LG is poised to become a major player in the global energy solutions market in the Middle East and Africa through introduction of its full line-up of green airconditioning products this year, said a senior official.

Moving beyond its traditional role as a leader in air conditioning, LG is making a foray into the energy business, with solutions including LED lighting and solar power, remarked HS Paik, president of LG Electronics Gulf.

“We’ve developed a range of products and solutions that meet the ever more pressing demands of consumers, while also containing costs and reducing energy consumption,” he noted.

These include the third version of existing tropical Multi V III, and the newly released VRF Air Handling Unit (AHU).

The Multi V III boasts a 4.6 coefficient of performance (COP) for heating and 4.3 for cooling, as well as a bigger capacity per unit with an extended piping length of 1,000m.

In addition, LG’s HSS Inverter Compressor greatly enhance efficiency on the Multi V III, reducing energy use by up to 11 percent compared with previous models.

'LG’s VRF Air Handling Unit (AHU), integrated control system lets users manage air conditioning for an entire building. The AHU provides outstanding heating, cooling and outdoor fresh air conditioning while saving energy.'

'These AHUs can be used for 100 per cent fresh air application or re-circulating air application. Based around these advanced solutions, LG plans to aggressively expand its market share in MEA commercial air conditioning this year,' said Paik.

According to him, LG plans to invest $500 million as it ramps up its workforce and research and development with a further aim of hitting $10 billion in global sales by 2013.

'We’re confident we have every energy solution covered, whatever the business. We already have references with Multi V, including Al Gurm in Abu Dhabi, Dubai Arabian Horse stud in Dubai and, American Academy School in Abu Dhabi and many more.'

'This proves the awareness and acceptance level of this technology which is popular across the MEA,' he added.

With the establishment of a full line-up of air conditioning systems, LG is planning to evolve into a total solution provider for the MEA market.

Through heavy investment, LG has built up its technical capabilities, by constructing a custom-built AC Academy at Jebel Ali which has been Leed Silver certified ,where LG is customizing products to the needs of MEA consumers.

LG Electronics also aims to further heighten the reliability of LG’s products, ensuring they are equipped to work in all weather conditions.

Providing technical insight, senior manager, Commercial Air Conditioners, Dharmesh Sawant said, “With the increased emphasis on local green building codes like Estidama in Abu-Dhabi and Q-SAS in Qatar, tropical Multi V III and VRF AHU solution will help the local authorities to meet its objective.'

'LG supports the stakeholders across the value chain. We have a dedicated team to support the consultants and developers in the concept, design stage, as well as a dedicated team for contractors in the post-tender stage and a dedicated team for facilities management companies,' Sawant remarked.

'Also the local AC Academy provides training and certifies all contractors to reduce operational headaches due to improper installation. We are confident that this technology will reduce the burden on the power grid which is currently running on peak,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service