Dubai, UAE, 9 May 2018: Pahwa Group’s flagship companies, DRI and Bry-Air jointly conducted a technical seminar on new air technologies, on May 7, in Dubai. Dinesh Gupta, Executive Director, Bry-Air, described the purpose of the event as being able to introduce the latest products to local stakeholders and spotlight the commitment of the two companies to advancing new technology. This was echoed by Vinod Ramnani, Business Head, Arctic, Evaporative Cooling Solutions, DRI. “Innovation is life,” he said. “That is our mantra, and Pahwa Group keeps looking at new ways to improve energy efficiency and bringing in new technology to effectively [provide] temperature and humidity control. Air is our business.” Gupta, Ramnani and Varun Pahwa, Executive Vice President, DRI, conducted in-depth presentations, highlighting trends, developments and applications related to indirect evaporative cooling, gas-phase filtration, adsorption chillers, swimming pool humidity control, desiccant humidification and Dedicated Outdoor Air Systems (DOAS).

Gupta said the UAE has showcased appreciation for new technology, pointing to the country’s move to mandate energy conservation in construction of new buildings, despite the fact that energy is abundant in the country, as one of the drivers in this regard. This, he said, makes a case for indirect evaporative cooling, which Gupta said will see stronger uptake in the near future. Gupta added that legislation to promote energy-saving was also a welcome development and that this has influenced stakeholders’ adoption of more efficient equipment.

Ramnani echoed this when he said: “The consultant community in the UAE is vibrant and alert with what is happening as far as energy saving is concerned. There are a lot of areas, where conventional air conditioning can be replaced with indirect evaporative cooling.” Touching on applications of the technologies in the context of commercial spaces, Ramnani said the main goal is creating a good environment for workers and technicians in manufacturing areas and service stations to provide comfort and enhance their productivity.

Touching on the food and pharmaceutical applications of desiccant dehumidifiers, Gupta said that he believes government efforts to enhance transparency through initiatives, such as the Food Watch programme, will help encourage best practice and enhance adoption of such technologies. “It will help increase shelf life of products and ensure the quality of products in the market,” Gupta said. He added that such technologies are especially vital in view of quality control mechanisms being implemented in compliance with emerging rules and regulations. In the field of pharmaceuticals, he said, temperature control and dehumidification is even more important to ensure quality of critical products.

Hannah Jo Uy is Features Writer at Climate Control Middle East magazine. She may be contacted at hannah@cpi-industry.com