Emerging drivers of tomorrow’s HVAC&R industry

More than 95 per cent industries and businesses are totally dependent on HVAC&R, which is now the backbone of world’s economy
Kulwant Singh, Entrepreneur and Founder, Kleanwave Solutions

Young entrepreneurs, OEMs and technical experts could play a vital role in adoption of greener, cleaner and stable technologies to reduce the greenhouse effect and carbon footprint, says Kulwant Singh, Entrepreneur and Founder of Kleanwave Solutions in an interview with TCBU.

What was the driving factor behind setting up Kleanwave Solutions?
Well, my journey starts from a simple thought that was propelled by non-justified answers given by many top-notch organisations that I’ve worked with. Every year, all big organisations conduct a strategic business meet, marketing meet, future business planning meet etc, which usually take place in five star hotels or resorts. And, most of us have seen that many group photographs of such events. However, one key point that hit me was that though the places, hotels and dates were different, the set of attendees remained the same. There are no new faces, which mean the top management is not open for new ideas and changes in work style.

I had two options; either live with it or leave it. And I decided to go with second one. We, Kleanwave, respect everybody’s thought process and welcome all new ideas. We believe that perfection always has a scope of improvement and we do it on a regular basis.

Also, being an HVAC and IAQ professional, I wish to be part of our nation development by designing and providing best-in-class solutions for indoor and outdoor air quality management. Setting up Kleanwave Solution is one step towards a healthier and safer tomorrow.

What are your suggestions to improve an HVAC&R system and reduce its impact on global warming? What are the major flaws that haven’t been addressed in terms of eco-friendly HVAC&R system?
Every industry or technology has its own benefits and drawbacks. We have to decide on the ratio of both respectively.

Let’s start with the drawbacks! More than 90 per cent of HVAC&R products rely on vapour compression technology using various types of refrigerants. The major refrigerants are basically CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs, which absorb infrared radiation. Thus, greenhouse gases exert an additional radiative forcing that tends to warm the climate.
However, vapour absorption technology is implemented scarcely in selected sectors, but not widely adopted due to non-availability of steam/hot water or flue gas. Due to drastic change in the behaviour of climate, we all are facing different type of natural disasters depending on the location. Yes, global warming is major challenge and we (the HVAC&R industry) have to take major decision to save our planet on priority basis.

Talking about the benifits, can we imagine an airport, metro rail, hospital, shopping complex, cinema theatre, food storage etc. without air conditioning or refrigeration? More than 95 per cent industries and businesses are totally dependent on HVAC&R, which is now the backbone of world’s economy.

HVAC&R is a cryogenics, which is used for petrochemical refining, steel production, space propulsion fuels, super-conductivity for large research instruments, medical applications (scanners), transport and distribution of natural gas or hydrogen, manufacturing of semi-conductors, sequestration of CO2, conservation of species, manufacturing and transport of drugs, vaccines, technologies (electronic components, computer technology, data centres and biotechnology), food manufacturing (texturation, formulation, freeze-drying, fermentation, concentration and separation), storage, transport, commercialisation, domestic refrigerators, public works, and leisure activities.

Moreover, these applications will continue to expand not only because they are needed for our whole current way of life, but also because they are necessary for life itself.

We can’t live without this cryogenics, but we can improve it by swapping our dependency from vapour compression to more energy efficient new technologies based on renewable sources or having low carbon footprint. The OEMs, young entrepreneurs and technical experts can make this successful and could be part of a major phase change of HVAC&R industry.

What are the latest studies and developments in the field of HVAC&R?
The major developments are as follows:
• Need of standards on acceptable indoor air quality addressed globally and two major associations formed for this purpose: Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) and International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ).
• Concept of Green Building and its awareness changed the building construction sector due to various guidelines related to HVAC&R, building materials, architectural design, carbon footprint, and energy efficiency. Sooner or later, getting a Green Building certification will be a must for every project.
• Adoption of various indoor air quality management technologies like UVGI, Engineered Ozone System, Photo Hydro Ionisation, and Electro-Static Filtration etc. in almost 30-40 per cent of new projects.
• Adoption of energy efficient magnetic bearing chillers, chilled beams, radiant cooling, geo-thermal technologies to some extent.

What is Kleanwave’s contribution towards HVAC&R industry?
Unlike any other HVAC&R professional (firm/company/individual), we have expertise in low voltage segment (BMS/fire alarm/CCTV etc.), HVAC&R, indoor air quality management solution (based on different technologies).

We, at Kleanwave, try to update and upgrade ourselves everyday with new technologies, ideas, and suggestions from society, business associates, consumers and customers.

At this moment, we are like a small fish in the sea. But, we can visualise that entrepreneurs like us in current scenario and in future may be the drivers of tomorrows HVAC&R industry and may play a major role in adoption of greener, cleaner and stable technologies to reduce the greenhouse effect and carbon footprint.