Dubai, UAE: The 5^th Annual Middle East Variable Refrigerant Flow Conference will take place on March 27,2017, at Al Yasat Ballroom, Roda Al Murooj Downtown, Dubai.

Produced by CPI Industry, the publishers of Climate Control Middle East magazine, the conference will focus on the theme: ‘Towards critical mass’. Elaborating further, the company said that the following questions will form the basis for the conference: With increasing pressure to reduce power consumption, energy-related regulations have firmly come to the forefront in the GCC region. Bodies like SASO and ESMA moved into this a few years ago, and Qatar and Bahrain have launched MEPS programmes. How do these developments sit with the VRF industry, which according to manufacturers and suppliers of the technology, is on the road to achieving critical mass sooner than later. Are the regulations specific to the VRF technology? Is there a move to adopt the SEER approach to measuring the performance of VRF systems?

Equally, what is the level of sophistication the GCC region has acquired when it comes to the installation of VRF systems? Has there been progress compared to a year ago, in terms of better installation work through the region? Have manufacturers and suppliers escalated efforts to offer better installation support? Is this the case with all manufacturers and suppliers?

Conference speakers, the company said, will discuss the sustained relevance, growth and well-being of the VRF industry.

The following topics will be discussed at the conference:

• Milestones and accomplishments: Tracing the positive experiences with VRFs in projects in the GCC region: Developers and consultants perspective [VIDEO]
• The 2020 World EXPO effect: Exploring VRF growth opportunities in the mega-event.
• Studying the performance of VRFs in high-rise towers, villas, malls, hospitals and process cooling applications
• Where do VRFs fit into the region’s sustainable development goals?
• Green ally? Is VRF technology helping Green Building consultants achieve more credits for Pearl 3 or LEED Platinum, to cite two examples?
• Benefits for consultants and contractors, in terms of cost, of speed of service, and of speed of response to complaints and to requests for spare parts
• Value engineering of projects, and how to make VRF a viable technology. Considering such aspects as total cost of ownership and total cost of development
• Aftermarket services as a key differentiator in a highly competitive market; a profile of best practices, including structured training, mentorship in installation and broad support
• Installation aspects: Brazing, flushing, wiring
• Structuring of maintenance, and warranty terms and conditions: A need for supervision of maintenance by VRF manufacturers. If maintained by an external service provider, is it fair to expect VRF manufacturers to honour the warranty period? A need for authorised service providers, akin to expectation of authorised installers
• Regulations with a view to saving energy, reducing carbon emissions and reducing the electricity bill for the consumer
• The current VRF-related regulation framework in Europe, and the European experience with a SEER-based approach, system of different weightages and considering part-load
• The right way to test and certify VRF systems: A GCC regulatory body’s perspective
• The time frame given to manufacturers for implementing regulations, and the inherent challenges time constraints pose on product development