The final challenge to an energy and water conservation programme is the measurement and verification of the accrued savings

The real-estate industry is quite familiar with the concept of energy and water conservation. Many from this industry have either heard of the terminologies or been party to an energy audit. However, one of the fundamental challenges faced by many is, “How do I go about executing a professional and measurable energy and water conservation programme that can be presented to our management?” Another severe challenge faced by other energy conservation enthusiasts (and this is particularly true of many facility managers) is, “I have taken several measures to conserve energy and water, but I do not know how to measure the effectiveness of my initiatives and, therefore, have no results to report to management.” Between these two challenges lies the third challenge: “I need to float an RFP for selecting an appropriate vendor, but I do not know how to prepare one.”

When I was doing my engineering programme in energy engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), faculty would not prepare us for these real-life project situations. Yes, we did become experts in energy modelling and theoretical energy auditing, but when I started my professional career, I realised that there is more to it than just calculating specific energy consumptions. For example, while it is easy to draw up a Sankey diagram during an exam when the basic information is provided, in real-life projects the situation is altogether different, because data collection itself is a major challenge. Fourteen years of working in the field of energy and water conservation has helped me learn some of the better approaches to planning, initiating, executing, monitoring, controlling and closing out effective energy- and water-conservation projects, particularly in this region.

WHERE TO START

Different people initiate energy- and waterconservation programmes at different stages of a project, with varied levels of intensity and depth of knowledge. In order to eliminate a well intentioned yet confused approach, I would personally recommend to start with an initial assessment of where your organisation stands currently in the overall scheme of savings, by using the “Energy Management Matrix” based on the Building Research & Energy Conservation Support Unit’s 1993 Energy Management Matrix:

Let us look at a few typical examples, which many readers may be able to identify with:

1.) A shopping complex or a commercial office building. The usual practice in such facilities is that either the energy and water costs are pre-estimated and included into the leasing rates or while the individual shops/ offices are metered for direct energy consumption, the AC bill is distributed amongst the tenants every month on a prorata basis depending on the square footage occupied and common area. In a situation like this, there is rarely any explicit energy conservation policy or energy manager with a formal delegation of responsibility for energy consumption. There is no contact with users other than monthly billing. However, the accounting department within such facilities would maintain dedicated invoice data for billing purposes, although there will be no accounting for energy consumption, no promotion of energy efficiency and definitely no investment in increasing energy efficiency in the premises. A very customary indicator of such a situation would be a noticeably cold indoor environment, high levels of lighting and numerous halogen lamps. For facilities like these, the energy management matrix would look somewhat as below:

2.) A four- or a five-star hotel. From my professional experience, I have found four- or five-star hotels to be extremely energy conscious. Although this sector is one of the highest consumers of energy, water and gas, from within the building sector, they are also the most conscious of their utility costs.

The responsibility of tracking and essentially keeping utility consumptions under control, although perhaps not necessarily actively managing utilities always, rests squarely on the shoulder of the chief engineer and his engineering team. A familiar sight, either inside or outside the chief engineer’s office, is daily tracking of utility consumptions.

Standard analysis is carried out by the engineering team on a daily basis, in conjunction with the occupancy rates and in comparison with expected daily consumptions. Any variation is, indeed, investigated and corrective action implemented. Such facilities would rate as following on the BRECSU matrix:

While the first example demonstrates a balanced matrix, it is clearly balanced at the wrong end of the maturity level. The second example, although may not be balanced, largely reflects an organisation or a facility that is conscious of its utility costs, and takes action on a regular basis to make sure that the utility bills are strictly under control, to the extent possible.

Likewise, utilising the BRECSU Energy Management Matrix, it would be relatively straightforward to ascertain the maturity level of any organisation or a facility in the context of energy and water conservation. This should typically be the first step for any organisation intending to implement an energyand water-conservation programme effectively.

While the interpretation of some of the criteria might get ambiguous, it is always preferable to have a healthy introspection and, possibly, even err on the side of pessimism. This gives rise to the opportunity to excel quickly through an effective implementation of the programme.

ENERGY & WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAMMES

Typically, conservation programmes can be executed at either of two phases within the life-cycle of a facility: (a) Design Phase or (b) Operation and Maintenance Phase.

There is, of course, a potential third phase where a conservation programme can be significantly effective and both financially and technically feasible. For instance, renovating old facilities or upgrading outdated electromechanical systems provides a golden opportunity to implement a full-fledged energy efficiency programme, including a green office certification like the TECOM Management Office Renovation, which is a LEED Platinum project.

However, although this is a unique phase in the life-cycle and brings with it its own pros and cons (potentially subject for a different treatise), for the sake of simplicity, it can be clubbed together with the design stage. A design stage conservation programme is carried out, as the name suggests, when a facility is being designed. This offers several key advantages that may not be achievable when the same exercise is conducted when a facility is already in the operational stage.

The first and foremost amongst this is the financial feasibility of several critical measures that otherwise would not have an acceptable ROI, such as connecting an HVAC condensate to the irrigation tank or installing LED lights instead of halogens and several others.

Even with regular conservation measures that have a payback period of two years or less, if implemented at the design stage, the same payback period can be reduced to less than six months. This is due to the offset in capital expenditure that would have otherwise been incurred for standard design. The bigger financial benefit perhaps stems from the fact that a design stage conservation programme may end up downsizing or correct sizing installed equipment, especially when ASHRAE 90.1-2004 design parameters are applied.

I have LEED-supervised a project where the peak HVAC tonnage required went down to 1,550 TR at the final design stage from 2,500 TR at the preliminary design stage, through the adoption of ASHRAE 90.1-2004 design criteria. Renewable energy projects, with solar photovoltaic projects in particular, can become financially attractive when adopted at the design stage of a facility. A case-in point is the solar photovoltaic car park lighting at the Dubai Outsource Zone where the net capex for the project was reduced to only $6,262 (Dh23,000), since the project was not a replacement of existing lights, but rather an alternative.

A design stage project has the added advantage of a much easier green building certification as an enhancement of a simple energy and water conservation programme. In fact, this opportunity is quite harmonised, so much so that we use the green building certification as the broader framework for indulging in energy and water conservation as well.

The result is not only a resource-efficient facility, but also one that is officially certified. As an added benefit, the certification process and its requirements provide a framework for a developer to measure the design performance of the facility. Additionally, if a facility management assessment is also included into the energy and water audit at the design stage, future O&M problems and the costs associated with resolving these, can be easily avoided.

The biggest challenge of a design-stage utility assessment occurs in the fact that savings estimation remains a theoretical exercise, and one has to rely on energy modelling software, which can only be accurate in the long run if all assumptions in relation to operating hours and weather conditions were to be strictly as per modelling inputs. This unfortunately is rarely the case.

Compared to this, an energy- and waterconservation programme in an existing facility is a far more “tangible” engineering project, although not necessarily from the finance manager’s point of view. At least, such a programme would require the physical changing of light bulbs, installation of VFDs etc. Fundamentally, such a programme is always dictated by an ROI which, although may vary from organisation to organisation, has in general been fixed at two years as acceptable in this region.

Such a programme also provides great opportunity to upgrade Building Management Systems and MEP equipment, especially when critical upgrades are required but cannot be budgeted for (bottom of the food chain syndrome). The performance of such a programme is easily measurable by virtue of simply comparing past and present utility bills (at the very minimum, with more complex scientific methodologies available if necessary). Sometimes, such a project can be substituted by a building re-commissioning exercise, which more often than not could lead to an energy reduction of up to 10%.

Finally, it has been observed in most of the projects, which I have executed that indoor environmental quality actually improves due to the implementation of an effective energy conservation programme. In the TECOM Management Office renovation project, lighting levels went up by 75%, although lighting energy consumption came down by more than 50%. Design-stage energy and water conservation programme is much more effective than when a facility is already functional, owing to easier implementation and improved ROI (if not actual reduction in Capex) for conservation measures.

ENERGY and WATER-CONSERVATION MEASURES

An energy and water-conservation programme focuses purely on the wastage and inefficiencies in the energy and water consumption systems or processes, and explores how to optimise the same, thereby resulting in reduction in utility consumption. Fundamentally, if there is no wastage, there is no opportunity to save.

An energy and water-conservation programme cannot and should not compromise on comfort conditions. Comfort conditions are set out by engineers through standards like ASHRAE 90.1-2004, ASHRAE 62.1-2004 etc. These standards may be further fine-tuned to suit individual needs, as building occupants may have varying personal levels of comfort, but only at the operation phase. This is applicable for buildings. For industries, the programme should not negatively impact on production.

There are three broad areas that one must address in order to implement an energy and water conservation programme effectively:
(a) The identification of energy- and waterconservation measures;
(b) Implementing such a programme and
(c) The measurement and verification of savings.

The identification of energy and water conservation measures is usually done through an energy audit. This audit essentially attempts to identify where the wastages/inefficiencies in a system lie, and then tries to eliminate these through a variety of solutions. These wastages are caused by a variety of reasons (all of which can be identified and redeemed), such as over-design.

Let us illustrate this through three case studies. Let’s start with Dubiotech HQ building, which was one of the first projects to pursue LEED certification at TECOM Investments. At the conclusion of the preliminary design stage, the project was estimated to require about 2,500 TR of air-conditioning capacity. By applying ASHRAE 90.1-2004 design parameters, the air-conditioning requirement was brought down to 1,550 TR. While this tonnage optimisation is not strictly required for LEED certification, this exercise undertaken by the Sustainable Energy and Environment Division (SEED) of TECOM clearly showcases the scale of opportunity that lies in right-sizing a facility.

Now, such an exercise not only optimises operating energy requirements, but also drastically cuts down on the demand charges to be paid by the facility to the district cooling service provider, which in turn benefits from the opportunity to right-size his plant capacity.

Eliminating over-design using LEED as a tool – while the debate still rages on both for and against LEED, I have found it to be a useful tool/ mechanism which we have successfully utilised to drive our costs down in several projects. Since LEED mandates certain flow rates and techniques to reduce potable water consumption, applying the LEED guidelines in the design of our new projects, as well as retrofitting our existing wash basins, has dramatically stopped us from over-designing our water systems. The following chart showcases our water performance at the Dubai International Academic City’s Phase 3 facility (LEED Silver):

Over Design

Over Design in an existing building – this is a classic case study of a 600,000-square-foot (sq ft) mixed-use complex where I had executed an energyconservation programme through performance contracting. As a first step, before conducting a detailed energy audit, the operations of the electromechanical systems were optimised through the building management system. Appropriate time-scheduling and set point scheduling were programmed, based on the usage pattern of the facility.

This exercise alone resulted in a 15% energy savings, although the occupancy went up by 130,000 sq ft (reaching 90%). While this is a satisfactory performance for an energy conservation programme that did not need any investments, a bigger achievement was that, during peak summer conditions, the facility needed only three (out of the installed 10 chillers) to operate in order to achieve the design comfort conditions.

In effect, the facility was operating on 1,260 TR of peak HVAC against an installed capacity of 3,800 TR. If an energy assessment had been conducted at the design stage, the project would have easily saved approximately $816,771 (Dh3m) in avoided Capex.

Lack of Controls

This is a typical problem in office complexes, and I have yet to come across a facility which does not suffer from a lack of adequate and appropriate controls. Possible exceptions would be (a) offices where thought has been given to this issue during the design stage; (b) offices where this was such a critical problem that retrofit has been carried out to resolve this or (c) offices that have been LEED certified.

The lack of controls issues sometimes can be congruent with over-design, such as a large number of lights in an open plan office but only one switch to operate them. Another classic example of lack of controls in this region is deficit of operable windows even in low-rise office blocks, without which occupants have to keep operating their expensive HVAC equipment even during the coldest winter days. The SEED office at Dubai Knowledge Village has operable windows on three facades and, for more than two months in winter, the air-conditioning equipment is not operated since the office is naturally ventilated.

Inappropriate Usage

Sometimes even though the right technology is used, the application of it could be inappropriate. Installing metal halide lamps inside commercial offices is one such example, although one must admit that it is not so widely prevalent. While metal halides can be enormously efficient compared to other light sources, they do generate significantly high amounts of heat and glare.

While it may be a good idea to have large amount of glazing in buildings, since the glass area is not shaded, occupants can be habitually seen to be drawing the curtains down to block the outside glare and switch on artificial lighting – in daytime! A simple measure like shading the glass area would not only eliminate the sunlight from impinging inside a facility, but would also allow the daylight to come in and thereby eliminate the need for artificial lighting. Imagine putting all the glazing for the view and unable to enjoy it due to the curtains.

Outdated Technology

A peculiar fascination for halogen spotlights, installing Building Management Systems that do anything but manage the facilities’ electromechanical equipment and using thermostats that do not have signage for temperatures are several examples of outdated technology still being used quite commonly.

In 2008, SEED implemented the halogen phase-out project at the Business Centre of Dubai Media City wherein close to 1,000 halogen spotlights were replaced with a combination of LED and CFLs. A snapshot of this project is given below:

The additional benefits are the following: with improved air-conditioning due to cooler lamps, occupants do not feel as hot anymore; more uniform lighting – alternate bright and dark spots are eliminated; lower maintenance cost due to longer life of energy efficient lamps (LED lamps can last more than 10 years) and improved indoor environmental quality with no hotspots.

Human Behaviour

Although I have listed this parameter as the last, it is to my mind the most important of all and, if not addressed at the very initiation, has the potential to ensure the failure of an energy and water conservation programme. SEED has utilised several techniques and approaches to sensitise building occupants. These include developing an in-house awareness programme for employees on the issue of climate change, switch-me-off stickers, table totems and stickers for washrooms.

PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING

While many organisations do end up doing one thing or the other as per the BRECSU energy management matrix, most facility operators find it extremely challenging to initiate, plan, execute, monitor and close out a comprehensive energy- and water-conservation programme.

There are several reasons for this: in most organisations, energy- and waterconservation initiatives end up becoming the part-time responsibility of the facility manager or not at all; in some facilities, even after a person is assigned responsibility for this function, it is not reflected in his/her performance objectives; even when it is included in the performance objective, a budget is rarely allocated for this activity.

This is a typical ‘responsibility without authority’ situation and very commonplace in the industry on energy and water conservation issue. In the worst situation, budgets are not even allocated for regular planned preventive maintenance and upgrade works.

The best situation I have personally come across is an organisation with a dedicated division/team of qualified personnel with the responsibility to define and implement a comprehensive energy and water conservation programme; budgets are hard to come by, however, especially in times of a recession.

In such situations, the best way to implement an energy and water conservation programme effectively is to first optimise the operation of the facility’s electromechanical equipment. This does not require any Capex. Having implemented this, it is best advised that the facility engage in a “Performance Contract” mechanism. This is a means of raising money for investments in energy efficiency that is based on future savings. It enables money that will be saved as a result of the introduction of a new energyefficient technology to be used to offset the cost of financing, installing and operating that technology.

In this arrangement, the facility owner does not have to incur any upfront Capex or absorb any risk of failure. An energy service company (ESCO), specialising in the business of energy and water conservation, can be engaged to audit a facility, identify equipment/strategies required to reduce energy and water consumptions (without negatively affecting comfort conditions or production), invest the Capex required to purchase such equipment and install and manage the entire project.

Such a service is typically provided by three different types of entities:

Equipment Suppliers. Performance contracting services are normally offered by an independent branch of companies, such as industrial control manufacturers, both as a marketing strategy and as an additional revenue source. This is the best option if these technologies are the main measure being considered.

Fee-Based Service Companies. Performance contracting is the only service offered by these companies, which grew out of energy management and other contractors. They are the best choice if a wider range of measures is being planned, or if the contract is to cover building renovation and longterm facilities management.

Utility-Based ESCOs. Some electric utilities have set up their own ESCOs to deliver demand side management programmes, and to provide an additional source of revenue. These are a good choice if the project is focused on electricity or gas technologies, although this is not a prevalent concept in this region.

M&V OF SAVING

The final challenge to an energy- and waterconservation programme is the measurement and verification (M&V) of the accrued savings. We need to verify savings because energy and water savings are dependent on various factors, such as weather, occupancy, added load, disconnected load and operating hours, among other things.

Therefore, while installing a VFD on a FAHU should generate savings, the HVAC energy consumption might increase, because the weather in a particular month was warmer compared to the weather in the corresponding month during the year prior to the installation of the VFD. This exercise can range from being very simplistic to ending up being very debatable when more and more parameters start getting involved.

Ultimately, the level of complexity will depend on the agreement between the facility owner and the service provider as to how many parameters need to be included in the M&V process. Verifying that savings actually occur is an important part of any performance contract. The couple of methods normally used are the following:

Savings based on utility bills. These provide the most common method used for savings verification. Here, energy and water savings provide the basis for repayments. Baseline consumption is determined using past energy bills. Savings are calculated using the actual energy bills received throughout the contract period.

Measured savings. These involve ‘before’ and ‘after’ measurement of utility use by the technologies installed in the project. This is the most exact method of determining savings, but also the most costly. Adjustments have to be made for weather and facility use changes, and because equipment loads can vary from day to day, elaborate protocols need to be established.

International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP) has been widely used as the technical basis for determining energy savings in building retrofit projects. Introduced in 1994 as the North American Energy Measurement & Verification Protocol (NEMVP), IPMVP has become the industry standard. International use of NEMVP led to development of an international protocol in 1997.

A standard performance contract for energy and water conservation between a facility owner and a service provider does not strictly need to follow the strong scientific approaches of IPMVP. For the purposes of green building certification, however, the adoption of this protocol may become necessary. There are four different options of measuring and verifying energy savings under the IPMVP:

The chart, above, exhibits the M&V of the Energy Conservation Programme at TECOM Investments using IPMVP Option C. Since this is an in-house project being implemented by SEED in existing facilities, the only adjustment that is made in the measurement of energy savings is the weather related adjustment, carried out on the basis of differentials in ‘cooling degree days’ every month.

As will be noted from the below chart tracking the water conservation programme at TECOM Investments, and again since this is an in-house project, there are no adjustments made in the water savings calculations. The saving is the simple difference between the water consumption before and after implementation of the conservation measures, and complies with IPMVP Option C. Again, this can be easily done because the facilities are all present, and the historical data are available. No adjustments are made as it is not a priority issue at the moment.

The M&V mechanism becomes slightly trickier in the case of design stage energy conservation programme, especially when a project is pursuing a green building certification. In existing buildings, the performance of a conservation programme can always be measured and verified through a basic comparison of metered utility consumptions, before and after the implementation of the conservation measures.

When a facility is being designed, the only option available is to carry out an energy modelling exercise, which will, through the use of specialised software, predict more or less accurately the future energy consumption of the facility in design. One of several widely used kinds of software is the Visual DOE, which, although quite basic, can predict future energy consumptions to acceptable levels of accuracy. The energy modelling software also allows the opportunity to evaluate the cost-benefit analysis of several energy conservation measures. This methodology is compliant with IPMVP Option D.

The LEED Silver Dubai International Academic City Phase 3 was the second LEED certified project at TECOM Investments and the fifth in the Gulf Co-operation Council bloc. Some of the energy conservation measures adopted in the project included the following: HVAC load optimisation; enhanced levels of building envelope insulation; heat recovery wheels; limited glazing in building envelope; zero use of halogen lamps in common areas; energy efficient light bulbs and significantly low lighting power densities.

In order to quantify the savings that can be expected from these measures, a Visual DOE energy modelling exercise was conducted, and the following chart shows the estimated savings expected from the various sectors of energy consumers.

Overall, the facility is designed to be 21.7% more energy-efficient which translates to $260,545 (Dh956,984) per year as per the energy model.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Irrespective of the size of your facility, it is always a good idea to have an ongoing energy and water conservation programme in place. In fact, the bigger the organisation, the better the financial benefits. For old facilities, the savings from an energy and water conservation programme can throw up much needed cash for system upgrades. It is always a good idea to set up your own in-house expertise if you have a large amount of building stock.

The investment in such a team will pay back for itself in a matter of months/ weeks. For up-scaling your ambition on the initiatives, it would be best to engage a professionally qualified service provider. As I mentioned at the Cityscape Dubai 2009 panel discussion on “From the Red to the Black via the Green”, sustainable development initiatives through its main pillar of energy and water conservation can easily resuscitate the P&L, or profit and loss statement, of any organisation.

US body to work closely with UAE entity to evolve country-specific standards; same with SASO 

Mohamed Saleh Badri

AHRI (the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute) on February 22, signed an agreement with ESMA (Emirates Authority for Standardization & Metrology), whereby the UAE body will have access to use the AHRI testing and rating standards and to adapt them to regional conditions as ESMA standards. ESMA’s Acting Director General, Mohamed Saleh Badri and AHRI President, Stephen R Yurek were the signatories. 

According to the agreement, seen as a step in a process that can lead to the certification/ verification of claimed equipment performance, AHRI and ESMA have agreed to work closely to bring ESMA standards to the market. ESMA on its part will invite manufacturers to apply to join ESMA committees engaged in all the phases of developing standards and regulations dealing with energy efficiency. 

The move is in line with ESMA’s drive to usher in energy efficiency in buildings. As a national standards body for the UAE, ESMA’s stated goals include working to safeguard the environment and to ensure domestic. The agreement with AHRI is to ensure that the country is able to fast-track the process of establishing a comprehensive set of standards. Speaking to Climate Control Middle East, ESMA’s Acting Director General, Mohamed Saleh Badri, said: “Instead of starting something from scratch, we noticed that we can use AHRI standards. Developing standards is a heck of a job, and we are happy that AHRI will allow us to use their standards as our standards.” 

Stephen Yurek

Added James Walters, Senior Director (International Affairs) at AHRI: “We first met ESMA in November 2009 and had detailed discussions on how we can join hands with them. We feel happy we can provide technical assistance on how best to deal with energy and environmental concerns.” 

ESMA has different committees for different standards, be they electrical, chemical or physical. The committee dedicated to energy-efficiency will review the suitability of AHRI standards for UAE conditions and offer its recommendations. 

A day earlier, AHRI signed a similar agreement with SASO (Saudi Arabian Standards Organisation), again aimed at establishing energy-efficiency standards, in the Kingdom. The agreement will allow SASO to adopt and adapt AHRI testing and rating standards to Saudi conditions. SASO’s Director General, Nabeel Molla and AHRI President, Stephen R Yurek were the signatories. 

Post the signing of the MoU between AHRI and ESMA, Stephen R Yurek, President of AHRI spoke to Climate Control Middle East on the implications of the agreement and the way forward. James Walters, the Senior Director (international Affairs) at AHRI, also contributed. Read the Interview »

Right-Sizing, not over-sizing, the HVAC systems in the Gulf, is the way to go 

Buildings in Dubai are equipped with over-sized air-conditioning units to counter the emirate’s hot and humid climate, says Siterman

The Gulf region is hot, humid, and is quickly becoming the world headquarters for huge towers and hotels behind glass curtain walls. It is also the global leader in large air conditioning systems which are often over-sized. Ironically, the indoor climate induced by these over-sized air conditioning systems is not particularly comfortable. Moreover, the excessively humid indoor air, if not treated correctly, causes condensation with a possibility of consequent mould and odour problems.

OVER-SIZED PROBLEMS

More than one engineer has told me that it is better to make people “freeze” than make them “hot” and get blamed for it. Both of these scenarios are unacceptable. The art of engineering is to provide the optimum indoor environment where the occupants feel comfortable – neither hot nor cold, but just right. In addition to temperature, a frequently overlooked, but critically important factor to the overall comfort level, is indoor humidity.

Levels of humidity inside general buildings, such as offices, hotels and residential towers, greatly depend on the volume of outdoor air infiltrated through the exterior envelope and building openings (entrance doors, air vents, etc). High levels of indoor air humidity, even with acceptable space temperature, lead to uncomfortable conditions – cool but clammy. Commonly used buildingpressurisation approaches can help reduce infiltration, but cannot eliminate it entirely because of its complex nature.

Often, air-conditioning systems are specified when a building is still in the conceptual design stage, and when complete information (such as façade details and glass performance) is not available. Systems are usually over-sized to compensate for the missing information and often not modified in later stages of design. An over-sized air conditioning system will cool a space down more quickly before cycling off. But the frequent on/off cycling diminishes the system’s dehumidification efficiency, which then increases the space-moisture level and raises the air-dewpoint temperature.

Condensation is often the result when supply-air temperature becomes lower than the space dewpoint temperature. It is a very visible result, and is often seen on windows and supply air grilles. Condensation may also result in mould and odour problems. This is especially serious in hotels, where operation of air conditioning systems is dependent on room occupancy. In a case where equipment is located above the ceiling, water dripping may even occur, because once turned on, over-sized equipment tries to catch up with the temperature and humidity set points and remove excessive moisture from indoor air as quickly as possible. This can overflow the drain pan.

OVER-SIZED COSTS

The problem of over-sized airconditioning systems in the Gulf would be bad enough, if it was limited only to poor indoor environment and negative effects of condensation. But over-sized systems also reduce building value, ambiance and profits.

The larger equipment, ductwork, piping, and associated systems and services are more expensive, both in capital and operating costs. This reduces owner profits. The larger mechanical equipment decreases usable floor space, thus reducing potential returns. The larger-than-necessary ductwork results in lowered ceiling heights, reducing room ambiance. The larger equipment, in short, is wasteful in terms of energy, space and financial resources.

RIGHT-SIZED SOLUTIONS

The right solution is always one that is conceived specifically for the building’s situation. Each building – ground-up or renovated, hotel or housing – has its needs and goals. For all occurrences, however, one should follow the latest codes and design recommendations for acceptable indoor environment, such as those found in ASHRAE Standard 55 Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy and ASHRAE Standard 160 Criteria for Moisture- Control Design Analysis in Buildings.

When working on new construction, ascertain that cooling load calculations are performed utilising the latest climatic design information and the appropriate design methodologies. It is important that the cooling load be verified and adjusted at each stage of the design process, as more information about the real needs of the building become clear.

When selecting new air conditioning equipment, calculate the load specifically, and even choose something slightly undersized to allow for even and longer continuous system operation. Another technique that prolongs equipment operation is implementing appropriate control strategies, including equipment with variable chilled water and air flow.

When retrofitting or renovating existing buildings, it’s important to remember that existing air-conditioning systems can always be made better. Modifying constant air volume equipment will allow variable air flow to satisfy dynamic cooling load changes. To reduce equipment cooling capacity without rapid cycling of the chilled water control valve, adapt the chilled water temperatures entering equipment by providing a mixed valve arrangement. Improved control strategies will also improve system efficiency and reduce energy consumption.

CONCLUSION

In the Gulf and anywhere in world, where climate is typically hot and humid, airconditioning systems should be carefully designed to ensure that results, not waste, are the rule. Value engineers with their troubleshooting experience can effectively advise on how to streamline air-conditioning systems, to reduce both capital and operating costs, and to obtain better indoor environment for building occupants.

Frost and Sullivan Report says that MEP Services are set to expand in Saudi Arabia and Qatar

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have better prospects for MEP services among their peers in the Gulf Co-operation Council bloc. Not only their exposure to global financial market has insulated these two economies from the credit crisis, their governments’ increased spending on infrastructure projects also made them more attractive to contractors engaged in mechanical, electrical and plumbing services.

Ventilation control panels: Mechanical services accounted for 37.6% of the overall 2008 MEP market in the Gulf

“The infrastructure sector is set to benefit from the portion of this spending,” says the research and consultancy firm, Frost & Sullivan. “Hence, these two markets are emerging as better growth prospects for MEP services among the GCC countries in the future.”

MEP services will grow marginally until 2013 and generate revenues of $22.45 billion after an estimated gradual pick up from next year following last year’s decline. This translates to a compound annual growth rate of 10.6% from 20008, when the market was placed at $13.54 billion, according to a 2010 report released by Frost & Sullivan.

Titled “Strategic analysis of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing services market in [the] Middle East”, the report said the mechanical services accounted for 37.6% or $5.09 billion of the overall MEP market while the electrical services made up 43.2% ($5.85bn) and, plumbing, 19.2% ($2.6bn).

Accounting for 72.6% of the 2008 MEP market, the commercial, residential, hospitality and infrastructure segments were the major end-user of services while the industrial, institutional, government and other buildings held the remaining 27.4% market share.

Being closely associated with the construction sector, the MEP work makes up 25-30% of total project costs, stresses the report authored by Vivek Vijayakumar, Frost & Sullivan’s research analyst on environment and building technology practice for South Asia and the Middle East. It remarks, “MEP is mandatory and considered as the ‘serviceon- demand’ within the construction industry.”

The boom in the construction industry, coupled with economic expansion and population growth, makes the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar the key contributors to the growth of MEP in the Gulf. These economies account for a combined share of 88.2% of the regional market while Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain share the remaining 11.8%.

In the UAE, it’s Abu Dhabi that is expected to drive the demand for MEP services, owing to the slowing of construction sector in Dubai. These two emirates, however, are still the country’s leaders with higher margins and growth opportunities. The other emirates have the advantage of lower business costs and limited competition but are less profitable.

With the construction boom, many new entrants are now trying to make their mark in a market where there is a dearth of quality contractors and where some of established contractors are struggling for profits. “The competitiveness is believed to be sustained only if a company has a substantial operating history, proven track record and reputation in the market,” the report says. “In the future, the competition could be encountered by new entrants, who are into diversified business segments attempting to consolidate into MEP contracting services market.”

The future also looks bright on various development projects to be undertaken by governments, the report notes. “The global financial crisis has halted/postponed/ cancelled many projects in the private sector; therefore, government spending in residential, commercial, hospitality and infrastructure projects [is] likely to drive the demand for MEP services market in the future.

Johnson Controls installs a unique HVAC system at IDeAs headquarters in San Jose, California

Johnson Controls’ Davide Kaneda, Jeff Crenshaw and John Coleman

Johnson Controls designed and installed a unique heat pump-based HVAC and control system at the new headquarters of Integrated Design Associates (IDeAs) Inc, which is a testament to the latter’s commitment to help architects design the best and most energy-efficient buildings. The headquarters is the first commercial office building in the US designed to meet a netzero energy/net-zero carbon emissions goal, or Z2.

The goal was to transform a 1960s-era, windowless concrete bank into a highly efficient and comfortable building using a fullcomplement of sustainable design techniques and technologies. (The energy efficiency for the HVAC system and building envelope is estimated to be 40% below 2005 California Title 24 energy requirements.)

The result is an office building that uses renewable energy from photovoltaics to meet 100% of its energy requirements, burns no fossil fuels and produces no net greenhouse gas emissions.

DESIGN INC

The design incorporates a geothermal heat pump, which takes advantage of the fact that the temperature below ground remains constant all year round – about 10ºC in this case. Water flows through pipes laid under an open landscape area and passes into the building, where a heat exchanger collects heat from the water in winter and uses the water’s cooling-effect during summer. A radiant floor system with cross-linked counter-flow tubing uses the water to convey heating and cooling to the space.

The system uses less energy to provide the same level of comfort as traditional systems, owing to temperature variance between the occupant and the floor itself. Radiant systems typically can use higher water temperatures to provide effective cooling, and lower water temperatures to provide effective heating. This means that the equipment operates at higher-efficiency levels.

“Since the system has been operating it has already provided a very cool and comfortable environment during some very hot weather,” says David Kaneda, the principal of IDeAs. “It is a very efficient system that will help us meet our net-zero-energy target.”

Kaneda had thought of bringing this concept to life when his company bought a 7,200-square-foot former bank branch to house its new headquarters. “We felt we should walk the talk, not just talk,” he remarks. A consultancy providing electrical engineering and lighting design services, IDeAs has clients involved in projects like educational and medical facilities, office and retail spaces and restaurants and apartments.

SUSTAINABLE TECHNIQUES

A Johnson Controls Metasys building management system accurately controls the flow rates and slab temperature to provide the maximum performance using the least amount of energy. Pump speeds are kept at their lowest demand by using power inverter technology that responds to actual demand. Floor condensation is monitored and dehumidification provided, if needed, with an air-handling system that uses water from the geothermal system.

PEX piping and valves are visible inside wall cabinets, making it easier for the host to explain to visitors how the system works

A building integrated photovoltaic system is the facility’s energy source. The panels in this system are part of the single-ply membrane roof installed on the facility. The electrical system is tied into the grid, so it will draw power at night when there is no sunlight, and deliver power back to the grid when more energy is generated than is being used during the day. The result is designed to be ‘net zero’ in overall energy use.

To reduce the amount of energy used for lighting, Kaneda’s team added windows and cut skylights into the roof to take advantage of available daylight. High-efficiency windows let light through but block infrared and ultraviolet light, keeping the office cool. An overhang shades south facing windows and those facing east incorporate electrochromic window glazing, which is controlled by a sensor that darkens the windows when the sun hits them directly.

Low-energy fluorescent bulbs used throughout the building are controlled by occupancy sensors, or these have dimming ballasts to reduce energy consumption. Light sensors turn off select fixtures when sufficient daylight is available. Energy conservation extends to computers and office equipment as well. LCD flatscreens take the place of traditional monitors, which use 50% more power, while laptops replace desktop computers where possible.

The design team integrated office equipment with the building security system, automatically shutting the equipment down when the security system is armed – and restoring power when the system is disarmed.

“All of the technologies we are using are readily available,” Kaneda says. “Some of them are more expensive from a first-cost standpoint, but the reduction in energy use will pay longterm dividends. And it’s the right thing to do from the standpoint of reducing our impact on the environment.”

MORE EFFICIENT, LESS COSTS

The innovative HVAC systems in the IDeAs headquarters are a key contributor to minimising the building’s energy consumption and maximising performance and indoor air quality while keeping construction costs comparable to more traditional designs.

Photovoltaic solar panels are integral to a single-ply membrane roof

The Radiant Floor System. A topping slab, poured over the existing slab, contains a crosslinked counter flow polyethylene (PEX) radiant tubing system for both heating and cooling. Using water to convey heating and cooling to a space in a radiant system uses less energy to provide the same amount of conditioning compared to a forced air system, owing to the radiant-effect created by the floor temperature variance between the occupant and the floor itself.

Also, radiant floor systems typically use higher water temperatures for cooling and lower water temperatures for heating compared to traditional systems, allowing the equipment providing the water to operate more efficiently.

High-pumping efficiencies are gained by the design of a low pressure drop piping system, coupled with open-ported, ball-type control valves. The Metasys building management system accurately controls the floor cooling/heating flow rates and temperature, to provide the maximum performance for the lowest pumping power and most efficient water temperatures.

Pump speeds are kept at their lowest demand speed using power inverter technology based on actual demand. Floor condensation is prevented by the system, which compares the floor temperature to the room air-dew point temperature. Dehumidification is provided, if needed, by the air handler using chilled water and concurrent condenser water for temperature control via a pair of dual coils in the air handler.

The Heat Pump. An electric, water-source heat pump produces both chilled water and hot water to maintain the net-zero energy and zero carbon emission philosophy of the IDeAs building. The chilled or hot water is provided both to the radiant slab and the dedicated outside air handler to condition the space.

The heat pump has a cooling energy-efficiency ratio (EER) rating over 19. The open-landscape area behind the building was used as a ground source heat sink for energy absorption and rejection, and as storage for the heat pump system. The earth under this area is trenched with a field of PEX piping six feet and four feet deep to provide an energy storage field.

System efficiencies are increased by providing a relatively steady temperature heat sink for the heat pump system, rather than using outside air to absorb and reject heat, which would mean that temperatures would vary more widely. The thermal storage capacity of the earth also allows for high-efficiency between heating and cooling modes of operation, which alternate from morning to afternoon.

An illustration of the HV AC and control systems at IDeAs headquarters

A dedicated outside air handler with high performance filtration and constant temperature control provide high performance ventilation for the building. Operable windows and doors installed throughout the building allow the occupants to tailor their comfort levels by tuning the openings. However, when outside air temperatures are too cold or too hot and the windows or doors are not utilised, the dedicated outside air handler provides the required ventilation in the building. Chilled or hot water supplied by the heat pump to the air handler will condition the air delivered to the space.

Post the signing of the MoU between AHRI and ESMA, Stephen R Yurek, President of AHRI spoke to Climate Control Middle East on the implications of the agreement and the way forward. James Walters, the Senior Director (international Affairs) at AHRI, also contributed. Excerpts from the interview …

What does the signing of the MoU signify?

Stephen Yurek and James Walters

Stephen R Yurek: In a broad sense, the agreement is a recognition that this is not a regional market, and that equipment is about global production, be they manufactured in South America, Asia or Europe. Now a number of these products use a lot of energy. So we need standards, so products can be compared and contrasted. Being able to do so with a harmonised engineering of R&D in manufacturing will inform them what they should be doing to optimise for the region. All products can be compared locally and globally. It is possible to manufacture regionally for the global marketplace.

Considering that AHRI is quite active in advocating standards, why did it take you so long to come to the Saudi and the UAE markets?

Yurek: While it is true that energy efficiency, as an issue, has been around for a while, you have to wait till the markets mature. In the US, the maturity occurred in the 1970s and the 1980s. In Europe, they say they don’t have maturity yet. There is no national standard for equipment. Japan has gone through it. China is quickly looking at it.

As far as this region is concerned, we were waiting to see where the market was and when our potential partners were ready. Last year, they were open to these discussions. We could have come earlier, but don’t know whether or not we would have been successful. The financial crisis and the discussions in Copenhagen on climate change have made people realise and made people more focussed on energy efficiency. In Kyoto, the discussion was really left to the G20, which is a smaller group of countries. But Bali started it all, and Copenhagen had more involvement from a greater number of countries.

Having said that, we have suppliers that are already participating in certification programmes and in the writing of the standards. They would continue to participate in that as related to the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

What steps are you looking to take to localise the standards?

Yurek: When the Government sets a minimum efficiency, they need to say what temperature they are looking for. In the US, it is 95ºF; here, they may have a different temperature. We will, then, work with participants to have standards for not only for 95ºF but also for 110ºF, say.

James Walters: A key aspect of moving forward is how ESMA develops the mechanism to alter those standards. Mr Badri said we have a committee to evaluate the standards. Someone needs to take ownership of that. We will be talking to SASO and ESMA about the mechanism. We need a combined group of experts to look at that.

Considering that the UAE and Saudi Arabia (to a large extent) experience similar ambient conditions, wouldn’t it be quicker to establish a common set of standards for the GCC?

Yurek: We are hoping to work with ESMA and SASO to evolve a standard for GCC. Both Mr Mollah and Mr Badri have the same intention.

Establishing a standards regimen is one thing, but what, would you suggest, can be done to counter the scourge of counterfeiting?

Yurek: Counterfeiting is an issue not only here but also in the US and Europe. People talk about the environment, but when it comes to the bottomline, they tend to move away.

Standards and certifications provide a basis for people to compete fairly. The question is, ‘How can the standards be enforced?’ In the US, we see voluntary enforcement. People are willing to pay the money to take certification. At the end of the day, though, we can do only so much. Consumers are going to buy. When a developer says, “I will put the cheaper component”, that’s when the government needs to enforce. So you can have voluntary enforcement by the industry, and then we need government enforcement. In over 80% of the projects, you will have compliance. A minority percentage will skirt the law, just like a portion cheats on taxes. The best way to make buyers comply is to price energy correctly.

B Surendar

Let me start off by saying that the inaugural C3 in Saudi Arabia was well received and that issues of significance came up for substantial and meaningful discussion. Considering that the conference is from the same stable as the magazine, you may question the objectivity of my observations, but as the coverage on the event (please turn to page 26) will reveal, that was, indeed, the case.

The conference served as a forum on several fronts. For long, the Kingdom, a pioneer in air conditioning-, refrigeration- and ventilation-related installations in the region, has emerged with sophisticated technological advances. The sheer size of the country being such, these projects have been spread so far and wide that they have remained relatively obscure and tucked away from accolades. The conference was a convergence of the technological advancements, be it the central cooling facility in King Saud University or the massive cold storage facilities at Tabuk Agricultural Development Company (TADCO), which by the way, I am told, is so large a farm that it occupies an area comparable to the whole of Bahrain.

On the issue front, the announcement by National Water Company (NWC) that it is committed to supplying treated sewage effluent (TSE) to key projects and key cities in the Kingdom was welcome news, considering the acute water shortage in Saudi Arabia and its impact on district cooling, in terms of perception and feasibility. Hisham Hajaj of Stanley Consultants provided an instance of the positive perception while making a presentation on the Retirement Fund projects in the Kingdom. Speaking about the two district cooling plant rooms in the King Abdullah Financial District project, Hajaj said that the wise officials at the Retirement Fund consented to consider district cooling as an option only after they were assured of a steady supply of TSE.

Another issue that sparked interest among delegates concerned the discussion on large central cooling plants and an integrated approach to district cooling, turbine inlet air cooling (TIAC) and other industrial applications. The discussion unveiled an appealing option for district cooling providers, long faced with the vexing issue of amorphous load-profiles.

Speaking about the overall profile of the conference, for us, as organisers, we stood by our tradition of producing a dedicated and comprehensive HVACR conference. Though it gets quite cold in TADCO (it goes to even minus five degrees centigrade, I am told), heating was not an area that came up for discussion; but all the other letters of the acronym stood up pretty well in Riyadh.

French firms must market to the Middle East the EU-sanctioned standards of HVAC equipment, to take advantage of the region’s growing industry.

Should French companies be interested in tapping the HVAC&R industry in the Middle East, they had better start participating in various exhibitions held in the Gulf. These firms must present their latest products and services to concerned consultants, contractors and clients in the Gulf, wherein rapidly growing economies offer tremendous potential for foreign companies interested in setting up shop in the region or striking partnerships with their domestic and regional counterparts.

The HVAC&R industry in France doesn’t hold much influence over the markets across the Gulf Arab states, which are familiar with the US and British standards with regard to equipment and components related to heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration. French companies must also work to market to the region industry standards sanctioned by the European Union, in order to facilitate the importation of their products into the region.

“To improve their influence they shall present their products and the advancement they have contributed to this industry,” says Rami Al Khalil, the Abu Dhabi-based sales manager of Morex, a full-service representative company for HVAC, firefighting products and industrial equipment. But he notes that these products are most likely not rated or manufactured according to specifications imposed by the hot climes in the Gulf and the wider Middle East region. He remarks, “This will create difficulty in selecting equipment complying with the required design and weather conditions.”

He and Frank van Leemput, the area sales manager of Baltimore Aircoil Gulf, say HVAC&R companies and professionals in the region and their counterparts in France may also explore chances for technology transfer through industrial bodies. Al Khalil remarks, “Technology transfer shall be between French manufacturers and formal industrial bodies and all the parties involved in the HVAC&R industry ….”

There are not a noticeable number of French companies involved in the Gulf’s HVAC&R industry, van Leemput says. But inasmuch as any region outside Europe now has a bigger potential for HVAC&R business, it would be in the best interests of companies in France and other parts of Europe to explore the Gulf market, particularly Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait.

“These countries are the strongest in economy in the Gulf area, besides the various development projects they have planned in the coming 20 years,” Al Khalil says. The Gulf countries and the whole Middle East will be needing millions of tonnes of refrigeration for their district cooling systems for many years.

French companies, for instance, may use their expertise on anti-LD (legionnaires’ disease) in the manufacture and installation of cooling towers, the heat-removal devices that send process-heat waste into the atmosphere. The common applications of these devices include cooling the circulating water used in oil refineries, chemical plants, power stations and building-cooling systems.

“Due to the heavy anti-LD legislation in France, French companies are assumed to have gained excellent expertise in this area,” says Dubai-based van Leemput, whose US-headquartered company manufactures heat transfer and ice thermal storage products. LD is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia brought about by human inhalation of bacteria in aerosols or water droplets. France adheres to a code of practice, called L8, to control the spread of LD. This code covers the manufacture and installation of cooling towers and other related equipment and components.

Major French companies engaged in power and energy are also flexing their resources to gain a larger market share and a better foothold in the international market. Consider the public megaconglomerate, Areva, for instance, which recently acquired the solar thermal startup Ausria, for an unknown amount. Ausria’s solar technology stores part of the heat generated by the sun during the day, so that this can keep producing electricity even when the sun doesn’t shine.

“I see this as a good sign for the capitalintensive solar thermal market,” says Michael Graham Richard, a writer based in Ottawa, in February. “Projections have it growing at around 20% per year for the next decade, but depending on a few things (price of oil, carbon taxes, major climate events and new scientific discoveries), solar could potentially expand even faster than that (or slower, if we’re unlucky).”

Affected by the economic downturn, the solar thermal market expects a smaller growth rate in the next few years. But since the world is leaning towards renewable energies, the market for solar thermal continues to grow, according to BSRIA, a UK-based construction and building services consultancy. The normally favoured distribution channel in the European market is through installers and plumbers, except for the UK, Greece, Germany and France, where it is done through wholesalers.

France is also home to a number of trade shows in heating and airconditioning – in which firms and professionals in the Gulf could participate and visit, in order the learn more what that European country could offer to the region’s HVAC&R industry. Take, for instance, the Interclima + Elec Home & Building and the Enéo events. A biennial international exhibition in Paris, Interclima is dedicated to heating, refrigeration, air-conditioning and sanitary wares, while Enéo focuses on energy, climate control and water management.

A clear strategy on water slakes concerns about district cooling in the Kingdom

Delegates at The Climate Control Conference (C3) in Riyadh heard with relief that some of the key players in Saudi Arabia are doing district cooling right, be it in terms of water, power or financing. They also listened to the possibility of diverting cooling loads from residential to power plants and other industrial applications. Further, they responded to insights on refrigeration and ventilation.

The three-day conference, from March 14 to 16, was quite comprehensive in nature, including as it did almost all aspects of HVACR. It was a first for the Kingdom and, in that context, well received.

Day 1 focused on district cooling, with two clearly divided sessions. The morning session focused on the opportunities and challenges for district cooling in the Kingdom, whereas the afternoon session largely focused on what the rest of the GCC has to offer in terms of experience, expertise and refrain, borne out of over a decade of doing district cooling.

A standout feature of the morning session was that delegates got a localised flavour of Riyadh. The city’s King Saud University was a major point of focus in the 1970s when it established a central cooling plant. Using centrifugal chillers, it was able to achieve 1kW/TR, which was lauded as a technological advance and as something quite energy efficient. Equally significant, it used TSE, though it started off with using freshwater. Nevertheless, over the years, it has toted up the longest operating experience with TSE, something that its installers, the US Corps of Engineers, can be quite proud of. People at the conference listened with interest as Dr Zeyad A Al Suhaibani, Assistant Professor (Engineering Department) at the university took them through the profile of the district cooling regimen. They were particularly interested in hearing about the successful and sustained use of TSE from the 1970s, considering that the UAE has been using the source of water only from 2004 onwards.

While Saudi Arabia has had experience with central cooling plants for a long time, it is only in the recent past that it has adopted district cooling as a business model. The credit for being a pioneer goes to Saudi Tabreed, whose CEO, Abdul Hamid Al Mansour, shared his views on the initial days of doing district cooling. In his presentation, Al Mansour spoke of the tremendous challenges the company had to overcome, including the slab rate and also the cost of land for the plant rooms. He cited as examples the plant rooms in Jeddah and Madinah, where the plots of land cost the company SR100 million. His presentation brought home the message that the Government needs to support district cooling companies for the model to be financially viable.

Hisham Hajaj of Stanley Consultants was another key speaker. In his presentation, he highlighted the importance of the availability of water for district cooling to be successful in the Kingdom. Stanley Consultants is involved in the Pension and Retirement Fund projects in the country, in the forms of two plant rooms in King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) (capacity 100,000 TR) and the Information Technology and Communication Complex (ITCC) (30,000 TR). Hajaj spoke of how the decision makers at the Retirement Fund eventually gave the go-ahead to the project, after they were assured that the plants would use only TSE, following a signing of a contract with the National Water Company (NWC), and not freshwater. His presentation was an eye-opener to delegates that largely speaking, developers in Saudi Arabia will pursue district cooling only if a sustainable water source is available.

In a subsequent panel discussion, titled ‘The challenges and opportunities for district cooling utilities in Saudi Arabia’, Nasser H Al Aamry of NWC elaborated on TSE. In fact, Al Aamry brought a fresh air to the proceedings by saying that NWC is committed to bringing TSE to district cooling regimens in six cities, to start with, in the Kingdom and, later, to 15 cities. The six cities are Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Al Khobar.

Later, while making a presentation, Al Aamry went on to say that NWC had started with a SR 20 billion capital and that the company is looking to bring in several external investors in other cities, with NWC as the main shareholder. The intention, he said, is to bring foreign investors to handle privatisation of water and wastewater, in terms of collection and distribution. NWC, Al Aamry added, is willing to invest $20 billion over the next 10 years to boost the water infrastructure. This news was received with abundant relief by the district cooling industry. Battered as it is by the financial downturn and the rather sharp decline in the number of projects in Dubai, till recently regarded as the epicentre of district cooling in the region, Al Aamry’s words gave plenty of optimism to the delegates.

NWC will be supporting KAFD with 22,000 m3/ day of TSE and ITCC with 5,500 m3/day. Further, it has earmarked 10,000 m3/day for Ma’aden and 700,000- 800,000 m3/day for Riyadh alone, with irrigation schemes and industries as the beneficiaries.

Al Aamry’s co-panellist in the discussion on challenges and opportunities for district cooling in Saudi Arabia was Salah Abdulaziz Al Afaliq of National Trigeneration CHP, who has championed the trigeneration concept in industrial cities in the Kingdom. During the discussion, Al Afaliq spoke on how he is generating power, steam and chilled water for a select set of industries, including plastics and food processing. Another panellist was Abdullah Mohammad Al Jardan of City Cool Saudi Arabia, who spoke at length on the experience and difficulty in King Abdullah Economic City, where Emaar, he said, could not commit to an off-take in district cooling.

In a second panel discussion on the Saudi perspective, titled ‘Construction challenges and materials and supplies’, Albert Haykal of Trane spoke on the big advantages of water-cooled chillers in Riyadh, where due to dry conditions, the cooling tower would supply 80ºF water compared to 93-95ºF in the UAE. This, Haykal said, means an ability to select chillers at 0.56kW/TR compared to 0.7kW/TR in the UAE. Considering the fact that Riyadh is the driest, Haykal said, a water-cooled system is advantageous, and the gap (the demand for water) is filled by TSE, offered by NWC. His co-panellist, Mohamed R Zackariah of Protecooling (Suhaimi Design) concurred on the benefits of the watercooled system in Riyadh.

Haykal’s another co-panellist, Mohammad Abusaa of ADC Energy Systems spoke of the difficulties for contractors when he said that the Saudi labour law makes it difficult to get labour on time. “After signing a contract, it takes three to six months to get labour visas,” Abusaa said. Construction costs and materials are slightly high compared to the UAE, but the cost of living is low, Abusaa added. His co-panellists, Robert Geday of SNC Lavalin and Abdullah Zeneeh of Rio Electromechanical concurred with him.

In the afternoon session, George Berbari of DC Pro Engineering started off the GCC perspective on district cooling when he spoke on lessons learned from executing projects in the UAE. In his presentation, he focused on the phenomenon of over-building in the UAE. “One million was installed, and less than 500,000 was utilised,” Berbari said, adding that people simply did not manage their companies properly to match their financial projections. The news of Tabreed posting a huge loss was a bold move to acknowledge past mistakes, Berbari said.

After Berbari, Geday of SNC Lavalin elaborated on the extensive experience of the company, evidenced by the facts that it has installed over 680,000 TR (35 district cooling plants) all over the UAE. And Antoine Stephan of Hamon CTC described how the company has been cooling well water in Riyadh for over 30 years. In the course of his presentation, Stephan explained how the cooling tower capacity is derated at low wet bulb temperature. In other words, Stephan said, in Riyadh, there is a need to design for a larger approach, for example 10ºF or higher, compared to 6ºF, to compensate for derating of cooling towers.

The afternoon perspectives culminated in a panel discussion during which the finance side of district cooling came into focus. Mansoor Durrani of National Commercial Bank, Saudi Arabia; Khalil Issa of Energy Central, Bahrain; Mohammad Abusaa and Jardan were the panelists. Durrani revealed how banks were still interested in financing district cooling projects, provided there is strong offtake agreement with reputable end-users or developers, such as governmental or semigovernmental entities. Issa picked up the cue when he said that district cooling providers are still interested in investing cover story in projects, but they need to do a higher level of due diligence. “Provided there is strong offtake, they are willing to consider these projects,” Issa said.

District cooling companies will avoid investing in piping, Issa added. The developer ought to do that against a transmission fee, Jardan said. Abusaa gave the contractor perspective. He said that in the new paradigm, brought about by the downturn, contractors are being selective as to whom they would work with. Simply put, Abusaa said, contractors are looking at clients with a solid financial background.

Snapshots from the Event

Antoine Stephan, Director, Hamon CTC – Dubai Branch, with his years of experience in the field of district cooling and cooling towers, talks of the myths that pose challenges to using seawater in the UAE .

The Beginning

Antoine Stephan

I was born in Beirut in 1964. I went to a French school – College Protestant Francais. After schooling, I entered the American University of Beirut, from where I graduated in BE Civil Engineering, in 1986. Because of my background and my education, I have a French way and an American way of looking at things, which I feel, is important to understand the world today – combining the European culture and the practical approach of the Americans.

I started my career in contracting in 1987, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I was there till 1989. The two years there were slow years for me, with not much happening. I moved to France and worked in the contracting estimation sector.

In 1992, Paris experienced a recession. I thought it was the right time to do an MBA and took the course. I felt it was designed more for people who wanted to focus on changing their careers. What I mean is that the course was not for beginners, but for hardened professionals.

Joining Hamon

I graduated in 1995 and joined Hamon, because I was interested in international trading.

Thanks to my job with Hamon, I came back to the Middle East, where I took up the role of Business Development Manager. I was in charge of market surveys of the Near East and the Middle East. I was responsible for knowledge development for all Hamon divisions.

After two years, I was given the opportunity to work on the cooling aspect of the business – cooling towers (CTs), to be more specific. I worked in this division for a few years. And then, Hamon went through restructuring. I was made in charge of the business units for all the countries we dealt with; the task was to organise the companies.

I worked in this position for a few years. Then, I was in charge of servicing clients, like Bechtel, in the Middle East.

DC in Dubai

In 2004, the district cooling sector became active in the Middle East in particular, in the UAE. So I set up a base for Hamon in Dubai in 2006. We got our first order from the Dubai Civil Aviation for 33 cells, for the extension of the airport. It was then that we decided to come here and set up an office the same year.

We decided to come to Dubai, because the decision-making actors are here – actors like contractors and consultants. We started the office in 2006, for project management. Today, the projects are installed here, but the engineering is done in Europe.

We are now in a leading position. To date, we have been instrumental in providing 56,000 TR of cooling since 2005. So in five years, we have managed to serve the sector with our hard work, knowhow and our professional approach. So, although we arrived late in the market here, we are in a good position.

BEING PART OF THE HAMON FAMILY

Hamon is a 106-year-old company in cooling systems division. So it has a culture. Hamon is like a big family and creates a special feeling of belonging. As a result, people become so attached to it that they stay with the company for long.

As an employee, you feel dedicated. It’s a pleasure to work in an environment, where quality matters, and you study in-depth and with a long-term approach. Hamon is an international group that has proved to be successful in many different fields –power, oil and gas, metal industries, chemical industries and district cooling, which in particular, is comparable in size to an industrial application.

SEAWATER COOLING – A CHANGE OF PERCEPTION NEEDED

Here, in the UAE, there is a lack of in-depth knowledge about seawater cooling. In other words, there are several myths circulating around. This has led to a particular perception about it.

During the boom period, there was no proper discussion or a communication of ideas on seawater cooling. Simply put, it was summarily dismissed without it being given a chance or a decent hearing. I found it frustrating, because I like to bring optimum value to end-users. Now, it’s happening, but we are still behind other countries in getting the information across to the decision-makers.

We had raised the issue from Day One for optimising not only water but also power. The stumbling block for seawater cooling is the issue of capital costs, though.

At Hamon, we have the strength and ability to cater to all types of water – TSE, brackish, seawater … just about any type. Why, we are even cooling water with acid in some types of applications. We can cater to the particular needs of clients, and this is where we bring value. We are not in the business of packaged cooling towers but in specialised applications. We also propose different hybrid cooling towers, which we feel, will save water. Another option is to press into service air-cooled systems in tandem with cooling towers.

Noise reduction is an issue with cooling towers. At Hamon, we can tackle this, as we are very strong in this.

And also, what are the considerations to bring down power costs? Optimising power and opex is the answer. This has never been considered here. The point is, we can bring value to the market.

At Hamon, we have 200+ engineers – project engineers, R&D engineers, testing engineers…. They look at every project in-depth and integrate it with the needs.

Whenever we have the opportunity, we give seminars and bring the advantages of seawater cooling to the attention of clients, as a way of educating people.

Another issue that is important is the optimising of the sourcing of materials for cooling towers, be they in the form of fans or motors.

Every big supplier has facilities in China and India. But here, in the GCC, you have limitations, born out of incorrect perception. We can propose good-quality products coming out of China, but the perception towards China is that they produce sub-standard, counterfeit products. The point is, China has good quality control and pricing, if you are talking of a European supplier who has set up a factory in China with good quality requirements. So, in this case, you are safe, as far as China is concerned. What I’m trying to say is that we need more discussions and more flexibility to bring this young market to maturity.

When I arrived in Dubai, I came with an industrial background.

Hamon actually participated in the Jubail project, in the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, where you have the petrochemical industries. They were using seawater cooling towers in a channel for 20 years. Then the pumping capacity for this became saturated. So they needed Phase 2.

There were two main scenarios:

1. Construct or extend the channel

2. Do grouping of cooling towers

These were disregarded. They finally chose to go with individual cooling towers for each use. Hamon was the first to supply individual cooling towers (90,000 m3, 26 cells). So we are very aware of the disadvantages, the environmental impact in the Gulf region being one of them.

We have studied the situation in Qatar. They are using seawater cooling towers there. The UAE is lagging behind Qatar in this respect, as there are no big seawater cooling applications here.

In this context, we would like to do the groundwork and develop a seawater cooling regimen here, given the fact that we are in the business for 40 years. We have achieved 1.5 million m3/hour of cooling the world over. So this is a wellknown domain for us.

THE FINER POINTS OF DISTRICT COOLING

As district cooling involves chillers and heat exchangers, you need to use titanium, which makes it expensive. In the case of cooling towers, though, this is not an issue. We don’t need titanium. We use high grade of hardware. But in the case of chillers and heat exchangers, this becomes an issue.

When I arrived here in the UAE, the potential clients said, ‘We cannot rely on seawater intake’. This was because Dubai was reclaiming a lot of land, as a result of which, the coastline was changing. So, if we had set up the seawater intake plant at a particular location, it would have had to be relocated, if they had reclaimed the land to establish the coastline farther away than where it was.

Another belief was that seawater intake is very hot. But this is not true, because we are talking of the same Gulf water. If the same Gulf seawater is being used in Jubail in Saudi Arabia and in Qatar, then this perception cannot be true. As I said earlier, there are several myths that need to be dispelled.

So the challenge is not with cooling towers, but with the cost of titanium, which you need to use in heat exchangers. Another challenge is the delivery time.

We, as cooling tower people, are not affected. But it is the other side – chillers and heat exchangers – that makes seawater cooling an expensive proposition. And of course, you have the limitation of seawater intake, because the developers are constantly reclaiming the land and, thus, the coastline changes.

ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM

In Bahrain, they have had no other option but to go for seawater cooling. In Saudi Arabia, it was the easiest option. Here, in the UAE, they say that TSE is better, but you don’t have enough plants to give you TSE. The sea is open, it is free. The investment cost – titanium – is an issue, but water savings is for ever. But I cannot convince the client to go in for chillers; it’s not my job. As a cooling tower supplier, though, I hold the flag very high.

Also, from an environmental perspective, people say that seawater cooling has drawbacks. But the fact is that the salt evaporated from the sea near Dubai or Abu Dhabi is much higher in concentration than from any seawater cooling tower. As I said, there are several myths circulating in the air.

It was proved when we highlighted Jubail in our study and did model testing that the salt concentration going into the atmosphere is high compared to what comes out of a cooling tower. You can conduct a model study using a computer software and simulate the process. So you can prove this 100% scientifically.

In the UAE, we showed the study to one or two consultants, but the drawback was not with us – the cooling tower people – but with the cost of titanium, as a result of which, the capex was high.

Also, let us not forget that during the boom period, the market was growing too fast. People did not have time, or allotted the time, to think things through. At the time, the only concern was capex. Now, during the downturn, people have that much more time to cogitate and consider the facts by eliminating all the myths.

MY FAMILY

I am married and have two boys – Cyril and Mario – aged 10 and 6. They enjoy living in Dubai as much as is possible. My wife’s name is Noura.

I like travelling a lot. When it comes to sports, I like skiing in the French Alps. Here in the UAE, I take my boys to Ski Dubai to practise.

I also like music, theatre and art. In music, I like jazz, rock, classical, New Age and world music. I have a collection of 1,000 CDs. To me, culture is very important, and this is what I miss in Dubai. I like a cultural environment, because I have spent 18 years in France.

In Paris, you have theatre, concerts, museums. But Dubai is improving. The theatre scene is more active in Abu Dhabi than in Dubai. But the art scene – galleries displaying art – is good in Dubai.

I love books, especially fiction and books on spiritualism. I recently read a book about the human brain – My Stroke of Insight – written by a Harvard neurologist. It’s amazing how the human brain works. The writer has understood how the brain functions and how you can manage the intellectual aspect of it. It has given me an insight into life.