As climate change pushes temperatures ever higher in the Middle East, the HVAC&R industry is being asked to provide more cooling while simultaneously consuming less energy. It’s a problem the industry has had to confront across the world, but the high ambient temperatures of the Middle East make it especially difficult to balance cooling and energy consumption.
It’s this challenge that Eurovent Middle East, an industry association of HVAC&R manufacturers and local service providers, is addressing at its upcoming HVACR Next Generation congress, which is being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 28. Indoor air quality (IAQ), ventilation and training are all major focus points of the program, as are natural refrigerants. In addition to technical challenges and best practices, another goal of the event is to show that sustainability is good for business, according to Markus Lattner, Managing Director of Eurovent Middle East.
“There is a clear business case to be made to rely on high-quality, high-energy-efficient systems designed and operated by trained and qualified personnel,” Lattner said.
NaturalRefrigerants.com spoke with Lattner to learn more about the HVACR Next Generation congress and Eurovent Middle East’s goals for the event. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The HVACR Next Generation congress is a relatively new event in its second edition. What is its goal and format?
Markus Lattner: There are several major issues the industry and region is facing that need to be brought to the attention of a wider audience within our ecosystem. Contrary to many of the commercial conferences, we can address these issues free from commercial interest and influence. We do not allow commercial content and sponsoring does not automatically entitle you to a presentation. This ensures that we can provide a truly relevant and engaging agenda.
One of the key topics on the agenda is the refrigerant transition in high ambient temperature, or HAT, countries. Given this, what presence will natural refrigerants have on the agenda?
ML: It is clear that the region will have to adapt to a changing refrigerant landscape in the coming decades, and the top priority lies in decarbonizing the building sector. Natural refrigerants will undoubtedly have to play a major part in this transition, and it is essential that we educate the market on their potential and address prejudices and misinformation as to their applicability in HAT conditions.
We want to motivate investors and end users to switch to low-GWP solutions at an early stage. We will discuss essential steps to be taken if we want to see this transition be successful from the legal environment to qualification requirements and the adoption of relevant international safety standards. This aspect will form a major part of the conference.
Training is an issue in the HVAC&R industry, both in general and with regard to the transition to natural refrigerants. Will training be a topic of discussion at the event?
ML: We launched our HVAC&R Leadership Academy two years ago to provide certified technical training, and we are seeing an increased interest in f-gas certification, which is a vital first step. Qualification across the value chain from planning to installation, operation and maintenance forms the greatest savings potential when it comes to energy consumption and carbon emissions. It is about time that we bring more skill requirements to the industry in the region.
“Natural refrigerants will undoubtedly have to play a major part in this transition, and it is essential that we educate the market on their potential and address prejudices and misinformation as to their applicability in HAT conditions.”
Markus Lattner, Managing Director of Eurovent Middle East
In addition to high-ambient temperatures, are there other unique challenges facing the HVAC&R industry in the Middle East?
ML: Our other major focal point is ventilation. We are still ignoring the important role of ventilation in the full HVAC&R cycle. After all, the best chiller on the roof is useless if the cooling load isn’t delivered equally and fully to the building. Add into this its effect on IAQ, the role it plays in keeping buildings healthy and its energy imprint, which is estimated to be between 40% to 50% of the total HVAC-related energy costs, and it is clear that we need to bring more scrutiny to the planning and design of ventilation systems.
We also will highlight that sustainability, aside from its environmental impact, is directly related to lower total cost of ownership. There is a clear business case to be made to rely on high-quality, high-energy-efficient systems designed and operated by trained and qualified personnel.
What are your goals for the event? What would you like attendees to learn or take with them?
ML: We want to connect stakeholders and raise awareness and understanding of the interconnections of these topics. We want to correct certain misperceptions and invite the audience to join our various initiatives and educational offerings. And we want to foster a more regular exchange between government, industry, the building sector and academia in the hope that we can accelerate sustainable practices. We want to show that the industry has solutions readily available. We have answers to many issues and just need some people to step up and lead by example.
