Fresh air, brighter future

HVAC&R industry has come a long way from being a luxury to necessity. Here, Sangita Jhangiani, Consulting Engineer and Founder of Enova and President of Mumbai Chapter, ISHRAE, shares her opinions and expertise in a telephonic interview with Aultrin Vijay of Thermal Control Business Update.

What are your expectations from ACREX 2019?
This year we are expecting more end users to visit ACREX because they influence the buying of a particular product. So we would be focusing on people such as architects, project managers to visit the show to make them aware about what the industry has to offer. We are expecting that we would be able to give value to all people participating in the show.

What’s the impact of Union Budget 2019 on HVAC&R industry?
Refrigeration is one of the areas that the government wants to focus on. So there are several incentives on offer. This is because plenty of food produced in our country gets wasted due to the lack of infrastructure for cold storages. So we want to encourage our industry people to focus more on refrigeration. And the other thing is sustainability. We want to encourage people to come up with ideas that can encourage sustainability. So it’s not just about products, it’s about reaching out to people who are involved in a project. The budget has an impact and it’s guiding us to think in that direction.

What are your views on HVAC&R’s role in global warming?
Well, it does contribute to global warming. So there are lot of things. For example, even the cell phone has so much of radiation that’s not good for our health. But that does not mean that we will stop using it. So, as an industry we are aware and lot of research is being done on refrigerants so that we can reduce the impact on environment and find out refrigerants that are environment-friendly. So there are two things in a refrigerant; it should have low Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and it should have the least Global Warming Potential (GWP). Unfortunately, a refrigerant which is low in ODP is high on GWP. So, research is being done to find out an environment-friendly refrigerant. Even in the last ACREX I’ve seen some products which were working on solar power. Even ISHRAE has taken up research on topics pertaining to refrigerants.

How important it is to achieve energy efficiency while designing HVAC system?
Design of a system is very important. Thermal performance of a building is one of the most important things. Our country is in the northern hemisphere. If the glazing is on the west or the south, it increases the thermal load on the building. So we guide the architect to orient the building or put the glazing on the north side, which would help in letting less thermal load into the space.

Then there are concepts of indoor air quality. We know that there is lot of pollution and lack of pure air. So, air needs to be filtered before it enters the building. Some years back, one of the things people were doing to reduce the energy was to provide less outdoor air inside the space or room. So, lot of work is being done in that area. Indoor air is cooler than the air present outdoor. So when you take in the outside air, the load on any air-conditioning system just goes up. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce concepts on how to pre cool without electrical power. Heat recovery is one concept. So there are similar other concepts, which are now accepted and now designers are using those.

Are there any new designs being promoted?
There are different types of machines available right now. There’s a concept called vapour adsorption machine, which works well in industrial applications.

Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) is another thing, which has been made mandatory for commercial and residential projects by the government. Earlier, people were not getting enough water for cooling purposes. And to remove heat from an air-conditioning unit, water is required. Thirty years ago water was available everywhere. But later on, there was water crisis. So people were not getting enough water for air-conditioning. As the demand of air-conditioner started growing in the country, water-cooled systems took a backseat, although it consumed less power. Despite the fact that they consume lesser power, they were difficult to sell in the market because of non availability of water.

Now, because of STP, we have waste water available for cooling purposes. Now, water-cooled systems are being preferred as compared to air-cooled systems, which consume 25-30 per cent more energy. So that is one of the good things that has happened.

What are the safety factors considered while installing an HVAC&R system?
If I were to speak about a residential project, in a high-rise you cannot have a machine sticking out of a building. Safety of the person who’s going to service the machine is an important factor. How will he access that machine? You cannot expect the person going to the 56th floor and stepping out of the window service the machine.

I’ve noticed this in the thought process of even smaller building developers. So, the developer makes provisions for an air-conditioning system in the building, even though the customer doesn’t demand it. And the project team also provide provision for the service personnel to avoid any untoward incident while servicing. If you visit an old building, which was built 30 years ago, no such provision could be seen.

Today, with the ‘green building’ concepts coming into our country, all new projects are focusing on safety, which is an important part. Whether a building is going for green building certification or not, since the people are now aware of the concept of safety. It is mandatory that safety rules be adhered. Nowadays, there’s a safety officers in most of the commercial spaces. They guide all the workers and explain them about safety measures and precautions that needs to be taken.

We recently conducted a training programme on safety. The sad part was that a safety officer was mentioning that workers are still not aware about safety. He says that every morning he explains the workers to not do anything that could harm them. At least today we are thinking about safety. Thirty years ago, when I started my career, nobody spoke about it.

Earlier, HVAC&R industry was considered the underdog of the Indian industrial sector. But now, everyone has ears to what the industry has to say because of the latest happenings in the climate. What do you have to say about that?
You’re right! I truly believe that HVAC&R is a nation building industry. Today architects, for example, are more willing to listen to us. Earlier, the architect was the whole and sole project head. Now, it’s no more like that. A well-engineered building is the one which stands out. So, not only architects but also government realises that engineering plays a very important role. It’s not just civil engineering, man material movement, and the aesthetics, but the engineering components plays an equal importance in delivering a good environment to the users of the building. So, it’s not just HVAC&R, but fire and safety, electrical engineers, we all have extremely important in a project. And, architects are no more the whole and sole project owner. All of us have become equal stakeholders. So that is a good change. I’m really happy about it.

What are the latest trends in HVAC&R?
There are a lot of concepts that are coming up, especially in the data centre field. Lot of new technologies are being introduced and concept are changing. I think the amount of change that I’ve seen in the data industry sector in terms of cooling is far more than I’ve seen in any other type of industry. I think right now desiccant-based cooling system are not commercially viable, but I do think that this will come up as a new product, which will be used quite a bit.

Are government initiatives helping boost the sector?
Yes, of course! Because of concepts of green building and whatever regulation that the government is making, the developers and architects are forced to speak to us. Now, we are sort of a guiding force behind projects. So it is mandatory that all government projects have to adhere to the GRIHA rating system, which is built around sustainability.

I view the HVAC&R industry’s as bright. Because air conditioning is no more a luxury. It’s a necessity now.

Lot of new technologies are being introduced and concept are changing. I think the amount of change that I’ve seen in the data industry sector in terms of cooling is far more than I’ve seen in any other type of industry
Sangita Jhangiani, Consulting Engineer and Founder of Enova and President of Mumbai Chapter, ISHRAE