B Surendar

One of the key takeaways from The Climate Control Conference in Riyadh in November 2012 was the expressed need for a VRF Association, something along the lines of the International District Energy Association, so that all the stakeholders can have an opportunity to meet and to exchange notes on a myriad issues.

Perhaps never before has this need for information been more pronounced than now, considering the fact that variable refrigerant flow systems have gained some ground in the region.

An association of stakeholders – and this could include the regulators, climate change implementation bodies, manufacturers, developers, facilities owners, contractors, consultants and even the end-users – has the potential to offer clarity on environmental policies that govern regulations on energy efficiency and refrigerants. Further, it can highlight technological innovations from VRF manufacturers to keep developers interested. But perhaps the most significant role it can play is that of advocacy.

In the case of district cooling, conference after conference has driven home the benefits of a large centralised cooling regimen on several fronts. There has been sufficient opportunity for stakeholders to receive and process regional and international data in support of district cooling, and that has helped increase the penetration rate in the GCC, never mind the fact that the rate of growth remains a moot point.

The point, though, is that the VRF industry could do with a large dose of advocacy. At the Riyadh conference, delegates asked the manufacturers to share operational data with them and other features. One of the delegates specifically urged the manufacturers to band together to highlight the benefits, such as the full modulation of the system and the low noise of variable flow, which he said, was excellent from an acoustics perspective.

On the 24th and the 25th of February, CPI Industry will be conducting a regional VRF conference, in Abu Dhabi, where considerable attention will be dedicated to the regulatory frameworks in place in the GCC. To date, key stakeholders in government and industry have pledged their support and will be attending. We can’t think of a better opportunity than the conference to start discussions on a VRF Association.

This could be the beginning of something significant for the HVAC industry in the region. It would be lovely if you could join and help take things forward.

– B Surendar