DUBAI, UAE, 23 May 2022: CPI Industry, publishers of Climate Control Middle East magazine, will be hosting ‘The Great Debate: Comparing the merits of CHW and VRF systems’. To be held on June 13, as a co-located event of the 5^th edition of The Client, Consultant, Contractor Conference, at the Metropolitan Hotel Dubai, The Great Debate has already captured the imagination of the industry and stoked excitement with its unique setting and format.

As with most HVACR conference, the objective of The Great Debate is to ascertain the best possible approaches, all things considered, to deliver affordable, efficient, resource-friendly, safe and reliable comfort cooling in the GCC region.

The Great Debate comes at a time when both systems – CHW and VRF – claim to have made substantial progress and market penetration. In that context, does the argument, ‘horses for courses’ hold true, or are we missing a point that holds the key to sustainable and reliable air conditioning? A key question, the answer to which possibly would offer a direction to traditional discussions surrounding chilled water systems and variable refrigerant flow systems is, ‘Where is the data? Indeed, The Great Debate is an attempt at arriving at clarity, at a time when the world is desperately seeking solutions to lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduce total cost of ownership (TCO), improve reliability and to strengthen Indoor Air Quality interventions.

The Great Debate will see proponents of the two systems sitting face to face in a classical setting and discussing key talking points, with a moderator providing the structure and timeframe for the discussion and with a Listening Panel – comprising government agencies from across the GCC region – in attendance, in addition to the regular audience mix of master developers, consultants, contractors, manufacturers, distributors and sectoral end-users in hospitality, healthcare, education, aviation and other commercial verticals.

“The Great Debate is a serious and earnest exercise to highlight facts with unprecedented clarity,” said Surendar Balakrishnan, Co-Founder & Editorial Director, CPI Industry. “It is expected that the coming together of master developers, developers, building owner associations, consultants, contractors, manufacturers, distributors and sectoral end-users in healthcare, hospitality, aviation, education and malls in a uniquely styled setting would prompt greater insight, leading to lowering of total cost of ownership and greenhouse gas emissions and to improving Indoor Air Quality.”

Key talking points in the session include:

• Energy efficiency in multiple building types/energy consumption on an annualised basis; M&V; onsite data harvesting and analysis
• Sources of energy: Natural Gas, hydrogen, Renewable Energy
• Water-use optimisation in multiple building types
• O&M issues (streamlined maintenance protocols)
• Refrigerants and occupant safety
• Cooling towers and human health
• Environmental impact (atmosphere, soil, water); net-zero-building aspirations
• Comfort cooling: reliability of cooling (last-mile guarantee), zoned cooling and heating, simultaneous cooling and heating
• Cost of installation, broad capex considerations
• Total cost of ownership
• Aftermarket service – including installation training, mentorship, support, supervision, spare parts – provided as a standard business practice by all manufacturers and suppliers
• Need for an international standard that provides standardised technical detail for minimum expected performance
• Regulation: MEPS and their impact on governing the performance of HVAC equipment and their interaction with other building assets in ensuring better building performance
• Smart cities and digital intervention

The Great Debate is a co-located event of the 5^th edition of The Client, Consultant, Contractor Conference (TQuadC). To date, Gulf-O-Flex is the Co-Host of TQuadC, and Mekar, Samsung and Royal Gulf are the Bronze Sponsors; Al Hadara Consulting & Engineering is the Associate Sponsor.

And to date, The Great Debate has Mekar, Samsung and Royal Gulf as Bronze Sponsors.

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For more details, contact:

Namrata Aswani

Strategic Public Affairs Liaison & Events Manager, CPI Industry

E: namrata@cpi-industry.com

M: +971 50 55 22 461