs significantly,” said Jason Goddard, Regional Executive & General Manager MENA, Johnson Controls Global Communications (JCGC) Global WorkPlace Solutions.

“As flexible and mobile working increasingly becomes the norm, understanding the level of capacity a business needs is more important,” Goddard said. “Working with its corporate clients, Johnson Controls recognised the demand for highly informative data on space utilisation, so that businesses could make intelligent property decisions.”

From this insight, Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions developed a technology that anonymously tracks people’s movements to produce detailed and highly accurate analysis of how the space is used. According to the company, the VISIBLE Living Lab is a forward thinking, web-based space management and real-time occupancy tool developed by the company. By using radio frequency technology and smart cards, the movement of hundreds of occupants is monitored and analysed, in real time, providing in-depth understanding of how users utilise their working environment – be it a meeting room or a desk.

“We are currently also speaking to developers in the UAE with regard to our technology for efficient utilisation of commercial space, resulting in faster and better occupancy levels,” Goddard said. “We urge them to involve us at the design stage of a property, so that we can add value right from the beginning. This technology allows businesses to get a clear understanding of how a workplace is really used day in and day out. This new intelligence enables increased staff productivity and reduces the cost of ownership – creating business advantage.”

MEED’s 3rd Annual Middle East District Cooling conference reveals that the industry needs to act quickly to address outstanding challenges and to adopt strategies to attract better governmental support. both are necessary to efface growing discontent towards district cooling among end-users and among some large and small developers, particularly in the UAE. Story: B Surendar

That much work needs to be done to strengthen district cooling’s foundations in the region came into sharp focus at MEED’s 3rd Annual Middle East District Cooling conference, on September 27 and 28 in Abu Dhabi. As the conference got underway, it appeared as if there were two issues being discussed and that both were as disconnected as the lines of a railway track.

On one side were entrenched members of the district cooling industry calling out for the need for regulations and governmental support and on the other side was the representative of Abu Dhabi-based developer, Aldar Properties, who in an ironic twist, used the platform of a district cooling conference to openly question the efficacy of district cooling as a be-all and end-all solution. This he did as a member of a riveting morning panel discussion, titled ‘A developer’s perspective: where are the new developments and what is the scope for district cooling opportunities’, and later, during an afternoon presentation, titled ‘Design and implementation of district cooling from a developer’s perspective’.

In many ways, Faisal Al Kamali, the Head of Infrastructure at Aldar, was echoing the voice of the end-user, so sadly ignored during the boom years. Saying that for a customer to pay 52 fils per tonne of refrigeration (TR) was not acceptable, considering that other countries charged only 22 fils per tonne, Al Kamali strongly indicated he was not averse to the idea of installing a split unit in his “own house”. Speaking on behalf of Aldar, he went on to add that if the developer did not want to use district cooling, it would look at other options. “For new projects, we can do anything – we have to see what is most efficient,” he said. For upcoming projects, though, like Al Raha Beach and Yas, we have already committed to district cooling.”

If Al Kamali’s words were a piercing denouement of the state of affairs, what came from Mohammed Mirza of Sorouh, though not a revelation, was hardly comforting. Mirza said that Sorouh was phasing out district cooling plants. “If we are looking at a capacity of 40,000 TR, we will build that over the next four to five years and not immediately,” he said. “So, there is quite a bit of re-planning and reorganisation. MEP consultants are not ready to accept that we don’t need so much tonnage, though.”

Al Kamali blamed the current scenario in the UAE on complacency on the part of the industry, which he said, did little to stop bad practices, like over designing a plantroom. “During the boom, district cooling firms saw an opportunity to make money,” Al Kamali said. “Everything was being over-designed – more pipes, more chillers. They saw it as an opportunity to make money.” As a developer, he said, he had sought greater honesty from the industry. “We are not experts in district cooling,” he said. “We see it as being environmentally friendly and as offering cost savings, but consultants should have reviewed and given us the right capacity. They gave us 20-30% more than what was required. Today, in Raha Beach, people are suffering from over-charge. So the cost saving is there for the developer and the service-provider but not for the end-user.”

Hisham Hajaj of Stanley Consultants batted for district cooling, saying it represented the best possible solution to meet the cooling needs of large developments. In the case of a standalone system, Hajaj said, the end-user started at 1.5kW/TR, but owing to poor maintenance, soon went to a 3kW/TR consumption. “So, why don’t you put the cost with the provider and, thus, be assured of the materials used, etc.?” Added Adib Moubadder, the General Manager of Emicool: “When you look at initial expenses, you cannot compare between district cooling and split units, but 15 years onward, you will see the difference. Plus, there is the hidden cost, mainly capital refurbishment. What is the lifetime of split units? You need to replace them every five years.”

Al Kamali responded by saying that in the case of district cooling, the end-user had to pay very high charges. In a typical scenario, he said, the end-user of district cooling ended up paying Dh 12,000 a year in consumption and connection charges. On the other hand, if he had to change a split unit every five years, the cost would come to only Dh 4,000 per unit, which in a 20-year cycle worked out to only Dh 16,000, as compared to a Dh 240,000 cost in the case of district cooling. “And let’s not forget, people who are providing splits are improving them, as well, Al Kamali said. “So splits are more efficient now.”

By his own admittance, Al Kamali’s grouse with district cooling mainly had to do with the cost involved for the end-user. He acknowledged that he believed district cooling, if properly managed, could result in an overall savings of between 25 and 40% and offer savings in terms of capital costs and a reduction in power demand, staffing and maintenance. In addition, it could offer stable and cost-competitive operating costs. District cooling, he said, had lost a bit of its appeal, owing to the way it had been practised in the country.

Al Kamali said the way out of the morass was regulation. Consultants, Al Kamali said, misled developers on capacity and over-designed on capacity, owing to a lack of regulation. “We do have regulations and set tariffs for other industries, like power and water, but that is not the case with district cooling,” he added.

Moubadder agreed with Al Kamali, saying that there ought to be restriction from the government on capacity to ensure there will be no idle capacity. “We should not build before a project is going to happen,” he said. “Currently, the consultant is the problem. He is always looking after what will happen in peak summer, so he overestimates the declared load. There should be a district cooling authority, comprising experts, to address this point.”

The call for a regulatory authority from Al Kamali and Moubadder resonated well with the audience, with Fadhal Al Kazemi, the CEO of Kuwait’s Kazema Global Holding and Mirza also joining in the chorus. In fact, they called for more aspects to be covered under regulations.

Al Kamali took the lead in this when he said that regulations were needed to cover such issues as the use of treated sewage effluent (TSE) for condenser cooling. Saying that TSE was scarce in Abu Dhabi and that the government was going to use it for irrigation, he called for regulation to ensure its constant supply to district cooling providers. He called for a proper agreement, which he said was needed to receive TSE on either a temporary or permanent basis. To highlight the present circumstances, he said that as developers, companies like Aldar ended up assisting district cooling providers in securing water. “That is not our job,” he said. “They should start the planning right from the beginning. They should know to work out how much water they will need and make arrangements. They have to reach an agreement with water providers.”

While the sentiment was in favour of better regulations, quite a few in the industry said they were seeking better conditions for district cooling companies to operate in. One of them was the long-outstanding issue involving a differential-tariff structure. Asked Moubadder: “They say, ‘build thermal energy storage’, but what is the benefit if there is no differential tariff? If the government stands up and says it will support district cooling companies, there will be price segmentation.

Moubadder also bemoaned the slab-tariff structure for power, saying that his plants crossed the threshold established for minimum payment. “So no matter what we do, in terms of sustainability, it doesn’t translate into numbers,” he said. “We need motivation.” Moubadder called for the establishment of an industrial segment, a commercial segment and a residential segment, with the industrial segment being the lowest.

Another area where conditions could do with improvement, Moubadder said, was financing. In the present set-up, he said, district cooling providers were unable to receive the right investments for what they had built, because banks were applying the brakes and raising the bar too high. “Further, they are slowing down on what they had committed to give,” he said. In response to this, Rasheed Al Rasheed, the CEO of Saudi Arabia-based ACWA Holdings, said that the problem was not with financing but with the structure. “When the crisis happened, the banks looked at risks,” Al Rasheed said. “They stopped, but when looking at the structure, they can do (loosen the purse strings), because credit is available.”

Al Rasheed was part of a Saudi representation at the conference, which commanded a lot of air time, with everyone eager to learn the latest developments taking place in the Kingdom. Earlier, in a presentation, Moubadder had characterised the Kingdom as “one day the giant of district cooling”, which he said, was building new cities and which had a decentralised cooling system in place in its existing cities.

By way of explaining the surge in district cooling activity in the Kingdom, Moubadder said that earlier, no one thought of kWh; today, however, the cost of building high-voltage plants is expensive. Almost echoing his words, Tawfiq Abu Soud of Drake & Scull said that the opportunities for district cooling were growing in Saudi Arabia. “The authorities have to push for it, because power is subsidised, and district cooling will reduce the subsidies,” Abu Soud added.

Moubadder felt that things were moving in the right direction in Saudi Arabia, if the massive infrastructure budget announced by the government was any indication. Besides for drainage, a big portion was going for the development of district cooling, he said. Added Abdulhamid Al Mansour, the CEO of Saudi Tabreed: “What we are witnessing in Saudi Arabia today is that we are seeing appreciation from the authorities towards district cooling. So district cooling is not facing a perception challenge.”

Al Mansour was part of a team that presented on Saudi Tabreed’s exertions to set up a district cooling regimen in Dhahran for Saudi Aramco (see box, left). Projects, like the Dhahran initiative, are one of the reasons for the district cooling industry’s rather rosy view of Saudi Arabia. While district cooling is the regimen of choice for several large developments across the country, it is so for existing projects, as well. With Saudi Arabia taking steps to address the issue of the availability of water – National Water Company’s avowed commitment to meet demand through a reliable supply of TSE – a long-standing barrier to district cooling is falling down. That, coupled with regulations and a streamlining of the financial machinery, would go a long way in establishing a strong foundation for district cooling in the Kingdom.

Johnson Controls (JCI), in September, introduced the next generation of a variable-speed driven, air-cooled screw chillers, which the company said, would be a boost for energy efficiency, thanks to new compressor technologies and patented heat-transfer technologies. According to JCI, the new chiller is designed to meet the specific requirements of the Middle East market and will cover the capacity range of between 150 TR and 500 TR. Ashraf Abdalla, JCI’s Vice President of Small Tonnage Chillers, was in Dubai, last month. Climate Control Middle East caught up with him for a chat…

How seriously are you eyeing the rental market with this product?

Ashraf Abdalla

The rental market was well-founded around reciprocating compressors, not only in the Middle East but also globally. The recip copes with conditions much easier than the screw does. The rest of the market has moved to screw, but the rental has stayed with recip compressors. You have VSDs for running the system, as opposed to direct-driven for screw. If a rental company has to deal with a variety of voltages, it can adapt its capital in a much more effective manner and not duplicate its inventory, in terms of 60hz and 50hz.

There is higher interest in rental than in purchasing, especially in situations where projects are stopped, which forces you to provide cooling to those parts of the projects that have been completed. We are certainly ready for that trend. Dubai has slowed down owing to the crisis, but Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are still continuing a certain growth path.

What kind of efficiency can you promise the market with this system?

In a comparative basis, water-cooled will always be more efficient; however, there are other environmental effects, so it is difficult to draw a clear line between air-cooled and water-cooled. Here, with new air-cooled products, we expect to be leading the market. We are looking at 11.5 EER. We are also focused on part-load efficiencies.

In a sustainable world, having a sustainable product and looking after the environment is important. While we concentrate on efficiency, we also look at refrigerant charge, which in our case, is one of the lowest in the market. Our micro-channel condenser uses a lesser volume of refrigerant. The LEED concept is growing and is attractive for us, because some of the features of this product will support LEED. The user will be able to earn points, in terms of refrigerant volume. If you have more refrigerant in the system, you are likely to impact the environment, in case of a leak during the lifecycle of the product.

Coming back to energy efficiency, you don’t aim to work towards what you have. From a technology point of view, this product is futuristic. What it can offer will be the market requirement in 10-15 years from now. We really take it as a responsibility to have a truly sustainable product. In JCI, we have a measure of how sustainable a product is.

If you look at our water-cooled or air side, the philosophy for sustainable product is the same. The philosophy has to do with hitting higher levels of efficiency. We are peaking at those levels.

Higher efficiency is not only at the design stage but across the years, because you do encounter different conditions throughout the year.

How long did it take to develop this product?

It took us three years to develop the concept and the new technology of the product. The combination of the components took one year.

A unique feature of this product is that it is highly configurable. If a customer asks for 200 TR, we can give exactly that. The advantage of this is that you maximise your efficiency, because you run what you need. As additional benefits, you can get better part-load efficiency and lower sound. Further, the Middle East relies on importing chillers. So we looked at design (configuration) and maximised shipping, in terms of container space.

Will this product lend itself to retrofitting?

It is built on a global platform. In the US, retrofitting is fairly high. In terms of power consumption, it uses lesser power than its predecessor. Its footprint is low or will fit in the same footprint.

The retrofitting market is relatively young in the Middle East. As these buildings mature, that will certainly be an attraction for retrofitting.

Circul-Aire

Saying that gas-phase air filtration is the best method of removing airborne gaseous chemical contaminants from all types of facilities ranging from paper/pulp mill electronic control rooms, industrial processes using chemicals, chemical processing, waste-water treatment, research laboratories and other types of commercial and industrial buildings, Circul-Aire has introduced a green carbon media mix based from coconut shells, called Circulaire Cleanaire.

Circul-Aire claims that the device removes gaseous contaminants that slip through conventional fabric media and HEPA filters, which are incapable of stopping gases. Unlike carbon media of the past, which is typically smooth-surfaced, symmetrically-shaped media pellets, Circulaire Cleanaire is a rough-textured media that has a larger surface area for adsorption and lasts 100% longer, says the manufacturer.

Circul-Aire further claims that the product is HVAC industry’s greenest gas-phase air filtration media, and can be used in industrial complexes, laboratories, office buildings, healthcare facilities, schools, museums, and other commercial buildings where indoor air quality (IAQ) is critical.

According to the manufacturer, the media is a dual mix of MM-1000NS and MM-9000CLT, designed to remove all gaseous contaminant by-products from vehicle emissions, such as nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitric oxide, as well as ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOC), plus lower molecular weight aldehydes and hydrocarbons.

  The manufacturer explains the process: “The Circulaire Cleanaire proprietary process produces a randomly-shaped granular media, resulting in multi-faceted macro surface adsorption capacity. The media, therefore, lasts longer, claims Circul-Aire, which it says significantly reduces a building’s annual HVAC maintenance and media replacement costs.” It adds that the claim has been made on the basis of recent laboratory tests conducted by Christopher Flaherty, Director of Laboratory Services, and Dr Chang-Seo Lee, associated with the Department of Building, Civil & Environmental Engineering at Concordia University, Montreal.

Circul-Aire lists the following advantages:

• Coconut-based composition makes it a greener gas-phase media to use with less environmental impact during disposal than the coal-based carbon media used by the competing gas-phase filtration manufacturers
• Ideally designed and formulated for outdoor air intake
• Operates with all new and existing models of Circul-Aire’s gas-phase filtration equipment and is a drop-in replacement that is compatible with most competing brands
• Circul-Aire’s laboratory and tech-chek  programme can verify media for efficacy and adsorption
• Recirculation through gas-phase filtration conserves energy by reduction of outdoor air intake
• The chemical media production process complies with ISO-14000 requirements for a closed loop manufacturing process with no environmental impact

LU-VE was one of the exhibitors in the recently concluded Chillventa event in Germany. Khalil Semaan, the Managing Director (Middle East) for LU-VE, holds court on the company’s Minichannel technology and on its strategies for the region

With reduced refrigerant use in the Mini Channel, developed by LU-VE, are you promoting it as a green product that is capable of earning LEED credits from an environmental perspective?

The LU-VE Minichannel Coil is a revolutionary design in the business of heat exchangers and will be the future of the Cu/Al coil (condenser/evaporator) with a much reduced quantity of refrigerant in operation and low-energy consumption in the process involved in producing the coil.

In terms of reduction of refrigerant during operation, we are talking about using 50-60% less compared to the same capacity coil currently used in the market. And regarding the energy consumption while producing the coil, we are looking at 10-15% less than the cost of energy to produce the same capacity coil, currently in the market.

Here when we are talking about refrigerants, we mean, of course, the HFC refrigerants (R134A, R407C, R410A and R404A).

With all the above features, the LU-VE Minichannel Coil will be capable of earning LEED credits from the environmental perspective.

You claim that the product is also low noise and low power consumption – you speak of important new solutions for dry coolers and condensers using brand new motorisation and optimised thermodynamics, which will reduce the noise levels and energy consumption between 10 and 20%. Please do talk us through these.

In terms of noise reduction, LU-VE’s new design, Whisperer (patented silencer approved by TUV Laboratories) insures the reduction of 5db when it is installed to all fan motors over 500mm diameter.

And in terms of power consumption, we really do need to talk with regards to condensers and evaporators. First, the condensers. The new generation of Active Control Technology Controller permits the efficiency optimisation of the total integration of the system and not only the condenser or the fluid cooler. This technology uses Logic Control to keep the rotation of the fan motor of the condenser/fluid cooler directly linked to the condensing temperature; in this regard, the maximum fan motor rotation will insure a higher capacity of the condenser/fluid cooler and, therefore, a low condensing temperature. So the efficiency of the compressor will be higher, and the result is having a system that consumes 27% less energy.

Secondly, the evaporators. The LU-VE Jetstreamer design will reduce the accumulation of the frost on the coil and, consequently, will reduce the defrost cycles during the day. The result of this is a 20% savings in energy.

How well is the product performing in the hostile ambient and dust conditions of the Middle East?

LU-VE has already a wide experience of units installed in the region in the last 30 years and, therefore, these conditions are well known and are not a real issue for us.  The products of LU-VE have casings of galvanised steel with epoxy-polyester powder coating; as an option for the high-corrosive nature of the application, LU-VE can offer on request casings with stainless steel, S/S 316L.

Regarding the coil, the standard type is CU/AL, but as an option, LU-VE offers Cu/Alupaint, Cu/Cu, and Cu/Cu with electro-tinning for industrial and off-shore/marine applications, with various fin spacings available on request for applications in very dusty conditions.

What specific plans do you have for the product in the Middle East? In particular, what is your thrust strategy into the Saudi market?

LU-VE products are very much suitable for the Middle East region. LU-VE is not new in the region, especially in Saudi Arabia, where LU-VE sold its equipment to the Del Monte Project, one of the biggest industrial refrigeration projects in the Kingdom, using ammonia as a refrigerant. Therefore, our strategy is to increase our presence in the region with a much closer presence to the existing customers, to potential ones and to the consultants and advisors, in order to enable them to better know the innovative features and advantages of our wide and complete product range.

In the industrial refrigeration sector, clients are asking for reliability more than energy efficiency. At least in the case of compressors, several clients that we spoke to complained how they were losing equipment regularly. Also, there are issues regarding improper installation practices, inadequate training of the client’s technicians and also inadequate after-sales service. How are you, as a company, addressing these issues?

For the industrial business, there is a different approach, where after-sales service is a crucial point. LU-VE is going to have a reactive strategy to follow up closely with the clients about their need of spare parts. It will give them technical advice and support. But the more important element will be the proactive strategy, which involves building up the contracting channel by providing training and conducting seminars to share technical information and proper installation practices.