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March 2025 EMPOWER SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH PALM GATEWAY EUROVENT PUBLISHES NEW AIR CURTAIN RECOMMENDATION US$ PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ US$ PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ US$ PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ US$ PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ ADVERTORIALS Güntner… on heat exchangers Ebm-papst… on unlocking the potential of retrofitting POST-EVENT REPORT The Rain Resilience Conference FILTER FOCUS The air quality realities we deny Dr Iyad Al-Attar, independent air filtration consultant FROM DATA CENTRES TO AUTONOMOUS BUILDINGS AND FROM HYDROGEN PRODUCTION TO F&B, HEAT EXCHANGERS ARE TAKING ON AN INCREASINGLY ALL- PERVASIVE ROLE NEWS • AESG strengthens its Saudi Fire & Life Safety team • Armstrong launches new digital platform • CAREL Deutschland appoints Björn Donners as MD • Ziehl-Abegg appoints Marco Altherr as CFO EDITORIAL CAMPAIGN: REFRIGERANTS REVIEW Refrigerant Transition • Rehan Shahid, P&T Group • Markus Lattner, Eurovent Middle East • Thomas Carney, Samsung HVAC America Hx in mode! TurboVOL. 20 NO. 3 MARCH 2025 14 16 22 28 06 12 24 www.ccme.news 3 page COVER STORY Spreading far and wide From data centres to autonomous buildings and from hydrogen production to F&B, heat exchangers are taking on an increasingly all-pervasive role EDITORIAL CAMPAIGN: Refrigerants Review ■ Rehan Shahid of P&T Group says when it comes to climate action, the issues are not merely technological but also economic and political ■ Markus Lattner of Eurovent Middle East outlines current developments and the implications of the refrigerant transition for stakeholders ■ Thomas Carney of Samsung HVAC America speaks on the impact to manufacturers of equipment implementing on a timeline established by refrigerant-related regulation POST-EVENT REPORT The Rain Resilience Conference Policymakers; urban planners; developers; and civil, structural and MEP engineers explore innovative solutions for enhancing safety of our cities by bolstering infrastructure and buildings FILTER FOCUS ‘The air quality realities we deny’ Dr Iyad Al-Attar emphasises the importance of selecting air filters based on their real-world performance rather than just controlled conditions of a laboratory REGULARS 32 Regional News 38 Global News 04 eDItor'S note 10 ADVERTORIALS Validating performance… the Güntner way With lab and simulation facilities located across the globe, Güntner says it is able to carry out a wide range of tests towards innovative HVACR solutions Retrofitting is a game-changer Marco Duarte of ebm-papst Middle East speaks on unlocking the potential of retrofitting and energy efficiency in the Middle EastMarch 2025 4 T HIS issue contains an article by Iyad Al-Attar, independent air filtration consultant and long-standing guest columnist in Climate Control Middle East, in which he raises a critical point on testing of equipment. He says that laboratory settings often provide idealised conditions, neglecting the dynamic nature of urban environments. Fluctuations in climate, ambient conditions, and filter manufacturing and loading scenarii significantly impact filter efficiency and longevity, he says. “For instance, a filter that demonstrates high efficiency in a controlled laboratory environment may exhibit reduced performance in a humid, heavily polluted urban setting with an increased particle concentration,” he says. “This disparity underscores the need for a more nuanced understanding of filter behaviour under diverse operational and filter-loading conditions. Therefore, to effectively select air filters, it is essential to understand how they perform under various conditions, not just in the controlled settings of a testing laboratory.” It is interesting that Peter Roth of Güntner speaks on testing, in this very same issue, offering a slightly different perspective. Placing full confidence in laboratory testing, Roth, Head of Güntner Test Laboratory in Germany, says it is essential to test products in a controlled setting, but with stringent and specific set of aspects in place. “We don’t want to rely on theoretical textbook knowledge,” he says. “Textbooks can have a margin for error of as much as 30%, and we need to be much more precise than that, both for our customers’ needs and to keep our quality standards. It’s essential to guarantee the thermal capacities that we’re offering to our customers. If you use pressure drop and heat transfer correlations based on other people’s research, which is not necessarily applicable to our units, you can end up selling a unit that is either too big or too small for the heat exchange process that a customer requires.” I felt it relevant to highlight Al-Attar's and Roth’s words and emphasise that they are right in their specific given circumstances, lest you think the magazine is serving up contradictions. That said, contradictions and counterpoints are indicative of the magazine’s alignment with free speech and as enabling plurality of expression, so essential to better learning outcomes, from which would spring radical solutions to climate change, the need for better IAQ and a whole host of virtues associated with building performance, data centre cooling, industrial refrigeration and more. Jeremy McDonald Principal of Guth DeConzo Consulting Engineers, in New York, writes on IAQ and building tracing. He served as the technical consultant to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority in development of an IAQ guideline for Higher Education in NY: “Covid-19 Response Guide, State University of New York”. Dan Mizesko Managing Partner/President, US Chiller Services International, writes on issues relating to chilled water systems, including operation & maintenance. Nabil Shahin Managing Director, AHRI MENA, writes on HVACR- specific regulation issues. Dr Iyad Al-Attar Independent air filtration consultant, writes on specific science and technology issues relating to Indoor Air Quality, including airborne particles. Omnia Halawani Co-Founder & Co-CEO, GRFN Global, writes on MEP consultancy- related issues. Krishnan Unni Madathil Auditor, Bin Khadim, Radha & Co. Chartered Accountants, carrying out an analysis of the market, writes on business opportunities for the HVACR industry. Editor Surendar Balakrishnan surendar@cpi-industry.com Online & Social Media Nivedita Vijayan marketing@cpi-industry.com Advertising Enquiries Frédéric Paillé +971 50 7147204 fred@cpi-industry.com Judy Wang Our representative in Asia (except India) +852 307 80 826 judywang2000@vip.126.com Deep Karani Our representative in North America +1 365 885-6849 deep.karani@cpimediagroup.com Design Head Ulysses Galgo uly@cpi-industry.com Webmaster Chris Lopez chris@cpi-industry.com Database/Subscriptions Manager Purwanti Srirejeki purwanti@cpi-industry.com Published by Founder, CPI Media Group Dominic De Sousa (1959-2015) Co-Founder & Commercial Director Frédéric Paillé fred@cpi-industry.com EMPANELLED COLUMNISTSCo-Founder & Editorial Director Surendar Balakrishnan surendar@cpi-industry.com Head Office PO Box 13700, Dubai, UAE Web: www.cpi-industry.com Printed by: Jaguar Printing Press L.L.C © Copyright 2025 CPI Industry. All rights reserved. While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein. Plurality of thought and learning outcomes Visit our website: climatecontrolme.com/digital Also available at March 2025 EMPOWER SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH PALM GATEWAY EUROVENT PUBLISHES NEW AIR CURTAIN RECOMMENDATION PUBLICATIONPUBLICATIONPUBLICATION US$ PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ ADVERTORIALS Güntner… on heat exchangers Ebm-papst… on unlocking the potential of retrofitting POST-EVENT REPORT The Rain Resilience Conference FILTER FOCUS The air quality realities we deny Dr Iyad Al-Attar, independent air filtration consultant FROM DATA CENTRES TO AUTONOMOUS BUILDINGS AND FROM HYDROGEN PRODUCTION TO F&B, HEAT EXCHANGERS ARE TAKING ON AN INCREASINGLY ALL- PERVASIVE ROLE NEWS • AESG strengthens its Saudi Fire & Life Safety team • Armstrong launches new digital platform • CAREL Deutschland appoints Björn Donners as MD • Ziehl-Abegg appoints Marco Altherr as CFO EDITORIAL CAMPAIGN: REFRIGERANTS REVIEW Refrigerant Transition • Rehan Shahid, P&T Group • Markus Lattner, Eurovent Middle East • Thomas Carney, Samsung HVAC America Hx in mode! Turbo Get the next issue of Climate Control Middle Eastearly! Surendar Balakrishnan Editor @BSurendar_HVACROFFICIAL PUBLICATIONPRODUCED BY ccme.news/event/vrf-conference MIDDLE EAST VARIABLE REFRIGERANT FLOW CONFERENCE STRATEGIC HVACR RECRUITMENT PARTNER STRATEGIC KNOWLEDGE PARTNERSPRINCIPAL STRATEGIC KNOWLEDGE PARTNER SPONSORS & PARTNERS MULHIM DESIGN DIAMOND SPONSORS “ADVANCING VRF TECHNOLOGY: INSIGHTS AND INNOVATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN A SAUDI ARABIA THAT IS EAGERLY EMBRACING AI AND AUTONOMOUS BUILDINGS” 7 MAY 2025 RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIAMarch 2025 6 Dr Iyad Al-Attar discusses the limitations of solely relying on air filtration for improving urban air quality, and emphasises the importance of selecting air filters based on their real-world performance rather than just the controlled conditions of a testing laboratory plays a pivotal role in our overall health and wellbeing. However, we seem to be overly reliant on air filtration as a band- aid and sole solution to all Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) issues without addressing the root causes of pollution. Achieving optimal IAQ sustainably is complex, particularly when integrating HVAC and filtration performances in a single unit. Inconsistencies and deviations in filter performance, coupled with the influence of operational conditions, such as flow rate in the air-handling unit (AHU) within which they operate, add to the complexity of attaining the desired IAQ outcomes. Additionally, any vibrations or imbalances affecting the AHU’s frame – be they owing to a performance degradation of the fan/motor mounting assembly or external factors – can be transmitted to the filter frame and media structure. This can result in the re-entrainment of previously captured particles, thereby compromising the overall efficiency of installed filters. Furthermore, improper installation of filters can allow particles to bypass the filtration process. All these issues defeat the intended purpose of installing a filter in the first place. It is critical to minimise such performance deviations, since many factors impacting filter performance act as moving targets to raise the bar of IAQ. Ideally, the filtration process can be better predicted when the filter media is homogeneous and particles are large, spherical and uniformly sized. However, while all these pre-conditions seem improbable, filtration pioneers need to engineer their filter design and Dr Iyad Al-Attar, an independent air filtration consultant, writes on specific science and technology issues relating to Indoor Air Quality, including airborne particles. He may be reached at i@driyadalattar.com T HE quest for clean and healthy indoor environments has become increasingly critical in our urbanised world. Considering that we spend a significant period of our lives indoors, the quality of the air we breathe FILTER FOCUS The Filtration Bandwagonwww.ccme.news 7 media solutions to make them fit for purpose. Air filter performance can deteriorate, and clogging may accelerate deterioration when the filter is exposed to various outdoor and indoor pollutants with different physical characteristics and chemical compositions, particularly those emitted from sand storms, wildfires and volcanoes. Urban air pollution Outdoor and indoor air may contain a wide variety of contaminants, including particulate matter, gases, radon, biological contaminants (mould, bacteria, fungi, dust mites, spores and pollen) and multiple organic and inorganic chemical compounds, each with their own associated health risks. The World Health Organization estimates that 5.13 excess deaths per year globally are attributable to ambient air pollution from fossil fuel emission [1,2] . This is a stark reminder of our addiction to fossil fuel combustion and the lives that could be saved by phasing out fossil fuels. One should reflect on the nature and trajectory of our current growth as we continue deforestation and urbanisation, spending on filtration technologies to champion the clean air cause in the buildings we occupy. Therefore, before rushing to install countless filters to capture pollutants of various physical and chemical characteristics, we must establish the root causes of our anthropogenic emissions. This means critically examining the sources of pollution, such as industrial processes, transportation and power generation, and implementing strategies to reduce emissions at their source. We cannot allow our planet to become a never-ending landfill overflowing with discarded filters and overwhelming our recycling systems. Just as an overflowing bathtub cannot manage excess water, the Earth struggles to cope with the immense air pollution and waste. The current situation has transformed what once was a manageable lifecycle of a planet capable of self-regeneration into an environmental crisis. This crisis stems from overproduction and overconsumption, which disrupt the natural balance. This disruption is highlighted by the concept of the bathtub surge, as proposed by Kenneth Boulding [3] . Focusing solely on air filtration leads to a false sense of security, potentially diverting attention and resources from addressing the underlying drivers of pollution, akin to treating the symptoms of a disease or disorder without Figure 1: Scanning electron microscopic image of captured particles around the filter fibre Figure 2: Scanning electron microscopic image of particle-loaded fibrous filter media installed in a typical air-handling unit Figure 3: AI-generated image highlighting the analogy of the Bathtub Theory, relevant to the rising tide of air pollution understanding the cause. While filters can temporarily alleviate the symptoms of poor air quality, they do not address the systemic issues that contribute to pollution in the first place. Moreover, it is crucial to recognise the non-linear relationship between pollution and air filtration. Adding more filtration stages is analogous to adding excessive fertilisers to accelerate growth and harvest; it does not necessarily translate to a proportional increase in overall efficiency. Each additional stage adds March 2025 8 Scanning electron microscopic images are copyright of the author. CPI Industry accepts no liability for the views or opinions expressed in this column, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided here. performance complexity, increases energy consumption, and may lead to diminishing returns in terms of air quality improvement. This is especially true in the absence of a detailed account of the pollutant’s characteristics challenging installed air filters and what they are designed to tackle. For instance, while a single filter might capture 50% of a specific airborne particle size, adding another identical filter does not necessarily double the particle capture efficiency or perfect its performance. A simplistic assumption of that nature neglects performance parameters impacting filter loading conditions, most of which are transient and impact particle deposition on or within filter media. This highlights the importance of optimising filtration systems based on specific needs and considering factors like filter design, airflow, particle interactions with filter fibres, and their physical and chemical characteristics. Filtration is not a buzzword Today, air quality and filtration are not included in the cache of popular buzzwords like energy efficiency, sustainability, AI and digital transformation. Air quality should have been woven into the tapestry of city design and urban planning decades ago but was undoubtedly overshadowed by the hype of other priority tides that better serve the business model. Current overreliance on air filters suggests that not only are we overpolluting, but we are also overproducing them. Bridging the filtration gaps One of the primary hurdles in ensuring effective IAQ is the discrepancy between laboratory test results and real-world filter performance. Laboratory settings often provide idealised conditions, neglecting the dynamic nature of urban environments. Fluctuations in climate, ambient conditions, and filter manufacturing and loading scenarii significantly impact filter efficiency and longevity. For instance, a filter that demonstrates high efficiency in a controlled laboratory environment may exhibit reduced performance in a humid, heavily polluted urban setting with an increased particle concentration. This disparity underscores the need for a more nuanced understanding of filter behaviour under diverse operational and filter-loading conditions. Therefore, to effectively select air filters, it is essential to understand how they perform under various conditions, not just in the controlled settings of a testing laboratory. The variability in filter loading scenari poses a significant challenge. Filters are designed to capture airborne particles, but the rate at which they accumulate these particles can vary widely. Subjecting air filters to lower particle concentrations than those used when loading filters in laboratories may lead to different efficiency levels, which are likely better; however, that is not guaranteed, as it requires the correlation of efficiency to particle size distribution. High-efficiency filters should be entertained if the vast majorirty of the particles are PM1 (particle m). On the other hand, during sandstorms, in areas of high traffic, or during periods of intense pollution, filters may become overloaded, leading to a decline in efficiency and an increase in pressure drop. This compromises IAQ and increases energy consumption, as HVAC systems work harder to push air through clogged filters. Striking a balance between filtration efficiency and energy consumption is essential for sustainable IAQ management. This can be achieved by developing a permeable, high-efficiency advanced filter media providing minimal pressure drop. In addition, developing filters with robust loading capacities and self-monitoring capabilities is crucial for maintaining consistent and reliable performance through feedback loops to achieve desired IAQ outcomes. The road ahead While full of uphill environmental battles, the road ahead holds immense promise if it can shape the story of human progress towards sustainability. These objectives are achievable if we prioritise pollution-prevention strategies over sole reliance on air filtration. In other words, we ought to develop and implement sustainable practices in transportation, energy consumption and industrial processes to lower pollution. We should also consider the entire lifecycle environmental impact of air filtration solutions. Lastly, we should focus on researching and developing more energy-efficient and adaptable filtration technologies to incorporate air quality considerations into the initial stages of city design and urban planning. As we progress towards the 2030 Challenge [4] , it is essential to embrace science- based filtration solutions that ensure sustainable performance throughout their entire lifecycle. References: [1] World Health Organization. WHO global air quality guidelines. WHO, 2021. [2] Lelieveld J, Haines A, Burnett R, Tonne C, Klingmüller K, Münzel T, Pozzer A. Air pollution deaths attributable to fossil fuels: observational and modelling study. BMJ. 2023 Nov 29;383:e077784. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2023-077784. PMID: 38030155; PMCID: PMC10686100. [3] Valentinov, V. (2015). Kenneth Boulding’s Theories of Evolutionary Economics and Organizational Change: A Reconstruction. Journal of Economic Issues, 49(1), 71–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/00213624.2015. 1013880 [4] United Nations (UN). (2015). Trasforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development FILTER FOCUS BREATHE EASY Enhancing air quality demands more than just air filtration; it requires rethinking city design and promoting responsible lifestyles that reduce emissions. We can prioritise clean air in urban planning by incorporating smart building technologies, establishing legally binding IAQ standards, and fundamentally understanding real-time filter performance encompassing building design, construction and operation phases. The assiduous implementation of these steps can ensure that clean air becomes an inherent characteristic of buildings, not a chronic engineering challenge.ccme.news/event/dc-dialogue OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONPRODUCER H.E. Dr. Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuami, Chairman, Sharjah Consultative Council; Former UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment KEYNOTE SPEAKER 11 TH EDITION 15 MAY 2025 DUBAI, UAE STRATEGIC HVACR RECRUITMENT PARTNER STRATEGIC KNOWLEDGE PARTNERS BRONZE SPONSORSNext >