UK-based company presents key features of the technology at Danway seminar

L-R: Alaa Eldin Mahmoud, Gerald Weston, Jim Gale and Sam Taleb

Danway in May conducted a technical seminar in Dubai, during which its UK-headquartered partner, Weatherite made a presentation on adsorption chillers. Speaking at the seminar, Gerald Weston, Sustainable Solutions Executive at Weatherite Manufacturing Limited, explained the principles and the start-up procedure of an adsorption chiller, and its advantages.

The chiller has a simple and short start-up, Weston said. It is capable of producing chilled water temperature as low as 3ºC, and boasts of a stable operation and a stable chilled water output, he added.

The adsorption chiller uses trigen, solar and waste heat, Weston said. “It can be applied in the Northern Emirates, where there is an issue with the availability of power,” Weston said. “You can link it to a gen set and use it for cooling. You don’t have to generate that much electricity, because cooling is coming from waste heat.”

To date, Weatherite has not done anything on solar, Weston admitted, but added that adsorption technology works very well with solar. “There are several installations in California, where they use solar,” Weston said.

When asked how the chiller works in ambient conditions of 45ºC, Weston said that when the condensing water temperature rises, the performance does drop, but still the adsorption chiller was better than an absorption chiller with regards to performance.

Gerald Weston

Expressing optimism that there certainly was a market for adsorption chillers in the UAE, Weston added that his confidence stemmed from the fact that there were a number of production facilities all over the UAE. “These facilities do give out waste heat,” Weston said, “so you can look at localised cooling.”

Earlier, Sam Taleb, the MD of Danway, opened the seminar by expressing confidence in the partnership with the UK-headquartered company. Through signing up with Weatherite, Taleb said, Danway has clearly signalled its intention that it is not just about switchgears but that it also wants to provide a one-stop-shop solution to the market.

Also present at the seminar were Jim Gale, the MD of Weatherite and Alaa Eldin Mahmoud, Division Manager (Pumps) at Danway