Conscientious efforts to craft hygienic atmosphere with smart technologies

We aim at building smart and intuitive technologies to improve the quality of life and deliver best results at optimal prices for our customers.

Discussing on the varied factors that are contributing to the mounting environmental concerns along with the increasing issues like air quality, Nilesh Shah, Marketing Head and VP, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd., elaborates on Hitachi’s initiatives to introduce customised product and developing smart technologies to reduce the carbon footprints.

How do you delineate the current demand ratio for air conditions in India?
India is a very dynamic market for air conditioners. The preferences of each zone namely North, South, East and West are quite differentiated from each other. Some zones prefer window air conditioners, while some find split air conditioners as the best choice. So every zone, every state has to be treated and studied like a separate market. Since the complete market penetration is just 4 percent, the demand can just go up. With rapid urbanisation and electrification of the country, the need for air conditioners is bound to grow many folds.

New India is on a new mission to build cities of the future. It is expected that by 2030, 40 percent of the country’s population, or 600 million people, will reside in cities. These cities would create a huge demand for both residential and commercial air conditioning solutions. India is projected to become the world’s third-largest energy consumer after the US and China. In light of these facts we can confidently be very optimistic about the future demand in the country. We expect the industry to grow at a strong 15 percent.

HVAC systems consume around 31 percent of energy in commercial buildings and 7 percent in residential buildings. What measures can be taken to augment the same?
As HVAC contributes for about 40-50 percent of total energy consumption, careful selection and operation of equipment at Best Efficiency Point, becomes vital in reducing operating costs and carbon footprint.

Rapid urbanisation, development, changing lifestyles and increased awareness around the benefits of HVAC systems has widened the ecosystem. HVAC industry is investing considerably in innovation and creating more sustainable solutions to match the growing demand of the consumers while reducing effects on the environment.

In the Residential Air Conditioning, Hitachi Cooling and Heating in its new lineup focuses on improving the indoor air experience for its consumers. With benefits of providing an air which is clean, fresh, silent, and odorless and surrounds you, Hitachi Cooling and Heating has introduced ‘Hitachi air’ concept for a perfectly balanced and harmonious indoor air experience.

With fresh air, clean air, silent air, surround air and odour-free air, ‘Hitachi air’ is all set to offer a perfectly balanced and harmonious indoor air experience to consumers in the year 2020.
Company’s three-pronged focused strategy of quality, innovation and advanced technology aims to increase the comfort of its consumers not only by ensuring proper ventilation and thermal comfort in high rise buildings but also improves human lifestyle with energy-efficient, eco-friendly and smart products.

What is your say on recent BEE’s star rating systems for air conditioners? How is it impacting the demand scalability?
Regulation framework and rating systems need to evolve with the changing needs of the consumers and the planet as well. Rating systems such as BEE, motivate brands to create solutions that are of better quality, better technology and more energy efficient. The default temperature setting for all ACs has been made mandatory at 24°C as per the new energy performance standards for room Air Conditioner (AC) guidelines. It is a good move by the Government to promote energy efficiency.

Hitachi has been the front runner and flag bearer of Energy Efficient Room Air Conditioners in India. We have already geared up for the implementation of this new energy performance norm.

What is your organisation’s contribution to cut down the carbon emission in the environment?
Being a socially responsible brand and a technology leader, Hitachi is constantly working on new cutting edge technology in its product categories which comprises of Room AC, VRF, Chillers and other commercial air conditioners. Development of smart and intuitive technologies that not only improve the quality of life but also deliver best results at optimal prices has been our conscientious effort. With growing emphasis on energy-efficient and eco-friendly HVAC solutions in order to decrease the overall carbon footprint of any building, we are constantly innovating and customising our products to fulfill the needs of our consumers.

We have consciously made great efforts to make environment-friendly and future sustainable choices. Hitachi air conditioners use energy conservative technologies such as inverter technology and environment-friendly green gases. We have put in place a strict e-waste management system and adhere to all the guidelines in this respect. Our manufacturing facilities are designed and updated to become more sustainable. Our recently opened Global Development Center in Kadi, Gujarat, is also playing a significant role in creating a unique lineup of world-class eco-friendly and sustainable products for a greener planet. It is equipped with state-of-the-art research and testing facilities including reliability labs, APF labs, EMC labs, electronics labs and semi-anechoic labs to maximise the potential of the local engineering talent. The company will continue to contribute to help bringing about a sustainable society through cutting edge technologies and highly efficient air conditioning systems.

How far is it feasible to have complete sustainable HVAC systems in the coming years?
HVAC systems consume a lot of electricity and energy savings would be quite substantial if the right technology is used. For example, airports are big energy guzzlers. A large airport could rival a city of 1 lakh population in energy consumption, with HVAC systems accounting for half of the airport’s energy consumption, according to a report prepared at the behest of the European Commission. This can be reduced significantly if the HVAC system is designed in such a way that it adjusts temperature according to requirement and electricity wastage is avoided. However, to achieve the goal of going All Green in the residential and commercial sectors, there’s still a lot that needs to be tapped into. HVAC segment is moving towards sustainability and in the coming years the industry will witness drastic transformation with complete sustainable HVAC systems.

Johnson Controls – Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd. is continuously working on developing products and technologies that are innovative, energy-efficient, eco-friendly and fulfill the needs of its consumers. Backed by Japanese expertise and over 30 years of industry leadership in India, Hitachi is constantly working on new cutting edge technology in its product categories which comprises of Room AC, VRF, PAC, Chiller and Space Maker.

Nilesh Shah,
Marketing Head and VP, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd.