HVAC Referent: JARN in English

JARN DECEMBER 2011, No. 504
	• 2010 Sizzled in More Ways than One After the Dubai debt shock of November 2009, a debt crisis erupted in the euro zone in early 2010, causing unforeseen setbacks to the fragile global economic recovery. Despite this, air conditioner demand still achieved significant expansion due to strong growth in emerging economies, particularly China and India, and extremely hot summer weather in many parts of the world. JARN estimates that the total global air conditioner market (RAC and PAC) in 2010 was 81.06 million units, a year-on-year increase of 9.6%. Of this, the Chinese and Indian markets both posted strong growth, with the former expanding to around 29.8 million units and the latter expanding 33% to 3.4 million units.
• Heat Pump DHW Evaluated When the new French energy in buildings regulations (RT 2012) comes into force it may well mean the end of direct electric heating and hot water supply systems in new buildings. Thermodynamic or solar energy sources may the only acceptable alternatives. A study by the research association Costic on a range of packaged heat pump domestic hot water (DHW) storage units confirms the accuracy of manufacturers’ test-rig values of COP as being in region of 3 to 4. But in an actual installation it is more likely to be 1.8 – and could be even less if higher than normal storage temperatures are used or if the source temperature is too low. Although this is considerably better than the performance of a direct electric system it still has the disadvantage of higher first cost: typically 3,500 compared with 800 for an immersion type unit. Solar panels – the other approved alternative – could cost 7,000. Pay-back times could range from a minimum 12 years for a heat pump system to 20 to 40 years with solar panels.
• Stulz to Build Own Sales Network in China After 20 years of development in China through commercial partnerships,Stulz, a leader in air conditioning for the IT industry, has decided to establish a dedicated sales and service organization in China. The new set-up is intended to offer better and closer service to its customers to reinforce its development in the country.
• Climaveneta Mignagola Factory Visit Climaveneta held its fifth international distributor meeting in Camogli, Italy from November 24 to 26. Before the meeting, a reporter from JARN visited Climaveneta’s Mignagola plant, one of four it operates in Italy, to learn more about the company’s diverse technologies and strengths. Climaveneta has been growing its air conditioning business since 1971, sophisticating its technologies to become a global corporation offering comfort in a wide range of air conditioning settings. The company has been a longtime proponent of heat pump and inverter technology, pursuing technological sophistication in its quest to develop more efficient products. Its plants employ a so-called ‘supermarket’ system to utilize production materials more quickly and flexibly. The plants are kept clean, neat, and orderly to maintain a disciplined production environment where inefficiencies can be eliminated and value enhanced on an ongoing basis. The company is also conducting research and development in coordination with its research, development, production, and sales divisions.
• Vaillant Pulls out of PAC Market in Germany Leading boiler manufacturer Vaillant in Remscheid, Germany, entered the packaged air conditioning market in 2004, selling a range of mobiles and splits sourced from various suppliers in Asia under the brand name climaVair. The company recently announced that it was giving up this side of its business in Germany although it will continue to promote the range in other countries.
• Noise from Heat Pumps The increasing number of complaints and court cases about external noise from heat pump units in France has led the industry body AFPAC to create a special commission to investigate the problem. The commission is supported by the government risks directive DGPR and the national noise prevention council CNB. Buyers of new units are being urged to use installers who have the industry-approved QualiApac registration. For existing units the solution is to use an acoustic screen - now on offer by a number of manufacturers - rather than replace the unit.
• Schneider Buys Uniflair In November 2010, energy management giant Schneider Electric signed an agreement to acquire Uniflair, the world number three supplier of close control cooling systems and modular access floors for the IT industries. Uniflair leads the market in Europe and has manufacturing facilities in Italy, India and China, a workforce of around 500 worldwide and a global turnover of 80 million. Schneider Electric’s world sales in 2009 were 15.8 billion.
•French AC Market in 2010 Figures released by the trade organization Pac&Clim’Info for the first eight months of 2010 show the variable impact being made by the construction industry recession on component sales in the ACR sector. Sales of air-to-air heat pumps in ratings up 17.5 kW went up by 18% to 270,000 units – a result attributed their increasing popularity as dual heating/cooling devices particularly in single split configurations. Air-to-water units on the other hand suffered a 50% fall to 29,000 units due in part by competition from condensing boilers. Geothermal heat pumps also regressed by 9% although from a relatively small base of some 5,000 units. Data for other system components included windows at 2,300 units (12% fall), air handling units at 6,000 (3% fall) and rooftops at 760 units (17% fall). Chillers showed a notable growth at 9% (5,000 units).
• GEA Takes over Bock In December 2010 GEA Refrigeration Technologies signed an agreement to take over the family-owned compressor manufacturer Bock Kältemaschinen in Frickenhausen, Germany. The purchase price has not been disclosed. Bock has a workforce of over 300 at its facility in Frickenhausen and additional plants in the Czech Republic, India and China. GEA President Dr. Hugo Blaum said that the acquisition would expand the company’s present range of screw and reciprocating machines into lower and medium output ranges (5 to 300 m3/h refrigerant flow rates) and will supplement the GEA Grasso machines in the industrial cooling sector. Bock’s experience with CO2 systems is seen as essential in the future trend to natural refrigerants.
• RAC Sales Likely to Top 8 Million Units in Japan Thanks to the Eco Point program, even after the intensive summer heat ended, sales of room air conditioners (RAC) showed a sharp upturn during the period from July to November 2010. In-store sales fell slightly in December, when the number of Eco Points awarded was halved. Shipments from manufacturers, however, have been holding strong. According to statistics compiled by the Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association (JRAIA), shipments from manufacturers in October came to 389,790 units, up 77.5% over the previous year, followed by 572,704 units in November, an increase of 73.1%. As a result, total shipments during the period from January to November reached 7.6 million units, a year-on-year increase of 19.6%.
• LG Promotes Head of AC and Energy Solution Company to President LG Electronics’ Board of Directors announced the promotion of Hwanyong Nho, currently executive vice president and head of LG’s Air Conditioning and Energy Solution Company, to the position of president. In addition to Mr. Nho, theirty-eight other executive promotions were announced by the company.
• Toshiba Unveils LeadingEdge Technologies at CES 2011 At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 211 in Las Vegas, Toshiba showcased how life can be ‘Fun and Easy by Leading Technology’ with the company’s latest advances in digital technologies and new products and services. Major New Technologies 3D TV without 3D glasses Toshiba unveiled the future of 3D TVs at CES: prototypes of large-screen LCD TVs in 65-inch and 56-inch models that deliver full 3D without the need for dedicated glasses.
• Climaveneta to Supply FIFA 2012 Championship in Warsaw, Poland Climaveneta Poland has been chosen by the Polish National Sport Center to a supply cooling system using watercooled chillers and dry-coolers for the National Stadium in Warsaw – the arena of the FIFA 2012 championship opening. The bidding for the system selection took place in Q2 and Q3 of 2010 with strict investor requirements concerning chiller energy efficiency performance in terms of ESEER and extraordinary sound requirements regarding very low sound levels for both with the internal chillers containing special acoustic enclosures and the external dry-coolers utilizing dedicated secondary condenser loops. Finally after a detailed bidding process between major worldwide producers of dedicated equipment, 13 units of 720kW extrememodel FOCS2-W-CA 3202, double circuit Climaveneta water-cooled Bitzer screw (class A energy efficiency by Eurovent classification), along with 26 units of Refrion model ESNY 2580.5-2, Super Jumbo dry-coolers (also equipped with Ziehl-Abegg sinusoidal filters inverters ensuring continuous unit operation, reduced electrical consumption and extraordinary silent operation), were selected.
• Kältetechnik Presents the Latest McQuay Product Developments Kältetechnik Aircool presented new McQuay developments in their product portfolio to an exclusive audience at the company headquarters in Munich in late November. The company offered a group of specialists the opportunity to experience the latest developments at the company headquarters in Munich to get technical information directly from the source: the brand new WME series with a highly-efficient, magnetically levitated McQuay centrifugal compressor and a cooling capacity of 2 MW was placed into operation in front of the participants, after being exhibited at the previous Chillventa. Visitors to the exclusive presentation at the Munich headquarters were able to see extrememodelly smooth and robust equipment with revolutionary magnetic technology.
• Mayekawa Delivers NewTon3000 in the U.S. Mayekawa decides to deliver NH3/ CO2 cooling system NewTon3000 at the Garden City Ammonia Program (GCAP) located in Kansas, the United States, a private industrial ammonia technical school. This is the first introduction of NewTon3000 outside Japan. GCAP is the only private industrial ammonia technical school providing lectures on refrigerating theory and hands on training for operating refrigeration systems effectively. It has supplied training to operators from 412 companies from over 16 countries and produces experts in refrigeration systems every year. Since CO2 emission reduction and prevention of global warming are their missions, they actively provide education for operators who handle refrigeration systems using natural refrigerants.
• Luvata Celebrates Official Opening of ElectroFin in California Luvata ElectroFin celebrated the official opening of its newest location in San Leandro, California, the United States. This new location near Oakland Bay will serve customers in Northern California along with customers shipping HVAC&R equipment to the Pacific Rim. This fifth location joins Luvata’s other four ElectroFin locations in Louisville, Kentucky; Jacksonville, Texas; Tampa, Florida and with Temecula, California offering spray applied coil corrosion protection.
• Corona to Launch New RACs with Enhanced Heating Capacity In stages from the end of February, Corona will release 11 models of room air conditioners in 3 series for 2011, including the W series with enhanced heating capacity. The company’s W series of room air conditioners for 2011 are designed to offer not only cooling in summer but also comfortable heating in winter. For example, the CSH-W2811 (2.8 kW cooling capacity) has an increased heating capacity of 5.2 kW at an outdoor temperature of 2°C so that it can pow erfully heat the room.
• Panasonic to Attain ¥1 Trillion Sales in 2018 with Urban Development On December 27, Panasonic announced its intention to reach ¥1 trillion in sales in 2018 with businesses related to eco-friendly urban development. The company will proceed with a ‘package supply’ strategy for supplying energy-saving related products as packages centering on HEMS (Home Energy Management Systems) that monitor and control energy consumption in residences.
• Testo Presents Two New Thermal Imagers German manufacturer Testo introducing two new thermal imagers to the market, the testo 876 and testo 882. With the testo 876, the company is introducing a camcorder-style design in the 5,000. The testo 882, with a familiar Testo design, allows even easier and more precise work thanks to a detector resolution of 320 x 240 pixels.
• 1,667 Thousand Units of Inverter Compres sors Sold in October 2010 According to the statistical source, 1,667 thousand units of inverter compressors were sold in October, which represents a 9.5% increase over that in September and a 250% increase as compared to the same period of the previous year. The data shows that the demand for inverter compressors from the downstream air conditioning manufacturing sector is still maintaining its growth trend. In terms of individual companies, sales of Meizhi kept at 450,000 units. Panasonic enjoyed higher growth this month, with 460,000 units. Since there is still no sales of AC (alternate current) inverter compressor this month, basically the product has retreated from the market. Regarding the exports, Panasonic, Mitsubishi Electrics and Daikin are ranked among the top three, showing that Japan is the main export destination for inverter compressors.
• GEF Energy Efficient RAC Project Started The Promoting Energy Efficient Room Air Conditioners project (PEERAC) of Global Environment Facility (GEF) has been started in Beijing on November 24, 2010. This is the second project of GEF conducted in China after the energy efficient refrigerator project. The project approach consists of a combination of ‘technology push’ and ‘market pull’ activities. It focuses on removing a number of key barriers in the RAC industry which affect the manufacturing, sales and R&D of energy efficient RACs. PEERAC includes two types of activities, one type is for the RAC manufacturers, the other is for the air conditioner compressor manufacturers.
• Airwell to Set Up AC Joint Venture in Taicang, Jiangsu According to Airwell, it is going to move out from its Shenzhen plant within two years and set up an air conditioner joint venture company in Taicang, Jiangsu Province. On December 3, 2010, Airwell signed the agreement with Taicang Hengtong Investment Group. Officials from Taicang City Government and Zhong Shunyuan, CEO of Airwell Air Conditioning (China) were present at the contractsigning ceremony. The joint venture company will be located in the Phase II zone of Taicang New District.
• Market Share of Inverter ACs to Exceed 50% in 5 Years in China The National Key Energy-saving Technology Promotion Directory (III) recently published by the National Development and Reform Commission will drive the market penetration of inverter air conditioners on a full scale. The promotional efforts of inverter products will be raised from the individual corporate level to the national policy level. The electronic expansion valve technology, which is one of the 30 key energy-saving technologies promoted by the government, will receive funding and R&D support from the government during the 12th fiveyear plan period. .
• The First Heat Exchanger Exhibition Held The first China Heat Exchanger Exhibition was held in Changtu County, Liaoning Province in October. This exhibition aimed at providing a venue for ‘product demonstration, technological exchange, business interaction and cooperation’, and attracted the participation of many enterprises and experts within the industry.
• Danfoss Purchases ComTrol’s Intellectual Property Rights Danfoss announced that its Food Retail business has purchased ComTrol’s intellectual property rights related to communication protocol from Schneider Electric, global specialist in energy management. “Danfoss’ ownership of the communication protocol and deployment into relevant Danfoss devices will provide existing Com-Trol customers with a migration plan that will mitigate risks surrounding the eventual obsolescence of the Com-Trol family of commercial refrigeration controllers and equipment,” said Jeffrey Bredeson, vice president of sales for Danfoss’ Food Retail North America.
• Daikin McQuay Research Center Earns LEED Gold Certification Daikin and McQuay announced that it has earned LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for its Applied Development Center (ADC) located at McQuay world headquarters in Plymouth, Minnesota, in the United States. The 49,000 ft2 (4,600 m2) research center is the world’s most advanced facility for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) research and development.
• Johnson Controls Signs Contract for the Expansion of Makkah’s Holy Mosque Johnson Controls announced the signing of a contract for the expansion of the Holy Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The contract will provide an integrated building management system including state-of-the-art heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) for the largest-ever expansion of the Holy Mosque. The contract includes the purchase of 27 York multistage centrifugal chillers to produce one of the most efficient and sustainable facilities of its kind in the world.

Web-источники получения информации: